For actors, designers, and directors, the rush of opening night comes from putting their final product in front of an audience, reveling in the thrill of performing for a full house, knowing they’re at the point of no return. And that’s all very exciting for the administrative staff, too, but we’ve also got our own drama:

We have more RSVPs than chairs! The caterers aren’t calling us back! The caterers called us back, but they’re not bringing dessert (we here at Redmoon don’t do well without dessert)! The extension cords for the outdoor lights have gone missing! We don’t have enough room for everyone to mingle in the lobby! We don’t have enough room for all the white wine in the fridge (we here at Redmoon also don’t do well without wine)! There still seems to be left-over dirt from Boneyard Prayer all over the place!

As the actors begin their big moment, we are winding down. We finally grab a bite to eat, we take a deep breath, and many of us retreat to the office for an hour – having seen the show before, and knowing we will see it again, we give up our seats in the interest of allowing more invited guests and members of the press to see the show. And now, the evening is out of our hands. All we can do is sit and wait, trusting in the amazing artists we work with to do their thing, to dazzle the audience, to get people talking, to bring it all home. And we are thrilled that they seem to have done so, time and time again.

Dr. Egg, you’ve done your thing…you’ve brought it home. And for the artists and administrators alike the drama, as always, was worth it!