So interesting. I think this line of questioning / post-mort is going to serve you really well.

After The Long Count, New Leaf (re-)learned that very valuable lesson – your #1. Not just “everything can't be variables,” but we have now set a conscious limit: No more than 3 variables. For us, that's what we've seen a show take before quality starts to slip. Because we do experimental work that challenges us and makes us grow, we go into every process by pre-defining what those 3 variables – those areas of growth – will be. We then mix in a healthy quantity of known constants to balance out the equation – which can be hard with such a young company, when so little can be defined as a constant. New director? Variable. New kind of play? Variable. All new cast? Variable. Producer doing 5 jobs instead of 3? Variable. New space? Variable. Same design team? Constant. Same space? Constant. Repurposing effects that worked really well in your last show? Constant. Some new cast with some veterans who can show everyone the ropes and enculturate the ensemble with the best possible energy? Constant.

I'm curious – now that you've had some distance – what do you remember as being your primary concern during the two weeks before your opening? If it was making tech simple, that was accomplished. The lighting is really nice – even from the video I saw a delightful rotating gobo (or projections?) that really subtlely pulsed the floor. The sound was really simple, clear, and well-executed.

As you seem to hint at in #4 – I don't know how much you aligned that design with what the cast was doing – and vice versa. Largely it was there, but it didn't always feel like those two elements of the show were telling the same story – which I think comes from, as you say, a lack of time to let the elements steep into each other and learn and play with each other.

It is *really* hard to budget the necessary amount of time for this kind of thing, which means that it needs to be a primary focus of the production team and the cast. Were you able to work on tech and acting notes at the same time? Did that work harmonize, clash, feel awkward or natural? We tell our casts at first rehearsal: This is what you can expect tech will feel like, this is what the schedule looks like, this is what it should feel like when we play together, this is your permission to ask for what you need and talk to each other to maximize our creative use of time together. They forget this speech: that's okay. Our constants are our design team, space, schedule, and often our director: we remind them, and walk them through, and support them.

As you develop this company: identify each thing that succeeds – from the performances to the play to the design to the box office to the lobby. Bottle that lightning, label it, and bring all your bottles to the next process.

This is your second full production? Don't kick yourself about too many hats. Of course. You haven't had time to enlist help. You'll get there – identify good help. Motivate them to come back again. Connect with their life goals, and see if you can find an increasing number of good fits.

Well done. Thanks again.

So interesting. I think this line of questioning / post-mort is going to serve you really well.

After The Long Count, New Leaf (re-)learned that very valuable lesson – your #1. Not just “everything can't be variables,” but we have now set a conscious limit: No more than 3 variables. For us, that's what we've seen a show take before quality starts to slip. Because we do experimental work that challenges us and makes us grow, we go into every process by pre-defining what those 3 variables – those areas of growth – will be. We then mix in a healthy quantity of known constants to balance out the equation – which can be hard with such a young company, when so little can be defined as a constant. New director? Variable. New kind of play? Variable. All new cast? Variable. Producer doing 5 jobs instead of 3? Variable. New space? Variable. Same design team? Constant. Same space? Constant. Repurposing effects that worked really well in your last show? Constant. Some new cast with some veterans who can show everyone the ropes and enculturate the ensemble with the best possible energy? Constant.

I'm curious – now that you've had some distance – what do you remember as being your primary concern during the two weeks before your opening? If it was making tech simple, that was accomplished. The lighting is really nice – even from the video I saw a delightful rotating gobo (or projections?) that really subtlely pulsed the floor. The sound was really simple, clear, and well-executed.

As you seem to hint at in #4 – I don't know how much you aligned that design with what the cast was doing – and vice versa. Largely it was there, but it didn't always feel like those two elements of the show were telling the same story – which I think comes from, as you say, a lack of time to let the elements steep into each other and learn and play with each other.

It is *really* hard to budget the necessary amount of time for this kind of thing, which means that it needs to be a primary focus of the production team and the cast. Were you able to work on tech and acting notes at the same time? Did that work harmonize, clash, feel awkward or natural? We tell our casts at first rehearsal: This is what you can expect tech will feel like, this is what the schedule looks like, this is what it should feel like when we play together, this is your permission to ask for what you need and talk to each other to maximize our creative use of time together. They forget this speech: that's okay. Our constants are our design team, space, schedule, and often our director: we remind them, and walk them through, and support them.

As you develop this company: identify each thing that succeeds – from the performances to the play to the design to the box office to the lobby. Bottle that lightning, label it, and bring all your bottles to the next process.

This is your second full production? Don't kick yourself about too many hats. Of course. You haven't had time to enlist help. You'll get there – identify good help. Motivate them to come back again. Connect with their life goals, and see if you can find an increasing number of good fits.

Well done. Thanks again.