[the art of deleting]

Just like that, it’s all over.

Years of discussion, months of composing, weeks of rehearsal, five performances.

In retrospect, I suppose the smart idea would have been a blow-by-blow blog entry of each performance, but maybe this is overkill. And besides, who would have had the time? When we weren’t in rehearsals or performances, we were all trying to fit in the rest of our lives. And near the end, we were just trying to hang out with each other as much as possible.

We were SO lucky to gather such an amazing collection of not only talent, but also straight-up coolness for this project. Everyone – from the cast to the crew to the club staff to the folks schlepping ice cream next door – was wonderful to see and work with day after day.

It’s a bit early right now to say if this project will have a future beyond these five shows. Lydia and I are scheming, but there are of course huge logistical hurdles to overcome to get this remounted elsewhere. But if there’s any way we can make it happen, I hope we can get EVERYONE from this production involved the next time around.

Last night was opening night, and I think it’s fair to say that everything went better than anyone could have imagined.

The club was packed with a really healthy mix of people, from young to old, clubber to opera enthusiast. And as far as we could tell, they ate it up. The applause was long, loud and a welcome relief after all of the work that’s gone into this. Up until that moment, I honestly had no idea whether or not we’d made something really cool or a complete piece of naval-gazing art-wank.

Tonight’s performance (and next Saturday) is yet another test, however. These are the “club night” shows, in which we’re basically slotted into what’s billed as a normal night at the AER Club, and at midnight. The crowd will likely be the club’s regular party clientele, and it’s not clear how many of them will know what they’re getting into – or whether they’ll show up at all.

In related news, the Pictures page has been updated yet again, with even more goodies.

It’s here. Tonight, [ a. o. D. ] will perform for the first time in front of a paying audience. I’ve been swinging between elation and blind panic since waking up in a pool of my own nervous sweat far too early…

Last night’s dress rehearsal was a great last run before the big show. We had great a crowd, including club folks, art folks, house folks, random friends and hangers-on, etc. It was too fun.

And the cast, the CAST. Incredible. Also all of the makeup and costume crew that comprise the OTHER (yet no less active) part of the show, just that it’s the part of the show that nobody sees.

Ok. Could babble forever today. Deep breaths. PREMIERE DAY!!!

The Pictures page has lots of updates, with some lovely photos from our official photographer, and more to come soon.

Also, we did our first run-through in front of a real audience yesterday, and actually got what appeared to be a good response.  We didn’t see a lot of walk-outs, and people generally seemed to enjoy it, complete with generous applause.

Bigger, artsier audience expected tonight. I’m hoping for a Le Sacre-esque riot.

…now T minus four days until the premiere of [ the art of deleting ]. The HPK went relatively well, considering…

I hadn’t fully realized what a TOTAL costume marathon this show is. Some thirty costumes packed into one hour, with blitzschelle wig and costume changes every few minutes. We had a small army of makeup and wardrobe staff tonight, and they managed to work miracles, despite some serious hurdles.

At this point, I start to really get the sense that the show NEEDS an audience quite soon. I’m totally curious about how the cast will react to a mass of bodies in the AER Club’s space…

…and naturally how an audience will react to the cast, as well as to the piece itself!

[ a. o. D. ] opens in six days. Stuttgart is SWELTERING hot. When I first arrived in town to begin working on this project, I went grocery shopping with the full intention of beginning my life of Macrobiotic balance and bliss.

Suffice it to say that the package of organic Miso that I bought at that time has served at least one purpose: improvised ice pack. Half of the lemons I bought to rock out a leading-up-to-the-premiere Master Cleanse have now been pressed into a lemonade for tomorrow’s BBQ on the balcony of [ a. o. D. ]’s musical director…

Enough about dietary failures, though. There is definitely grounds for celebration. Germany beat Uruguay tonight in the World Cup to secure 3rd place. Tomorrow is the big show between the Netherlands and Spain. Regardless of who wins or loses, at least the detested Vuvuzela will be out of our collective acoustic hair for a while…or with any luck…forever!

And so tonight…yet another night where I’m too tired to stay awake and too sticky hot to fall asleep…I find myself missing the cool recesses of the AER Club, where we’ve been rehearsing. Spending so much time down there, one forgets that up on the streets, under the summer sun…Stuttgart is positively liquefying in this heat.

I’m looking forward to being back in the club on Monday, despite the daunting potential chaos of a Komplettprobe. I also really miss the people I see every day IN that club. The cast, crew, techies, music staff, etc. It’s really rare to find a strange, wonderful-yet-temporary form of family in the context of creating a show. [ a. o. D. ] definitely has that scrappy, “we’re all in this together” vibe.

So cool that I get to see some of these folks tomorrow…sacrificing Master Cleanse lemons and packages of Miso-cum-ice packs…

Wouldn’t trade it…

Today’s run-through went quite well…we finally had more than two people to rub together in the audience, which was kind of fun. Makes me both really excited and sort of queasy about the idea of hundreds of people packed into that club.

Everyone keeps talking about the HPK (Hauptprobe Klavier/Piano Tech) on Monday…that’s when we’ll finally see the whole product complete with costumes, makeup, props, liquids, edibles, etc.

The question is…what does one call a HPK for a piece where there’s only electronic music?