Listen Up

Tonight, my Harold team — the recently-named Instant Karma — had our first “performance.” I use the quotes there because it wasn’t real show. Instead, we were performing for members of our parent company, the VIC. This was the first time we’d showed off what we’d been working on to the rest of the group, including our Artistic Directors and our Managing Director.

It was great. The show was far from perfect — nerves definitely pushed us to hurry through some scenes and miss some opportunities for more intimate moments — but it was better than anything we’d done in rehearsal. As I sat down to write this, I realized why: We listened to each more intently than we ever have. We opened ourselves to the moment and explored its possibilities. When we weren’t in a scene, we were hyper-focused on what the people in it were doing, looking for opportunities to support and heighten the action. As a result, it was one of the most energetic and collaborative experiences I’ve been a part of. That the rest of the troupe liked — and wanted to know when we were going to do it “for real” — was icing on the cake.

It was thrilling. I need more.

Update

Fitness: Run 3 miles