WHEN THINGS ARE WORST

Had a weird dream last night. Was at the Denver Center, where I work as a teacher in my so-called real life, you know, that time back before we went through the dimensional door that brought us here, to a land of social distancing, constant checking of numbers both worldwide and in the US, empty streets and overfull parks, wondering about bills and shopping and surgical masks and ventilators. Anyway. In the dream, I was in one area, working on my playwriting class or something like it, and upstairs, there was a rehearsal going on for two musicals going up in tandem, called "Matilda and Matilda times three", which was both the sequel and part three of the musical Matilda. I figure this was somehow connected to the fact that a few months ago, which seems like an eternity now, my company Sasquatch Productions put up an amazing Matilda at the PACE down in Parker, directed by my business partner and friend August. The sequels seemed to be going well. Most of the cast from the show in Parker were in it. And we had the same stage manager, Lara. She came down to my are to tell me things were going well. My class was over, so I bid all the budding playwrights good night, and went upstairs to say hello to the cast. Everyone was having fun, working hard, worried about certain scenes and songs. The usual fare in a musical. And that's what seemed weird in the dream. Everything was like before.

So, today, I'm going to try and actively figure out how to move forward with all the shows I was in rehearsals for. Annie, Sweeney Todd, and School of Rock. Not that anything will be like before. But theatre is what I do. That and teach. And write. No pandemic can change that basic fact. It can change show dates, how we do it, where I teach, and what I write about- but I am still I.

Also, last night Lisa and I played an online version of Ticket to Ride with Ryan and Lauren out in NYC. It was awesome. We all had the game on our tablets and/or laptops, and had set up a factime. I highly recommend this for people far away you can't get to but would like to hang out with.

Today, I get to do a Zoom chat with the cast and creative team of Sweeney. Double boom and hurrah.

And I have already amassed many pages of notes and am starting an outline for new screenplay.

So yeah.

I think things are going to get bad for awhile. Numbers are spiking. Hospitals are filling up. People we know are going to get sick. We will most likely get sick.

But we have to remember. We are we. As the alien said in Starman, we are at our very best when things are worst. Let's make that so.