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June 22, 2007:

SEESAW

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, once again a week has flown by like a gazelle in a tuna canning factory. And what a week it’s been – up, down, up down, like a seesaw, seesaw, everybody’s travelin’ on a crazy seesaw or, at the very least, travelin’ on a crazy sawsee. All you can do with a week that’s like a seesaw is ride with it, roll with the punches, take it in your stride. So, I did my best to ride with it, roll with the punches and take it in my stride, and since I’m here to tell the tale, I suppose I succeeded in enjoying the up and not letting the down get to me too much. Speaking of too much, yesterday was Summer Solstice, so there was, in fact, too much day. I got a decent night’s sleep, dealt with the errant and truant package (it arrived), had an early lunch, then had a two-hour rehearsal with Miss Joan Ryan. I finished blocking everything but the last two numbers of act two. She now has to get all this in her head, so that I can begin to add steps and moves to the staging, in addition to honing the performance and pace, because until all that happens I won’t, in fact, know if the show is long enough or too long (I doubt it’s too long – I think we may have to add some more patter and perhaps even one more song – we’ll see). I spent a lot of time explaining the end of act one – it’s a number that Joan will do brilliantly, but she’s fought me on it and badgered me about it for four months and I finally said stop or I’ll just cut it and I let her know that if I cut it that it would be her loss and would rob her show of a really potent number. She’d rewritten my lead-in to the song and it was so apparent that she was really fighting what the song actually is about, so I spent twenty minutes talking about the film that inspired the song, the character, and why I set it up the way I did – the song is Fifty Percent, from Ballroom. And she just had it in her head that it was a defeatist song, and it isn’t – it’s a defiant song, a positive song, sung by a character who has made a choice and for whom that choice works. I think I finally got through to her, and I think she now is beginning to sense the power of the number. After rehearsal, I did some errands, then came home and spent an hour on the phone with my muse Margaret going over about thirty suggested fixes from proofer one – I’d done or not done over 100, but wasn’t sure about these, so we went over each and every one, did some of them, and didn’t do others. So, the book is now ready for proofer number two and I’m hoping she won’t find much else, but you never know. If I can get those fixes entered by end of next week, then we’ll start designing the book (and if you missed the cover art, it’s in yesterday’s posts – I was very pleased with the reaction). After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched four count them four episodes of The Sopranos. I must say, I’m finding it a very strong, if strange, last season, and there have been a couple of powerhouse moments to rank with the best of the series, and a couple of shocking moments to rival the most shocking moments from the past. When the history books are written, I think The Sopranos, like I, Claudius, will go down as one of the greatest TV series in history. The acting by everyone is never less than great, and they always have surprising guest stars – in episode two of this season, Sidney Pollack had a terrific role, and in a later episode, Nancy Sinatra made an appearance. In the final of the four episodes I watched, one of the series strongest characters met their end, so I’m supposing that anything is fair game from now on. Like I, Claudius, The Sopranos is one of the most addictive shows I’ve ever seen.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because these notes are going up, down, up down, like a seesaw and, frankly, they’re making me nauseous.

So, I am now officially tired of the seesaw and want the down part to go away – we want only the up, the happy, the positive. It’s time to bitch-slap the down from here to eternity and hell and back.

Today is an incredibly busy day. I start with an early morning meeting with dear reader Cason and alumni association board member Joanna Erdos, then I have a lunch with Doody, Mr. Barry Pearl, then I get my refund from the post office, then I have a three-hour rehearsal with Miss Ryan, after which I shall be too pooped to pop, even though I keep thinking there’s something I have to do tomorrow night.

On Saturday, I deliver the book to proofer number two, and other than that, I have the day all to myself, even the evening, too. I’ll finish proofing Miss Susan Egan’s CD, but so far I must say it sounds fantastic and I couldn’t be happier.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, meet, eat, get a refund, rehearse, and then plotz. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, Susan Egan and some soundtrack releases. DVD, The Sopranos and Perry Mason. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we seesaw up and stay there, baby.

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