Tenara Tries To Get Her Life Into Order

Genelle's leaving just reminds me more and more that there is still so much to be done.  Today I contacted my friends in Kfar Saba to set up a place where I could stay during the week of Purim, the week I have decided I'm spending with my friends from the program.  I have it all worked out minus a couple days - my friend Ortal, who I'm closest to out of everyone, is going to host me for the most part.  She and her family go to the ski resort in the mountain for Purim, and so for a couple days I need to find somewhere else to stay.

There's also the whole issue of my passports.  Both my American and Israeli are technically expired, but my Israeli passport was supposed to get an extention from the Israeli consulate in Philadelphia.  There's actually a lot of stuff that the Israeli consulate is, or should be, doing for me.  I need my army deferment, my Israeli passport extended, and my trip notarized for the army's records.  Coincidentally, the Israeli consulate is on strike.  Whoopee.  But for some reason, they're able to take care of my issues?  I don't understand.  Either way, I've called them to see if they can send back my passports so I can expedite my American passport before I leave.  They were supposed to send them back yesterday, and today I tried calling to see if it was done, but no one answered.  It's the first time I've called and no one has answered.

If they haven't sent back my passports, it may look like I'm leaving a little later than I thought I was, which means I'll have to shorten my time with Sadaka-Reut, which sucks.  Either way, I'm making plans.  Week of Purim in Kfar Saba, a weekend in Moda'in with family friends, a weekend in Haifa with other family friends, Passover in Ashqalon (or wherever it is that my hosts are going for Passover).  It's actually a very sweet story - when my dad was studying in Israel, he stayed with this family.  That was back when he was a teeny tiny college student.  Since then, the matriarch, Rena, has become sort of like a third grandmother to me in that I have to do very little to please her besides sit on the couch, watch TV and eat her AMAZING Egyptian food.  So whether or not Passover will be held in her apartment in Ashqalon, I'll be spending it with her, which is very excited.  She's a very warm, sweet woman, and I think it comes full circle to when my dad lived with her.

Also - another update that I for some reason have just not found a time to tell Graham people - I got into college!  Drew University, my dad's alma matter (another full circle) accepted me (BEFORE the deadline for regular admission even came around, by the way, which is really weird), and they're giving me the Presidential scholarship of $21,000 - renewable for all four years!!!!  Drew isn't my top choice, but it is a really good theater school and is known for being a well-rounded liberal arts college.  It's in Madison, New Jersey, forty-five minutes outside of Manhattan, and is really diverse.  Worst comes to worst - I'll be going to school in New Jersey!

This makes me so happy, just because I know that I don't have to worry about college.  Yes, there are still schools that I really want to go to more than Drew that I have yet to hear back from, but I am IN COLLEGE.  I have been accepted - I know that shouldn't have been a major concern, but the fact that I was accepted WITH such a huge scholarship makes me really happy.  I have until May 1st to tell Drew whether or not I want to attend.  They're nice people over there.  I think my dad was really really stoked to see that I was accepted with such a huge merit scholarship.

At the theater, my life is pretty flexible.  Rich only got out of the hospital TODAY, so I had very little to do today and yesterday besides rehearse my actors.  You guys - THEY ARE GETTING SO GOOD.  For the scene with Wes and Amber - EVERY TIME THEY DO IT THEY GET BETTER AND BETTER.  I love love love love it.  And Daryon and Keihin - yes, granted, I have to work my BUTT OFF to get them to hear me and pay attention to me and to keep them focused (I'm sure I do my fair share of getting them off track too), but they are going to be soooo good!  The more I direct them, the more they get excited about the scene.  I have Daryon literally shoving Keihin into a wall at one point, and Keihin turns to me and says, "Why wouldn't I shove him back?"  I love that they fight for their characters like that.  Daryon hates one of his lines and is making the desperate fight that he shouldn't have to say it and is getting SO ANNOYED that I hold stead-fast to the script.  I really, really like it when my actors fight for their characters.  It shows me that they're really connecting.

Last thing - yesterday, I think I drove Daryon and Sierra INSANE.  I worked the kiss scene OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again.  It was a lot of technical stuff - where Daryon would put his hand, what Sierra should do, etc., etc.  At one point, as Sierra and I are pondering whether she should run her hand up Daryon's arm, Daryon says, "This is the most I've ever been touched in ten minutes."  That, paired with Sierra's burp right before the line "You wanna kiss me, Sid?" just made the whole thing so relaxed and easy to deal with.  At one point, they didn't stop kissing when I told them to.  I loved that too - and not in a creepy way.  It shows me that they're getting comfortable kissing each other, and so it'll be work to create the tension and chemistry.  I WANT it to be hard work to recreate it; it shows me that they're not afraid of the kiss anymore.  Finally, after everyone was just shouting suggestions and it became so hard to think that I was on the floor in the fetal position, I overrode everyone with, "DON'T THINK, JUST KISS."  And they did, and it was perfect!  I am very happy that I'm teaching my actors to act with instinct, because you get the most natural and real reactions through instinct.  And the wonderful thing about instinct is that it's so organic that it's easy to change if I need it.

Tomorrow I'm taking pictures of the actors with a legit camera for the program, posters, and for the blog.  I told everyone to show up pretty.  (: