Some call that a meltdown

First meltdown happened over (surprise, surprise) the schedule. One cannot rehearse a play if the actors are not present, and actors (some actors, anyway) always have other things they’d like to do during the rehearsal process – go out of town, see a concert, perform at an open mic night…. Which is fine and why I ask for conflicts in advance so that I can make a schedule, which takes hours. After spending all of that time, it is quite disconcerting to be informed at rehearsal that someone is not available for a rehearsal for which they are scheduled. Too often, I hear the words, “I told you.” The problem is that actors think because they’ve said words out loud everyone has heard them. I am constantly trying to juggle five tasks at once, so telling me something while I’m not paying full attention to you is tantamount to not telling me. Then, in the midst of trying to make a joke out of my mini-tantrum, one of my actors has to make a snide comment, negating said joke, and righteously pissing me off. I just wanted to go home. Instead, I went into the hallway with my production coordinator for a nice little cry and left my assistant director to work the next scene. Otherwise, everything is going well. Really.