TEDxWhiteCity - The Day Itself

Rumor has it the video will be online soon, so now seems like a good time to write the promised sequel to the post "The Path to TEDxWhiteCity 2017": 

January 25th 2017 - The Day Itself

07:00 Braid (Thanks Dalia Braids TLV!) 
07:20 Make-up (Thanks Shiri Nisan!) 

We were asked to be ready to go on stage for briefing at 08:15. 

Backstage 

There was a slight delay so we were invited on stage at 09:00. Since the general rehearsal held the previous day did not take place on stage, each one of us once walked on stage, stood on the red carpet and went off stage. 

Venue before audience admittance 

Ready to go 

Picture by Shachar Bar

09:10 I call Gabi Argov for a pre-scheduled vocal warm-up over the phone (Thank you Gabi!) 

09:30 Doors open 

Venue after audience admittance 

Picture by Sharon Avraham

10:30 Part One: Five speakers (Eran Katz, Leonard Brody, Galia Benartzi, Roei Deutsch, Zaki Djemal) and a performance (Maria Kong). 

11:30 Break 

12:15 Part Two: A performance (Garden City Movement) and four speakers (Yaron Schwarcz, Dr. Tuvya Amsel, Vardit Gross and myself). 

As I had only five days to learn my talk by heart in, when the morning of the day of the event arrived, I didn't (!). 

Therefore, from the moment I left the make-up room till the moment I went on stage (excluding a brief break to practice walking to the red carpet onstage once and a break for a vocal warm-up), which sums up to about four-five hours, I did nothing but going deep into the vast backstage-behind-the-stage area with my phone and earphones and listen to a recording of myself saying the talk. I heard myself in a "loop" over and over again, looking for ways to remember what the next bit I wanted to say was. From time to time I made some variations and heard something else in a "loop": Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and I even danced it backstage once or twice, too. 

I think - I hope - that the first time I said my entire talk fully and flawlessly by heart from beginning to end was when I was onstage in front of the audience during the event itself, but I won't know for certain until I'll see the video. 

Picture by Sharon Avraham

I was nervous and excited to the point my mouth became so dry it was difficult for me to talk. I had to stop twice to sip some water. 

Picture by Sharon Avraham

As I left the stage and walked into the backstage area again I no longer held my tears in check. 

13:30 Break 

Onstage 

Picture by Yoav Evenstein

14:45 Part Three: A performance (Moses Project) and five speakers (Reem Younis, Ori Sasson, Dr. Tom Ran, Yifat Yudovski and Erez Perlmuter). 

And now all that remains is to wait and see the video itself. 


>>> Update: The video is available online. 
>>> Update: Turns out I forgot one sentence and one paragraph, but luckily it did not disturb the flow of the text.