24-hour recovery.

The annoying thing about this weekend's epic endeavour (24-hour theatre, for those who tuned in late) is that I did the whole thing suffering from a head cold. Adrenaline and laser-like focus on the task at hand kept me going, but now I do not have that bulwark against crankiness and discomfort, and the cold, plus the inevitable letdown from such an intense experience, are making me feel very cranky and uncomfortable indeed.

However, balanced against that is a constant, gleeful chant in my head: How cool was this weekend! How cool was it to write a play, a real play, and have people actually learn and perform it, all in 24 hours! How cool was that! And the answer comes back each time: Very!

People raved about Margaret's acting. She really is very talented, and it showed last night. As far as I recall, this was the biggest part she'd ever acted, both in terms of number of lines and in terms of character intensity and complexity. She was also very professional in rehearsals, and in her performance and backstage decorum. She did an absolutely fantastic job, and tells me she had fun doing it, which was the main thing.

Houston not only returned to the stage for the first time since — oh, since he got a gig acting in the Maryland Renaissance Festival back when we were first married (and I do mean first married — he auditioned for the gig during our honeymoon), but he also wrote a very striking setting for the song in the play and wrote some cool incidental music. Those of you who know him will not be surprised in the slightest that he is, in fact, a terrific actor; this is clearly whence the genetic component of Margaret's talent comes. (God knows it's not from me: I'd rather chew my own left arm off than act. Plus, I suck.)

My Script Frenzy buddy Cass rushed back from her travels around Australia to come down from Sydney's northern suburbs to play with us, something for which I'm extremely grateful as she did a fantastic job with the character I wrote for her. She's also an awesome singer and really great to work with. Sadly for me, she leaves to return to Canada at the end of July, but I'm glad she could be part of this experience, which will certainly have added to her repertoire of interesting memories and stories about her time in Australia.

And Tim, my director, was nothing short of awesome. I cannot even express how grateful I am to him for all the work he put into the play, and all the regard and consideration he showed to me as the writer. Plus, all three of the actors told me how great he was to work with: clear, thoughtful, cheerful, supportive, every actor's dream director. I doubt he reads my blog, but Tim, if you do read this, I'm putting it on public notice that you absolutely rock.

And now, I must go blow my nose, for such is the nature of fame: it is a curtain behind which life must, in all its daily vicissitudes, go on.