Back in February I was at my local YMCA stretching at the barre in the dance studio in a flat back position, when I noticed a gold, coin-like object at my feet. I swiftly picked it up, and upon examination, I figured it to be a cheap emblem of a Joan of Arc-type character, who on the front, with a staff in her hand, appeared as if climbing a mountain. Wow, I thought. Is this a sign? Am I going to conquer something big? Not knowing anything, I placed the fake coin in my pocket and secretly kept it on my dresser. Blink. Now, I am in the midst of producing Lonestar. Considering I only started the process of putting together a 90-minute showing in February, I think there must have been magic in the air the night of March 26th! If I were to say there were supernatural occurrences at work in the theater of the 14th St Y, it would not seem far fetched that evening. The spirit of Joan of Arc? Was I that peasant girl acting under divine guidance?
First off, Mercury was in retrograde, and against all odds, rabbits were being pulled out of hats to get all aspects coordinated technically, after a semi-disastrous dress rehearsal the night before. Going into this, I knew it was not going to be easy. I knew a few things regarding that dress rehearsal and did my best to trust my instincts, that no matter the challenges, we’d persevere. I knew that: one dancer was not going to be present; trial-runs with multiple lavalier mics were going to be tricky; some costumes hadn’t yet been tried on/and or altered; some cast members would be meeting one another for the first time; I had only just finished certain pieces days prior; I had only just met up for the first time with one dancer to rehearse the day before, (as I trusted his independent rehearsals) plus one shared Zoom rehearsal; 13 different pieces had to be teched, (including the films to be shown), and somewhere in the short 6 hours the crew had to take at least two 15 minute breaks! Well, with much adrenaline flowing, we survived that experience, and the adventure that preceded that night was uncanny to say the least. Why? I was locked in the NJ transit bathroom on route to NYC that day, which led to an all out intervention where, pheww, I eventually got out! Symbolic much?
With the pell mell state of that description, the night of the showing was quite the opposite. Though I was still flying around on my broomstick doing everything last minute, the totality of the performance was nothing shy of a miracle! Despite a few technical glitches, the performers were on top of their game! The crew on lighting and sound stirred all the ingredients, and the stage manager was my absolute rockstar, shifting all the gears to make the whole machine operate smoothly. The stage was smokin’ hot with the unbelievable prowess of each individual artist — I was standing in awe of what I witnessed… pure magic!
I shouldn’t be so surprised, though, as when you have professionals of such a high caliber, they rise to the occasion. Perhaps, it was more disbelief in how the 2 months of a rollercoaster ride, with 4 premieres to boot, made it to the finish line. Typically, companies would have 2-3 nights of a run; however, given that I’ve been hanging by the rafters, commuting to NYC from PA, and currently a 2-year caretaker to my father — I’ll take what I can get. My deepest thanks goes to the exquisite artists who managed to avail themselves for this jiffy-mix time of ours. They were the wands in Lonestar’s magic box.
That triumphant warrior coin I found? It delivered on our promises to keep the arts alive. And, no matter the trials and tribulations that each one of us had been going through, frazzled and ill-affording of the time spent, we somehow, through the grace of the universe, manifested 90-minutes of wizardry — and for that, I am eternally grateful. With that staff helping me, we lowered the curtain on Lonestar that magical night, as we defied Mercury’s chaos, and gave thanks to our guides.
Many thanks to my husband and GM for ACD, Don Adams, without whom this project would never have happened!
Photos: A. de la Rita
Screen grabs: Joel Stephen video
Performers:
From: Adams Company Dance presents Lonestar: A Showing of Dance, Film Shorts and Spoken Word
