So, I wanna gush about last night (so, so wonderful. AGH! I can’t wait to do it in Brissie!) but first I’ve gotta tell you about my Opening Night to my work-in-progress version of this show a couple of years ago in Calgary.
That was as part of the Calgary Fringe, where, as is the deal with many festivals (and indeed, professional shows in general!), at the prescribed starting time the CURTAINS GO UP. Even if a Tibetan yak somehow makes itself backstage, reaking havoc and spurting milk out of its bosum all over the stagehand, at starting time the show WILL BEGIN!
So…my opening night. It’s three minutes to go til the show begins and I’m backstage, feeling a little frazzled for two reasons:
1) In the chaos of gathering my (far too many) props, costumes, etc, I have somehow neglected to pack my make-up bag. That’s right. I have no make-up. My lovely friend Kath is madly scrummaging around to see what she can find. She finally locates some makeup in her handbag, however I am struggling to put it on, namely because…
2) I am breastfeeding my five month old who, despite my best efforts to time this better, will NOT GET OFF MY BOOB. He refuses. Every time I try to pry him off he goes all “Magneto getting taken from his family” on me. I swear, bits of metal start bending and everything.
Tick.
Two minutes to go.
It is at this moment that I distinctly remember thinking a thought I had never ever before felt bubble up: “WHY AM I DOING THIS?!”
Was I insane? Why not just wait until life is actually manageable? This is RIDICULOUSH!
Plus, ny hubby and I were so stressed with each other that night – we had all three kids running screaming through the theatre seats during my tech run as they’d been booted out of their make-shift greenroom and Mummy was…yes, not coping.
But, at the end of the show (of which, if you get to see it, you’ll see my hubby is a major, major part), he came backstage and we had the longest hug ever.
“Babe,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”
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