I’m not a trained theatrical professional, in case you can’t tell. I’ve learned everything (and am continually learning everything) on the fly.

I remember when I first agreed to direct a play for the first time. One of the actors asked me how we were going to block a scene, I said that we would figure it out later. I was afraid to admit I didn’t know what “blocking a scene” even was.

But I’ve never let things I didn’t know stop me from doing things I wanted to do. That’s how I went from directing a drama to writing dramas to writing musicals etc… (and no, I don’t read music.) Actually just today, I was working on some songs with two actual musicians and they were talking about “triplets” – obviously referring to something to do with music. I looked at them and said, “triplets mean three.” They laughed, and so did I, explaining that I, too, wanted to contribute to the conversation. Haha. Yes, I know nothing about music. That’s why I love writing it. I don’t know any better.

So now, I’m on the brink of directing my 10th full-length dramatic production. I’m not a great director. I don’t have a good eye for movement or lighting. But I do have a feel for dialogue, and an understanding of human emotion. I play to my strengths and give my actors a lot of leeway in how they want to block a scene.

This show, “The RLT Players present Captured in Time & Space” is going to be special, I believe. It’s got some great moments and some great actors. It’s been a privilege to be a part of it. And so tomorrow morning we “bump in” for a long day:

• Loading up our props.
• Setting up our lighting scheme.
• Sound checking 10 mics.
• Make-up.
• Technical walk-through.
• Dress Rehearsal.

It’s going to be a blast. Let’s break a leg.