“We have 10 weeks to figure it out.”

My go-to response since rehearsals for Hairspray began on the first day of winter quarter. I’ve been guilty of jumping onto the “this-process-is-way-too-long-and-I-could-finish-three-shows-in-this-time” bandwagon in the past. There have been times where being on the management side of the annual musical has provided me weeks of ease. Sure, there were meetings, deadlines, committees to communicate with, endless areas to organize before build, tech, and showtime. But something about being able to step away from the rehearsal room always kept me somewhat grounded.