A Creative Mama’s Story

Last week we finished blocking Act I of The Laramie Project. I have to say I could not have done it without Dave Matthews. The latest, Stand Up, seems to fit the themes of the play (and my life). So I crank up my little E1 Rokr before the actors arrive to get my Matthews fix and that bit of inspiration I need to make it through two and a half hours of telling people where to go. I am thinking I am perhaps not cut out to be a director for the following reasons:

1) I hate telling people where to go.

2) I hate it more when I tell someone where to go and they ask my why.

That would mean I’m not cut out to a mom either. But, I am a mom so the point is mute.  (See how this all blends together into one senseless blur?)

Yesterday we had over 100 tornado warnings in the Midwest. The sirens telling us to take immediate cover went of at 4:45 pm and again at 10:00 pm - just after I had gotten a stressed out, hyper, over excited 6 year old to sleep. The first time at 4:45 my daughter didn’t want to go down to the basement without her toys. The second time at 10:00 she wanted to go down to the basement immediately and I didn’t because I was tired and it’s cold in the basement. We made a compromise and ended up sleeping on a twin matress in the hallway surrounded by stuffed animals. The hallway is internal. I closed the doors to all the rooms and we squished ourselves in between the coat closet and the linen closet. At 1:30 AM it was over and we got up and moved into my bedroom. I don’t like the whole tornado, hurricane, earthquake, mudslide, forest fire extravaganza that mother nature frequently throws our way. Where on this earth is the absolute safest place to be? I’m taking my child and moving there.Yeah right.

This week, we start in on the blocking of Act II and try to get the whole thing finished with a good solid stumble through on Thursday. It would probably be a good idea if I started thinking about where I want to tell people to go.