So... here we are!
Tonight we have our very first audience for "The Break-Up/Break-Down," and tomorrow we open. It seems absolutely insane that something started so sweet and small and has become so huge. We have featured articles in several publications around town, we have a slew of people coming on opening to review and enjoy the festivities, and then we are in full swing for a 3-week run. When I first gathered my friends in my living room and shared this idea of starting a Community-Based Theatre project, I didn't imagine that it would work out so immediately, so swiftly, and so NOW! I am in constant awe at what we have accomplished, who has come to help, and how our fortune has turned into real potential and possibility.
I am in love with this moment and all of what it holds. I am in love with every person working on this project and I'm going to tell them why right now.
To my company- I love you. The late nights, the epic meetings, the attempted balance between your own life and the new life you have with this project- it has been insane! Each and every day you have stepped up and worked for this goal. You keep me grounded, you send me text messages to see if I have eaten or showered (the answer to this is usually no), and you make my heart at ease when I feel myself breaking down. Thank you for your obscene level of commitment and love of art. Thank you for taking risks and believing in something different and something new. Thank you.
To my cast- I love you. You have taken this insane little launch-project, and have turned it into a comedic dynamo that has kept me laughing for MONTHS. Ever since you all gathered in my living room and read through the script with drinks in hand- I have been smitten. I am in love with your talent, with your gusto. I love your ability to make total asses of yourself for the sake of comedy. I am in love with your giant hearts that have never complained about our discoveries of being a new company. I am in love with the fact that not a single one of you has ever been just an actor in this process. You work hard. You pick up slack. You are amazing. You are a gift to a director, to a playwright, to the world.
To my crew, designers, choreographers, photographers, random helpers- I love you. Without you we would be a pile of actors rumbling around a vacant, desolate, dark world. And that would have sucked balls. Your time and help throughout all of this is heaven-sent. Thank you for having our back. Thank you for giving a shit. Thank you for believing in new art and just showing up. This week has shown me so much in the form of human kindness that it is has left me breathless. I love you all.
Even when things are hectic, even when some things are scary- this love has made every single second worth it all. I am madly in love, and think we should all get married.
Sincerely,
Katherine Harroff