I boarded in front of Union Station on Canal at 5:45 am after young people with bleary eyes and unruly hair emerged clutching pillows and backpacks, arriving home for the weekend from school in Madison Wisconsin, where I will arrive at about 10:45 am. From there, I pick up a rental car I reserved yesterday and drive 45 minutes to Spring Green where I will check into a small hotel and then drive through the woods to the American Repertory Theater to attend a 2:00 pm outdoor performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night Dream.
Let me explain
Last summer I attended a panel of authors at the Printers Row Litfest because the Sun Times author and "Every Goddamn Day" blogger Neil Steinberg was a participant.
Also on the panel was Michael Lenehan, author of "Much Ado" - "A Summer With A Theater Repertory Company" .
His conversation about his book was ntriguing enough to cause me to purchase the book and ask him to sign it.
Also. it is small and red and not covered in an extra paper coat.The feel of the cloth cover in my hand is warm and cozy in a kind of quiet friendly way and the size perfect for holding and fondling as I read.
Yeah- Im a little crazy when it comes to books- the old fashioned kind you can hold.
I finished it in July and I was surprisingly stunned by how the story affected me.
Expecting to find the book mildly interesting, I was instead fascinated by the infinite insider details from every aspect of the complex planning and staging of performances at such a small but renowned venue.
The author covered with a kind of wide eyed awe everything from choosing the actors and working with them on alternative performance nuances and choices, to deciding where and what and how much in connection with furnishing and props, to standing behind the wigmakers as they performed their detailed and demanding tasks.
I thought maybe some day I could see for myself but I hadn't focused on the name of the theater or where it was exactly- just somewhere up in the woods, I recalled.
Then in August I found that my friend Zoe was busy one weekend because she was going to "APT". Thats what her text said. Strange, I thought. It sounded familiar.
Sure enough. The theater was in Spring Green Wisconsin, not far from Madison.
Though busy clearing my desk and getting ready to run off to Paris, I purchased a ticket online for a 2:00 Saturday performance at the end of September, thinking I could worry about getting there later.
Then, last week - while still recovering from jet lag and juggling six real estate transactions all closing during the same one week period - I went online to discover that Madison was not all that close ( Think Chicago to Woodstock), that almost every jotel, motel or b&b was full, and that driving the last leg was the only option.
I sold my last car years ago since I decided at the time that it made no sense to own and support what I had started calling a "junk sculpture sitting under the building depreciating and costing me a fortune to keep there."
So I drive maybe once a year.
Yeah, it IS sort of like riding a bike in that I dont really forget how to do it- but I nevertheless do face the prospect with a healthy bit of trepidation each time.
However- below is a description of what awaits me at 2:00
So I am on a bus with my backpack and a small wheely bag filled with toiletries and a change of clothes. On the seat next to me are the printouts of my round trip bus reservations, my reservation for one night at the Round Barn Lodge in Spring Green, my Enterprise Rental reservation ( I must call at 8;30 am to confirm their pick up of me at the bus stop at 10:55 am) and a BIG cup of coffee.
Life is an adventure
It has to be or you might as well sink under the covers and into oblivion.
Im tired but having fun.
There's no one on this bus but me and sleepy youngsters who look both tired and stressed. Life is so difficult when you have classes and exams and not much else to worry about. Awwww.
Its now over two hours since I started this entry and the sun is up and bright and the day is looking beautiful.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DRE
AM
By William Shakespeare
Directed by John Langs
What better way to christen our new stage than with the quintessential APT experience? An iconic fairy tale, spun by these funny, fabulous players in the moonlight. Like APT itself, Midsummer offers a mingling of realms, the everyday with the fantastical, with all the poignancy and humor we’ve come to expect from our favorite tales. The ones we want to see again and again. It’s a heart-expanding journey, and one that feels like it was born of this stage on the Hill. See it in its true home – in our own enchanted woods, on a gossamer evening. There’s so much magic in that. So much good. Come take your fill.
Directed by John Langs
What better way to christen our new stage than with the quintessential APT experience? An iconic fairy tale, spun by these funny, fabulous players in the moonlight. Like APT itself, Midsummer offers a mingling of realms, the everyday with the fantastical, with all the poignancy and humor we’ve come to expect from our favorite tales. The ones we want to see again and again. It’s a heart-expanding journey, and one that feels like it was born of this stage on the Hill. See it in its true home – in our own enchanted woods, on a gossamer evening. There’s so much magic in that. So much good. Come take your fill.
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