Our production of Fuddy Meers opened this past Saturday. But in preparation for opening night, a few last minute details had to be taken care of first.

We spent Wednesday painting the set and searching for yet-to-be-found props. Where does one find a steering wheel? We need a kitchen sink and a rolling refrigerator? I especially like the way we painted the inadvertently sexual flowers on the bedroom walls (sorry Rosa!). After not having enough time to finish the job, we met again early Friday morning to make sure everything was complete. I then went back to the theatre Friday night (at 11pm!) to finally tech the show. That’s right, the night before we opened. I was there until 3am with two amazing helpers climbing ladders, hanging lights, fixing wires, replacing bulbs, moving sets, taping filters, patching dimmers, and focusing spots. Didn’t have time to design the lighting scheme, though. I had to come back early the next day to do that. I set a company record for the fastest lighting design ever and we raced through a shaky cue-to-cue just hours before the audience was to come through the doors. Sure, I was nervous for the actors, but I was more nervous for myself having to tech the whole show without ever having done a tech rehearsal. But there was no time to worry about that. Programs needed to be folded, sound effects needed to be equalized, tickets needed to be counted, and I had to go to the bathroom. No time!

But it all worked out fine in the end. The cast and crew were amazing, driven by the nervous energy that typically lights a fire under your ass on opening night. Performances were inspired, the set looked gorgeous, makeup and costumes were spot on, the lights and sound were flawless, and the sold-out audience (overbooked, actually) appeared to genuinely enjoy the show. The evening wasn’t perfect by any means but, as the director, it’s my job to point out when actors are two inches too far downstage or when cues aren’t picked up at the rapid-fire pace that I demand. There was definite room for improvement but I was happy. Shitting myself from all the nerves and stress, but happy.

Sunday night’s performance was technically better than Saturday’s but there were fewer people in the audience to appreciate it. And we might have lacked a bit of that opening-night spark. But again, it was wonderful. My cast and crew not only made real a dream of mine, but they made it better. I’m looking forward to taking it up a notch for next weekend, blowing them all away in our final three performances, and going out with a bang. Quality photos to be taken next week (thanks Piers!).