525,600

We looked it up yesterday. 1 in 15 people have HIV. Now we know it is true.

Rehearsal last night was like none I've ever experienced before. We finished blocking act II and then Ron had us all sit down and just talk about ourselves. It was truly incredible to hear everyone's stories. And these are just small parts of their lives. To hear about child abuse, dramatic weight loss, coming out to parents and friends, journeys to and through the acting world, blessed lives, tormented lives... and all of this to have brought each one of in this cast to this point in our lives... I'm not even sure what to say. I'm sure all of us definitely have a better understanding of each other now, and a greater love of this show because we all now have personal connections to it.

I'm not sure many of us really knew that we had these connections either. As we told our stories, Ron would interject with comments or questions that would help reveal how parallel our lives were to the show. Who knew our Dylan had so many similarities to Mark, the character he's playing, or that Ben basically got cast right when he walked into the room because of the joy he radiated, just like Angel. What are the odds that someone in our cast just came out to his mother a few weeks ago, or that one of the cast members was recently diagnosed with HIV. Everyone here has something to offer.

It's becoming more and more clear that the joy we find in living is the only thing that matters. Ron, on the first day, said that his vision of the show is that of unconditional love. There are so many people who only know of RENT because of Team America... aids aids aids blah blah blah. Sure it has aids and drugs and homosexuality, but I think Ron has the right idea. When it comes down to it, it really is just about unconditional love. Some of us are kind of weary about how this Birmingham audience will take it, but if we can let that love shine through I think they'll be able to appreciate it.


Tonight we began to clean up act I. I should say today actually, we got there at 10 this morning. It was a long day but a good one. We've begun to work out the kinks and fix transitions, the small but important things. I've got one pair of boots so far for the show so I got to work in them today. We've seen that a good amount of the costumes are in already but haven't been able to try anything on yet. I'm pretty sure it's because the costumer, Amy, is out of town until Wednesday. Hopefully when we do get to test everything out it'll fit. I'm still waiting on those blue pants...

After rehearsal nearly every person in the cast went out to dinner. I was afraid at some point it would turn into La Vie Boheme and we would all embarrass ourselves, but luckily the references to the show were kept to a minimum and we just enjoyed each others company. We went to the Mellow Mushroom, btw, and it was pretty good. From what I hear the pizza was good. I had a soup so I wouldn't know, but I trust it was.

Tomorrow we've got another 8 hour rehearsal day, 11-7. We'll be running the second act much like we did today, and then trying to run the whole show. Things are coming along nicely, I'm sure it helped that almost everyone knew the whole show by the time we walked in on the first day.

I never know what to write anymore. Busy days make a tired Nicci, and Nicci doesn't write much anyway, so tired Nicci feels even sillier writing. And - now I know it's time to stop when I start referring to myself in third person. Goodnight.