Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Curtain Closes

Yep, that's right everyone, the YABC mid-year performances are officially over (well they were officially over saturday night but I'm lazy and so the announcement is happening now). The afterparty has been had (it didn't go too crazy, mind you, but it was crazy enough to make me cringe a little when I think about it) and the curtain has closed on the Pure Imagination season. (little side note here: did anyone else notice that there were several god-related musicals in the pure imagination season? Religious people in the audience would not have been impressed. What are we implying here?) (And sorry for all the brackets in this opening paragraph)
And what a season it was. First time ever doing forteeen shows, with one day off and a four show weekend. Insane.
It's amazing how much you rely on the adrenalin. You get up in the morning pretty damn exhausted, but by the time 4:00 rolls around your already picking up, and the excitement is kicking in and the energy is coming back. It gets you through each show, and helps you ignore all the bruises and grazed knees and strained backs until it's all over and then you get to have a fun few days hobbling around with an angry body and terrible YABC withdrawals. Speaking of, they are a legitimate crippling condition. The symptoms? Incessant singing of YABC songs, old and new, occasionally bursting into spontaneous choreographed dance routines, and missing everyone far too much to be healthy.

Looking back at that paragraph I realise how unbelievably ridiculous performing is. Truly, you can only do it if you love it. And I love it so I'm not really complaining, just pointing out some facts. I wouldn't trade any of the past two weeks of insanity in for anything. It's just odd to try and look at it through another persons eyes. All they really see is the end product - that performance that they see, and to them that's all it is. To us, it was the matinee out of the way with another show tonight and a two hour break in between, or it was our lowest performance, or it was our first solo.
It's not just YABC (although YABC is a prime example) but the stage is addictive. Considering I didn't enjoy this semester much and wasn't looking forward to shows, I really was not expecting much from performance season, but all of a sudden they're done and I wish i could do them all again. I want to go straight onto the next set of shows, I don't even care what my body has to say on the matter. And so many people have the same addiction. They're bent on quitting and then by the third show they've changed their minds. It's a magical effect that the theatre has on us.

So now life is very different (funny because life is normal now, the shows were different but those two weeks seemed so familiar that they became the normal). I'm back to the regular routine: work, classes, seeing people, trying to work on what will be my next book, waiting anxiously for news on my first - all that sort of stuff. And in all honesty it's a bit dull at the moment, but I'll get used to it. I'm still getting those bursts of energy though. I haven't been able to sleep until 1ish because my mind is so abuzz with thoughts, and memories and embarassments and regrets and excitements and ideas that are the lingering effects of a show.

In other news? I did start brainstorming on the next book today - double sided A2 page covered in scribbles and questions and answers. Hopefully it's starting to form. I have to be much more disciplined this time - no making it up as I go along. That's not to say I'm going to plan chapter by chapter - that's not my style. I am going to know exactly what major things are going to happen, how the story flows from book to book and most impotantly there will be NO holes in the background of my story. I'll know everything, and that'll help you/the readers know everything.
Here's hoping the first book wasn't a fluke.

So goodnight to anyone who is reading this and to my dear YABC friends - how I miss you already!


"I thought my life would be more interesting with a
musical score and a laugh track" - Bill Watterson

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