Notes on Last Frontier: Day Seven

Today I raised the white flag. By this afternoon I couldn’t even sit through a seminar on adapting plays from history without straining to keep my eyes from crossing. Don’t get me wrong, I was fascinated, I wasn’t falling asleep, I took great notes. I’m just fucking tired, man.

This morning I slept until my alarm went off (that was a first) and had an awesome run around town … but I was tired. I attended two Play Labs this morning … but I was tired, very tired.

Photo: Rand Higbee

And also, there is a certain wistful pre-melancholy I get the day before I know I have to leave a place, and that’s hitting me very hard right now. It’s been a stellar week, I have met many wonderful, creative people … and it’s almost over. And that’s no fun.

So I blew off the last two Play Labs and I was grateful that Whitney allowed me to tag along while she took photos of the harbor, because while I knew I couldn’t take another reading without nodding off, I was too jittery to take a nap and too unsure to be alone.

It felt good to be outside, the air is cooler than it has been the past several days, and we were able to kind of debrief on all the work we have seen this week, especially that which really impressed us.

The plays this week have been far better than I expected. But so, I was surprised to learn, is mine.

Yes, I took a nap. A number of us gathered at The Totem for dinner (Stacy, you were precious) before heading off to catch FleshEatingTiger presented by The Owl and Cat Theatre, AU.

This evening was the annual glacier cruise, which was truly something special. I have had the opportunity to tell pretty much everyone I have met here that the wife and I took an Alaskan cruise for our Honeymoon - that I’d even technically been to Valdez before.

I remember how she didn’t like to spend time inside the boat, every chance she got, with or without me Toni would spend time on the bow of the ship, looking at the world outside. The sea, the forests, the wildlife, the glaciers.

This night I moved around a lot. I spent a lot of the time on the bow of the ship, though it got cold. I would go up top, too. I was sitting or standing with as many folks as I could, those I’d know for days. Those I’d just met today. I know I will miss them.

The evening concluded, at long last, at The Boardroom, shortly after midnight. I listened to the karaoke, watched the people dance. I met even more folks. I’ve been pretty good at the social thing, awkward as I can be. It’s so much more important to connect.