Pet of the Met

Judging by the condition of my fingernails and cuticles, I'd say this has been a pretty stressful week. We don't have any tantrum-throwing divas or tyrannical directors (I think it's just a little early in my career to break out my dictator side, don't you?), but The Refuge is unlike any other project I've worked on. Even though we did it only six months ago, the combination of moving it to a different venue, changing up some of the cast (including a brand new choir), and having just one week to put it all together again has made it uniquely challenging. I had two days with the soloists (one of whom is new to the show), one three-hour tech rehearsal onstage with the masses, and one three-hour rehearsal to add the orchestra to the mix. Of course it came together, as these things always do. Our performances are tonight and tomorrow night (8:30pm at the Miller Outdoor Theatre—come!!), and it's going to be a great show.

It's easy to get stressed out when there's a lot to accomplish in a short period of time. Thank goodness for comic relief. I haven't been on headset during the rehearsals, so I've depended on my assistant BrandNewMiniCooperGirl to report what's happening backstage, including an incident during last night's rehearsal that I unfortunately didn't get to witness first-hand. Apparently a cat got backstage. Pause for emphasis. A CAT! It came in during some of the loudest, most intense music, so it freaked out and ran under part of the set. It was pandemonium backstage as various stage managers and stagehands attempted to coax the cat to come out and go out the door. When it was finally apprehended, it managed to jump on a chorister, scratch one stagehand, and bite another (all the way through his fingernail). Little Ms. Hardcore ended up spending half the evening filling out accident reports, BrandNewMiniCooperGirl kept me entertained with frequent updates on the cat's whereabouts, and I tried not to laugh loudly enough to disturb the rehearsal.

Who knows what tonight has in store? The zoo is right around the corner, so I'm crossing my fingers for sifakas.