Measure your life in love.

Apologies for my absence, but my life has been consumed by the thing I'm most grateful for right now: RENT. I've expressed my gratitude for the show and the cast before, but really... I am SO grateful to be a part of this! RENT has always been one of my dream shows, and now I'm actually doing it. During last night's opening, while Matt (Mark) was doing his opening monologue, I had this incredible sensation of suddenly being so, so present in the moment. It was more than just excitement, it was a realization of "I'm actually performing this show that I've loved and dreamed about for years!" There were no nerves, only feelings of complete joy and endless energy. And from that second on, I pushed all other thoughts aside and concentrated on living the experience.

It was amazing! I've had several great opening nights with other shows, but for some reason, this one had something a little extra. I'm not saying it was a perfect show - there were still a couple of wonky things here and there - but the energy of the cast was electric and it just felt like everyone was connected and radiating love to one another.

We did have four people walk out before intermission, but in general the audience's response was fantastic. (We knew going in that RENT is a very different show for the typical TMP audience.) I only hope that ticket sales increase and more and more people get a chance to see this exceptional cast. Tonight's show fell victim to the "second show slump," but I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll all step it up and put on a great show tomorrow for the matinee crowd. Plus the TNT theatre critic is coming tomorrow, and I know that added pressure will push everyone to give everything they've got.

Aaahh, there's so much more gratitude to catch up on, but I have to get enough sleep so my voice will be in good condition tomorrow. I guess this post is "to be continued".... I'll try to remember to post again tomorrow.

Giving, being, and accepting LOVE,

L