Claws - Evaluation

"Miranda, that was nothing short of outstanding."

I did say that I would write about Claws, and I did say that I would write about how it went, and, well, to start it off, I thought I would tell the world about the best comment that I got.

As much as I enjoyed receiving it, I thought the comment perhaps a little too exaggerated. The plays is very well written, we did work hard on the play, and opening night was very successful, but, in terms of outstanding theatre, well, even I haven't seen that many plays that I would label as outstanding. Perhaps less than ten.

That being said, Claws went off without a hitch. The excitement and energy coming from my actors was electrifying. They were completely in the groove and were simply itchin' to get on stage! I could sense that this was going to be a strong performance; they weren't overly confident or overly nervous; they were simply buzzing with excitement.

I, on the other hand, could barely sit still in my seat as I watched the performance. I've never been so nervous for other people before, probably because I have never been a director before. It was really weird -- I was doing Paula's facial expressions and practically trying to figuratively hold both of their hands throughout the entire performance, even though they were on their own!

Laura as Paula and Dave as Jeff did an extremely good job. Everyone loved the cat, and everyone was scared shitless of Paula. After they came off-stage, I could tell that they had had a blast performing. His girlfriend and her parents came to watch the performance, and they all enjoyed it. Dad, Franziska, and I think even Baba enjoyed it.

Many people came up to me after the performance to congratulate me. It was a little surprising because I was under the impression that the director is often overlooked in these festivals.

I must say, I tremendously enjoyed my first directing gig. It was amazing creating this play along with three others. I thought that on opening night, I would want to jump on stage and act, but I didn't feel that at all. I couldn't have asked for a better cast, and all I wanted was for them to give it their all and have the time of their lives.

So, would I direct a play again? Definitely.
Would I choose another freaky Lezley Havard play involving an animal? You betcha.