I’m sitting here tonight feeling very tired, but not shattered and still with some energy left in the batteries, which is a big step forward on last week, when come mid-way through Thursday afternoon (following the Youth Theatre sessions on Wednesday night) I was completely exhausted.
The sessions were great yesterday – we finished casting all the pieces, which is a job that remains just as difficult no matter how many times you’ve done it before, how well you know the people you’re working with, or how much preparation you’ve done. As per usual, Suze and I spent a huge chunk of time in the session with people coming in and out to read for us.
What made it particularly difficult this time around was the strength of the group and the strength of the material. We want more than anything to make sure that everyone who is coming along this term, whether a new member or an old hand, gets a chance to really stretch themselves and do something which is going to challenge them. With this final round of casting, I think we’ve achieved that and I’m looking forward to the rehearsal process immensely.
This week was also particularly good because I got to hear my chorus piece in the mouths of the group and see whether it worked or not. I’m pretty chuffed to say it did – and I’m always amazed at the qualities that a cast bring to my writing over and above what I’ve written. It’s exciting to see something you’ve written coming off the page and being performed – doubly so when it “works” and, for comedy, when it makes you and other people laugh.
I managed my energy levels a lot better this week than I did last week. I used my O2 a lot more in the session, making sure I was on it whenever I was sat down – either at the side of the room during an exercise or for the script readings and other parts of the session, too. I also took along snack food and drink to keep my energy levels up and ate well before I left, too, to make sure I made the most of my time there without exhausting myself.
It’s an annoying process to have to calculate your energy expenditure before doing anything and working out what is an isn’t possible, but it’s also a part of my life now that’s not going to change until my transplant, so there’s no point griping about it. I’m a lot happier knowing that I’m getting to grips with it and can see potential trouble-spots far enough ahead to compensate for them.
Thursdays are now my designated “off” days, to allow for the fact that if I do over do things at work, I can spend the whole day in bed if I need to. My diary is always clear on a Thursday now, and it will remain that way all the time I’m still working at the sessions to ensure I can give them my all without having to worry about the impact it will have on “tomorrow” and having to cancel or rearrange plans.
Because of that, I’ve actually done very little today, but it’s been nice to chill out a bit, since I’ve spent most of the week so far busying myself with my myriad diffferent tasks in the study. I’m really enjoying being so busy and having so much on – particularly things that I can do from home without having to worry about expending energy going out and doing things.
More on my current projects as they develop, but lots of cool things happening, so keep ’em peeled. Offers of help always appreciated (Rob) and likely to be taken up – anyone know any well-known stand-ups we can call?