one hour to showtime

I'm hiding out in this empty classroom / meeting room at the Aga Khan Academy, which I've taken over as my dressing room. It has an online computer, so I'm distracting myself from pre-show jitters by blogging. 5 minutes more, then it's time for the countdown checklist: makeup, mic, stretch, breathe, water, voice warmups, final glance at notes from the runthrough this afternoon.

We decided today to add on an extra matinee show tomorrow. It seems like tempting fate, given the poor turnout in Nairobi. But people have been calling the school for advance tickets, and Coastweek put us on the front page, so it's also pragmatic forward planning for anticipated demand.

I keep reminding myself of the basic principle of karma yoga. Offer everything to the work, then surrender the results.