Edinburgh X – 8/29

8/29

Our final night, and a great show, I think, the scenes really came alive.

So, after two weeks of effort, travel, adjustment, and bonding

Edinburgh X – 8/28

8/28

Each night our stage manager Amy James calls us to the green room at 7:20, to meet and talk about any problems from the previous nights performance. Days can be full of distractions in a scenic European Capital like Edinburgh.

Edinburgh X – 8/27

8/27

The past year I was living in abroad at the American Academy in Rome, making visual art. So this is my first public performance in over a year. Back onstage with such amazing singer/performers as Rinde and Susan is a pretty great way for me to get back in touch with my warrior instincts, my inner stage animal.

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Edinburgh X – 8/26

8/26

Opening night, and our hard work seems to have paid off—we gave a terrific performance; the audience was a bit reserved, but there were cheers at the end. Robert joined us onstage for the bows—he’s leaving us in the morning, flying out to rehearse the San Francisco Opera in the Philip Glass opera “Appomattox”, which he is directing. The American ambassador threw a cast party for all three American Companies

Edinburgh X – 8/25

8/25

We’ve gotten about 1/3 through the piece, but we are behind schedule and need more tech time. Robert sounded the alarm to the Festival Director that we need to begin earlier tomorrow, at 8am.

Edinburgh X – 8/24

8/24

We walked the Royal Mile today, the main artery of the “Fringe” Festival. “Orpheus X” is part of the Edinburgh International Festival, not the Fringe. The “Fringe” has long become the huge, the ersatz mainstream of this mainstream (since 1947) Festival. The streets are full of buskers vying for attention, handing out postcards in creative ways (like lying in a coffin), flyers pasted everywhere, live music. It reminds me of performing in Provincetown in the summer—in order to get an audience you have to snag them in the street and seduce them with snippets, your costume, postcard, charm.

Edinburgh X – 8/23

8/23

We traveled to the airport like rock stars in a large limo, and arrived in Edinburgh without any hitches, but only after interminably long lines in which we (de) dis-regaled ourselves of metal, liquids, and sleep. Air travel retains no glamour at this point, and it’s a wonder that we survive such journeys—luckily we have the day off.

Edinburgh X – 8/22

8/22

Breakfast with Drew Faust at Henrietta’s Kitchen. She showed me the galleys of her book that is coming out in January. We became friends 2 years ago while I was a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, which is when I also had my first relationship with ART in “Dido, Queen of Carthage”.

Edinburgh X – 8/21

8/21

AM: Every day we do scene work, a full run-through, and notes—twice. The rigor has been exhilarating, everything has gotten simpler—no, more do-able, and clearer. This is our last day of rehearsal–the tech crew heads out today, we leave tomorrow.

Edinburgh X – 8/20

8/20

This show is technically challenging as some scenes are completely sung, others spoken–and still others that contain both.