Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Virginia's Point of View: Welcomed Guests



Our Chicago company arrived on Friday morning and stayed until dinner time on Sunday. They came to see "the shows!" What dears! They bought two season tickets and gobbled up the season in one gulp; exactly as I had always hoped out-of-town folks would do.

They saw Circle Mirror Transformation on Friday night and were energized by the way Lauren (Kirstie Smith) blossomed from a closed teenager to an open and aware young adult. They loved the way the characters were revealed bit by bit. They were fascinated by Theresa (Melissa Lewis) and had numerous insights and questions that occupied more than one round of drinks at the Marz Bar.

On Saturday they visited Lincoln. She took a class at Lincoln Yoga and Doug took them to Pepe's for lunch. I was in a four hour rehearsal for Other Desert Cities. They saw Unnecessary Farce on Saturday night and came out of the show a little amazed by richness of the plot twists and funny bits. We sat at home and talked into the night.

Sunday we all slept in a little, but made it to the Old Cheney Market by 10 AM. What a great market! Had Kat's Beaver Tails and Veggie Quiche. Curtain at 2 PM for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. I went to see Mom, and Doug sat on the porch swing and dreamed. They were blown away by the show. We're all about the age of Vanya and acknowledge our love-hate relationship with modern technology and what all that entails. It's the fact of growing old and obsolete that really gets us though. He hugged me a long time. She said she had a lot of processing to do. Tears in all of our eyes. They were both moved by the play and encouraged by it. Time to grieve and time to look ahead. It's the transition where many of us find ourselves.

She sold a lucrative business recently and he retired as a psychologist several years ago. Two weeks ago they bought a home in Black Mountain, North Carolina and are wrapping up three decades in Chicago. Talk about transition. They came to see the shows because they are old friends who know how to honor transition. They came to see the last work I did as Artistic Director this decade and say, as each of the shows really does this season, "I see you." So many of you are saying the same things. Thanks, dear friends!



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