Photo by Kyna Hamill
Tonite is opening night for Two Roads Performance Projects' production of Letters to Medford and I am getting opening night butterflies already! I love this play and this group of people that I get to play with and our unique "theatre" space,, and feel grateful that I get to spend the evening telling a story in a wonderfully intimate space. The play was originally staged in 2014, and this is the first time I've gotten the chance to revive a role. It's like taking a trip through time both as your character and you, the actor, and an incredible opportunity to have a reunion with the rest of the cast, director, and playwright!
When I was cast in my very first role in a play, a member of the chorus in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, I celebrated opening night by listening to the song "Opening Night" from The Producers--and I've done it for most openings ever since. I can also remember dancing to Abba's "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen" during intermission of the high school musical on opening night and have no shame admitting that I still have a soft spot for their special brand of Swedish flair.
This year, instead of "Opening Night", I started of the day singing "My Shot" from Hamilton, off-key, as I walked to the morning train, and decided to wear a beautiful skirt and pearl earrings that belonged to my Grandma, who passed away last spring. Just a small way of celebrating, and completely unbeknownst to most people, but it feels like a special way to mark the day.
What about you? Do you have a regular ritual for celebrating opening night? Any superstitions? I find theatre traditions pretty interesting, and am always looking for different and creatives ways to give a nod to a first performance.
Above is a sneak peek at a production photo from the show--I play the ghost of Lydia Maria Child, one of Medford's most well known historical figures. Child was a women's rights activist, abolitionist, writer, and domestic guru--I find it fascinating that she became a social outcast after writing articles and books on racial equality AND she advocated for decorating with flowers and playing party games. That's what I like about her though---she's a three dimensional human being. Oh, and she wrote "Over the River and Through the Woods", but would probably be mortified if she knew that the poem is what we commonly remember her for.
What about you? Anyone performing this weekend or seeing anything special? Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Friends.
