Pinnacle of "Heaven"

In the last entry, I described my desire that the quality of our performances be added to a larger, responsive crowd in the future.

Last night I got my wish. It was bar none the best presentation of the show that we have yet given. Audience was huge and responsive. Cues were being hit. The lines were being snapped off with nearly peak efficiency all the way around for a tighter production.

Every single person involved in last night as a right to be proud of what we accomplished.

Laughs came at some expected moments, and at some unexpected ones. (I think somebody must have been making a face behind me during one scene, as laughter ensues after I spoke a thoroughly unfunny line.) And this audience was particularly fond of "Max Levine", though as I said, everyone was on their game.

My character, of course, is not really that funny. However there were a few lines that got some laughs, just out of a morbid sense of twisted humor, I suppose. (The man is a murderer after all.) I continued the trajectory I established last night of making him more outwardly affected by the proceedings. I took pains to not go much further than I did on Thursday, as one can adjust things too much, too quickly. But the overall result is one of which I am quite proud, if I do say so myself. Everything about what I did just seemed to run a smooth but energetic course the entire evening. )Which may be why it seemed to go faster in the first half than ever before.)

One thing I did play up with my character's antagonism with the previously mentioned "Max". That actor has from the beginning played Max as someone who cannot stand Tony, and lately I have been playing into that more as part of my enhanced performance. It does help out a bit, to have a character like mine have something to play off of directly when he is not dealing with "Joe" (the lead part.)

Also for some reason, last night was the physically hottest night for me on stage, I think. Perhaps it was due to a combination of so many people in the house, and the extra energy being burned on this top notch performance.

The director relayed a message to the cast to "have fun with the curtain call". So we did.

This curtain call never has been, thankfully, an in-character affair. I do not generally approve of curtain calls that require actors to bow "in character". In theory it is saving the 4th wall, but to me after the final curtain, the fourth wall is history. So I have enjoyed the informal nature of our final bows as a cast.

Last night it was kicked up another notch. I decided to bring the gun that I use during the play on stage during the curtain call. When I walked out with my group to bow, I pulled a 007; I spun towards the audience, and threw my hand back, pointing the gun towards the house, (but not at anybody particularly of course.) The way 007 does at the beginning of the older films. (Like Thunderball) I think I got a few laughs. If not from the audience, certainly from the cast. (Though one of the cast mates thought I was pissed off at first, when I walked out.)

Afterward, some of us went out to eat. "Joe" mentioned a fear of my blogging about some of the conversations going on during that event...but since that was after the play I don't suppose it technically belongs here on the blog. For now...

Two more nights. Some think we peaked last night. There is of course no way to be certain of this until the show is over. But if we cannot really top last night, I think that we should be able to match it at least one more time. It is Saturday, afterall. Historically, more shows I have been in have peaked on the second Saturday than any other day. (Though I am told Playmakers shows often do best on Fridays.)

None of my friends have come to see me in this production.

Hopefully, a lot of other people will though.