Tech Rehearsal at Oz

We had our first "tech" rehearsal for Oz last night, and it went exactly as would be expected. It was long. It was tedious. Large amounts of time were spent adjusting the set so that things were in the right place at the right time. We were supposed to be done at 10--I left at 11:15 and they were still only halfway through the second act.

I've been through this lots of times before so I find that I don't lose patience with the process, mostly because I understand what goes into all the behind the scenes work of mounting such a production. It takes a lot of people to coordinate everything that is happening--sound and lighting people, stage hands, pyrotechnicians (yes, folks, I said pyrotechnicians--they are the ones making all the smoke and fire on stage!!!!) and even people who help characters fly over the stage. The flying is what took the longest to get right last night. Characters have to be able to fly in at just the right height and angle to hit their marks on the stage, and this isn't something that is improvised. It is rehearsed over and over until everyone involved in the process knows exactly what to do so that the actors can land exactly in the right place at exactly the right time.

And so, down in the orchestra pit (and pit is really too kind of a word here) we sat. And we waited. And we played a little bit. And then we sat and waited some more. But because we knew that we were just a part of something and not the "point" of the entire thing we waited patiently. We know that we are supporting players. Most people will never see our faces or even take the time to read our names in the program. Dorothy and the witch and the scarecrow, tin man, and lion and all the other people on stage--they will get the standing ovations. We in the pit, along with all the other behind the scenes folks, will do what we do to the best of our abilities to help the on stage folks shine. No one is any more or less important in the scheme of things, but not all of us get the same level of recognition for what we are doing.

I suspect that I have a harder time being patient in the Kingdom because I can't always get my brain wrapped around everything that God is doing. I don't often know if I'm playing a bit part or if I'm on the stage in a leading role. I can't always figure out if I'm operating a light for someone else or singing in the chorus backstage. I'm not even sure whether I'm on stage or in the audience, prompting or following (thanks to Kierkegaard for that one).

I suppose this goes back top the whole journey thing--I want to see us all walking together, holding hands and singing "Kum-ba-ya" as we travel toward a clearly marked destination with obviously defined objectives. I really want us all at the same point in the journey so that I know no one is getting left behind. I want everyone to realize how significant they are to the process and how important what they do is, no matter how small the role may seem in their own minds.

The ambiguity--it gets to me sometimes, and these are the times I lose patience.