The Maw

My apologies for my hiatus from posting here. I've had lots of friends - and Lisa! - visiting lately. Funny how when you live at the beach you suddenly discover how many friends you have.

We’re in the vast gaping maw of July.

The season at The Lost Colony can be divided into three parts.

At the beginning there is rehearsal and getting acquainted. Life at The Grove settles in – who-hates-their-roommate – early summer romances commence. Rehearsal work is all-consuming and exhausting. The show opens on adrenalin, everyone is sharp-focused and excited to be going to The New World every night.

In August the awareness begins that the monster will end. The days are counted down. Post-Colony lives are discussed and worried over. The weekly theme parties at The Grove are semi-forced and summer-long repressed romantic attractions are suddenly acted upon because soon it will be Goodbye.

In between is July.

We do the Show nightly but it is very rote. We’re not excited about it anymore. It is just our job. This is not to say that we aren’t putting on a good show. We are. Audience attendance in high season is way up. It does give one a little kick to peer through the bushes before we start and see Waterside Theater nearly full. But half of the kids are hung over. Many of them have part time jobs and are exhausted. The PTW Monster is in full swing (more on that later) which keeps many of the company rehearsing until two or three in the morning. Things in The Grove are changing. Some early romances have faded and the July Jump is ongoing. Change partners!

As is traditional we had the 4^th of July off. Since the 4^th was a Monday this year we had two days off in a row. The fireworks in Manteo went on despite the drought conditions and they didn’t even set the marsh on fire! Most of the Company was in downtown or at Festival Park, here and there in little clumps. Lisa was in town and we staked out the side patio area at The Full Moon Café and attracted quite a few Colonists as well as some local friends. When the fireworks started the staff sat out with us as well. We sang patriotic songs led by power soprano Lindsey Lou McKee (Dame Coleman).

Into the yawning rote maw of July here comes The Director! Having him in the audience really snapped people into focus, let me tell you. The show picked up a lot of energy.

The reason Mr. Director is in town is because he is rehearsing in a new Old Tom. This has been planned since the start, we knew it was coming. Louis Butelli has been doing a fine job with the role but is off to another contract. He is being replaced by Brian Rooney who played the role in 2007 and 08. They have been rehearsing during the daytime and it is hot humid midsummer. Good times rehearsing in the noonday sun!

Well – off to extended fight call. The whole battle depends on Father Martin screaming in his cabin!