Weekend In Review (Or An Excessive Use of Parentheses) July 6, 2009

Team Oreo (as Sterling has named us) had our official end-of-Fringe celebration this weekend.   A friend once told me “When a party is mad-good, it’s a par-TAY.”   This was a par-tay.   The entire team made it out along with honourary Oreos, Wayne; Isabelle (of J.P. and); Tim (of Chantale and), Molly the Puppy and Phil (my Man of Mans).

Mojitos  (pronounced “mo-jigh-toes”) were made and consummed along with a variety of  other alcoholic drinks.  Select party people showed off their Guitar Hero stylings, after which we all settled around my dinning room table for spirited rounds of Apples to Apples and Cranium Hoopla.  The revelry continued into the wee hours of the morning.  A good time was definitely had by me…and I think safe to say, by all.

This past week, I’ve been intermittently plagued with post-production blues.   They started immediately after our final curtain call last Sunday (I sobbed and snotted all over the dressing room in Academic Hall) and Saturday it all came to a head.  Initially I thought I was just tired from the effects of late night partying/early morning parenting.  But by early afternoon I was mired in a non-dancey funk which culminated in the biggest fattest post-Fringe crying jag yet.   But something about that outburst felt cathartic and liberating.   I felt noticably more peaceful and relaxed afterwards.  I still miss The Team, but they’re not gone and (fingers crossed)  are associations are not over.

Saturday evening, I discovered that Thai food and girl talk does wonders to help the healing process.  Some girlfriends from Toronto were in town visiting another mutual friend.    I enjoyed spicy noodles (the menu rated it three out of five chillies) and fabulous female conversation.  Said friends come from musical backgrounds.  It was  interesting to hear how the idosyncrasies of the music world parallel those of theatre.   Artists are artists, no matter what the discipline.

I spent this afternoon at a tech rehearsal for With Honour and Grace. in Manotick.   We’re set to perform in the Old Mill and unfortunately, the venue’s manager forgot to inform the staff that our company had booked the space.  So we were hanging lights and running lines, while teenagers dressed in period costumes lead groups of sneakered visitors through the space as we hung lights.   To the staff’s credit, they did their best to keep some distance.   There was another (alledged) someone invading our rehearsal.   The Mill is rumoured to be haunted.  There was one window that opened and closed with repeated gusto.   My fellow actor, was vaguely creeped out but I figured if all the ghost wanted was some fresh air, it wasn’t anything to get het up about.    And who knows?  It may have just been the wind.

After rehearsal, I took my temporary dog over to meet Colleen and her canines for a stroll.   Teamates and castmates are awesome!  Friends are better.

(The end).