Emily in Wonderland: An Adventure at The Lookingglass

Last night I had a dream about some of the incredibly talented people from The Lookingglass Theatre. I figure that if I am dreaming about them, I probably miss them a lot.

This past weekend I closed my first professional show, In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, and it was the greatest theatre experience of my life. Thanks to the wonderful people of the Lookingglass Theatre I  learned more about professional theatre, stage management, and the creative process than I ever could have sitting in a classroom. Whether it was because my job responsibilities put me in a great position to observe and learn from the  incredibly talented group of artists or said group of artists were particularly full of wisdom and knowledge to share.

Having been a part of the process from the very beginning of rehearsals I had the pleasure of watching the whole show evolve (pun intended). From the progression of the thought-provoking and emotional script, to the actors discovering and rediscovering their characters, to the immense amount of prop choreography I felt like I had front row seats to every stage managers dream!

I can't quite pinpoint why exactly made my job so great.

Maybe it was because I have worked in two landmark Chicago buildings: 

The John Hancock Building

The Historic Water Tower Water Works

Or the fact that some of my dinner breaks looked like this: 

Or this: 

It could be the gorgeous set, designed by Colette Pollard, that transported me out of the city and into a magical beautiful location: 

It might even be the Pride that the Lookingglass paraded (pun intended) on closing night:

It could be that the kids were so well behaved and so much fun to be around:

But really I think it is that I got to work with a hugely talented group of artists! 

From Sarah Gmitter who wrote an enticingly thought-provoking script that made me laugh, cry, and taught me more about Charles Darwin than I ever though I needed to know. 

To Jessica Thebus whose directing style allowed for the actors to ask questions, play, and discover the inner workings of these complex characters. 

The designers, whom I did not get to know very well personally, but who created such an aesthetically pleasing show that frankly I think the first time I saw the set under lights I might have cried just a little bit. 

And Tess Golden and Jeri Fredrickson who combined playfulness with a organizational prowess that made the tracking of props and script changes look as easy as baking a cake from a box. Not to mention Tess did it while very pregnant. 

And to the cast who when they wren't making me laugh and feel like part of their little family awed me with their talent and stamina to perform a show like this sometimes 9 times a week. 

And my new friends in the crew who despite my plethora of questions and the noisy, energetic kids I always had in tow still decided they liked me and helped me every step of the way. 

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me, teaching me, and inspiring me. This is one experience I wont soon forget and to be honest I hope to work with all of you again sometime. 

So I guess what I am saying is, we should take this show on tour or something, because I miss all of you and that would clearly be the easiest way for all of us to be together again.