I'm pretty sure I've written about opening nights for other shows before, and, though each show is very different from the last, it's always a very exciting time. The opening for All The Great Books (Abridged) certainly was not different.
The show was sold out for the entire weekend before opening night even rolled around, which is pretty awesome. Granted: it's only a 96-seat house, so filling it isn't all that difficult, but it's also in the middle of Sebastopol, CA which is somewhat off the beaten path. Most of the people showing up would naturally be friends, regular patrons of the theater, board members, etc... What we didn't know what that a writer for The Bohemian (a Sonoma County newspaper that talks about the latest social events) was there to review the show...and this guy NEVER reviews shows for this particular theater. Anyway, we were excited. We were also exhausted from having 4 hour rehearsals every day for the past several weeks with barely a moment to rest. But opening night tends to stave off fatigue until, well, usually the next night. The Second Night Lull is a pretty common occurence in the theater world.
But opening night was awesome. Everybody was there because they A) wanted to support us and B) wanted to laugh, and I will toot my own horn enough to say that we didn't leave them wanting. There were a couple slight bumbles here and there, but nothing major, and we generally just mowed right over anything that got in our way. By intermission our stage manager was telling us that people were already complaining of having sore sides. By the end of the show, they were weazing and trying to keep their insides inside. In fact, for the first time in my life, we got a standing ovation BEFORE WE WERE EVEN DONE WITH THE SHOW. We couldn't even finish, they were cheering so loud. It was awesome!
I'm not sure how to relate how it feels to do a show like this, but I'll try. Imagine having something you really want to do, but at the same time are dreadfully afraid of because of the sheer amount of work that it will require and the fact that if you fail, you fail HARD. Then it starts and you are FLYING; not a moment to stop, not a moment to breathe, not a moment to enjoy the moment: just go as fast and as hard as you can until it's done. And you make it. And you can raise your hand in the air and say "I have fought the giant." "I have ridden the shark." "I have looked over the precipice into the abyss and I flipped it the bird."
And then you have to go do it all over again at least 18 more times.
It's a hell of a ride.
Happy Jenday!