Monday

Got a few minor bookkeeping items done, then went back and forth via text with Diane. Does she want the foot massager from Suzanne? Yes, no, maybe so, and she finally decided against it. 

Packed a lunch and bused to town. I browsed a bit, but didn't buy anything. I just enjoyed having lunch at my favorite spot across from the mission. It was very quiet and beautifully sunny and warm. Here's the peaceful view, with a young woman having her lunch, also: 

Home, and I washed and chopped two pounds of strawberries--they've been a bonanza this year--and stored some in the fridge, some in the freezer. Had a bite to eat, showered, dressed, and walked to the bus stop to attend our first rehearsal of After All This Time. My part is miniscule--only six lines, but it comes at the very end and is the pivotal part of the play. Actually, that actually works out very well, considering that so much family is coming this summer.

Our first rehearsal was called for 7:00 to 9:30 pm, late for me, but it was so much fun and so absorbing I was okay with it. Why?  Because Karyn, our director, is so damn good. She has a masters degree and a background in theatre arts, and knows how to weld together a cast. There were just six of us (two were missing) and she first had us sit at a round table and just talk about our acting histories and get to know each other. This was such a good way to start! All of us, aside from newcomer Lindsay have had fairly extensive experience--I probably the least. We have two professionals: my pal, Anthony (he was 2022, I was 2023 in our last show) and Alphonse, a small, slight, pleasant guy about twenty-five. They actually have agents and are in Actors Equity; both have some experience in film and commercials. 

After the "getting to know you" part, Karyn took us in another room and we did stretching exercises, then she had us do a kind of mime improv. This entailed elaborate motions that illustrated greeting a loved one, then being stalked by a bear, and so on; some scenarios we were told to do without using our legs, then without facial expressions. It was only then, we went back to the theatre room and rehearsed. It went well--the guys were particularly good--and Ken and I came on at the end. Without going into the whole play, we were the older personifications of a couple who never really got together in their youth. It went well and, in fact, was quite touching.

Home a little after 9:00, late for me, but I watched another part of Black Mirror on Netflix, then slept well. WinCo with Suzanne in a few hours.