I've got a minute at the moment in the lighting plot, and want to record the mushy nauseous excited nervous ramblings of a semi-exhausted madman.

We're less than a week to opening now. We've had our first session with mics and a loud PA. The cast have foldback troubles, but nothing we can't fix. The lighting plot went way over time (imagine that) but looks amazing. We've more or less finished the set, just a few bits to go. Audiences seem to know the show's on. I got all anxious this morning and rather than sitting at home I went for a walk and handed out pamphlets at the Rundle Mall.

We've started the process of teching. This means for every one of the shows lighting, sound and mechanical cues (and there are about two hundred or so at the moment) we have to check that the soundtrack, and "go" cues are in sync. So there are about 20 people in the theatre – actors, sound, mechs, stage managers, AV, lighting, director, and me. Everyone on the team is so professional, and there's such a sense of purpose in the room. I am mostly able to sit back and let it happen. This is actually my favourite part of the process.

I'm now able to start to see the show that I started writing nine years ago, and have worked so hard for over the last seven. There's good bones – everyone keeps saying - and now the flesh is going on. I question the writing soemtimes, but mostly it seems to play well, though in the stop/start of teching the show it's hard to tell. It was funny actually, as we were dropping the lighting cues into the soundtrack, and without having been at the lighting plot, I knew exactly where most of the cues should go. It looks like what I imagined.

It's amazing the difference lights make, turning Kathryn Sproul's set from this fluro grey and static structure, to a living breathing entity that Jack, Red, Belle and Adam live, breathe, hope and die in. We've used the moving lights a lot and it gives the show this marvellous rock and roll fluidity. Mark Pennington and Geoff Crowhurst are doing a great job on them.

The cast are great. Andre and Alex are always joking around, and Lisa and Abbie are doing such a great job. The ensemble feel is really there, and everyone just wants to get into running the show now, to get the correct sense of journey and story for the piece. Alex and Lisa are working beautifully together, and Andre and Abbie keep finding more and more in Jack and Red's relationship. This show still feels like it's going to be really special.

I miss Lesley and the kids like crazy at the moment. It's difficult reconciling in my own mind why I would choose to do this over my family – which in spite of everything I might try to convince myself of, is essentially what I have done. I think of Tom and Mary wanting me at home, and think this is crazy. I guess it's better just to focus on the work, and know this is only temporary, and tell myself it will be better and different if this show goes like I hope it does. I don't have an answer for this right now, but hope and pray the show proves worth it.

Anyway, more as we get closer to opening. Working hard, and starting to see it pay off.

Cheers

Sean