rise of the machines in 1923

In the expressionism play that Savannah Arts Academy chose for their one-act theatre competition performance this year, a man is displaced from his job by a machine.

Here's my query: why was that considered a novel idea?

After all, the mechanical adding machine had already been around for several hundred years.

The model developed in 1887 bears close resemblance to the modern machines used for totaling sums of numbers.

Yet, in "The Adding Machine", the lead character - 'Mr. Zero' - has had the task of being a human calculator for twenty-five years.

That would mean he began his career more than a decade after the invention of the machine that would end his career.

If the machine had been invented in some other country, I could accept that, but it was created here in the USA by Dorr Felt.

Moreover, the playwright, Elmer Rice, was also of American origin.

However, perhaps the disconnect was due to location; the machine was invented in Chicago, but the writer lived in New York City.

Communication was the near-instantaneous phenomenon it currently is.

The first commercial radio broadcast wasn't until 1920.

Television broadcasts would not exist until after that, though that didn't really take hold until after World War II.

So, chances are, the 31-year-old Rice was not privy to the invention of the sum-compiling device until his knowledge of it inspired him to write this play.

That would be quite possible!

As for tonight's production by the high-school thespians, it was amazing!

Mind, this play is a century-old, but all of the costumes on the stage consisted of pieces that would have been right in keeping with that time.

Lots of grays and blacks and whites, save a colorful tree in the cemetery.

But wait, what's that bit of nature doing in an industrial setting?

Well, when 'Mr. Zero' (played very well by Trey Wilner!) lost his job of 25 years to the machine, he also lost his mind, attacking his boss and killing him in front of a lot of witnesses.

To the electric chair he went!

(Yes, that device was invented in the late 1800's and first used in 1890.)

That's how he ended up in the cemetery, eventually making his way to the Elysian Fields where the tree was, and meeting Etaoin Shrdlu (a physical embodiment of a printing mistake, played by Benjamin Odom).

Eventually, his coworker, 'Daisy' (nicely portrayed by Hanna Richmond), joins him; she was the one who read the numbers to him for him to add, and after he was fired, she left the job and killed herself, hoping to find him in the afterlife.

Almost the entire time, an industrial hum and the sound of stamping feet serve as the backdrop for the action.

In other words, it was quite noisy, which I found a bit distracting.

Light show puppetry also had a part, but I admit to only catching a bit of that once, and rather by accident, as there was so much else going on.

That made it a mix of live action and puppets, just as their competition piece from 2024 - "Blood Wedding" - had been. 

 

I do hope they do well on Friday in Columbus, Georgia.

In the photo, next to the woman in the blue dress is Trey Wilner, looking very much grown in this grey suit and tie - wow!

That blue dress is the only bit of non-monochromatic color in the play, and that was worn by Hanna Richmond's character, 'Daisy'.

I'll be looking forward to hearing the outcome of their competition! 

Break legs, y'all!

vacay in georgetown, making time for bella

"Hey, girlie! I think you got the name wrong. The dog is Stella, remember?"

You are correct, but so is what I wrote. Today was the preview of JinHi's play, "Bella", up at the Historic Savannah Theatre. I've been waiting to see that for months! It's definitely part of my bday68 celebration!

"That's right! You got a special reward in the kickstarter campaign so your ticket to the play would be included. Well, good for you! How was attendance?"

Amazingly good! I had looked at the kickstarter page to try to guess, and I was way off. The downstairs at the theatre was nearly full!!! I sat over to house left and had a fabulous view. Inessa Purple - remember her from the Lucas volunteer days? - caught me in the lobby and we sat together. So great to see her again!

"She hasn't changed at all! Same curly blonde hair as always! But why so many chairs on stage? I thought this was a one-woman show... right?"

Oh, it was. JinHi was the only one up there during the performance. After all, this was the story of her life and her battle against cancers and tumors that began when she was 14 years old. That's when her family found out she had the bone cancer in her left leg. Her dad had been PCS'ed to Italy and life was glorious! She loved the people and the gelato and the fact that everyone there would greet her with "Ciao, Bella"!!! All of that made her feel so beautiful!!! She had a year of bliss before the sarcoma took her leg.

"How brutal for a teen to have to deal with that."

I know. Mama had a problem with fibrous cysts that led to her losing half her palate and all her upper teeth when she was just 15 years old. The doctor did the surgery during summer vacation, so she wasn't around school kids, but, still. She spent most of that break waiting for the dentures and then getting used to them. I never, ever, saw my mother without her teeth in place.

"Yes, I know. You didn't even find out about that until you were in high school. That was probably about the time the doctor found a fibrous cyst in your right breast."

That sounds right. JinHi had recovered from her leg amputation and was in college before the next hit from her body. Headaches led to the discovery of a tumor in her brain that took two surgeries to remove. Fortunately, it was benign, but it did have hair and teeth, so that was unsettling. That was during her 20's. In her 30's, growths in her reproductive organs were found. She and her husband were trying to have a baby, but instead she had to have a hysterectomy. 

"Damn."

Yeah, that's pretty harsh. So she started Muse Arts Warehouse as her way of taking care of the artistic community. Then, in 2012, a growth appeared in her right lung, a beast she called a "moonmallow" due to its shape on the CT scan. Fortunately, it was Stage 1, and was handled by a partial removal of that lung, along with chemo. And all seemed to be well again, for two years. She has been battling Stage 4 lung cancer ever since.

"Damn!"

This show was born from that extended battle. A friend suggested she go back through her fb posts and gather up all that data. So, that's what she did. She refers to "Bella" as "43 years in 45 minutes" and that's about right. In August, she'll be going to the Fringe Festival in Scotland. Tickets for her show at that venue are already available. I wish I could be there, but the airfare alone is a staggering expense.

"Heard. Hey, I just noticed something. You never addressed all of those chairs on the stage!" 

Oops. Sorry, I forgot. Those were for the post-play question and answer session with JinHi and her crew, plus a live auction of memorabilia. There will also the results of the silent auction held before "Bella". All auction proceeds will go to help fund meals and such for the trip. I placed a couple of bids, but lost out.

"How was the Q and A?"

I couldn't stay. I need to get back to Georgetown so the dog can have her play time. Glad I got to have this 'play' time for me! Like that pun? (smile!) Good to see so many I knew! Inessa, Pam Sears of Armstrong, the Soucy clan, Bill Dawers, and even several from Asbury (Cheri and Billy Hester, Tom Lewis). Nice turnout for JinHi, Savannah's theatre royalty!

theatre: not just on the stage

Happy World Theatre Day!!!

Actually, that was yesterday, but I wasn't able to see a live performance until this evening, so I'm celebrating it over a 32-hour span.

(smile!)

I began at the cinema, of all places, with me unaware that I had done so until after the credits had rolled.

The movie was "Forbidden Fruits", seen at the AMC, with only one other person at that 1:35 PM matinee, but she seemed to be laughing in all the same places I did.

Very nice, as I know my sense of humor can be a bit different!

Anyway, after the movie, I spoke to the other viewer and found out why she was there at this "Valley Girls gone bad" horror-comedy.

She was best friends, since college days 16 years ago, with the playwright whose work was the basis of the movie... say what?!

Yep, that's right!

Lily Houghton's play, "Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die', was first performed in 2019.

Last year, the play was deemed worthy of life as a movie, with that script co-written by Lily Houghton and Meredith Alloway, following closely the narrative of the play, but with fruits, not flowers, and set in a mall, not a single store.  

How very cool that, at the end, one of the characters wore a cropped t-shirt with the play's name emblazoned upon it! 

Nice way to pay homage to the play!

(smile!)

That gave me the impetus to look at other movies for their theatre.

So, when I got home, I watched "Wonka" again!

Comcast gave me a $1 Movie Night reward on Thursday and that's the movie I chose!

So, when I say "again", I'm referring to that night, not to the time three years ago when I first saw it.

Heck, I've seen this musical so many times since then!!!

However, I was incorrect in thinking that it had ever been on the stage.

No, this was an original story, serving as the origin of the character portrayed by Gene Wilder in "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" in 1971.

That earlier movie was based on the book by Roald Dahl... but was never performed on stage, either. 

That's not to say that stage adaptations were never done... but that didn't transpire until this century. 

Now, there are children's musicals, an opera, and even a musical that's appeared on The Went End in London!

Maybe I'll get to see one of those someday - but certainly not within my stated 32-hour timeframe allocated for celebrating World Theatre Day.

Next!

(smile!)

Peacock to my rescue!

It offered "Les Miserables", the 2012 musical film with Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles!

And what should I determine as I watched?

It's an opera!!!

How to tell the difference?

In an opera, every line, by every character, is sung, with no spoken parts.

Ta dah!!!

It's based on the 1980 'sung-through' stage musical, "Les Miserables", which is based on the 1862 book written by Victor Hugo.

Although the movie is technically not a filmed version of a live play, it does use the same musical score as the stage musical did.

The difference is the dramatic license taken with the setting of those songs in elaborate constructions that would be impossible for a staged show.

However, as the film follows the stage production and utilizes the same lyrics in the same songs, I'm regarding it as a legitimate creation to include in my celebration!

Yes, yes, I am!!!

(smile!)

That brings me to the only live performance in this grouping.

I had hoped to see the Savannah Children's Theatre's production of "Evita" yesterday, but the Friday Fiesta ran too long... so I went tonight!

I even bought my ticket last night, to make sure to have a seat.

See, this was held in their brand-new Black Box space at the Starcastle.

Most such spaces hold 50 to 100 seats, so I didn't want to miss the show!

Fortunately, this Black Box can seat about 250.

Surprisingly, this is actually an opera, though it's called a 'sung-through musical', which is a bit off as Hanna Richmond, who plays 'Eva Peron', clearly has several arias during the show!!!

She is on-stage almost nonstop, along with the narrator, 'Che', performed absolutely perfectly by Desmond Chaney.

Austin Bradley was there as 'Peron', and Trey Wilner as 'Magaldi', but they truly don't have many lines as those characters.

Austin does have an incredible courting dance with Hanna, who also dances with 'Magaldi' and 'Che'... but that dance with Austin is beautifully done!

Honestly, I was so impressed with the stage story that I wanted to know more about that Argentinian woman, the real Eva Peron.

What did I learn?

She moved to Buenos Aires as a 15-year-old determined to be famous, hence her affair with the entertainer, followed by future affairs with men who could advance her to where she wanted to be, a position of prominence.

She attained that by the age of 26 with Juan Peron, just a Colonel at the time, but encouraged him to further his career to become President of Argentina.

Then she died of cervical cancer in 1952, at 33 years old.

Incredible! 

So, was this play based on a book of her life?

Actually, it originated first as a concept album, of all things!

That was in 1976, and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice used that tactic, already proven successful for their show, "Jesus Christ Superstar", six years earlier.

How amazing!!!

I've truly enjoyed looking at the history of these works.

I'll have to do a bit more of that in the future!

(smile!)

bday67 luncheon! bday67 with brothers! bday67 pinter play!

Thank you, Yvonne!!!

When I texted her last night to say, "Lunch maybe? Tomorrow or Mon? Houlihans? Kayak? Both?", she'd responded, "Tomorrow? Toni? Houlihan's? Time?" - hooray!

"Yes! High noon!"

After all, that's our time for luncheons.

(smile!)

Did I get a photo of the three of us?

Surprisingly, no.

We were there nearly three hours, but somehow not one photo did I take manage to take.

I guess we were too busy talking and having a good time!

So, all I have to commemorate this bday67 event is this email flyer from the restaurant, granting me a free lunch - up to $15 - if someone else also dined.

Thanks, Yvonne, for "buying" my lunch!!!

And thanks, Toni, for buying dessert for all three of us!

I still cannot believe the waitress thought we'd be able to eat three of those Salted Caramel Ooey Gooey Cakes - hahahaha!!!

We barely finished the one serving of all that sweetness!

(smile!)

 

Two hours later, Smitty sent me a text.

"Hey, we are going to Castaway today."

What, not to Jalapenos?

No, Laura wanted to check out this place.

Yes, the time was still 5PM.

Cool beans, I was up for a change of venue!

Not that it mattered, as I was still too full to eat.

I just wanted to spend time with both of my brothers tonight!

And that's exactly what I did, too!

Mary and Laura were there, too, of course, and I sat across from Mary and chatted quite a bit!

Then most of the Kameron contingent arrived: Betsy, Jimmy, Addison, Becca!

Mark never did make it, having been hung up on a job in Beaufort.

Oh, well!

I started out beside Smitty, then Tony made him switch seats when Jimmy arrived, so the Dood could chat me up - lol!

They all kept trying to get me to order, but I abstained.

Too full, too full... but how wonderful to see them all again!

(smile!) 

I left shortly after their food arrived, but not before taking a group photo of them!

Maybe I can get that posted here one day... but not today!

My phone is still not able to send photos to my email.

However, the printer scans programs just fine!!!

Here's the one that I found out about on Wednesday.

Yes, like just two days ago!

Savannah Country Day School had posted on fb about a "Senior Project" and asking folks to "please come to it on Friday".

Well, alrighty then!

So much for the Cinema Savannah screening of "Malena" -

so much for the "Sea Of Ink" night at the Ships of the Sea Museum" -

so much for "Drowsy Chaperone" - this time by SCAD - at the Lucas Theatre -

my plans changed justthatfast!

I'm so glad they did!

SCDS not only had the play by Harold Pinter for free, but so were all the snacks and drinks.

They were clearing it all out, as Jenkins Auditorium would be dark until the fall.

Happy birthday to me!

Plus, Henry Dickerson came and hugged me before the play began!

I had not realized he's a senior and this was his farewell gig, serving as Artistic Director for "Betrayal" - wow!

Such an adult-themed play for all these young people to perform!

See, "Betrayal" is the 1978 play built on Pinter's own affair with a married woman, and this one centers on the cuckold husband, the wife that he is cheating on, and the one screwing her, who is the husband's best friend.

I told Henry before the play that I hoped none of these young actors had ever had those experiences.

He gave me an odd smile, that let me know that he was surprised I knew so much about this bit of drama.

Hey, I did my homework on this time-jumping piece, right?

Glad I did!

Glad I was there!

I know I'll never get a chance to see this again -

that makes it a perfect birthday gift -

something completely different from what the other troupes offer.

(smile!)

brevity is the soul of w;t

No, that isn't a typo.
The play follows the last few months in the life of a professor of English literature, dying of ovarian cancer. She has given her body to science, while living. That is to say, she has agreed to undergo radical chemotherapy for eight months, knowing the treatment will not cure her, but agreeing to allow the doctors to use her as a test case for their research.
Thank God she had a nurse with both a conscience and a heart.
It's important to note, at this point, that the bedside manner of physicians has undergone a major overhaul since the early 1990's, when this play was written.
It's also of importance to note that the doctors are not the only ones dwelling in ivory towers, with limited exposure to the real world. The author, Margaret Edson, probably modeled the lead character after herself, as far as educational background is concerned. Both women, the real one and the fictional one, went straight from high school to college to graduate school and then into university as a teacher. Pardon me; I meant to say "Professor".
(smile)
Believe me, that distinction matters to many of those who have lived in the halls of academia their entire lives.
That's where the snobbery towards the bard comes into play. After all, Shakespeare wrote in the words of his day, the everyday language of the working man. "Hamlet" is chock full of lines which have lived on into usage still, such as my title quote. The same is also true of many of his other plays, too. I can recall being surprised when reading "Macbeth" at the number of lines I already knew!
I'm also familiar with the works of John Donne, a late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century poet who struggled mightily with his own religious beliefs, raised Catholic but converted to Anglican to avoid death. Hence, his poems reek of suffering and pain and loss - and an interesting use of punctuation to alter perception. Later studiers of his works described him as the founder of "metaphysical poetry".
I would have liked to know his take on that.
His "Holy Sonnets", written after the death of his wife (during the birth of their twelfth child), are at the heart of "W;t". The lead character has studied his works for more than half of her life, teaching them for the last three decades.
I have to wonder about the purposeful use of a semicolon instead of the letter "i" in the play's title.
Did it represent the loss of the individual to the disease?
Does it reflect the impersonal use of the patient as an item to be studied?
Was it meant to remind us of the temporary nature of being an "I"?
Or are we to remember its cousin, the dash, and the usage of that small item to document the length of a life?
I'm going to close with a poem, written by Linda Ellis, in 1996. I've read it several times in emails, but never did it bear more meaning than to me than now.

​The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996


​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?


​Copyright 1996 Linda Ellis
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

www.Linda-Ellis.com
- See more at: http://lindaellis.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/the-dash.html#sthash.Ir1pAGCU.dpuf

how I marked the 13th year

This past week has certainly been a time of remembrances of my days in the military. Ever since last Friday, when I discovered, to my horror, that the Naval stations I had spent my young adult years at were (long) gone, I have had the impact of the military on youth on my mind. During times of peace, the effect is minimalized, primarily manifesting as an increase in structure and responsibility. That's all to the good. Regardless of the reason a person volunteers for service, that time elisted can bring happy memories and long-term friendships.
Today was not to mark a time of peace. This country has been deeply involved in war and peace has been absent for thirteen years.
In honor of this great country I call home, I attended two events at Armstrong State University today.
The first was a fun learning experience. Titled "Star Spangled Banner", the lecture explored the origins of several patriotic songs, not just our National Anthem. One piece in particular caught my attention: "America The Beautiful". Based on the poem "Pike's Peak", written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893, the lyrics give praise to the World's Columbian Exposition, better known as the Chicago World's Fair. She was a 33-year-old single woman, a teacher from Massachusetts, who had traveled to Colorado for a summer teaching job and stopped in Chicago along the way.
Why did this hold such importance for me?
Well, it appealed to my alter ego, Fliss of Kickstarter! In particular, the reference in the song to "alabaster cities", in conjunction with the knowledge of her trip to the Fair in 1893, immediately placed her in the context of the musical I had backed on kickstarter. 'Wait a minute!', I thought, 'I know that story about the Fair!' Indeed. Thanks to "The Dreamer and The Devil", I am rather familiar with the architect of that White City of which she speaks. I can certainly understand an intelligent young woman being quite taken with Daniel Burnham's gleaming dream, especially after the city grime she knew.
How fortunate for us all that she did not opt to stay at the hotel built by "Dr. H.H. Holmes" during her visit to the Fair. That establishment, self-billed as "World's Fair Hotel", came replete with dungeon, gas chamber, and moratorium, and was the site of at least 27 murders (possibly as many as 200). Had she rested her head on one of those pillows, we might not have ever had this paean to the beauty of America's diverse vistas.
Brrr! Did you just catch that chill?

The second event I chose to mark time in America's history was this evening.
The Armstrong Masquers performed
"A Piece of My Heart", the play written by Shirley Lauro. Her work was adapted from six stories of the twenty-six women in the 1986 book by Keith Walker. The six stories selected cover a broad range of women who served in Vietnam, during their time there (in the late 1960's) and up to the completion of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (in 1984).
Some of these women were so young! Martha, a daughter of a career military man and Army nurse mother, and Sissy, who had just looked for escape from her Pennsylvania hometown, were 18 and 19 years old when they enlisted.
MaryJo, a Texas entertainer in her early 20's, thought a contract to entertain the troops would advance the careers of herself and her band. That was the story her agent told her.
LeeAnn was a hippie and a war protester, thinking that being a military nurse was a way to help folks - especially as she had been told she would be going to Hawaii.
Whitney, in her mid-20's, was an idealistic Ivy-leaguer, volunteering as a nurse for the American Red Cross.
They all believed the stories on the radio, on television, in the newspapers and magazines. America was winning the war over there, but could still use help.
The only one who truly knew what was going on was 35-year-old Steele, a 17-year intelligence specialist in the US Army. Of course, she found out that being a black female was not going to get you too far, regardless of the information you brought to the general's attention.

Yes, I cried.
I wept when the young nurses were thrown into the horror pit of war, forced to learn how to start an iv through OJT. Add to that scene the sound of helicopters,
the endless screaming and noise, and the sight of men, their age and younger, missing limbs and bleeding out before their eyes.
Horrific.
I wept when a dying young man gets to talk to his mom for Christmas.
I wept when the veteran in the group tries to stave off the Tet offensive and failed.
I wept when they all sought solace at the bottom of a bottle, both in Vietnam and back at home again.
Their return to the States was met with more tears, because I know the greeting they received from the civilian world here.
I am so grateful to be a supporter of the Armstrong Masquers.
Keep up the good work, y'all.

day 33

It's 100 Days of Summer, y'all!
That's what the American Red Cross is calling this blood drive.
100 Days of Summer.
100 Days of Hope.
I encourage you to click here and find a time that works for you. You will then be a hero to three people.
1 hour of time + 1 pint of blood donated = 3 lives saved
Today was the 33rd day of the campaign.
I sandwiched my donation between errands at the school, lunch (fried chicken!) and dinner (pot roast!!) at The Galley, and an evening topped off with an old-fashioned murder mystery.
Very nice!!!
I do hope you have as wonderful a day as I have had today!

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!

love lost

Just last night, I attended a musical unlike any I have ever seen. Titled "The Last Five Years", it dealt with love found and love lost. The playwright approached this common enough theme in a most unusual manner, using time and perception to examine the theme. Here's how it went: in each scene, the two characters interact, but are out of synchronicity with the event at hand. For the male, time progressed forward, from the moment of first love to the end of the relationship. For the female, time passes in reverse, allowing us a vision of the end in the opening scene of the play.
Quite a different approach to exploration of the interactions of men and women. This is a fairly new play, having its debut in 2001, a scant decade ago. It is also set in the modern day, rather than some other time frame.
But, the most unusual part of this theatrical work is this: it is a musical. Yes, you read that correctly - a MUSICAL! I have loved musicals since I was a girl, whether they are tragic or light or inane, so this drew my attention right away. I had deliberately not read any reviews or history of the play, so it could present itself to me unshaded by the bias of others. And I completely enjoyed it, though it was terribly sad on occasion. I know I will go to this play in the future, when some other theatre puts on the show and it'll be interesting to see how my knowledge of its workings will alter my interpretation. Theatre is such a LIVE creature, mutating with its players into a slightly different beast with each outing!

challenge!

Tomorrow is the first day of my New Year. My resolution is to accept more challenges, take more risks, step out of my comfort zone. No, I'm not planning to take up skydiving! After all, my mother taught me NOT to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
I want to audition for a theatrical production. I had been invited to try out for "Psycho Beach Party," but I had too much else going on, I said. I was invited to bring some music and go for a role in "Urinetown" - but I went to the Sand Gnats' game instead. Well, the third time is the charm, as they say. I'll keep my eyes open for that next show, maybe even a musical. After all, I'm not putting in my karaoke time anymore and I miss singing in front of a crowd. (Knowing how shy I once was, and still can be, I can hardly believe I even said that!)
I'm entering a writing challenge sponsored by an Australian group, http://www.kiwiwriters.org/my/challenge/site/socnoc-2009.html . In fact, I just noticed: it's already tomorrow - 3:55pm, too - in that part of the world. Happy birthday to me! And soon enough it'll be my birthday here on my side of the world. The challenge is to write a 50, 000-word novel in thirty days, from June 1 to June 30. I've read plenty of novels over my lifetime, even occasionally fancying that I could write such a thing. Well, it's out of the daydream and into reality with YOU, my dearie! I have this weekend to try to come up with an idea and maybe some characters and already my head is churning. Hopefully, the writing will progress at a MUCH faster pace than my blog has! I'm excited!!!