Day 18 - Saturday September 30 2006

- last day of rehearsal in Toronto - feels like we're already gearing up for the move - psychologically shifting ground - as hard as it was to leave Ottawa, leaving this environment of rehearsal and table-work feels odd - another leave-taking

- subtle changes to the atmosphere in the room - any new faces stand out - it's a protective environment that is harsh and nurturing at the same time - critical but informed eyes are sought but they tread lightly - speaking of new faces in the room: my one chance to see my son's show at Ryerson meant sitting in at the director's invitation to a tech rehearsal - not really fair for young actors to subject them to the sudden intrusion - not exactly strangers - worse still it's the Rainvilles - Simon's dad - another actor - bless them they did well in spite of the distraction

- Friday's run felt like we'd touched down and though wobbly we were on the ground - lots of folks in the room but all of them informed and part of the extended family - Richard let me go right away to race over to Ryerson

- we're creatures of change clinging to the comfort we know - there are still some line changes - it feels like we're on the ground now and really walking the landscape of the play - there's some distance to go yet but the pieces are fitting more snuggly

- more imagery: there's a climbing motif in Stephen's play and in rehearsal it really feels as though we are finding the handholds as we go - play-making is like that - we investigate the relative strength and security of the next spot to cling to and there are big risks - the distance to fall seems great but the heights are there to reach as well - so it's deliberate still - the real playing is in the descent - Jack Kerouac once described the image of running down a mountain side - and ultimately it's like that a free-fall of "flying" or running down the mountainside - every handhold noted remembered but sailing past

Thursday October 19 2006 - so the time somehow got away from me - so easy to devote a moment or two when away from home then too much to catch up on - we got straight into "tech week' when we got back to Ottawa - on set with media calls and building in sound and light cues and scene transitions - somehow in the midst of all that Richard grabbed moments to clear up beats and worked his way through the entire text and to overuse the recurring imagery: this time through we crawled every inch and got right down on the ground to look at the minute twists and bends we could follow - the tech period and the long days of Q to Q's feel like a gestation phase - there is time to be onstage "in play" yet waiting to be told where to pick something up so that a scene transition can be smoothed out - so a piece may gets worked and reworked - actors run lines with each other or on their own and it all just feels like a further settling in to the world

we had the luxury of two days off over the thanksgiving weekend and the out of towners came by for Monday Thanksgiving at our house - a home cooked meal - Victor roasted a leg of lamb - delicious - we had a big turkey and everyone brought trimmings treats

and then the week of the opening of a show - two five hour rehearsal days followed by previews and notes and then the adrenal extravagance known as opening night - there was a nice build to it - we got closer and closer to the story we wanted to tell - word of mouth seems to be very favourable so that has meant good attendance and an enthusiastic response

thanks for reading this - and thanks for your interest in live performance