Happy Merry Chrismakwanukkahhanzukkah!

The ACLU has assured us that this Christmas tree is sufficiently secular for public display under Lynch v. Donnelly

We hope you're having (or have had or will have) a lovely holiday season, no matter what faith tradition you follow, or even if you follow no faith tradition at all. Really. Just, um, have a nice day.

Tongue out of cheek: we have time off. I celebrate Christmas with my family, but no matter what you do, we all have some time off. It's a great time to spend time with the people who matter to you, and who you haven't seen in weeks because you've been in rehearsal.

Time for rest and reflection is an important part of the creative process. Time in rehearsal is great, but without time for rest and reflection, we will not grow as artists. We get frustrated, tired, and irritable. We focus on getting it right and getting it done - neither of which are useful to the creative process. If we don't have the proper time for recovery, we lose the joy and spontaneity which make art good. Work is important, but I don't go to the theatre to watch people recite lines verbatim. I go to watch them participate with joy, listening and reacting. I go to watch people be their true selves.

The week between the end of Christmas and the opening of This Doesn't End Well is going to be full of very hard work for our cast. So right now, the job is to rest, relax, and come back full of energy, love, and confidence. We hope to see you there!

(hat tip to the Reduced Shakespeare Company for the title. I recommend their (extremely long running) podcast to anyone who makes or enjoys theatre).