Of Mice and Music

The Opus remount is well underway, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it, if only for a short time. The Washington Stage Guild remained upbeat and positive regarding my "desertion" to the previous commitment at Olney Theatre. The show will continue for another several weeks with our esteemed director playing the role I so enjoyed. I look forward to returning to see how the Lazara Quartet changes with its newest member (at right).

I have to confess to a bit of an ego boost when this little item was circulated to the press, as if my leaving the show was really all that newsworthy.

I can't help feeling a depression about leaving a role I love before the show closes. Couldn't be helped, really, and I have high hopes that I will be returning to the esteemed Stage Guild soon and often.

For now, though, attention must be turned to "Of Mice and Men" at Olney. A full week of rehearsal has passed, and truth be told, I already feel quite behind. The other cast members have clearly been hard at work in their off hours, and I, to put it bluntly, have not. So, many scenes find actors coming off the page for large sections of the text, while my dialogue remains firmly in my handheld script. I don't have all that much dialogue to begin with, so the fact that I don't know a single word of it is a bit embarrassing.

Time to hit the books for real. Steinbeck, ready or not, here I come.