...that's Nicole M. Lemery MA to you

The news of the world tonight is that I handed in my "thesis," my play Unexpected City, which means that my MA degree is nearly completed, apart from a few odds n' sods. Since I haven't been taken aside and given the "er, look, about your play..." speech, I can only assume that it will be acceptable to the grading gods and with any luck, I'll be tacking on an extra two letters behind my name soon.

It feels unreal that I'm done, essentially. My whole raison d'etat for being in London is nearly over. Ironically, I found myself saying today "wow, this is just not what I expected." I don't know what I WAS expecting, but 10 months ago I never could have described my life today. Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing next...

The other big news is that our show is opening officially Friday. I am covered in little bruises, cuts and scrapes (including one on my leg that I used to demonstrate what I wanted an actor's "cut" to look like...) from the load-in, which was hellish. Our scenic designer, who is also doing props, was fiendishly underprepared, which led to me helping him out, which somehow ended in me staying up until 4 and 5 AM on two consecutive nights, which meant that MY job of stage managery suffered. Last night's preview felt like a preview: sloppy, jerky and inelegant. I didn't help much, ringing phones and doorbells in the wrong places--after I had a fight with an actor about props in front of half the company. oy. But it's amazing what seven hours of sleep will do to you. Tonight the run was miles better, and I think everyone is feeling more confident. I know I am. Tomorrow is press night, so we'll have reviewers in from papers, and I'm going in early to get the hang of this damn soundboard. I'm running lights and sound--lights to me left, sound to me right--but it's hard to focus when the show is as amazing as it is. Tonight I literally--literally--almost started crying when Father Riccardo gave the little girl back to her mother, knowing full well they were on their way to be gassed. I completely believed it. This show is filled with moments like that...I could go on for ages. But I think I'd just rather go to bed at this point.