It’s been a few weeks since Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - the brilliant and tender music written by Min Kahng and based on the book by Grace Lin - closed at South Coast Rep.
Finding the words to describe the experience assistant directing for Jen Chang (a superwoman of a director, teacher, and friend) is difficult, considering how much I learned and grew through the process.
It’s safe to say that after many consecutive rehearsal processes last year, I was a bit burnt out. Laying around my apartment doing nothing at all when I normally would be in a rehearsal room was so refreshing for the first few weeks after graduation. There’s no doubt that I needed time to refresh and renew after directing Hairspray and then jumping into my directing honors thesis, but anyone who has been around me in the last few months knows that I have been ready to jump headfirst into new artistic pursuits for quite some time. I may denounce my type-A nerd past tendencies but I can only be still for so long!
South Coast Repertory, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” photo by Jordan Kubat
Mountain was a fast and furious process. We often called it a simultaneous sprint and marathon. We were in the rehearsal room for 2 weeks, anywhere between 6 to 8 hours a day, then had a speedy 3-day tech. Then it was a week of previews, dozens of school-day shows, and finally, opening! It felt like the show was over in the blink of an eye, and yet I was in constant awe over what the artists around me could accomplish in such a short amount of time. Everyone in the rehearsal room and late night tech meetings truly had super-human powers. And, I was constantly moved by the environment that Jen created in the rehearsal room. It was like we were a big family. We shared snacks, so many laughs, and amazing discoveries that pushed the show, and Minli’s journey, forward. I’m not really a crier, and yet, this beautiful show had me sniffing back tears almost every day. Despite being a show for young audiences, this musical was complex, heart-wrenching, and so well constructed. Working on it every day was so fulfilling, and there was always so much to jump into.
Finally reaching January was so exciting - it was the project that I committed to, the one “for sure” on my schedule and the most exciting thing on my horizon. I had been anticipating this for so long, and I was re-introduced to all of the good stuff that I had been missing for months: schedules and scripts, a place to check in and people to visit with each day, and concentrated periods of focus and theatre-making. I even loved my daily commute to Orange County, because there was so much intention behind everything I was doing. I felt important and creative and inspired! Having hours on hours of time to learn, soak everything up, and be a part of the process was priceless.
Mountain had been on my radar for quite some time. Yet, the prospect of taking on a position that would render me unable to have a day job (the thought of not having one was basically incomprehensible to me) terrified me. And yet, I am so grateful that I took a leap of faith, jumped into figuring out all the adult stuff like paying bills and rent and somehow also being able to feed myself, and took on this new challenge with all of its unknowns.
It reminds me all of backpacking in the Narrows at Zion National Park this past November. We were journeying towards some of the most beautiful natural sights in the world, which took 16 miles through running water and over mossy rocks. There was a lot of unknowns, like if we were going to have to swim with those giant backpacks on (we did) or if my knee/hip flexor would survive (they didn’t). And there were many times as I face-planted into the water, slid down hills, and cried my way through some serious pain that I was not sure how I could possibly make it, intact and unharmed, to the end of the journey. Not to mention that the only way we could get saved was by a raft because helicopters can’t get to the bottom of the canyon. Just a little terrifying. We walked for hours and hours both days, and the constant turns around bends and endless obstacles that we faced were both overwhelming and kind of torturous. But it’s undeniable - what we witnessed and experienced was once in a lifetime. Pictures will never do those views justice. And looking back on the trek, I am so grateful that I had the ability, willpower, and opportunity to take on the wild journey.
That is, by and large, what the past few months have been for me, leading up to Mountain. Having faith that I was going towards something beautiful - an opportunity to AD at South Coast Rep and learn so, so much - despite the loneliness, empty pockets, and unknowns that stood before me. I know I could have had things easier if I was sitting at a desk working, or chosen something a little more conventional, but it would not have led me to where I am. And the view would not be nearly as beautiful, if I weren’t able to look back at how far I’ve journeyed on.
Now that Mountain is complete, I’m jumping back into those unknowns. Trying to figure it out, one step at a time. This kind of stuff used to really scare me, but now, I’m so excited to see what is ahead. Back to the mud!