How did I get here from there?

It's our tenth performance of Marriage tonight. Just three left to go, and then I'm out of here. Out of Milwaukee, out of Figaros, out of blog ideas. I went to dinner with a friend recently who queried, "yeah, but are we really ever out of here?" I'm still trying to figure out exactly what he was talking about, but he may have a point. I'm back home on Sunday night. Who knows what the future will bring- more Figaros, maybe? Maybe not. New friends, new shows with old friends. New and different junk. In any case, this 'year of figaro' has flown by.

We had a pretty great student matinee on Tuesday morning. It was way better than it had any business being at 11 in the morning. What really blew me away though was the Q & A at the end. One kid asked about the key relationships in Figaro, and if they were significant to the characterizations. ???? From a high schooler??? And another one noticed that the protagonists were wearing lighter shades of clothing and the antagonists were wearing darker shades and was that intentional? It was one of the most rewarding Q & As I've ever done. These kids were smart, respectful, and curious. It was very heartening.

I also had a brilliant bit of disaster during Non piu andrai. I realized I was about to go up on a line, and instead of shutting my mouth or repeating a previous line, I sang (with some gusto I might add) a line of complete gibberish. It sounded vaguely like "w-with a hrrm-haww!" (the real line should have been "keep your chin up" - not even close. I then spent the rest of the aria trying to hold it together while my colleagues onstage and in the pit were totally losing it. Delightful.

Wednesday's show felt like we had done a student matinee the day before. The energy was a bit down, but I doubt it was noticeable (at least I hope it wasn't) to the audience. Since Thursday was our last day off, a bunch of us went to the Knick (and a smaller, more dedicated group went to Wolski's)- sort of a pre-closing night party.

Am I sad this is all ending? It's hard to feel sad about saying goodbye to a show for which you've had 12 performances. What I mean is- it's time to let it go. Am I sad that my year of Fig is ending? Yes. No. I'll get back to you on that one. It's probably for the best that Fig and I have some time apart (it's not you, Fig, it's me)- I sort of feel like I'm resting on my laurels too much in this role, and might need a little space to see it afresh. But I will never be tired of singing this opera.

Three left. And I'm going to enjoy them.

AW