Well, that’s sort of true. This year, particularly, the festival artists I’ve seen so far are wildly talented, conjuring up depths of emotion in me and many of our reviewers that lesser artists can only dream of. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t swap seats in theaters, cheer on their buddies, and book it to get coffee in between performances.

I’ve seen more artists out and about in the past few days than I ever have, although that may just be because I’m seeing more shows than usual. But so far, my star sightings include: 

Jennifer Wen Ma and Huang Ruo of Paradise Interrupted. The artist/director and composer were, naturally, at the world premiere of their show on Friday night surrounded by throngs of supportive friends and family. It was really lovely to see the outpouring of love after the performance ended and the lights went up — seemingly a quarter of the audience advanced on to the stage to hug the creative team and outstanding male singers. There were also offerings of roses to the incredible Qian Yi. 

Araminta Wraith and Bethany Kingsley-Garner, A Streetcar Named Desire‘s Blanche and Stella, respectively. I crossed paths with them on a sidewalk behind the Sottile after the 2 p.m. performance on Saturday. I realized it was them just a half-second too late, and considered turning around to say how much I loved the ballet, but they were walking fast and I felt like I’d be a bother.

Musica Nuda’s Ferruccio Spinetti and Petra Magoni. I actually sat next to Spinetti at last night’s performance of Veremonda in the Dock Street Theater. It was just for a few moments, however, as Magoni was a few rows ahead and I offered to swap seats so they could sit together. He was very kind, just like he seemed on stage. I’d have enjoyed the chance to talk with him more. 

And of course, there are always those hard-working orchestra members walking the streets from theater to hotel to theater. They’re quite easy to spot thanks to their music cases. 

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