Matt, Ginny & Me #10

"Good to be welcomed home!"

 Following an introduction to Choco Penguin on Wednesday morning,
I had been resolved to 'retire' Ginny from her many adventures.

So much for that idea....  

By Wednesday afternoon, the Irrepressible Duo clearly had other plans: 

"After the wilds of the Midwest, Ginny charmed herself
into getting Alia to help her with her ruffled feathers."

                                                              Och.....

Also welcomed from the North, three bags at the Rep of cheese curds to share amongst
1) the Scene Shop,   2) the Costume Shop,  3) the Interns' Apartment.

Squeaky cheese!   :)

Lunch  =  WC take-home leftovers & WI curds:
"Oh squeaky nuggets of gold..."

"Westminster Abbey & the Canterbury Tales"

Producers on Tour 2013!

I met with Wendy, Luke, Joey & Tommy to load in at the Rep, 9am sharp. Minus the inclusion of Act II's Springtime (of our show-within-a-show), we managed to make the select set pieces & all the ensemble's & principal costumes fit into two tour vans. Success! 

 (Joey sang me his "On Tour" song en route.
We also managed to procure a WC Visitors sticker to make our mark in the collection on the van's ceiling.)

My shoebox venue concerns didn't come to light after all. I'd been told that SR had lots of room which ordinarily means SL is barely cat-swinging size. Not so true this time! Whilst the two dressing rooms were not big enough to house everyone, the Green Room allowed for the costume racks to be out & tables for wigs & boxes so plenty of overspill. The logistics put my weekly touring brain back into good use again.
   Plus the advantage of being but ten minutes away from the Rep meant that when I realised I'd mistakenly overlooked a dress for Act II or one of the ensemble boys decided he was actually able to make it and the crew remembered about the sixteen walkers (zimmer frames) that were sitting in the zom back at SR (a key part of the choreography for "Little Old Lady Land/ Along Came Bialy") - we were able to go back & get them.  So much easier to pack up everything into trundlers rather than just bits & pieces!  
   (We had left the Rooftop/Pigeon Coop behind on purpose so Jody ("Franz") was already set for miming the feeding his "birds" in mid-air ...  Surely the cast could've gone onto mime their entire dance too?!)

WC looked after us well - breakfast, lunch & tea were all provided (I quickly made friends with the coffee-pot on arrival) & an army of helping hands carried things in with us.
The main body of work was more of the planning & our set-up. 

Luke puts the Office set to good use.

Likewise Tommy & Joey with the couch on-stage.

 By just performing highlights from The Producers, we ended up with an hour-long
& a different kind of show. Not so much exertion or effort - I kind of missed carrying out my twelve costume/set changes in eight plus minutes, from Shubert Alley into "Springtime"!

TMM & Ginny #9

Livin' up their last week in WI in style...

"Had to feed Ginny...
Venison tenderloin with bourbon port pepper reduction...."
— with Ginny & Bourbon Port.

Post dinner Cribbage!

Nap Time.

Making venison burgers and bratwurst.

"Good friends to have! (Lucky Ginny!)"

Fact: These guys been friends since 1st Grade, age 7;
hence they go way back.

Fortuitous

is walking back from the theatre to the apartment after a not-so-good Sunday start 

~ laundry left overnight in the dryer still not dry; the broken boot for Hitler's QC with its faulty zipper (that I'd tried to fix & set overnight with industrial-strength glue & a makeshift pull) coming clean away in my hand again; an emergency phonecall to my supervisor to find out what fastenings I could legitimately affix onto the boot ahead of the matinee ~ 

& finding BC walking towards me at the corner of Brook & Broad. A cup of tea apiece & conversation (the Twelfth Night, naturally) & the day re-sets itself again. Better.

Sam's goodbye.

Katie had organised for us an intern lunch at Sam's choice (Tarrant's!) for her goodbye meal. Electrics also were in full attendance with Emily plus her boss Jenna & overhire Mike as Sam had been welcomed & adopted by them for part of her time here.
   There was still time post-show though for one last event. The crew boys came round to say goodbye then we 4 took to the road. On my first morning here as a complete quartet, the girls had taken me to Waffle House for breakfast. I'd proposed we did the same for Sam as a last goodbye. 

I'm glad we did. It was a good revisit. Same table, same places.
We also serenaded her & tousled her hair with our heartfelt renditions 

of Andy Williams' Can't Take My Eyes Off You. 

Sam meanwhile had spent the afternoon post-packing, scattering sticky notes into hidden places throughout the house.  :)  There's already been a few discoveries met with a cheer, laughter or a sob, with more to be found over the coming weeks. 

Emily & I snuck out after we got home to leave one final reply on her window with crayon.

 And now there are three.

Introducing Sam, Sam & Sam.

I scavenged these unwanted mannequins from work today.
I spy a CRAFT PROJECT in the making!

In other news: 

- Producers is taking a mini tour across town to Westminster Canterbury next Tuesday.
An annual event for the Theatre IV musicals. As with ourselves, the home also boasts a Sara Belle November theatre as our two favoured patrons also happen to reside there. I suspect it will feel like the Edinburgh to Llandudno leg of the K&I tour from palace residency to shoebox scramble again. 
  Preparations began in earnest yesterday. Today I was back to pen & yellow paper once more with drawing up packing lists for costumes, props & accessories and drafting new costume plots for the cast. A double-show day but abridged down to nine musical numbers. Plus my favourite challenge - overseeing our six chorus girls in an entirely new Quick Change; an irregular transition to usual in an unknown space. It's gonna be an adventure!

- I get to be a normal person for a month! I'll be back to working 9-5, M-F post-Producers prior to Hay Fever opening on February 15th. (Evenings? Weekends? What is this thing of which you speak?!) This pleases me greatly as it was indeed the next one I was hoping to work on. I knew it was a Twenties piece already (yay!) but apparently it's set in Cookham so not only am I down for wardrobe, their director was also eyeing me up for additional accent insights. Berkshire though... hm, maybe not!

Hi-ho-hi-ho...

7am: The alarm sounds... snoozes... resounds.  

"Our revels are now ended." 

It's back to Work Proper we go.

2013. Shiny.

I drop the dying year behind me like a shawl 
and let it fall.  

: I woke up this morning after a fabulous, fun evening with a crashed-out BC curled up asleep next to me & the first line of Carol Ann Duffy's New Year in my head.
   It's etched inside my head from previous readings of Rapture & yesterday, last night and today it feels to provide the perfect fit. 

A fresh start. 

Our plans came together of the last minute. We wanted to celebrate Sam's being with us before she leaves us & departs Richmond this week. Emily chose the Speakeasy theme & its password. We spread the word within the last twenty-four hours. Friends came. Beer & champagne was shared. Games were played. Joey's bowtie made the much-talked-over Flat Family Photo an actual happening event. 

Making ready. To tripod or not tripod?
That was the question.

Miss Delish meets & corrupts Mr. Dibble.

Crossing town to Carytown for friends & balcony views. 

Groundlings of Carytown.

 

104°F water in -2°F cold

Anew.

Afresh. 


The American emphasis working as such:
"Happy New Year".

Meanwhile, some several hundred miles
      north, in a hot tub somewhere...