I'm not sure there's a moment, while working on a show, where things are not at least a little bit hectic. That being said, as a director, things do begin to slow down somewhat once the show reaches opening night. At that point, you have to trust that whatever work you have done with your actors and crew has prepared them to put on a show that you will be proud of, that they will be proud of, and that the audience will enjoy. The coaching stops and you get to sit back and watch the result of everyone's hard work. That can be very stressful and scary. It's difficult to let go and accept that the show is out of your hands now. It can also be an extremely rewarding moment. Especially when the show has such amazingly talented people as this show has, working on it.
For this particular show, I have been so completely blessed to have such an incredible group of people to work with. That isn't to say that there haven't been obstacles. There will always be circumstances that are less than ideal, but luckily, we've been able to navigate around those as we've faced them and have produced something that I am absolutely proud to say that I was a part of.
I honestly can't even begin to say how thankful I am for everyone who has volunteered their time, effort, and resources for this. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that those of us who have been involved have each contributed our fair share of blood, sweat, and tears (though mostly sweat, on these hot summer days!) Our cast and crew have put in hours and hours of work and have created something really beautiful.
My last post pretty heavily featured our set and the building process of a few specific pieces. And as proud as I am of that, I also really have to brag on my actors. I know I've said before that by the time I get to performances, I couldn't imagine anyone else in the roles they play. That absolutely stands for this show. Each one of them has done such an incredible job and have really made their role their own.
One of the things I really enjoy about directing is seeing the progress the cast members make and seeing that moment where they really hit their peak. As many times as I have seen this show run, this cast still keeps me completely interested. Adrienne Liford is absolutely hilarious and still makes me laugh every time I see her scenes. And even though I know exactly what to expect, Jennifer Tracey still makes me absolutely tear up with the emotion she brings to her role. Kyle Nantz has done a fantastic job. Especially to have come into the process so late, he caught up to the rest of the cast in no time and has been an incredibly strong lead.
In our drama veterans, like Samuel Lewis and Erica Leach, you can really see their experience coming through as they develop their characters. It's also nice to have people like David Sweet, who, in addition to giving an excellent performance each night has been incredibly helpful with so many other elements of the show. The same goes for Randall Partin, who is making his stage debut in The Shaking Tree, and has done an amazing job. I'm surprised a little more each night by just how much he has grown in his role. I may be somewhat biased, as his daughter, but I'm still extremely proud.
It has been such an incredible experience working on this show, and I've been so happy with the kind of response we've gotten so far. If you haven't seen it yet, I would really recommend coming to our final performance. It's a really fantastic show, and this is your last chance to see it! You won't want to miss out!
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