Dress rehearsal last night was…a riot.  In all (positive) connotations of the word. 

Jane had sent out two – capitalized, bold – emails stressing the importance of punctuality and surprisingly all seventeen people, arrived, at my place, on time, sets, props and costumes in hand – including the enormous dumpster Natalya had crafted out of wood - pumped up to start.

Everyone was buzzed and excited to meet their co-stars for the first time – working in five separate groups means mid-point rehearsal, or in this case dress rehearsal, is the first time a lot of us meet - except poor Amy who was starting to come down with the flu.  She slept amidst the chaos, then jumped up at the end like a true professional, killed her part, made her apologies and hobbled home.

Some members were not off-book, which is of course a worry, but I have every faith that they’ll get it down in time. 

And then there was the requisite drinking that comes with both relief, getting to know the newbies and catching up with old friends…

I’ll let the photos and video tell this one.

PRE INVASION

Manhattan view from Greenpoint apartment

Not quite Craft service - for the straight from work-ers

Emptied living room

PRE REHEARSAL

Apparently I have no number on my door - thanks Andy

It was a dark night in Gramercy. Lucy called and said that she might be late and asked if we could meet at my place. I said sure, but only if we pushed things back to nine. Lucy said that was too late to start, so I reluctantly agreed to meet at 8:30. With warm regards to mother earth, I set about putting a compact fluorescent light bulb in my hallway. Sure, it’s an expensive bulb, but it’s supposed to last years and save me a bunch on electricity. Lucy, the rest of the cast and Ani the director appeared at my door around 8:45. Lucy was wearing a black skirt with a green top. She spoke with a certain certainty in her voice, as she introduced everyone and sat down. Oh, that Lucy.

We watched a clip online of the actual “To Catch A Predator” show and then read through the script.

Lucy really got into her part, as she was playing a woman who had pretended to be a 13 year old girl on the Internet. Maybe that was because she herself was once a 13 year old girl on the Internet. In the first reading, Josh used a heavy southern accent. In the second reading, Ani had him drop the accent. Then everyone except Lucy left and she ate some sushi. My friend called and asked if I wanted to see either Death Race or Hamlet 2. I showed Lucy the trailer for Death Race and tried to convince her it was a Romantic comedy. She didn’t buy it. Oh, that Lucy.

The Lucy totally looked over my shoulder as I typed up this blog entry to make sure I wasn’t saying anything crazy about her, like how she beat a homeless man to death this morning and peed on his face. Oh, that Lucy.  - ANDY MASKIN