"GO"!!!!!!!!!!

The magic of live theater, the thrill of seeing it all come together and the absolute awesomeness of getting a "GO!" from LA Weekly. Last week was a roller coaster of emotions and excitement. From a tech week that seemed to be filled with impossible tasks, lights that seemed to have a vendetta against us and paint that was still drying as we got ready for preview on Friday night, to a perfect opening night...it doesn't get better than this.

Everything did come together...I was writing my lighting cues for Act II in my script as we made our way through Act I during the preview performance, but again that's the excitement of live theater. Our preview audience filled over half the house -- spectacular for preview and then opening night -- SOLD OUT!!!!! Who would have thought that an original play set in a high school, centered around violence would sell out in a little theater in North Hollywood. I knew it was a good show, but never expected a sold out audience on the first night. So sold out that one of the directors had to sit in the booth with me.

We had one reviewer that night, from one of the more critical magazines in LA. The show was great, a minor technical glitch -- not my fault (thankfully) only one gunshot not four, but it still worked beautifully. Fast forward 48 hours to Monday. I'm paging through Facebook and see one of the members of my cast has a status update that says "my current show received a "go" from LA Weekly." My first thought was wow I didn't know he was in two shows...slowly it hit me, that no, he's talking about our show, we got the "GO."

A "GO" it's funny how one word can change everything. This is our first "GO." A second year company, doing things on very limited budgets and we got a "go." So exciting. I couldn't be happier for the playwright, the cast and our company. It's bit like businesses framing their first dollar, you know they will make more than one dollar, but the first one, that's the special one, I know that TU will receive more "go's" from LA Weekly in the seasons to come, but this first one, it will always be a special one...

With Friends Like These up, it's time to move forward. I started rehearsals for our next show, another TU original Landscaping The Den of Saints. I always feel like I'm cheating a bit when I have one show I'm still in the booth with and another one I'm rehearsing with...they are like children, you have to keep explaining that you love them both the equally. Perhaps in different ways, but you have enough affection for both of them. Such completely different casts, directors and productions. Den of Saints is cast entirely from our company membership and includes some of my favorite actors. It was never my plan to do two shows in a row, but I fall in love with casts and directors and well, honestly I have a hard time saying no.

Off to the theater for rehearsal in an hour or so...going to change the marquee to advertise our "GO."

Life truly doesn't get much better than this :)