This week has beeeeeeeeeeen a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek. The CHEERLEADERS VS. ALIENS workshop at the Egyptian Youtheatre has kept my fingers tapping away on rewrites nearly non-stop, and since I had the brilliant idea to tell my husband to go off and be at work in Berkeley all week, my kids have also played a huge part in adding all those eee's to my first sentence.
It's been wake up (early), theater camp for the kids and new play workshop for me, then swim practice and swim class, and dinner, and laundry, and bedtime, and finally rewrites, which means I've been staying up super late as well as getting up early. It's been hard, and I think only the fun-ton of black tea I've been drinking has gotten me through, but it has really paid off. CHEERLEADERS VS. ALIENS has come leaps and bounds from the draft I entered with on Monday, and I've learned SO much from the eighteen wonderful students that have helped me bring this play up on its feet, not to mention my co-teachers and theater wonder women, Alicia Washington, who has been directing the workshop and will direct the world premiere, and Megan Crivello, our super fantastic dramaturg. This beast of a play (with TWENTY CHARACTERS) is funny and tender and exactly the type of play I wish had existed when I'd been in high school.
Tomorrow we'll end the workshop with a final reading and some design and directorial presentations from the kids, after which I will have ALL the naps.
Hooray for theater running us ragged!