Need a good Laugh?

Here it Is! I had this song stuck in my head all day, so instead of purchasing it via iTunes, I elected to purge the tune in my head via YouTube. I had forgotten how hilarious the video was. The song is cheesy but actually pretty good. The video however is full of Michael tossing his flowing locks atop the grand canyon in a matching denim outfit. His shirt is unbuttoned to his navel, his face is dead serious about how he Feels so much more than Love... very bodice ripper here. Between Michael himself, the eagles and horses flying/galloping through fire and the fan comments (go to the video and check out the serious comments left there) My favorite comment was; " One of the best lyrics....Something no one had ever thought about...The way he says that he said he loved but he lied....but then in the next time...Says that it is more than love He feels inside...So much of depth in the meaning" I was on the floor laughing at it all. Perhaps I'm too easily amused. Perhaps it's good to be entertained so easily... either way;
Enjoy;

Where on Earth have I been?

Buried under a heap of costumes.

First I was the costume assistant/coordinator for Sex. A play by Mae West, quite racy for 1926. It's a terrible read, but once you see it on stage with the music numbers, the set, the costumes and the fantastic actors it all makes sense. It's all like watching a cheesy 20's movie. Hard boiled dialogue and all (or was that soft boiled... I always get them confused.) I like it.



Second was Lovers and Executioners. It's a cavalier show based on a 17th C. French play called "La Femme, juge et partie" by Montfleury. Frankly the plot is like a bad Vivaldi opera or an early Mozart opera... bad plot, holes to sink a humvee in, but if the music is good you usually forgive them. Unfortunately this isn't an opera. The whole thing is done in rhyming couplet. Yes, imagine if you will two hours of rhyming couplet along with synthetic music. I cannot comment fully in this forum but let's just say that I love the actors, they're lovely people who are doing their best and I hope the critics are kind.

Next (starting tomorrow) is The Velveteen Rabbit. The ODC dance company's Not-The-Nutcracker holiday show. I've never seen it, I've never run it but I like the people I'm working with and dancers are on the whole lovely self-sufficient people. So I'm hoping it will be a good show. Usually at this time of year I'm working on the Christmas Revels, which I've loved but sadly can't afford to work for the pittance they offer. Perhaps another year. Anyway I'm doing repairs on the rabbit head today. It is both a brilliant piece of engineering and a scary scary bunny head, so here's a video of it. Beware, it will peer into your soul with it's sparkly blue eye...



I've been so busy that Thanksgiving is really going to be great. Right now my plan involves lying around my house. Playing with the dog and watching movies... maybe with friends, maybe just DeWalt. Dinner will include prochuitto wrapped asparagus, a yam, bok choy, and cranberry sauce, maybe I'll make some gravy for the yam... it's going to be great! Day OFF!!!

P.s. If you get a chance check out "Jim's Blog" in my links. He's a talented actor who is currently playing Scrooge at the big LORT A (hot-shit regional theater for those who don't speak the lingo) in San Francisco. Worth the read.

More Berkeley Grafitti

Still too busy to write... but feel the need to post anyway...

Miracle Worker

Sometimes I am left with a task that I have no idea of what to do. Occasionally it's a fun task like "turn this muslin into tree bark" or "make it so that we can remove this 17th C ball gown in 14 seconds"... Today is not a fun problem. I am so frustrated with the boots you see above that I'm ready to just scream. If we had an extra $1000 in the budget we would have had custom made boots for the lead actress. However We do not, so we are forced to make due with what we have. What we have is an actress with extra wide feet. So basically any shoes that fit the length of her foot are painful across the toes or the arch and the shoes that are "close" are still too short and pull up in the heel when she lunges (as you do in a cavalier sword fight). So today I have been wasting the past hour trying to fanagle foam into these boots but make it so that a foot can still get into them without tearing out the padding. I'm giving up for now. Maybe I'll ask my cobbler if he has a suggestion. More likely the cobbler will ask "why can't you just get a pair in the correct size?" Why indeed. :(

Adendum; The cobbler was brilliant. He knew just the right padding to put in. It wasn't a perfect fit afterwards but it was good enough. SIGH!

Berkeley Grafitti