"A Little Taste of Theatre"

Oh, boy, what a day. From the horrifying realization that I didn't have Internet access to the rushing to get ready for T.O.P.S., to leaving that gathering early in order to go home and have breakfast, then get to the hairdressers by 11:00--WOW!
Amanda did a good job on my color, but I was a little disappointed with the styling. I decided not to have it trimmed this time, but think I'll try another hairdresser; much as I like A. as a person, I don't think she's anything special as a sylist. Plus, she just raised her prices and it's getting pretty steep. We'll see.
Got home and had two pieces of chicken for lunch, then realized I have very little food in the fridge. Didn't have time to go out for more, but I did run over to SCAN to check on preparations for the show. I told Elissa and Brenda how I wanted the room arranged, helped with a few things, then left to Jessica Nails for a manicure. It was jammed--I should have known--but I was taken quickly and was out of there in less than an hour. Honed my intros, made up and dressed, and was back at SCAN by 5:00.
The room looked great! Everything was in place on SCAN's end and I busied myself taping show names to a table (so none of the players would be leafing through his or her parts), and tweaked a few other things, but generally, it was perfect.
I had asked Elissa to put "reserved" on the players'chairs in the back, and she made up printed "Reserved for the Talent" sheets on them; on my chair, she put "Reserved for the Director"--so cool!
The show itself turned out terrific. I guess about twenty-five people came--fewer than I had hoped, but enough to hearten the players--including my girl, Ellen, and my next-door neighbor, Suzanne. I gave a short intro, then introduced each of the playlets. I was amazed and gratified at the rapt attention of the audience--they loved it, paying close attention to the serious plays and laughing at the humorous ones. The players had improved with rehearsal, but being ultra-critical, I thought some still dragged their words, others spoke too quickly, emphasized the wrong words, or didn't react to situations. But Ellen assured me they had performed very well; clearly, the rest of the audience thought so, too. The only snag was--as I learned from Ellen--the programs weren't passed out until we were halfway into the show. However, compared to what could have happened, this was fairly minor.
After, I praised each player (sincerely to most, because overall, they did pretty well, but maybe here and there, a tad insincerely) and they all clambered to know if I was going to do another course. Am I? Dunno, and certainly not until fall, if I do. Also, I'd certainly re-design it, unless I restrict it to new people. We'll see--right now, I want to forget about it and turn my attention to other things.
El and I went out for a late dinner after. We had headed to Two Trees, but it was jammed and we went to Kyoto Sushi around the corner. I had albacore sushi--so delicious, as I had eaten nothing but a plain piece of bread since a light lunch--and a heavenly glass of Chardonnay.
Whew, it was over and I went home to sleep the sleep of the just.