Hanging of the Greens, Amazing Friends

After a long day of being sick and thinking about what to write, I've finally figured it out. Last night, we had our first (sort of) run through for the Hanging of the Greens (we only did the first part of the show). Though we are not required to be off book until Thursday, many people ventured the show without their scripts. I was not one of those people because I like to use my script for as long as I can, my mind just works that way. I was very impressed with the kids who are in the show, they knew all of their blocking and almost all of their lines. It was a truly impressive performance with only three weeks of rehearsal thus far. But, this shouldn't surprise me because kids who are true actors are always this way. They are always prepared to do anything. They take directions well and are great listeners. They have true passion for performing. They all want to be there. In Greens, there are two families: one of 7 and one of 5 children plus their parents; Aleena, Briant, and Noel. That makes 15 people, the majority of the cast. I play Merrow, the water spirit, in the show. There are three other spirits and Pinella, the witch, and also her slaves, Gitta and Farrel. Most of the kids belong to the two families. Sometimes I feel left out of the fun because these two families have been rehearsing together, whereas I have been rehearsing mostly with the other spirits, Pinella, Gitta, and Farrel. But the people in these families have been so wonderful about welcoming everyone into their discussions. It does help that I know Jim, Thomas, and Ali, who are in the families. I also feel like we, the spirits, have formed our own little family. Since it's mostly been just the four of us at rehearsals, we have become very close. I don't know about the other spirits, but I've also gotten to know Jan (who plays Pinella) very well. She and I have entrances from the same place, so we often chat before "action" is called.

When I started Greens, I thought, since we have such a big cast, I wouldn't get to know everybody. But, fortunately, I have gotten to know everybody. Certain people more than others, but I feel I know people pretty well. One of the people I've connected with is my awesome friend Jessica. She is a very talented actress and she shows it at every rehearsal. One of the best things she does is: at one point her character goes out in the woods and later she goes searching for her children, and every time she comes back, she messes up her hair so it looks like shes been out in the wind. It is absolutely hilarious. Jessica hosts her awesome blog here: http://agingingenue.blogspot.com

Anyway, Jessica, Jim, and Will asked me to write a Haiku poem about The Hanging of the Greens. A haiku has 17 syllables, split into 3 lines, 5, 7, 5. So, here's my attempt:

Cute little children,
Not listening to parents,
Ripe to be captured.

Later,
Kate