and...scene.

I received four bouquets of flowers--gorgeous flowers--over the run of my show. People I've never even met in person and only "know" on Twitter came to see the show. Almost two-thirds of my colleagues and many of my graduate students supported me by attending as well. And even people on campus--total strangers, mostly students {students! the darlings!}--stopped me to tell me how much they loved my performance. 

Do you know how much I love acting on stage? It's where I feel the most like me. The most alive. The most real. And performing Shakespeare? Oh, my darlings. You have no idea. It's nothing short of magical.

But now it's over. This past Saturday was our last performance. Afterward, we stayed to take down the set, which is customary in our theatre group before heading to our cast party in Oakland. We were there until 12:30 a.m., ripping apart platforms, draining the 2" of water from the set, and sorting out the costumes. All of us together, one last time.

I fell in love during this show. With my cast mates. Amazing, complex, beautiful souls that they are. The sixteen of them. Some 18-years-old, some 24-years-old, and lots more in between. All beautiful. And I can already tell you that I miss them, a short two days later. I've begged them to come visit me in my office, daily. Theatre does that. It bonds you in ways that many experiences can't.

But now I get to rest. And that pleases me greatly.

Well, at least until the next show I do.

up on stage.

me as Isabella, all weepy during Act II Scene IV

Well, I did it. I survived opening night of our production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and two more performances after that. I'm really happy with how it turned out: the lighting, the minimal set, the costumes, and even the 2" of water on stage that we have to deal with. It's all perfect.

Opening night was great. No major flubs, lots of fun and energy, and an audience that hooted and hollered during our curtain call. And afterward, many of the audience members waited around for us in the lobby and spoke such kind words about our performance.

L to R: TJ Firneno (Angelo), me (Isabella), Christina Loscalzo (Mariana), Jake Wadsworth (Duke/aka Friar Lodowick), Jason Bingman (Escalus), and Bill Lyon (Lucio)

On Friday night, a lot of my colleagues from the department where I work came to see the show after they'd all gone out to dinner together. I love that they made a social gathering out of it. Community-building is huge in my book. And they all stayed after to greet me in the lobby, and there were hugs and kisses all around. And they even brought me the most gorgeous flowers and a very sweet card that they all signed! And the show was really, really good that night, so I'm glad I had a large contingency there to see it!

On Saturday night, my dad surprised me and came to see the show. I had no idea he was in the audience! In fact, I didn't think there was anyone in the audience that I knew, but when I got to the lobby after the show, there he and some others were. It was a wonderful surprise. And my dad said, "Honestly, Laura, you gave me chills." I guess that means he thought I did a pretty good job. *grin*

I've grown really fond of the cast, all 17 of them. Bill, Jake, TJ, and Megan especially. We didn't have any shows Sunday, Monday, or today this week, and tomorrow we have a brush-up rehearsal before we perform again Thursday, Friday, and finally on Saturday night. It's been weird to be away from everyone for the past few days, especially after having spent nearly every single day with them all for the past month. I can honestly say that I'm going through withdrawal.

Me (Isabella) and Jake Wadsorth (Duke/aka Friar Lodowick)

But it has been nice to have the past few days free.  Well, except for Sunday. I participated in the NAMI Walk early that morning. But Monday and today have been nice, because I've just gone to work and then home to lounge and relax. I needed it!

Jake Wadsworth (Duke/aka Friar Lodowick) and me (Isabella)

Needless to say, though, it'll be nice to get back to the theatre tomorrow to see my fellow cast members and then do our final three shows later this week. I have never worked so hard on a show, but it's definitely been an experience I'll never forget!

the entire cast

p.s. If you'd like to see the show, there are still three more performances!