There is a new pattern to meetings at the Villa. We begin at 12:10, and only Christina and Timone are present. While Timone hunts down and retrieves the other actors, we desperately begin recasting for the crew we have that day. We have seen our most excited actors disappear never to return. This week, even the always-present Kurntz was absent. I’m beginning to worry about the status of the final production. I know that if everyone arrives, we will be able to have something happen. If nobody arrives, nothing will happen, and that will be OK too. My concern is: what do we do if 3 actors show up. Will we desperately cast Professor Bezio, as well as ourselves, in as many roles as possible? It is a question that will be answered on the 8th and I cannot say that I am excited to see that answer.

My other concern is with the overall quality of our production. Progress has been achingly slow in every regard. After the return from Thanksgiving break, the mad scramble to end the semester is going to put a lot of strain on our final weeks. I am beginning to look forward to the 9th more than I look forward to the 8th.

I will remain positive. I am certain that our actors will do their best and that we will be safe in the completion of our project. I just wish that I could be a little more proud of what we were able to achieve.

Tonight started off very poorly if I am being honest. I babysit from 2:30-5 on Thursdays so typically I drive from babysitting back to campus to change or grab a snack for a quick 10 minutes then I head off to Boushall Middle School. Tonight was a little different. The mom of the children I babysit did not return until 5:10 so I was not in my car until 5:12. I decided I did not have enough time to go back to campus and change but I also knew I was going to be about 10 minutes early to rehearsal, assuming traffic was normal. Well I was wrong. It took me 58 minutes to get to rehearsal instead of the normal 30 minutes. I sat in non-moving traffic for a while and got to rehearsal 10 minutes late. Thankful Grace and Natalie did not run into the traffic that I ran into and they were there on time to start rehearsal.

Once I got there, we started a full run through of the play. We showed all the witches their hats and other props and they were so excited. The witches are in good shape for the play. As the play continued, Macbeth did great as always, but most of the other kids just stand there on the “stage” and read their lines. I have come to the realization that no matter what I tell the kids, they really have a hard time coming out of their comfort zones. They do not like to run around the stage and fully commit themselves to a character, which is understandable for a 5th grader.

At the end of rehearsal after we ran through the play once, we gave everyone their permission slips.  Crossing my fingers they all bring them back. We got asked a lot of questions about transportation, and most of the questions I did not have answers to. This is something I will bring up and ask about in class on Monday. Overall I think our part of the play will cary its weight but I am actually starting to get nervous for next Friday!