Confessions of a Three-Headed Monster

Mmkay, I am so brain dead it took me a couple tries to remember the passcode to sign on to my own blog so I can write this to you. Yesterday was mentally exhausting. Today was emotionally exhausting. Both were physically exhausting. And it ain't half what it is going to be on shooting days.

But I'm not really worried. Today was our second day of rehearsals and for me it just flew by. The adrenaline is starting to kick in, I think for the actors, too. Yesterday took a little longer, as we were getting our "legs" for it.

Also, yesterday morning I finished the production schedule. I have to say that BY FAR the hardest part of this whole thing so far has been making the production schedule. I have years and years of scheduling experience, and the cast was amazed that I had their rehearsal schedule to them within 48 hours after our table read, when they gave me their availability for the month. But production schedule is a whole 'nuther animal.

It is not just about who is available when. It is about WHERE is available when, what is happening (in the scene), who it is happening to, and finally, lastly, who is available when. I have been doing event planning for a long time, and I am pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself. But the highest maintenance wedding you can imagine is CHUMP CHANGE compared to a production schedule. I chipped away at it continuously, but it was still looming over my head, especially in the last week. My brain would not shut off for more than three hours at a time, so no matter how exhausted I was or what time I went to sleep, I would wake up after three hours and not be able to go back to bed. I finally finished it yesterday early afternoon. And last night was the first good night's sleep (almost seven hours! Joy!) I have had in well over a week, if not two.

Yesterday I let everyone go after 6 hours of rehearsal, though we had scheduled eight. It was enough, we weren't really in a rhythm yet, though we accomplished what I wanted to. Today everyone had a much better feel for it, and we rocked it, going the full eight hours, but making all of it count. The actors and I are collectively breathing life into the script. Now it is up to the actors to get off book for next week, and THEN to keep what we have set down in their brains up to and including when we actually FILM it.

All in all, today went very smoothly and I was very happy with it at the end of the day. What made it tough was doing one very short scene at the end of the day, involving Thom. It was the first time I cried in front of any of the cast. I guarantee you it won't be the last.

In fairness to you, as if you are reading this you must have some interest in indie filmmaking, I need to say for the record that I don't write down everything that happens. Things do go wrong, people who promise you things do fall through, you will have disagreements with people, there is never enough time in the day, and as we are entering production money is flying out the door at an alarming rate. But as they say, a fish stinks from the head down, and for this production, I am the three-headed monster: Writer/Director/Producer. I'd be lying if I said it was easy to lay down the law, steer the boat, keep the creative juices from getting stagnant, and maintain a positive attitude all at once, and all the time. But if I didn't do exactly that, this thing would fall apart in a Charm City minute. Granted, that is about ten times as long as a New York minute, which is one of the many reasons I love this town. But still, it is just a minute.