How to make a new play, Part 2

9 in the morning is not generally the favourite time to meet for theatre folk. But because of many busy schedules, it was when we chose to have our first production meeting for Bombay Black.

But first, my tale of woe. I have an errand to run before 9 so I drive to the Distillery. I park my car on Mill Street and head up to the office with Timbits in tow.
Once I'm at the office, I realize I forgot my bag so I go back the car. There's a yellow ticket of hate on the windshield. Bastards! I was gone for five minutes and I got a parking ticket! Which, by the way, was entirely my fault; I misread the sign. Mea maxima culpa. I'm just astonished at how quickly "justice" was meted out. Was Ilsa the meter maid hiding behind a mailbox while I pulled up? If I want to renew my driver's license, that's an hour in line. For a passport, two hours. But park on the wrong part of Mill Street and they've got your ass within seconds.

So I head back to the meeting and ask Kendra whether my ticket goes against the costume budget or the lighting budget. Strangely, she said neither. Can you believe it? Thirty bucks, I've got to pay out of my own pocket. In theatre, that's like two days pay. I mean, what's the point of running a company if you can't flagrantly abuse power? Man, I should've gone for another job, like Minister of Public Works or something. That Kendra is no fun.

Anyway, it was a highly useful meeting. The old adage, Necessity is the mother of invention, never seems more true than in production meetings. The scarcity of time and money can often lead to some inspired problem-solving. Which is not to suggest that theatre's chronic underfunding is a good thing. It's both amazing and depressing to think how much easier life would be if we had just a few hundred bucks kicking around.

By 10:30, we're wrapping things up. Brian and Isaac are headed back to rehearsal. Brian is hosting a dinner for the cast and crew tomorrow (Indian food, appropriately enough). Kendra is bringing beer and wine. Okay, maybe she's a little bit fun ...