I began this blog in November of last year and tech for Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol was the very first tech I did this little I-write-every-night-on-the-same-topic exercise. I wrote about my commute home, since that is what I wrote about after the first tech so I just ended up keeping it up. All of my topics since then have been much more abstract.
I remember writing about driving past the Occupy Portland park mere hours after the riot cops launched their assault on the peaceful protestors; I remember how eerie the empty white lights were on the trodden grass.
So, here I am, a year later and I am in tech for Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol once again. Doing a remount gives me an extreme sense of nostalgia, because all the same-ness only makes me notice the differences more. A part of me misses new-to-Portland-Olivia; living at The Manor, still struggling with a certain fellow, in awe of this theater I'd found.
Which brings me nicely to this tech week's topic: Home. I told MDiFabulous that this was my plan for a topic and she said, "I feel like that word has meant something different to us every three months for the past five years." I completely agree; so I think I'll tackle it one home at a time.
Artists Repertory Theatre
Artists Rep was the first theater to employ me in Portland and has undoubtedly shaped my time here. The second largest theater in the city, one of the three equity houses here, Artists Rep hold a certain reputation for professionalism and it always means something to people when I tell them I work there.In July, I was hired on as the assistant to the Production Manager there and became staff. It's been a wonderful four months and I have begun to feel like a part of the family there. I am in the building every day and since I started working on Sherlock ReDeux as a PA, I am often in the building for 12/13 hours at a time.
Today, Kelly told me that the budget has not worked out to allow Artists Rep to extend my contract with them. January will be the end of my short time as a staff member at A.R.T. Because Sherlock closes in December, when my contract is up I am up too, essentially. I am not PAing another show this season and I don't even know if I'll still be in Portland, come the 2013/2014 season. This could be the end of my time with this company.
I find this ironic because just last night I had a dream where I was a stage manager at Artists Rep and (somehow) the Artistic Director's daughter. As a part of my dream, Allen picked me up and spun me around like I was still a little girl, smiling up at me and telling me how proud he was of the woman I had grown-up to become. Then I came to work to discover that he was letting me go.
I don't have to explain to any of the theater people reading my blog how quickly the theater becomes your home, your sanctuary. How you find the place simultaneously sacred and everyday, so comfortable yet so essential.
When Sofie and I took a trip to Ashland to go see some shows at OSF, an usher came over to us during intermission and asked me to take my feet off the back of the seats. I apologized to the usher profusely and then turned to Sofie, shaking my head at myself, and I said: "Gosh! I should so know better!" Sofie just said, "Don't be silly, we live here. We can put our feet up all we want."
I'll miss this home, when the day comes to leave it.
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