The kind of person that I am, extending all the way to politics, I am an institutuionalist and an individualist. If anything ever goes wrong, it is the institution's fualt; if anything goes right, it is because of the individuals invovled. "Urinetown," I will like to say is currently the proudest moment in my life as well as the best musical I have seen at Tech. My role as the student director, puts me as part of the institution invovled in forming the show; because I did not physically partake during the actual show. The show went right, and it is because of the actors invovled, not because of the production team. Everytime I went home, I went home loving what I saw at rehearsal, and inside I also feared and thought about what I did to help make the scenes work the way they did. But it doesn't matter, and I can say this the best way I can and say that the show wasn't the way it was because of me- it was because of everyone else.
I can just pray,hope, and wish that the next time I direct a show, that what emerges is because I brought the people together and let them develop the way they did for this show.
/////////////////////////
I'm sorry but I have to add more, this just doesn't say what I want it to say. For some reason I am never able to put into words the way I have felt about the show and how wonderful it has been. I LOVE YOU FREAKIN' CAST! I honest to god mean that. I don't know if I am jaded or what, but when it comes to theater at Tech, the way I feel about the production of the show is based entirely upon how other people feel about it. We have rehearsed for the last two months and I have lived and died with my actors; but it is only hitting now how important this show was. (Most of this I figured out looking at other people's myspace's)- I seriously have just wandered the casts' myspaces looking for opinions on the show. What I found was Voijtech changing his name to "Bobby Strong" and Ashley changing hers to "Little Sally" and Jackleyn to "Hope". And then I see everyone's background is a picture from the show; then Ed imes me a clip entitled, "small things." This show has cut into our lives and has grabbed a segment of it for its own. It has in a sense created its own importance.
Rehearsal's began with me wanting to finally have say in a show at Tech and feeling that the best way to put on a good show is to make sure everyone is close and that nothing is concelled and rather everything is open and honest. The words that I remember on the first day of rehearsal is me saying, "... go easy on me because I don't know what I am doing.. but these guys do and they are my assistants.." Max stayed long hours on vocal rehearsals to make sure everything was gonig as planned and called me up worrying when something was progressively wrong. I remember the auditions and the casting I did, and the truth is that I got nearly everyone I wanted in the roles that I wanted them in. Now there is not a single person I would change positions. The first time we began blocking, I freaked out because I wasn't able to keep everything stable and it was unorganized- I feared that I overplayed what I was able to do. The next day, without a teacher advisor- the rehearsal went beautifully with nearly everyone arriving on time (it wasa saturday). Things went consistantly for a while; I made up call sheets and people came to rehearsal sans a few unrelated lateness and absentces, and we worked.
Then somewhere, during act II, things began to click, people grew fond of each other and lines began to get memorized, and Vojtech cracked up me and my assistants by doing irrelvant things in his role.
Then spring break roled arround I had people up my ass trying to figure out what was happening with rehearsal. This was the first time in a show that we ever rehearsaed at someone else's house. Of course little rehearsing went on and rather a giant game of "quack-didli-oso" with losers thrown in the middle, and then of course the game of capture the flag, and the speed read thrus and Paddy and Steven.
Maria, is one of the hardest workers I know and she rode me constantly if I wasn't focusing on a specific aspect that needed work, and so many times did she just take over and do the things herself.
It reached a point in rehearsals where I became catatonic and let my assistants take over (because I was lazy but justified because they were juniors and hopefully will be directing next year).
I relaized the most important thing at Maria's house when I attempted to get the cast to adapt to the new environment and do the show based on the fact that we were in a kitchen and had two couches. It didn't turn out the way I thought it did that day, but in the end it did. The show became nearly completely fluid with everyone being able to adapt to the crazy ass lines that were improvd or the slight changes in pick-ups (mostly done by Parker).
It reached a point where everyone new their role and knew their lines so well that we could move past it and add all the little quirks that was necessary- and then even so the "little things and big things" sex joke (parker's small package and AShley's small...) occured on the first day of the show though we never planned on it (of course i did repeatedly tell Parker to knell down towards Ashley and stare at her chest if he was too low).
And Jacklyn, the giant freshman, was perhaps the only person to come to nearly every rehearsal on time and prepared and put on a performance which made me feel that her presence would continue on the Tech stage for year's to come (casting Hope was the hardest decision we made that night of auditions and I don't regret the decision one bit).
I have always felt that to put ona good show, you had to be a fan of the work, and by golly- I was. I listened to the soundtrack everyday and read the script on the train so often. I then slowly became the biggest fan of every actor in the show when they took their role and made it their own (credit must be given here to Ms. Ramona who helped with character development- even at points when I wasn't arround.)
The entire production I hoped to live by examply- I tried my best to show up on time read to work and most importantly be understanding and friendly.
It was towards the end of the production when I hada fantastic realization about life and theater and made me relaize what Urinetown (the musical) was.
The message of the show is ledgendary to me and will stick to me throughout my life (including the lines)- but it is the cast that I will miss seeing and especially my AD(s). Tommy, I am sure was talked up alot by me and will (who of course did whatever the fuck he wanted to do during the show and made me love it even more) and others, but the main difference between these two shows is that I have so many more happy memories at Urinetown then there (Tommy was much more like a few estatic moments but mostly more of a feeling of, "YEAHH... this sucks but we are all in the same boat together."
When the show went on the only thing I wanted was clean pick-ups, people to stay in character no matter what, and to see a new show every day. I did see a new show every day and regardless of people's theory on acting- I am very much a person who believes that life is based entirely on the specific curcimstance that is then present- and that is what Urinetown became- the entire show changed based upon the improv'd lines and the speed of the pick-ups.
I was worried about having a big ego during this process, and so I enlisted myself as a stage hand and never placed myself behind a table (thoughthe book was so heavy!) to seem greater than anyone else. Maybe I am a socialist at heart- but I worked my hardest for this show (most of the time) and I tried to keep everyone on the same page as myself and each other.
My favorite show was a mix between thursday and saturday- which is amaizing because thursday is usually the worst show. Thursday had a sense of uncertainty of what could happen next and it was great- it made all the scenes seem liek they were done for the first time with genuine emotion. And then Saturday- after the intermission- I know that the cast worked so fucking hard to get any response out of the dead crowd and it just reput all the effort back into it.
I loved the games we played and the things we learned about each other- and honestly- when I gave the speech on Sunday for the last show- I didn't say anything remotely to what I am saying now because I didn't want to join the audience onto this sacredness that developed in my head. All I wanted them to see was a hard working cast and crew. But it was just so much more. I didn't cry outwardly- but I was so upset about this being the end that I honestly couldn't watch the last show.
Our lives will now continue and work for school and time with friends will take top priority- but just remember that for two months that you, the cast, worked with 30 other people and together you all were in the same place and time and in the same boat. | 
