The final curtain call...

Once again, I am posting when I should be going to bed.
The story of my life - but I didn't want to forget this feeling.

Just too sweet not to remember - tragic to forget.


Well, it was the final night of the performance. We actually had a sold out show and people were scalping tickets at the door! How insane is that!? At least an hour before the show, people were lined up outside the venue - and not only buying one or two tickets, they were buying 6 or even 8! The majority of the cast came by the front entrance, along with Charlotte (the director) who was as stunned as the people who were waiting in line were:
there are no more tickets! After the third person in line, we are all out of the 40 tickets that we have allotted at the door!
What to do? This was not including the people that were supposed to be on the cast's 'guest list'!
What a headache!

And not only that - we had this woman who was in charge of the tickets - bitch on wheels - I named her 'the ticket Nazi' and that stuck for the rest of the show. She was barking out "NO MORE TICKETS! YOU ONLY CAN BUY 2! NO MORE THAN 2! and DON'T GO IN THERE! I HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN GO UP!"
What a crazy freak.
But then again, you have to be a crazy freak to be in the Fringe Festival to begin with!

We all piled in - from the back and from the front fire escape exit, bringing with us the clothes, props and other paraphernalia. we needed for the show. Having an extra 20 minutes before the show was a blessing as we were able to set up our costumes and props in record time. At 5:30 - the doors opened up and people began streaming in, and then more people, and more until it was standing room only - and packed to the hilt! People were lined up against the walls in various states of sitting, standing or squatting, waiting for the spectacle to commence.

And when it did, it was grand!

We got laughs from the beginning - and not just a few chuckles - but real big belly laughs. Oh that is music to our ears as we all went about our parts, saying and moving in the same ways we had done so often before; but tonight there was a special feeling in the air - perhaps a melancholy for the actors, perhaps excitement or anticipation in the crowd for a show that everybody had been talking about. Whatever it was - the air was electric and we fed off of every single molecule!

The first dance number when Pascal comes out dressed as Brittany Spears was a scene stealer - K and P on either side - hamming it up, hopping around on one leg (P with his jean shorts hiked up right to his butt-crack got the most laughs and gasps when he turned around) and the roar of waves of laughter was contagious. We knew we were off to a good start.

For somebody who has never acted on stage before, I can honestly say that each subsequent night did get a little less stressful, but the rush was amazing, and as intense as the first night. Exhausting when it was over, the residual rush/glow was surreal. No drug can ever come close to that for me. Now that it's over, I feel a little down, a little empty. I miss my SALC family..


I was backstage watching my fellow thespians through the crack in the velvet curtain, beaming with pride that because of what I wrote (along with Charlotte and Samantha for their vision and direction) brought all these wonderful people together-and what a group we were! The chemistry on stage between us was something that I have never experienced before. I have worked on many film sets, small and large, but the level of symbiosis we all shared in the 6 months since the inception of this play was legendary.

Each scene was flawless - each actor delivering their parts with all their energy and conviction, each joke getting more laughs than the previous one. The crowd was lubed up and ready for the big finalé (Yea, I know - punny), but not before I pulled out all the stops for my irate Greek and Italian mothers.

I think it's hysterical how something other-worldly came over me the moment I stepped foot on stage and fell into character-I was a Greekk mother! I held my oversize cross and waved it in Samantha's direction yelling out you go to the DEVIL, my eyes wide open, mouth agape. I could only gauge my successs by the howls and applause after each thing I said. The same thing happened after my Italian mother (and I was so worried that I would get the two and their accents mixed up - the multi-ethnic irate mother...). The scenes were so short - less than 2 minutes, but they felt as if they were less than 2 seconds. As I kept track of the time, 55 minutes slipped by like Buttah on a hot plate. I guess time really does fly by when you are having fun (or ACTING!!).

And before we knew it, we were at the final scene. We all stood on stage -the vernisage scene, waiting for the final lines to be said. And before the final words are said, we all make our way off, one by one, until at the end Big's reply to a Carrie voice over ' Are we still going to buy those shoes?" and Big sticks his head out from the side backstagecurtainn and says absolfukenloutley!
this whole experiencee seemed surreal. I could not have even had a better lucid dream than that moment. Magic.


The final curtainn call - people applauding and howling as we each took our place on the stage. I came out holding my two son's ears which got alot of laughs. I stood there beaming. My work - my baby, my first complete work was out there for all to see. I had to be the proudest mother there - even prouder than my own about me. Well, maybe as proud...

We took one last cast bow - all together after Carrie does her little underweare dance. Looking to my left and right, I realized how very lucky I was to have met so many incredibly talentedd and beautiful people. My life is enriched by their presence and I will never be the same again, but that's a good thing.

Charlotte and Samantha each got gold crowns and bouquets of flowers as the audiencee applauded. My mother (so cute) came up to me and gave me a beautiful bouquet as well, but what moved me to tears was when Carrie took me by the arm, pulled me center stage and at the top of her lungs said : 'And this is our writer!' The crowd began to cheer loudly again, and in that rumble I heard my name being called Hey HPK!! AMAZING! BRAVO! YEA! HPK!. I can't remember the last time I felt so overwhelmed by emotions - if I could describe it in a color, it would have to be a rainbow seen through a kaleidoscope. I will never forget that moment. It wasn't the oscars, but it was my oscars, and the recognition of my work.

God did it feel amazing!

After collecting our things and heading outside, I saw my adoring fans (friends) who applauded as I came out of the building. For someone who spent most of her life doubtingg herself, and putting herself down, hearing friends and even perfect strangers tell you how how fantastic your play was, and how well you acted, and how hard you made them laugh was like ice on a hot summer day - soothing and healing.

Slowly, over the past 6 months, many sides of my bruised personality and soul have begun to heal. It's all so wonderful.

Despite the fact that I am exhausted and wondering what I am going to do next, fearing that I will fall into a down cycle - the flipside to the high I was on, I am optimistic. Speaking with Pascal today, he said the same thing: usually I get into this huge depression, but now I am looking forward to do more projects. This has sparked my creativityy. I want to do more. It's such an exciting time!! To have him say that, and to hear the other cast members say similarr things to me, well, that makes all the days of 3 hours or less of sleep while attached to my computer, and the long rigorous rehearsals worth it. So worth every minute.

After the play, after our cleanup, we made out way to the beer tent where the awards were to be held. We all thought that we had a shot for the 'best text award' but that went to some other play, along with the other top Fringe awards (having your play showcased at the Just for Laughs Festival. Sure, I was mildly disappointed, but at the same time, was not surprised. SALC was not a deep introspective play, nor was it a completely out of bounds/crazy fringe wacky either. Our play was sheer entertainment, and we made people laugh - alot, and I think that selling out all 6 shows every night and having people barter and fight to get tickets for our venue says alot more than what rides on the opinion of 5 or 6 judgess. Our public has spoken!

I apologizee if this post is a little dry, pretty sparse on the humor and puns, but I feel like I am in a strange hot air balloon, floating over the past week of events that have taken place in my life. It's not a bad thing, perhaps my brain has gone into practical mode or auto pilot, and that's okay by me. I need to recoup my energies and heal my funny bone because I know there will be more projects with this amazing group from SALC - how can there not be? We all met for a reason, and with such a success on our hands, it's inevitable that it's only the begining!!

So to all my fellow cast members - I love you so much - you are part of my family now, and I am so proud to say so.

To all my friends and family - I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking by me and believing in me. I could not have done it without your support.

And to all my blogger/flickr friends. Your support, kind workds and encouragement carried me over and past some of the most difficult times in my life. You too are part of my extended family and I thank you all for being there when I needed you the most.

I never got a chance to write this on the program or say this out loud, but I dedicate this play to you Dr. Bob - you were the best friend a girl could ever have and I miss you so much, but I know that you are somewhere, looking down on all of this and smiling, having a good chuckle, and saying 'Yeaaah!' as the cigarette hangs out of your mouth, slapping your knee - finding me hysterical as you always did. I thank you too for believing in me.