Well, dear readers, here I am in San Francisco, the city by the bay. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I am in San Francisco. To be more specific, I’m in the Radisson Miyako Hotel in Japantown. I must say, I find San Francisco completely baffling, and have no idea where I am. I also find that San Francisco drivers are completely insane – they simply pay no attention to stop signs or lights and just move when they feel like it. I woke up yesterday morning at about eight-thirty, which was much earlier than I wanted to wake up. I packed, did some stuff around the home environment (I have a LOT of catching up to do this week), and then the car arrived and off I went to the airport. The flight was quick, which is more than I can say for the shuttle they booked me from Oakland to the hotel. There is a toll thing and the traffic leading up to it put the 405 freeway to shame. I finally got to the hotel just before six, set up ye olde computer, took a swig of water, and was then picked up and whisked off to rehearsal. The first thing I noticed upon entering the rehearsal room was the extreme cold. I’m talking thirty degree cold. It turns out that the heat is not working in the rehearsal room. I met several of the very nice cast members – in fact, I met all but one, who seemed preoccupied or uninterested in meeting the new Guy in town. I guess what was amusing about it is that it’s a very young girl who happens to have an album on a certain label. I don’t think that had anything to do with it, but I found it amusing nonetheless. I did meet the young girl’s father, however, and he seemed a very nice chap. As I watched act one progress, I realized that this benefit was easily going to achieve three hours – there are like fifty songs. I know they’re trying to trim it down, which will be a good thing. They started at seven, and we got to Mr. Haines’ number about ten-fifteen. I spoke to the director about the handful of staging ideas I had (winging it, basically, but with a design), and we’re going to flesh it out tomorrow with Mr. Haines. I can only tell you that the song is A Parade In Town and that there are balloons which Mr. Haines will have with him at all times. I still hadn’t eaten one thing, so the nice lady and child (twelve – she’s in the show) who took me back to the hotel, were kind enough to stop at McDonald’s and let me run in for a few items of food. I came back to the hotel and wolfed the food down, and then answered a plethora of e-mails. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Well, my goodness, look what I’ve done – I’ve gone and written everything I had to say in one paragraph. I hate when that happens, don’t you? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get some sleep.
I have nothing whatsoever to say in this section. I cannot even see straight, I’m so tired. I don’t have a clew as to what time I’ll actually be needed, but I hope it’s later in the day, so that I can just go down there and stay put and not have to go back and forth between the hotel and the theater. I forgot a hairbrush, so I’ll have to attend to that first thing when I arise.
My back and shoulders are so sore and tense and achy from these weeks and weeks of non-stop doing and going and going and doing. I desperately need a massage, and I may just have to treat myself to one upon my return to LA. I’ll be back first thing on Tuesday morning, then must enter changes into the play script, get new copies, and pay bills and get current with everything that I let slide last week. And then, at seven, we begin rehearsals with the play – thank goodness our first rehearsal is just a reading. That will give me another day of rest before actually having to start blocking the piece.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a fine beauty sleep, I must putter around the hotel and environs, I must rehearse with Mr. Haines, and then Mr. Haines must perform. Then it will be back to the hotel, pack, get some shuteye, and then up at five-fifteen for my five-thirty shuttle back to Oakland (I think my flight is at eight or something. Today’s topic of discussion: Frankly, I’m in a what is it, fish mood. What are your favorite fish dishes? Let’s hear about them in detail and maybe even have a recipe or three. I actually have eaten only a limited number of types of fish, so I’m interested to hear what you dear readers are fond of, so that maybe I can discover something yummilicious. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I get my beauty rest – I know today’s notes have been very dry, but we’ll get back to the eclectic and amusing notes upon my return to Los Angeles, California, USA.