tiredINTERJECTION: Well, our new cat, Dexter, just found a mouse. A wee little house mouse. (Aunt Shirley, do NOT click that link!) I would say “caught,” but that would imply some kind of persistent restraint. He was playing catch-and-release with him all over the house, much to Mom’s chagrin.
She took the open end of a beer mug and clomped it down on top; I fetched a piece of cardboard and the mouse was out of the house in minutes.
Interestingly, Mom postulates that I may have brought this mouse into the house with me. From a place that has house mice. From PEI, in my suitcase. You laugh, but it’s very possible. I vividly remember when we moved a bunch of Mom’s stuff here to Bedford; we were infested with cluster flies for weeks! Oh, do I have cluster (or “shingle fly”) stories… and so do a zillion other Islanders. Anyway, that house mouse has been expatriated to Nova Scotia, and here he’ll stay until something eats him.
Okay, back to the play.
- We had a huge audience (our biggest yet, over 100 people), and, what’s more, a receptive huge audience. They enjoyed themselves and they showed it, and that just helps us along even further.
- We killed on the letter scene. They laughed in places I had no idea anyone would laugh at. Robe scene and jail scenes went well, too. I was pleased. Since this is the last night of performing for some, it’s all the more important to give them our best efforts and make it the best show it can be.
- For Act 5, practically half of the cast advised me to “just belt it out.” So I did. And they laughed this time! (And it’s not really supposed to be funny, but we’ll take what we get.) Last line was so-so. It’s different every time I say it; unfortunately, my best rendition so far was in Dr. Katz’s office during a meeting with (the director) Glenn!
- At the end of the show, people commented about how “likeable” I was. That’s not a good sign. I’m going to see if I can give the performance of my life tomorrow. Goal: Get booed the hell out of me on the curtain call.
It’s all the more amazing that I had a decent night, what with all the other crap flinging around right now. One thing in particular was that our little blonde haired friend came to see the show tonight. And she sat in the front row! I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t cause trouble, but back in the dressing room it came out that most of the things she was telling me throughout our pretend relationship were lies, and lies built on top of lies to sustain the credibility of older lies. Augh. My sense of trust for people in general is going pfbttt. I know there are some truly trustworthy people out there, though. I think I know a few who might even be reading this. =)
A lot of people noticed that I was off my feed tonight before the show. Much like my character Malvolio, I don’t suffer “fools” (or, more to the point, what I perceive as foolishness) very well. (And like my character, I have a propensity to make a fool of myself in these defensive posturings.) I was harsh, impatient, and borderline argumentative. I got sick and tired of the crowds in the makeup room and the crappy music and etc.. etc.. and then someone in the crew came aboard me (we cleared the air about it, though)… I was about ready to explode. Fortunately, I didn’t. I channelled my rage and frustration appropriately, and we had a good show! (And Simon drove me home, another major bonus.)
If anyone’s interested, I’ve uploaded two backstage preparation videos from our second night (March 21st). [ 1 - ONE 2 - TWO - the sound is out of sync on YouTube, hence the willmatheson.com availability]
Boy, all this effort in keeping my digital and anologue lives in sync is exhausting me! One more night to go! I probably wouldn’t have blogged after every show, were it not for my old pal
castusalbuscor who cheerfully remarked, “You blog after every show!” And so I must. =)Your e-Pal,
~ Will