A Life in the Day

Touring reminds me of high school orchestra trips. It's not quite that we are chaperoned with that degree of intensity (indeed, I rather think a high school chaperone would be quite uncomfortable with us and our schedule), but it is that there is a high amount of interaction time with other company members and, for various reasons, a lot of group activities with little personal/private time and space. Less so for this trip than for others, granted, but since I am a misanthrope, I am keenly aware of trying not to be needy of the room space and of the difficulty of lying in bed alone time. I am keenly aware of the eat, rehearse, perform, sleep together generalities of the average day.

Today, we got up (later than planned). Swam. Then, ran for coffee; piled into a van; drove 40 minutes instead of 20 -- hey, who said anyone could read signs and directions -- and performed. The space was a "theater." It certainly had raked seating, but the performance space was small. So small, it felt dangerous to work in. We settled in -- fast and furious. Our audience soon took over and before we knew it, we were away. They drove us on to perform with exquisite detail and high energy and passion. It was a good one. With the sweat dripping, we piled back into the van, drove another 30 minutes (because, hey, it's always possible to make the same mistake going in the other direction), had a meeting, grabbed a meal, and piled back into the van. When we got to the theater, we settled in for a 3 hour rehearsal. Back home and suddenly, it's past ten pm.

Where did the day go?

Yesterday was my melting point. I haven't been back to California since mid March. first set of performances went well, and the residency was exciting. I did catch a couple of days in my own bed in NYC, but preparing for the trip to ATL dominated those days. I was writing, checking, printing, checking, writing. That trip went awesomely well. I actually got to meet some of the dancers from Full Radius -- I took a company warm up with them and watched them rehearse. If you are in ATL, you should check them out.

And ..... now, here we are on the road again. We will be here for another couple of days performing and rehearsing. Then, it's a 6 hour drive to our next destination. Worrying about both the past and the future did me in. I really missed the Wizard and my cat. Sometimes, touring feels like deprivation -- even though the hotel is among the best we've had. Even though, I am able to take care of my body. Even though everything is fun and exciting. Yesterday, I just ran out of fuel; I noticed that I had no patience for the process and that I was in a rotten mood.

So, today, I will treat myself well. I have to get off my window seat, leave the internetz behind and run. Pool. Stretch. Rehearsal. Actually, I am looking forward to it.