Daylight Day of Rest

What an odd bit of wording.  Daylight Day of Rest.  It is peculiar to the theatre world; actors and stage managers get it and on the day, appreciate it.  To explain:  within every six weeks of an Actor's contract the Actor gets a daytime off.  We show up for work at 6pm, and rehearse or perform until 11pm.   It means we get to sleep in late, do a little shopping or laundry, go to the post office, pick up a prescription, watch a soap or cook a few meals to last us the rest of the week.  Many of us just go to the beach, either figuratively or in reality.  It is a good thing.

Today is my Daylight Day of Rest.  I slept until my phone rang.  (It was the costume shop - yes business.)  Stage Managers rarely get the entire day.  I answered some critical show emails.  I made some coffee and intend to take care of a few personal things throughout the day.  I will call the people I love and remind them I am still alive.  It is a day to remember that although I live inside a very small bubble, there is a wider world out there that needs my attention too.  It is a day to take in slowly.  To stop running around and to catch my breath.  Ah.

In my little world, we start a very long series of technical rehearsals on Tuesday.    Many of us will be working 15 to 18 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 40 days.  I will disappear again.  But the good news is 6 weeks is not forever.  I will reappear on the next Daylight Day of Rest.  4th of July to be precise.  

It is somewhat like living in Brigadoon.   

I am in a very weird business.