Why theater is so addictive...

There comes a period in almost every rehearsal process when everyone sucks and loses faith and vows not to invite their friends to see the show. It is inevitably the moment when they are forced, screaming, off book for the first time. When trying to remember lines without your script safety-net, they lose their balance again and again, they swear loudly and with feeling, and every ounce of momentum, joy and focus leaves the room. And then, just when I too begin to lose faith, they start to know their lines, and the show takes this magical leap forward, not back to where it was before they dropped script but way beyond, to a place of infinite potential. And man, does the joy flood back into that rehearsal room. That started happening last night, and tonight it was in full force—people making exciting choices, bringing in ideas I had never seen before, even making me hear the script afresh. And I've heard this thing five million times—taught it, been in it, directed it, had a scene from it at my wedding and so on... And you know, that feeling of extreme, group relief that we're not all just fools feels really really good.