Day 740: First Birdie Rehearsal

This afternoon, we had the first meeting for stage crew.  Most of the kids who came are pros and seniors!  Very few underclassmen have indicated an interest, so we will have to do serious recruiting.  After two postponements, the first Birdie rehearsal finally was held tonight too.  Several cast members were absent because of a swim meet in Olean, a home basketball game and illness, but it was still productive.

Our young director hit just the right note from the start.  He's firm in his expectations, but is also approachable and humorous.   He talked about how important and difficult casting is to do.  If anyone is not happy with his or her part, he asked them to think about the good of the show.  Steve put all the set models out on display and walked through the sequence of scenes.  They were quite impressed with the plan to act out the last kiss scene behind the huge tv screen with a white scrim.  It will be a huge undertaking, but we have such a terrific team that anything is possible.

I think I can finish the classes chapter by the end of Saturday.  It will be about twenty nine pages, which is more than I had planned.  The new chapter will revolve around expedition behavior that I think will be called "Building Community".  It will include trail etiquette, kudos, and group dynamics, all kinds of human interactions.  Mark Thomas, Rick and Jackie all spoke about that aspect of Quest in their interviews, so I will go back and review them.  I also want to interview a few more student leaders.

"Birdie" cast members

Director Ben