The Chronicles Of Jessica

Reader Rene asks, "Jessica - tell us about what is life like back in the theatre!!!?"

Well, Rene, I have to say that life in the theatre in DC could not possibly be more different than life at the Blackfriar's Playhouse. Apart from the fact that we get up and do a play on a stage in front of an audience, there are virtually no similarities.

I'd say the main difference is the play itself. With Shakespeare, you don't get much in the way of rewrites, seeing as the playwright has been dead for some time. On this project, the writer was there with us for most of the process, and she was revising or editing out portions of the play the entire time. So it was a good idea not to get too attached to any particular line or scene one day because you might end up mourning it by the next afternoon. Also if you mess it up she would tend to, like, notice. So there's that.

Another change is that in other theatres besides the Blackfriars, they tend to have lights and sound and pre-recorded music and other technical aspects. This play is partially about making a documentary so there's also video projection, some of which is actually being shot live while we're on stage. This meant that we had almost two solid weeks of what actors will lovingly recognize as "tech", time for actors to stand around on stage under the lights and enter the scene, and re-enter the scene, and do stuff, and do the stuff over, and then start cracking jokes while we're supposed to be standing there silently and getting chastised by the stage manager. (I excel at that last one.)

The audiences seem like they are enjoying the show, for the most part, but since they're sitting in the dark it's hard to say for sure. We got a kind of so-so notice in the Post yesterday; they didn't love it but they didn't hate it.

And of course this job is, by American Shakespeare Center standards, incredibly short. I started rehearsals October 2nd and I will be completely finished with the whole shebang by December 2nd. Two months! Two months in Staunton is nothing; I would barely have any red wine stains on my clothes at such an early juncture. So I'm already having to try and figure out what to do after this gig is over, which will conveniently coincide with (drumroll please) our next move! I move once a year now because it's so much fun! Actually we found a convenient place on Capitol Hill that I think is going to be perfect for us, much quieter and hopefully without the people-breaking-into-the-building thing.

Thanks for your question, Rene! And keep the queries coming, readers. I have some household tips if those interest anyone.

Tomorrow I'm getting started on changing my last name. My plan is to keep Dunton for professional/actor purposes and with the union, and take Fidalgo as my married name so that Paul and I can present a unified front in case we ever get audited or anything. The red tape involved should keep me tied up until well past the New Year, so Merry Christmas in advance.