See this? It's getting ready to bloom. So is the show I'm working on. So is a project I've been working on. And the grass in my yard is way past the bloom stage (meaning I am way past overdue on mowing it, at least in the front yard).
Haven't written much this week for a couple of reasons. First, I had food poisoning of some sort or another. That has REALLY wiped me out. Three times this week I have fallen asleep on my couch and woken up at 4AM. Crazy! I've also been working on publicity for the show at the theater, and attended a retirement party last night up in Haslett for a woman I've known my entire life. So yeah, a bit busy. OH, and rehearsals too.
So, just so we're clear, you can see me on stage (dancing like a complete and utter dork) in Disney's High School Musical on June 12-14 and 19-21 at 8PM, and June 15 & 22 at 3PM at the Sauk Theatre in downtown Jonesville. We're aiming for sell-outs every night, which hasn't happened in a couple of years. But if you're limiting yourself to one MJ theater production a year, save it for Escanaba in da Moonlight or On Golden Pond in the fall -- I'm directing those, and while I won't be on stage, my personal work will be much more in evidence. :)
OK, that's half my lunch hour. Time to actually go eat!!
6/6/08
6/2/08
Sob Story
After my 4th year of college, I lived with my parents for about 9 months. I worked 3 jobs, about 90 hours a week, and I was exhausted and nearly insane. My parents were extreeeeeemely good sports to put up with this nonsense. For some reason, I was usually home during the week in the late afternoon when my dad got home from school. He and I would go into my folks' bedroom -- he would sit in the recliner, I would kick back on the bed -- and we would watch Michael Landon's "Highway to Heaven."
If you're not familiar with "Highway to Heaven, here's a partial description from imdb.com: "Jonathan Smith is a probationary angel sent back to Earth to help people. During the series' first episode, he meets embittered ex-policeman Mark Gordon... Jonathan helps reform Mark, with the grateful Mark agreeing to become Jonathan's right-hand associate in carrying out the heavenly mission...to deliver love, understanding and humility to the people they encountered..." Most episodes were played for high drama, with maximum heartstring pluckage. This was good for my dad and me. I don't really remember talking too much during the program, but we would get to the most heart-rending moment of the show and each of us would just bawl our heads off, sniffles and sobs unacknowledged by the other. When the credits rolled, we would get up, blow our noses, and start dinner before my mom got home. We did this nearly every day.
As anyone who has watched any sort of drama with me knows, I still sob at movies and TV. [The animals get concerned when I do this, by the way. Once I start crying, each of them approaches me in turn, trying to comfort me in their own way. In fact, I can never cry for long because their immediate attention makes me laugh. ] So tonight, as I watched a TiVo'ed version of "Extreme Makover: Home Edition," I was sobbing my head off and blowing my nose handily while an entire community gave a family a new home and a new lease on life. I couldn't help but think about how my dad would be amused that, out of all the things we shared, this particular quirk would become a lifelong tradition for me. I think I'm a generally happy person, but you'd never know it if you were a fly on my wall, viewing me while I watch TV.
Anyway, that's what I've got tonight. Weird, the stuff that comes up. I have some theater paperwork to wrap up, and it's off to dreamland for me.
If you're not familiar with "Highway to Heaven, here's a partial description from imdb.com: "Jonathan Smith is a probationary angel sent back to Earth to help people. During the series' first episode, he meets embittered ex-policeman Mark Gordon... Jonathan helps reform Mark, with the grateful Mark agreeing to become Jonathan's right-hand associate in carrying out the heavenly mission...to deliver love, understanding and humility to the people they encountered..." Most episodes were played for high drama, with maximum heartstring pluckage. This was good for my dad and me. I don't really remember talking too much during the program, but we would get to the most heart-rending moment of the show and each of us would just bawl our heads off, sniffles and sobs unacknowledged by the other. When the credits rolled, we would get up, blow our noses, and start dinner before my mom got home. We did this nearly every day.
As anyone who has watched any sort of drama with me knows, I still sob at movies and TV. [The animals get concerned when I do this, by the way. Once I start crying, each of them approaches me in turn, trying to comfort me in their own way. In fact, I can never cry for long because their immediate attention makes me laugh. ] So tonight, as I watched a TiVo'ed version of "Extreme Makover: Home Edition," I was sobbing my head off and blowing my nose handily while an entire community gave a family a new home and a new lease on life. I couldn't help but think about how my dad would be amused that, out of all the things we shared, this particular quirk would become a lifelong tradition for me. I think I'm a generally happy person, but you'd never know it if you were a fly on my wall, viewing me while I watch TV.
Anyway, that's what I've got tonight. Weird, the stuff that comes up. I have some theater paperwork to wrap up, and it's off to dreamland for me.
6/1/08
BANG there was red
I've spent several mornings on my patio, staring at the green flower buds (that look suspiciously like something out of "Little Shop of Horrors"), and willing the flowers to bloom. But this morning, I had been outside three times before I noticed these had exploded in their annual red. Yay! I need to spread these around into several places in the yard, because the color explosion is so intense. Much more flowering to come.
No actual rehearsal today, though I was at the theater to let folks in, work in the office for a bit, and attend/run a board meeting. There was a vocal rehearsal going on during the board meeting and I swear they sounded better than I'd heard them yet. We just might pull this thing off. And I figure, with 200 pre-teens singing along to almost every song, anything that doesn't sound great will still sound pretty good!
I read a book this weekend! An actual, not recorded to audio, hold-in-my-hands book. I sat in my reading area and reclined and drank coffee and read. And then I went out on the patio and sat at the table and drank coffee and read. Perhaps the never-empty cup of coffee is why I'm still awake so close to midnight?
Anyway, the book: "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is a mixture of graphic novel, art book, and intriguing children's story. I could look at the pictures all day, but that would neglect the most amazing story of a young boy who solves a mechanical mystery to discover history. Best of all, it's based in fact, set in Early 20th Century France, and covers the start of the motion picture industry. Fascinating, and very, very interesting. Not high literature, to be sure. It didn't capture my imagination entirely, but it was a fun read. I really enjoyed it. (It helped that it was short enough to finish in a couple of hours -- otherwise, I would have tackled something with a little more meat.)
Bedtime. If the caffeine will let go...
No actual rehearsal today, though I was at the theater to let folks in, work in the office for a bit, and attend/run a board meeting. There was a vocal rehearsal going on during the board meeting and I swear they sounded better than I'd heard them yet. We just might pull this thing off. And I figure, with 200 pre-teens singing along to almost every song, anything that doesn't sound great will still sound pretty good!
I read a book this weekend! An actual, not recorded to audio, hold-in-my-hands book. I sat in my reading area and reclined and drank coffee and read. And then I went out on the patio and sat at the table and drank coffee and read. Perhaps the never-empty cup of coffee is why I'm still awake so close to midnight?
Anyway, the book: "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is a mixture of graphic novel, art book, and intriguing children's story. I could look at the pictures all day, but that would neglect the most amazing story of a young boy who solves a mechanical mystery to discover history. Best of all, it's based in fact, set in Early 20th Century France, and covers the start of the motion picture industry. Fascinating, and very, very interesting. Not high literature, to be sure. It didn't capture my imagination entirely, but it was a fun read. I really enjoyed it. (It helped that it was short enough to finish in a couple of hours -- otherwise, I would have tackled something with a little more meat.)
Bedtime. If the caffeine will let go...
5/31/08
Playground
I love this picture. I didn't take it. My sister did. Last weekend, she took K to see her dad in our hometown, and got a picture on the playground where my dad was the elementary school principal for 13 or so years. He would have gotten the biggest kick out of K. And not just because she's his granddaughter.
Long day at the theater. I think we made some progress, though, which is very positive. If only we could figure out a way to keep the energy up through an entire song, let alone the whole show. These kids just look WIPED OUT the entire time they're on stage. I give a lot of credit to the directors. I couldn't take the frustration. I'll stick to my non-musical comedies/dramas, thanks. (Even if I am INSANE for trying to direct 2 this fall...)
Disney's got a helluva franchise with that High School Musical, though. I have to admit, I had the music on my iPod before we ever talked about doing it at the theater. Now that I'm hearing it in rehearsals, I am humming or singing it all the time -- in private, of course, so as to avoid collateral damage. The music is just damn catchy. But it's more than that. The themes are common but good ones: Be yourself and support each other. I think we could all use a little more of that, eh?
Long day at the theater. I think we made some progress, though, which is very positive. If only we could figure out a way to keep the energy up through an entire song, let alone the whole show. These kids just look WIPED OUT the entire time they're on stage. I give a lot of credit to the directors. I couldn't take the frustration. I'll stick to my non-musical comedies/dramas, thanks. (Even if I am INSANE for trying to direct 2 this fall...)
Disney's got a helluva franchise with that High School Musical, though. I have to admit, I had the music on my iPod before we ever talked about doing it at the theater. Now that I'm hearing it in rehearsals, I am humming or singing it all the time -- in private, of course, so as to avoid collateral damage. The music is just damn catchy. But it's more than that. The themes are common but good ones: Be yourself and support each other. I think we could all use a little more of that, eh?
5/30/08
My "library"
I wanted a place where I could sit and watch the backyard, as well as read. When K&K moved out, I moved the bookshelves to the "dining room" and got the chairs and table from my former mother-in-law's house. The cats love having the chairs because they can bask in the morning sunlight -- the glass doors face east. We have a huge herd of deer that use my backyard as a corridor, so we all have fun things to look at.
Work has been crazy the last few days, but it's troubleshooting and problem-solving. This is a challenge, which I am enjoying as it gets me out of some of the tedium of my daily stuff. Still haven't moved offices, but it's coming. I dread packing and hauling...doesn't everyone?
Rehearsal has also been tough -- we're pulling a show together in a shorter amount of time than usual, and all the kids are less-than-focused due to the end of year. Not their fault, but it is frustrating. It makes me a little crazy to spend so much time at the theater for so few lines, but that's what you sign up for when you audition. *sigh*
Came home last night and had a large glass of scotch. Sleep came easy after that.
Work has been crazy the last few days, but it's troubleshooting and problem-solving. This is a challenge, which I am enjoying as it gets me out of some of the tedium of my daily stuff. Still haven't moved offices, but it's coming. I dread packing and hauling...doesn't everyone?
Rehearsal has also been tough -- we're pulling a show together in a shorter amount of time than usual, and all the kids are less-than-focused due to the end of year. Not their fault, but it is frustrating. It makes me a little crazy to spend so much time at the theater for so few lines, but that's what you sign up for when you audition. *sigh*
Came home last night and had a large glass of scotch. Sleep came easy after that.
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