today, i went to a 1st-ever play festival

Have I even been out to Savannah Country Day School this year?

I have not, for one reason or another, be it related to weather conditions or a preponderance of American Legion meetings.

 

Time to rectify that situation, and what better event than the inauguration of their very own festival of short plays?

"Spring Shorts" is what that 10-minute play festival has been dubbed!

Doesn't that title encourage one to get out of the house and partake?

Yes, yes, it does, and I must declare it a rousing success!

They put out a call to professional playwrights to submit their works, hoping that a few might actually do so.

James Venhaus, the teacher/director/producer for theatrical shows at this school, told us that they were overwhelmed by the response: 350 plays were submitted for the festival!!!

Wow!!!

Of that gracious plenty, six were chosen, and those were directed by various students in the theatre program.

The festival also showcased five plays written by various students, with those all directed by James Venhaus.

So, there were eleven plays total, some longer than ten minutes, some shorter, with a brief intermission during the two-hour program.

Wow!!!

These were all performed as theatre in the round, with both actors and audience sharing space on the stage.

That made for a more intimate setting, which really helped with the message in these short stories.

The actors would cart onto the stage whatever props were needed, including furniture, for their piece, then cart it off after.

What types of things were used?

Well, this manual typewriter on the desk, as well as several chairs and a table.

The typewriter actually worked, too, and the whole tone brought to mind the play set in the Vietnam era.

As this short play began, a man is sitting and typing, reading aloud his words.

"I regret to inform you that you son has died."

Letters to parents of soldiers lost in the war.

Wow.

After a day of typing such letters, he goes home and needs to recover, but he has a teen daughter waiting and he is her only living parent.

She suggests they listen to some music to ease the mood...

but when she turns on the radio, she gets Don McLean...

carrying on about "the day the music died"...

and her dad gets up and turns it off.

Here's the thing: after he leaves the room, she turns the radio back on...

and "American Pie" is still playing.

That's because it's almost nine minutes long.

Of course it would still be on!

Bravo to Kharis Ott for writing "Bad News On The Doorstep"!!!

[That's a line from the song, too - nice that others listen to lyrics.] 

By the way, not only did she write that play, but she directed another one ("Surprise", a comedy about a 2-minute psychic going through yet another breakup), and acted in two others.

Wow!!!

She wasn't the only one to do such a feat.

Hannah Smith wrote "Walls" [about the drama unfolding in three neighboring apartments], directed "Kung Foolery" [comedic physical fighting between husband and his mother-in-law], and acted in two others.

Kensie Glass acted in one and wrote "Cast Party", which reminded me of all the fun and drama of those I've been to over the years!

(Shout-out to the 'Hugh Mongus D' that crashed the party!)  

Samantha Hendrix acted in three plays and directed two plays, a comedy ("Party Princess" who wore wrong-colored dress for 4-year-old's birthday party, to mother's chagrin) and a more serious piece ("Blocked", about a 26-year-old who is missing her birthday because she is trying to write).

Anna Sapere wrote "Love At First Sight" (a failing romance after girl has memory loss) and acted in two plays, one of which was "Blocked".

Her costar in "Blocked", Suri Desai, also directed a play called "Finding Time" (a sweet romance of two friends who keep running into each other in scavenger hunts).

Jack Lerch was the only male student to act and direct.

He acted in two plays (featured as "Hugh Mongus D" - that's got to be a pun!) and directed "Baby Charging Station". a comedy about a guy who takes care of a robotic baby in a Child Development class in order to meet a girl.

That brings me to Caroline Bergmann, who acted in two plays and wrote "Voices In The Hall", my other favorite tonight.

'Maeve', a freshman is waiting for her sister to get stitches in the hospital and chats up the guy sitting in the same bank of chairs. 

His name is 'Callum' and he's waiting for his friend to get out of surgery.

He and 'Jonathan' are senior football players and were in a car wreck.

He goes off to find a doctor to ask about his friend.

That's when 'Elise' comes out, bandaged head, and 'Maeve' starts telling her about 'Callum' and 'Jonathan' and 'Elise' thinks her sister is playing a prank.

After all, the family knows that 'Elise' says she can see ghosts and that's how she ended up bumping her head!

But 'Maeve' insists 'Callum' is real... 

'Maeve' doesn't believe in ghosts...

right?

Only she has to now, as 'Elise' tells her that car wreck was real a year ago and both of the football players died.

Really good!

And guess who played 'Callum'?

Jack Lerch.

Very nice... and a very nice evening out for me!

another 6 of 7

As I'd mentioned, I already had a play lined up for tomorrow.

So, that's one.

I hadn't known of the student-directed One-Act Festival at Savannah Arts Academy until almost 5 PM on Friday!

I'd checked their website to see what was upcoming... and there it was!

I immediately bought tickets for both Friday and Saturday, of course.

 

Last night, there were four plays performed over a two-hour span.

Here are the four student directors, the student producer, and David Poole, who made sure all received flower bouquets for their work. 

From left to right, and in the order their plays were performed, that's Latricia Jones-Brown, Gavin Rivera, Sarina Mullady, and Shaylee Smith, as well as Alyssa Nascimento, the producer, and the always-hat-clad David, the faculty advisor.

(Nice nod to his defunct Collective Face Theatre Ensemble in the credits! I certainly had some memorable experiences at those plays.)

 

Tonight, there were only two plays, but each was about 40 minutes long.

This time, the two student directors were Emily Cooke and Desmond Chaney, but his play was performed first. 

All six plays performed over the two days all had dark themes.

I wonder why the directors chose these works?

The ones Friday night were all modern pieces from this century.

 

Director: Latricia Jones-Brown 

"The Door" concerned a grandmother waiting for her grandson to come home.

He's in the room with her, trying to get her to open the door to whoever is knocking so late at night, trying to get her to acknowledge that he is gay.

It came with a supplemental program with a list of young people who had been killed for being gay or lesbian or trans.

Very serious stuff.

Director: Gavin Rivera 

Next was "Don't Hang Up", directed by the only male director on Friday.

This featured a 15-year-old girl on the line with the 'Drain Right' help desk clerk, with the question: "How much of this do I drink to die?"

Very sobering look at the types of calls that get fielded.

Director: Sarina Mullady

"Three Tables" had a cast of seven, with three couples in various stages of being in a relationship: a 5-year anniversary dinner; a last meal to sign divorce papers; a first outing of an internet date.

Then there's the waitress to handle them all as they eavesdrop on each other's conversations at the adjoining tables.

(Of the four plays on Friday, I enjoyed this one the most.)

 

Director: Shaylee Smith

"The Waves" concerned the suicidal beach-walker (the only one in jeans in the photo) as he fought the voices in his head.

This one actually got a bit scary at times, and loud.

(The performance by a different troupe is available on youTube.)

Now, on to the ones seen tonight.

Director: Desmond Chaney

"The Chairs", an absurdist farce from 1952, was my least favorite.

Yes, that's true, even though it had Trey Wilner.

He was one of the two old people rushing around gathering chairs to the stage as they prattled on about a message of great importance.

Given the play's length, it really got quite tedious. 

Then, the message was whispered in the ear of a deaf-mute (the plaid pants), so it ended up all garbled, rendering their suicides null.

Just what was written on the placard?

"Absent food" or some such.

See what I mean?

Director: Emily Cooke

"Trifles" was exactly what I needed as the last play of this festival!

A murder mystery from 1916, it showed the difference between the way the men were handling the situation (looking for 'what') and the way the women did (in search of 'why').

A wife had been taken into custody for the death of her husband.

The sheriff (in the white coat) was speaking with the two couples who'd lived on nearby farms, gathering information with the men, leaving the women to gather items to take to the woman in jail.

I'm not going to spoil the ending, but I will say this: I'd see it again.

 

And so ends my tale of the six plays I've seen this weekend, of the seven I will be seeing total. 

Kudos to all of the directors for bringing these plays to the audience!

Kudos to all of the actors for bringing these stories to life!

Kudos to SavArtsAcad for sharing with the community!

going greek...

Actually, I should have said, "gone Greek," as I'm home now.

When I saw her on Tuesday, Sherry talked me into going to the 74th Greek Festival with her this afternoon.

Sure, I had a choice, so I could have abstained.

However, as the musical sermon taught, for a friend, you take turns. 

Besides, there was a sweet upside for me, besides more time renewing this friendship from years ago when I first started going to Asbury Memorial.

 

There was baklava to be had!!!

Fortunately, we were there in the mid-afternoon of the very first day.

That meant plenty of open tables, with no lines, and with Greek music playing to keep us company for the two hours we were dining.

Very nice!

She had the combination plate, but I only went for my favorites: two skewers of chicken souvlaki and a corner slab of pastitsio.

Oh, yeah!

Yeah, it was a little pricey, at $17, but long overdue for my taste buds.

Plus, I had dessert with my slunch: Melomakarona, the orange-spice Christmas cookie.

As I told Sherry, it reminded me of the 'Russian Tea" that Mama used to make, with instant mocha coffee and Orange Tang and a bit of allspice.

Isn't it a marvel how a flavor can time travel over several decades?

The other five desserts in that six-pack ($18) were, going clockwise from the right side: 2 pieces of Baklava, 1 of Kataife (shredded phyllo, but like baklava), 1 of Flogeres (adding chocolate to the combination), and 1 of Kourabiedes (butter cookie with powdered sugar).

Most definitely a fine afternoon out, helping Sherry succeed at retirement.

By her own counts, she doesn't yet have the habit of throwing herself out of the house, but she's figuring it out! 

I'll have to make sure I help her keep doing that. 

(smile!)

15th annual 24-hour play festival!

I'm glad this thing keeps persevering, though it makes it hard for folks to follow it from year to year when it's always somewhere different.

There are a couple of new venues that have sprung up this summer, so maybe that will help these homeless troupes.

Two reps from the national mother ship were in town, so that was nice.

Also, it was held at Asbury Memorial Church, so that was super nice!

My biggest beef was the total lack of a physical program for my $12.

Just for reference, QR code programs are useless without a smart phone.

Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions - we all know how useless and First World-biased those are, right?

The good news is: these five plays were much lighter than last year's!

Hallelujah!!!

Just like last year's production, the plays had no common line or common item; they were totally random, using props the actors owned.

So, one had a ukelele.

That was in "An Alternative Horror", the very last of the five offerings, written by Thomas Houston and featuring his lovely wife, Danielle.

She was the assistant of a rich fellow who gets visited by a Were-person - think Were-wolf, but the full moon doesn't change the bitten one into an animal, just a person.

In this case, it was a person who played the ukelele and sang the Harry Nilsson song about limes and coconuts!

I don't know if that was Thomas' choice or that of Malcolm Sturdevant (the actor playing the Were-person), but I ate it up!

In fact the whole short play was quite funny, though inadvertently so.

See, the rich guy was to try to use drawings to explain Were-physiology science, but the easel he was using kept collapsing - hahahaha!

He finally grabbed up the easel and the sketchpad and tossed them off stage to the great delight of all!!!

Oh, and Danielle showed she could be a real bad-ass - I told her she should seek out those kinds of roles!!!

Another had a rubber chicken.

 

That would be the third play, "Something In The Water", written by Rick Garman and directed by Ryan McCurdy.

This was like Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in reverse.

So, the fast section came first, as the grand-daughter tried to get her grandma packed and out of the house before the dam breaks, with the old lady insisting that wouldn't happen as she kept pulling items out of the bins.

Then it goes into slow mode as the scene shifts to a nursing home, with the nurse interrupting the old woman's reveries to take her to her room... and the nurse kindly agreeing to listen to one of the woman's stories.

It truly was a heartfelt piece.

So, what about the other three plays?

 

The first, "Separation Anxiety", was written by, and starring, Chris Bass.

As I told him, he seemed to be channeling his inner vampire as a backwoods veterinarian called in to help a troubled married couple who'd been hiking, as a bonding experience, and got tripped up.

 

The second play, about a married lesbian couple wanting to find a sperm donor and looking for help from a gay friend, was the least appealing to me.

Titled "The Choice", it didn't feature anyone I knew, wasn't written by anyone I know, and was about wanting a baby.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no.

Then there was the 4th play, "Metal Bird", which at least had one person I knew.

The thing is, here's the thing (as my ex would have said): the whole play reminded me of that time-filling skit Steve Martin did on SNL decades ago.

So, there Luisa Nolasco was, a wife standing on the edge of the apartment building's roof, with her husband trying in vain to call her back.

Then comes a guy they know and he acquiesces to her repeated talk about the "big metal bird" in the distance. 

Hmm... yeah, okay.

One interesting feature was the same as last year: a musician between plays would sing a tune to keep us busy while the stage was changed out.

This time it was Samantha Stephens, who had a playlist that she strayed from after the third play.

So, here's her choices, including the one change.

 

"Hungry Heart", by Bruce Springsteen in 1980

"True Colors", by Cyndi Lauper in 1986

"I Was Made For You" (maybe by Billie Eilish?)

"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", by Cher in 1966

 

Those were some interesting song choices, made more so as they were mostly from my younger years.

Nice to know they still resonate with 30-somethings!

for love of a great-aunt

"Does that mean some of the little blondes in Hinesville have sent postcards to you?"

 

Nope, not yet. I know it sometimes takes a while for their parents to get them into the mail, even though I did make sure to stamp and address them. Want to guess again?

 

"Well, I know you went to a new musical today..."

 

There ya go! Actually, I was incorrect on that. I thought the Savannah Musical Theatre Festival events were all new musicals, but that wasn't quite right. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't have the money for the entire 3-day, 5-event schedule. These were all staged readings of musicals in the developmental process. That means no set design, no costumes, and no props. Well, I take that back. The one I attended did make use of a child's noise-maker that mooed like a cow.

 

"Did you say "mooed"? Like, bovine noises?"

 

That's right, and it was pretty funny, though it wasn't intended to be. "The Top Hand Of Lone Tree Ranch" is a western musical, based on the 1960 book of the same title. It was the story of a boy living with his older sister and their grandpa while the parents were at a hospital for the dad's recovery from an accident. James Venhaus, the playwright, chose the book because his Great-Aunt Anne Pence Davis wrote it. My guess is she gave him the book as a boy, much as I have done for my great-nieces and great-nephews with my pumpkin book.

 

"Oh, yeah, I remember that book!"

 

I had such fun writing that... but, I digress. As I said, this was a bare-bones production, with the primary goal being to get audience feedback after. I'll say this: the playwright was kept busy writing suggestions most of the hour of that "talk back" session. That's him on the far right. He teaches at Savannah Country Day, which is where Gabriella Galoni and Emmett Witchel attend. Those two kids were 'Janie' - the older sister - and 'Paddy', the boy. 

 

"They're over on the left, right? To either side of the older guy that must be the grandpa? And isn't that Justice of the Savannah Music Festival by them?"

 

Yes, yes, and yes. Justice was just there as the moderator of the "talk back". 'Grandpa' was read, and sung, by Gary David Keast, a newcomer to me. Then there's Rayshawn Roberts who's done a lot of works with the SavChildTh in the past. He was the only one with three roles! He had 'Mr. Mitchell', the rancher. Then he did 'the Shopkeeper', and finished up as the 'Dad'. Standing next to him in this scene was Laura Wild, as 'Mom', but she also played 'the Shopkeeper's Wife' in the scene where 'Paddy' comes in to buy some sweet feed for the young calf left behind accidentally by 'Mr. Mitchell'. It really is a sweet tale about a boy learning the value of being honest, applicable as much now as it was back then in the 1950's in rural Texas.

 

"Most excellent! And who was the woman in the flowered dress?"

 

That's Luisa Nolasco. She was the narrator and also operated the 'moo' toy. She's been in several of the SavStageCo's works the last few years.

 

"Well, did you like it???"

 

I very much did! I just wish I had read more on Savannah Repertory Theatre's website so I would have been better prepared for what I was getting. At least they had a variety of ticket options for this! I chose the $10 Community Ticket, as it was considerably less than the $27 Senior/Military Ticket. I believe that all the tickets should have been $10, as this was not yet a finished work, but I also understand that they had to pay for that space at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

 

"What a great break on the tickets! And how nice to have seen something that was a different genre than many musicals!"

 

For sure! This has been quite a Western-themed day for me! Before I came to this, I was on fb and my friend Sherry Giddens had posted a Western joke! "If you talk to a cow while you're milking it you will get more milk. It's the old in one ear and out the udder!" I proceeded to share that with lots of folks right then and there! My youngest brother, Tony, even sent me a chemistry joke meme in return!!!

 

"Hahahaha! Too bad there's no "J" on the Periodic Table!"

 

Hey, I was just happy that he thought of me when he saw that! I was not about to rain on his parade. It's not like he designed that meme. He just found it and sent it my way!

 

"What about the new elements that filled in the 7th Period? No "J" in them?"

 

Nope, nary a one had a "J". Very impressive to see that all filled in, isn't it? That's been since late January of this year. So, now there's talk of creating and filling in an 8th Period. Of course, none of those elements exist outside a lab, and then their presence is so brief that verifying them is difficult. Still, it brings to mind that conversation I had with Cedric years ago, doesn't it?

 

"Most def it does! Science has progressed so quickly the last few decades!"

 

Yes, it has. Life in general has sped up so much since the cellphone age began. Today has been a bit of a respite to a slower pace. For instance, this evening I watched "Westward The Women", a 1951 Western I spotted on GritTV and taped a day or so ago. I'm glad I did! Talk about a slower pace... it took that wagon train several months to go from Chicago to a small mining town in California! Such a good movie!

 

"I'm glad you've enjoyed your step back in time today! That's been a nice break from the usual, hasn't it, dear?"

 

It has been, it truly has. 

(smile!)

ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown

So sang Smokey Robinson, but he was singing about a different clown.

"I Pagliacci" was six years ago with Savannah VOICE Festival!

The clown for SVF13 was "Rigoletto", a hunchbacked jester with a malicious flair no doubt honed by years in the service of a womanizing Duke.

That hunchback was played by Sherrill Milnes to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera in 1972, when he was 37 years old.

I wonder what the age was of Jean Carlos Rodriguez, the man who had that role tonight at Asbury Memorial?

That's him, centered in the photo, taking his bows at the end. 

It's quite possible he was in that age range, too. 

 

I admit to being a bit lost at the beginning of the opera.

As well as being occupied with my volunteer duties, I was thrilled to discover we had a live orchestra in the house!

That meant Marc Chesanow and his bass were again part of the show!

So was Richard Ochoa (violin) as well as another I knew: Xiaodi Liu (oboe), whose tall, blonde wife tipped me off to his presence.

Very nice!

However, when showtime arrived, I found myself unfamiliar with the story.

Even worse: I was sitting in the very last row, without my glasses.

Would I be able to read the translated dialogue from back there?

Fortunately, I could... and did!

Ah, and what a tale of woe that befell this clown...

such a sad loss of a beloved Gilda by a father...

and all due to the twisted jester's venomous nature.

Wow.

Here's a surprise: I recognized one of the songs!!!

Gilda had been warned that the Duke was a lecherous beast, but she didn't believe that... not until she heard him boasting in "La donna è mobile", which basically gave him carte blanche to cheat with, and on, women before they could do so to him.

That wasn't very noble of him, was it?

There was one nice bonus, too.

The young man who had helped me and Kim the last time at this space?

He had a right nice amount of stage time!

Juan Angel Johnstone-Chavez played Count Ceprano, a young noble whose wife was one of those seduced by the jester's master, the Duke of Mantua.

Such a very nice baritone that young man has!

I'll be looking forward to more from him next season!

I guess that means this final performance of SVF13 was a success -

it left all of us wanting more!

(smile!)

thrice to the wooded areas we go!

As I told Sherrill Milnes before the show tonight, this is the third time this year that I've been treated to this musical!

The first had been at the same venue as yesterday's SVF13 event, but only middle-school kids were involved.

The second time was at Tybee, less than a month ago.

Good thing I love "Into The Woods"!!!

Mind, I'm not saying that the musical in its entirety was reproduced this time, as that was certainly not the case.

Oh, far from that!

However, of the fourteen songs presented, five were from that one Stephen Sondheim creation.

Impressive!

The First Presbyterian Church was the host site for tonight's "Once Upon A Time: Fairy Tales Come Alive", with the front bedecked with flowers and greenery galore.

'Twas truly lovely!

I had not yet placed the purple cloth bands on the first five rows of pews for the premium patrons before that photo.

I ended up being the volunteer in charge, as Kim left about 20 minutes into our shift.

That was all fine, though, as everyone knew the drill by this time!

After all, there is just one more show before the grand finale party, so we've all become quite familiar with each other and the routine.

The big differences have been with the venue layout and the location of the bathrooms.

The show tonight also had children in attendance, though certainly not as many as there had been at the school venue last night.

How wonderful that there have been $15 tickets to encourage families to come!

Any who were there for the opera would have been treated again to two songs from "Cinderella", the classic they would have known well!

This arrangement was a bit different, though.

Peter Lake sang his part of "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful"...

then the two stepsisters stepped in with their Lament...

before Ashley Nunez sang her portion of the duet with Peter.

Very nice!

Later, there was a fabulous interaction between Eric Šebek and James Williams III when their songs as Shrek ("Who I'd Be") and the Shadow Man ("Friends On The Other Side") played off each other.

Of course I just ate all of that up!

I wonder how many of the folks there knew both of those musicals?

Not that I knew all of these fairy tales.

The lone numbers from "Falstaff" and "Rusalka" threw me, but I recognized those from "The Magic Flute" as well as "Hansel And Gretel". 

Nice to have some music I'd not heard! 

 

Thankfully, we were rain-free, too, except for a slight drizzle as folks were slowly heading out afterward to their cars.

That was good!

The last time Savannah VOICE had a festival event here had been in 2019 and there had been pouring rain before and after.

I'm so glad Joan Silver got me involved with ushering for opera!

These two weeks have been glorious!

I understand why John Suchower would go to Europe every summer to follow the trail of operas being performed.

He certainly wasn't going to get that here, back in the 80's and 90's.

Thank you, Sherrill and Maria, for bringing your dream to life in Savannah.

genetics and VOICE

"Just because someone's voice is classified as "tenor" doesn't mean they sound just like someone else with that classification. Genetics has something to do with all that, too, as it effects the formation of the vocal chords and mouths, for one thing."

No argument from me on that! I wouldn't expect tenors from different families to sound the same. However, tonight's SVF13 concert was "The Three Tenors: A VOICE Family Concert" and the three men were all related. Christian Šebek is the dad and he sang with his sons, Eric and Zachary, here at Asbury Memorial Church. And, as I told Eric at the reception afterward, they all have such distinctly different voices!!!

"Now, that is interesting! Might those different qualities be due to their ages or builds?"

Well, as can be seen in the photo above, I don't think it's their build. Eric is the one face-on to the camera, standing next to his older brother, Zach. Christian is in the back looking over at someone else. His voice has a little warble to it, like Sherrill's does. Perhaps that is from performing classical operatic pieces, but I believe it to be natural. Just listen to "Impossible Dream" and see what I mean. Zach, who was here as a student of the VOICE program back in 2018 or so, has a... 'clean'... sound, for lack of a better word. No warble like his father, no musical theatre anbling like Eric has. Zach is just a solid tenor., even when he's hamming it up with a love song to a toaster oven! Whereas Eric's sound is brighter, as can be heard when he did "At Last", that famous blues number.

"I see what you mean. They're all rather theatrical on stage, though, as was especially evident when they did that medley."

You mean "Pretty Women/What Is It About/Maria/Johanna"? Yes, that was an amazing number!!! With songs from "Sweeney Todd", "West Side Story", and "The Phantom Of The Opera", that one wove together the love songs from three of my all-time favorites - wow!!! I talked to Christian about that at the reception and he told me he and a friend put that together. What a superb job they did!!!

"Oh, wow!!! I would love to hear that again!!!"

Me, too, but I haven't found it yet. I'll keep looking! Meanwhile, I did find the encore piece they sang for us today! It's one of my favorites, though I've never seen the opera - "Turandot" - that it's from. I just remember hearing it a few years ago by none other than Peter Lake, and wishing that it was on tonight's program as soon as I heard the trio's first song, "Til I Hear You Sing". 

"G'friend! Stop beating around the bush! What was that song???"

Oh, that was "Nessun Dorma"! I though I'd mentioned it. Sorry!

"Okay! Much better! And what's going on in this photo? A movie?"

Yes!!! Two former Savannah VOICE alums, Scott Joiner and Jessica Fishenfeld, had created a little opera for the Šebek trio a few years ago. It's a sketch book set to music about a magic ring and which of the sons will inherit it to continue the singing tradition. Very funny! Even the title of it is a pun: "Death Of A Grailsman" - hahahaha!!! Amazingly, it's free on youTube!!! That has these three tenors - and Beth Howard, the sons' mom - on Memorex, but we had them perform it live!!! I can't wait to share that with my great-nieces and great-nephews! They might get inspired to sing opera some day!

"Hey, that could happen! Here's hoping! Mama would have loved that!"

(smile!) 

two hits of the bard, straight outta texas!

I have been so blessed with Shakespeare this year!!!

First were two locally-produced musicals, "Romeo & Juliet" with "Much Ado About Nothing", as teens and young folk are prone to do.

(smile! Snuck in a little pun there!)

Those were performed by different troupes which were likely unaware that each had chosen the same writer.

That was all just fortuitous timing for my bday67 - thank y'all!!! 

Last night, and Friday night as well, I was treated to another twosome of the Bard of Avon's works, one historical, one fanciful.

Neither were musicals, though "As You Like It" did have a bit of song, whereas "Henry V" had none.

Neither had any overlapping characters in their stories, either, though both were overladen with the minor, and major, titles of those with royal blood. 

However, the two plays did have one thing in common: the theatre troupe which brought their tales to life.

Seriously!

Both were performed by the troupe at the University of Houston, for Houston's 51st Annual Shakespeare Festival, for the purpose of drawing together their "diverse community to explore... common humanity" - how amazing is that???

Here's something even more amazing: all nine performances throughout the course of the festival were free!!!

Then there's this: two of the performances were streamed live, for free, on the venue's youtube channel!!!

What sweet music to my ears when I saw that post on fb!

The only reason it appeared in my feed was because my friend Lorrie Ruggiero, who lives in Houston, had Miller Outdoor Theater as one of her 'likes'.

Hallelujah!!!

So, on Friday, after the SVF13 cabaret, I tuned in to Miller Outdoor's "Dream Stream" for "Henry V" and was a little lost at first, as historical sagas aren't my strong suit.

But what a thrill to hear that famous "Once more into the breach..." as Henry leads his men into battle in France!

Honestly, every military battle since has been fought for the glory perceived in that 16th century quest!

At the end of the bloody warmongering, Henry had lost almost 500 men... but the French had more than 10,000 dead on the field.

Then it was time to pitch woo, not war!

Fair Katharine had agreed to be his wife, so her dad, the defeated king, had to sanction their marriage.

Ah, yes, love wins out and the two kingdoms were made one as well!

Isn't it lovely when a plan works out?

Then, last night, I came home after Friedman's cabaret and tuned in to the Dream Stream again, this time for a rom-com!

Here's the meet-cute of Orlando and Rosalind, after his wrestling victory, as her cousin Celia looks on.

By the end of the play, there are four weddings (and no funeral! for those who get the 1994 reference!)  

First, of course, is that of Oliver and Rosalind, who was disguised as "Ganymede", a man, earlier when she and Celia had to flee to the forest.

Phebe, a shepherdess who had loved "Ganymede", is wed to Silvius, a shepherd who had loved her for some time.

Touchstone, the courtier who had accompanied Rosalind and Celia when they fled, gets married to Audrey, the singing shepherdess who won his heart.

And what about Celia?

She gets hitched to Orlando's older brother, Oliver!

Happy, happy, happy, happy!

(smile!)

I also found out from the youtube chat that the two live-streams will stay up until Tuesday, so I've posted those on fb for JinHi and others of the theatre scene here.

She's been going through a rough patch with new meds for her lung cancer, so these will be a welcome distraction for a fellow Shakespeare fan!

Paying it forward, however I can!

cabaret, a la opera!!!

I do so love a cabaret!!!

There's no telling what lyrics may spring forth!!!

Tonight, I laughed and laughed and danced in my seat!

That was in the back pew, situated between two instructors - Timothy Hall and Justin Havard - for the Savannah VOICE experience. 

At the SVF13 tonight, it was "Everything: A Classical Cabaret with Maria Zouves", with lots of contemporary hits from the radio and elsewhere!!!

There was even a fabulously funny farce about french fries that she wrote!!!

(I just had to add that alliteration!!!)

The funniest thing about that?

It's called "My True Love" - hahahaha!!!

But wait... don't I recognize that face of the man center stage?

Of course I do!

That's Richard Ochoa, the first name in violin in this seaport!!!

The fellow in the nice hat is Andrew Sovine, the guest guitarist for this gig.

He's talking to that very nice young pianist, Assaf Gleizner, I met in March.

The gray-jacketed man is the other pianist, David Friedman, who played when Maria was singing one of his songs, "You'll Always Be My Baby". 

(She actually sang two of his numbers tonight. I knew neither song.)

Then, barely visible along the right hand edge with his long white hair and black coat, is Marc Chesanow, the bass player that played with Knauer at the SMF36! 

So very nice to have a band for this cabaret!!!

They really helped round out the sound on the rock ballad (Journey's "Open Arms"!!!), the country ballad (Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me"!!!), the Johnny Mercer hit ("Come Rain Or Come Shine"!!!), the inspirational piece ("Get Happy"!!!), the modern showtune (Wicked's "For Good"!!!) - woohoo!!!

There were a few songs that were new to me.

Michael Ching even took the stage to play his melodica as Maria sang "It's Always Been You", a special composition written for the anniversary of Allan and Arlene Ratner.

How very nice that I actually know those people.

Arlene is a paternal cousin of mi amiga Sandy!

I've enjoyed talking with Arlene at the "Food For Thought" luncheons.

I need to start going to those again!

What a lovely thought from this concert tonight!!!

(smile!)

figaro! figaro! figaro! figaro!

"Yo! What's up with all the Mozart shouting?"

Not shouting... singing!!! Four of the seventeen aria-lists total chose songs from that opera to highlight their voices! I'd like to say I recognized all four of those tunes, but I did not. It wasn't until Hunter Thompson stepped to the stage that I heard one I knew: "Non piu andrai". Marvelous! I wonder if Sherrill Milnes had his 90-year-old foot tapping, there in the front row? My feet and hands were keeping that beat!

"Did you just slip a pun in there? And did you make up that word 'aria-lists' based on the 'aerialists' in the SavChTh shows?"

It could also refer to the spring show at TyPostTh... but, hey, good for you! You were paying attention and not distracted by the photo! Yes, I did make up that word, but it was totally in keeping with this first concert of SVF13. Titled "Aria", rather than "Death By Aria" as it was formerly known, it consisted of songs our of context, songs the singers chose, much as I do at karaoke. Well, except they didn't have a cheat sheet of words to keep them on track. Still, these were favorite songs of theirs, much like the songs I choose to sing, so words really weren't needed. Still, it might have been nice to have had some translation available. Only one of the songs was in English... and that was from "Little Women"! I thought for sure that Ina Torres O'Ryan was singing to a guy named 'Joe', not the tomboyish sister, 'Jo'. Very nicely done!

"Wow, that sounds cool! I recall really liking the musical a few years back. I'm sure the opera version is very interesting."

That would be my guess. This year's Savannah Voice Festival has this theme: "Once Upon A Time" - and you know how much I love fairy tales! None of the songs tonight had anything to do with that theme, as far as I know, but I'll be looking for it in the other shows this month. I'm so glad I can volunteer with this!!! Kim Owens was the other usher this evening, with Emily Gallagher riding herd on us. Marvelous!! And for this first concert ever at the Unitarian Universalist Church, this was a splendid outing! The house was packed!!!

"Most excellent! I do hope that will be the case tomorrow night, too. That show is at the same venue, isn't it?"

You are correct! Yes, I hope it will be packed, too. It's actually a rather small church, but the sanctuary makes for quite an intimate setting. Oh, sidebar: this is the church Evelina attends. I do hope it will become one of the regular venues. Even though it's downtown, the parking is free after 5 PM, so that's a nice break. This concert was at 6:30 PM, like the one tomorrow will be. Even with the volunteers arriving an hour early, the parking is still free.

"Oh, that is a nice touch. And the acoustics?"

Fabulous! Maria's voice will be showcased tomorrow, so that will be quite nice. Yes, quite nice, indeed! (smile!)

serendipity

Serendipity is defined as "the act of making desirable discoveries by accident" at dictionary.reference.com, one of my favorite websites. A word not in existence until 1754, the man credited with first use defines it as "discoveries, by accident and sagacity, of things ... not in quest of". One of the best examples would be Alexander Fleming's research of bacterial growth and finding a contaminant that had ruined one of his samples - a contaminant that would become penicillin.
As told elsewhere, Alexander Fleming's start into bacteriological medicine came from an unlikely string of events. After playing water polo with his brothers and Scots during the Boer War, he returned to England to an inheritance and no particular goals. Based on good test results, a brother's advice, and a chance water polo game, he selected St. Mary's Hospital, in London, as the medical school to attend. After graduation as a surgeon, Fleming decided to forgo a surgical career and stay on at St. Mary's, to work in the Inoculation Service. WHY? Because the captain of the rifle club wanted Fleming on his team. So, Fleming was doing postdoctoral research in a field not his major, at a place first chosen for its water polo team and then selected for its rifle club. And today, because he was in the right place, and he took notice and PUBLISHED the scientific problem he had witnessed, we have penicillin. Serendipity!
My love of theatre, as a participant both on and off the stage, are part and parcel of my love of teaching. I knew before my days in the Navy that I enjoyed being on the other side a classroom desk, shy as I was. During my senior year, I volunteered to be a teacher's assistant to two sophomore English classes, as that was preferable to taking two study halls. (I had completed all my course requirements except senior English, but was required to be on campus for half a day; hence, I was enrolled in senior English, two study halls, and senior Spanish.)
That teaching experience led me to work at the now-defunct Savannah Science Museum, where I did odd jobs which included being the snake handler and voice-altering storyteller for children's parties there. That choice of employment my senior year was also a direct result of the love of science nurtured in me by participation in the STERI program (Student-Teacher Environmental Research Interaction) my junior year. This program had included trips to the marshes, to the beach, and on shrimp boats to study the variety of life in those environments.
While working at the Science Museum, I was introduced to what life would be both as a sailor and working with electronics by the maintenence technician. Fun! Biology, physiology (we had a walk-in model of the human heart!), physics, chemistry, history - what a place for young minds!