Well, it has finally arrived; crunch time. We officially have less than one month until the show opens on Wednesday, May 1. Although this may appear to be an exciting time  filled with the joy and anticipation of finally getting to perform our play, it really isn’t. In fact, the month before opening night is the most stressful, nerve-wracking, hair-pulling and anxiety-filled four weeks of my life.

Now don’t take this the wrong way. I love my cast, show and producers to the ends of the earth. But for these four weeks tensions run high for everyone. People snap at the smallest of mistakes, such as missing a line or forgetting your blocking. I mean, you’re already stressed because you have to perform this show in front of a live audience in less than a month. But now you have a hyper-emotional cast breathing down your back criticizing every single breath you take and Lord have mercy on your soul if you breathe at the wrong time.

Despite all of the negative energy floating through the theater, this is also by far the most important time period of the entire production process. Before now, you could use your script to remember your lines and blocking. Now, the scripts are thrown away and you’re left treading water among the stress of trying to memorize every line you have, along with your blocking. You also have to begin perfecting your character; you must start to think and react as they would without hesitation.

Even though everyone has all of this emotion running through their head, we have to stay focused. At the end of the day, everyone wants the best for the show. So it’s best to not take their criticism too seriously and do what each individual has to do to make the show the best it can be. The emotions will begin to wear off in a week or so, once everyone gets more comfortable in their specific role. Until then, though, be careful not to rub a thespian the wrong way or they might overreact, just a little bit.