Oratorio in Retrospect

This past weekend "The Blizzard Voices" oratorio was performed twice. For me, it marked a number of firsts, which was pretty exciting. I'd never been involved with a theatrical production like that, never gotten to take a bow on stage (even though I felt a little out of place, but honored), never collaborated with people I knew (and thought famous) that went well.

I think it went well. The Holland center was full. I liked it...although in no small part because I was so familiar with it and the parts that were totally out of my control (music, singers, etc) sounded much better than I had been thinking they would.

I got a lot of press out of the deal, a nice mention in all the articles about the production. My picture with Ted Kooser in a couple of papers. Lots of reproductions of the drawings. nice nice nice.

I'm sometimes worried about praise, tho, because I don't think people would actually tell me if they hated it or thought my part of it sucked.

But even with that grain of doubt, I had a great time. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The opera folks were a pleasure to deal with and often had very good input on what I was coming up with.