The Bat flies away and a western town is born

Despite two pathetically bad final dress rehearsals, one for each of the casts, the weekend performances of The Bat were surprisingly quite good.  Although I’d never want the opera company to present a bad show, it would perhaps teach the kids a lesson if their inconsistent commitment and sometimes lazy work ethic wasn’t rewarded with a great performance.  I know what you’re thinking - damn, Fausto, that’s some harsh shit.  Maybe.  But talk to me after you've had to re-block the same scene five times because no one bothered to write down their blocking. 

Of course, I’m also generalizing.  Several cast members consistently arrived at rehearsals prepared and committed to the process.  But how do you convince young performers that their work outside of the rehearsal hall is so vital to the success of a performance when they’ve seemingly put on a successful performance without this “vital” preparation?  I always find myself telling a cast, “Think of how much better the show would have been if you’d put in more effort during rehearsals.”  This never works.  All they remember is the enthusiastic audience ovation and a sea of smiling faces, most of whom are family and friends.  I know, still harsh, but I just keeping it real.

Or maybe my standards are too high?  I know most of these kids aren’t looking to become Broadway stars.  They just want to have some fun with their friends while padding their college applications.  I get it - sort of.  Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t understand why you’d bother committing to something - be it theatre or a sport or even knitting - and not strive to do your best.  Granted, I was a total nerd in high school, so maybe I just don’t understand the psychology of the “average” teenager because I never was one.

Oh well, maybe things will change next year.  And maybe the Mets will win the World Series.  And yes, Fausto actually just made a sports analogy!  So I guess anything is possible.

It’s now become a tradition to spend the day after the last opera performance building the sets for the upcoming summer season.  Tired and grumpy, Val and I hauled our asses out of bed early Sunday morning and headed to the Home Depot for paint and supplies before heading over to the theatre.  With a McDonald's breakfast wreaking havoc on my digestive system (but totally worth it), I began to transform the side stages into a dingy old west hotel room and the stage door of an old theatre for our Center Stage production of Crazy for You.

I don’t purport to be a scenic painter, but I did a pretty damn good job, thank you very much.  My only regret is agreeing to paint a faux brick effect on one of the side stages.  It looks fantastic, but took hours to complete.  There better be a lot of scenes taking place on that side stage.  I'm just sayin'. 

To save some money, not to mention hours of construction time, we decided to re-purpose the rolling flats from CDC's last production, Gypsy.  Just a fresh coat of paint and few cosmetic touches and violà - instant western town.