Decisions, decisions...

As you may recall, last week I posted asking for opinions on whether I should act in/tech/be involved with the Hebrew University English production of Les Mis. Those who know me well know that I love to stage manage, direct, work tech, and sing, and that acting used to be a huge part of my life. So yesterday I went to meet with the director, Michael, and asked him if it would be possible for me to have a tech position that would not require me to attend the performances (e.g. set construction/painting, lighting hangs, etc.) -- the performances span the entirety of the ten days my parents are visiting, and they're my priority! He said no, you're a theatre person, I saw your resume -- you need to try out. (He also tried to convince me to stage manage, but I shied away from that; in my experience with stage managing it takes over my life!)

This is not what I wanted to hear.

I went and thought about it for two hours, agonizing over my calendar and ranting to Alison. After miscalculating the time difference and waking up my father (oops), I finally posted a Facebook status and got some wise responses from beloved friends affirming what I had thought all along: I didn't come to Israel to be in a musical, I can do that anytime at home. I came to Israel to experience being in Israel. So would this mean a semester of no theatre? This is practically unthinkable for me. I talked to my dad and told him my decision, and he agreed that I'd made the right choice: no theatre was better than nothing but theatre.

But I decided to see if I could have it both ways. So I went back to Michael and explained, I really do just want to bring my parents to one performance and say, "I built that flat, I hung that light, and isn't this show great?" He said okay! I met the stage manager briefly and she told me she's never stage managed before. Yikes, what a show to be a rookie stage manager on! I volunteered to mentor her and assist however I can. I'll also be meeting with Michael to see if I can help out on builds or assist their lighting professional who is known simply as "God." (We'll see if he can hold a candle to Natti!)

What a dramatic two hours that was. But now it's almost the weekend! I've got plans to head to the Old City again and celebrate a friend's birthday :) Stay tuned...