Edinburgh Day 2 (7/30)
Oh, to sleep! Having pushed as hard as I could to stay awake until the late hour of 9pm, I went to bed and was able to sleep the pure sleep you never seem to be able to get under normal circumstances - nearly 10 hours of solid, out-like-a-light joy.
Waking up fresh and rested, and feeling myself for the first time in several days, I set about trying to see what my routine in Edinburgh was going to look like. First and foremost this meant cooking breakfast. Breakfast has become an almost sacred ritual for me, so making sure I’d be able to do it well in a strange kitchen, with unknown cookware, was important. Fortunately it’s an easy dish, and I was able to my eggs + cottage cheese with coffee (instant…for now) with relative ease. I then sat and ate in the living room, journaling and planning the day. So far, so good!
With breakfast settled and journal entries and blog posts published, it was time for several more firsts. I got in my first proper workout, followed immediately by the first proper shower in the flat.
I stayed pretty conservative on the run, finding an easy 2.3 mile loop around Leith Walk and surrounds. Running in the city, especially on a new and unknown route always feels slow, but it was a beautiful morning to be out, I got to know a bit more of our neighborhood, and it felt good to move.
After cleaning up, I embarked on the first bus journey of the trip alongside our Stage Manager Caroline, to visit the band house and assemble the flatpack furniture we’d be using on set for the show, as well as rehearse some changes we were making to the show for the Edinburgh run, as well as a short 2 minute piece we’d use for a Press Preview the next day. Caroline led us unerringly around town, landing us in the (surprisingly posh) neighborhood where the band flat is was located. There we met up with our fiddler Bebe, who gave us a tour of the place. Aside from being a 3rd floor walk-up, it’s a gorgeous apartment with tremendous character, and I was more than a little jealous of the band members now ;-) We learned we would be able to collect the furniture for a few hours, so the three of us set out to explore nearby, and grab some food.
After a tasty snack and some caffeine, and a quick trip to the chemist’s (that vocabulary will take a while to get used to) we headed back to the flat to meet up with more of the team. Several of us headed around the block to the host’s place to retrieve the packages, and we brought them back to the band house to begin putting it all together and get our rehearsals underway.
Flat-pack stools: Perfect! Easy! and look, they nest!
Flat pack wooden folding chairs: Evil, cursed and fickle. Do. Not. Like.
It was lovely to have everyone together though, in country, singing and playing. It renewed my excitement for us to get back onstage and in front of an audience.
Once rehearsals were finished, and the furniture packed off into a cab to head to our producer’s place, the team dispersed to make their own ways for the remainder of the afternoon. I chose to take a leisurely walk, from Dean’s Village to our venue on George St, thence to Princes St. and Leith Walk and back to the actor house.
After a quick dinner and some lazing on the couch, I took to bed at a slightly less early hour, hoping that my feeling that I’d been able to acclimate to the time change turned out to be true. I set my alarm (hopefully a rare need on this trip) so I’d be able to be up early enough to get going for our 9:50 am call to tech for the press preview tomorrow!
