Well, dear readers, because I’ve been writing for most of the day, I really don’t have much to write about for these here notes, and yet I must write these here notes and therefore I am a writing machine, writing, writing, and writing all the livelong day and night. I love writing, so I’m jiggy with it, but I’m quite ready to sleep and yet I have these here notes to write before I do so, so I shall do them quickly, I am quite certain they will be without much sparkle, but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do, not necessarily in that order.
Yesterday was what I call an up and down day, one of those days that was mostly up but some stuff to deal with. I got up – naturally that was an up. I began finessing what I’d written yesterday – the finessing has been taking quite a bit of time due to the number of pages I’ve been writing every day. This finessing took about an hour, but within that hour I’d added an additional four pages. Then I did a two-mile jog because I knew if I didn’t, I’d never get it done. I know now that I will not have time to do the four-mile jog until this book is finished – two miles doesn’t take all that long and it keeps me fit. When I got back, I wrote another four pages, then went and got a bacon cheeseburger and no fries. Whilst eating, I got an e-mail from a singer saying she was dropping out of our show. She had a callback in New York and was leaving within a few hours. She gave us a list of other singers and was hopeful one of them could fill in. I’m not really all that fond of people who leave people in the lurch that suddenly, but it is what it is. We called Juliana right away and happily she was free and could come to the rehearsal. So, that problem was not so difficult to fix. I don’t think I’ll need to work with the other singer because I’d worry she’d do this again.
After lunch, I picked up some packages and an important envelope, then did some banking, then finally came home and buckled down Winsocki and wrote a few more pages. There is a LOT of detail in this book and I only hope and pray it’s interesting and that I’m writing it interestingly. So far, and this will change in a bit, there is not much dialogue at all. But I didn’t have long to write, so I got presentable for the rehearsal and then our first singer and our musical director arrived, along with our co-producer Adryan Russ. Our first singer was someone new to us, Annaliese van der Pol. I’d seen her in Vanities in Pasadena, and I know she played Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. She was also on some Disney show – maybe That’s So Raven or something like that. She’s terrific and we ran her three songs. This show is based on the Toonful albums, although all the songs are not from those albums – I chose some songs that had I known them back then or had they been written back then, we would have done. Annaliese ran her three numbers – Belle, Just Around The Riverbend, and The Second Star To The Right. All the keys worked for her and she sounded great. Then Juliana arrived – she obviously hadn’t had any time with her songs, but we ran Betty Boop, Somewhere Out There, and Beauty and the Beast. She’ll learn them and will be fine for tomorrow’s rehearsal. Then came Jane Noseworthy, and she ran A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, Blue, and What Do I See – the latter two songs are from the animated film Raggedy Ann and Andy and are by Joe Raposo, and had I known them we absolutely would have done them back then. After that it was Susanne Blakeslee. She ran what will be a show stopping rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls, the Cruella de Ville, and finally Our Town (from Cars). Then came our final singer, Melody. She ran the TV Toon medley (really fun), Part Of Your World (which she knows well because she does it in her act), and a put-together of When She Loved Me and You’ve Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story 1 and 2. She’s great, as always. The musical director is A.J. Robb and he’s very easy to work with.
After the rehearsal, I watched about thirty minutes of a motion picture on a region 2 DVD entitled The Man On The Eiffel Tower. It’s pretty bad so far, but I was interested to see it because it was an early Maigret movie with Charles Laughton as Maigret and a supporting cast that includes Burgess Meredith and Franchot Tone. Tone also produced with writer Irving Allen. In fact, Allen was the director, but Laughton didn’t like him and threatened to walk if Burgess Meredith didn’t take over the direction. Well, Mr. Meredith was not a film director and the film has a horrible pace, a bad script, awkward direction, and, amusingly, a perfectly wretched performance by Laughton as Maigret, probably the worst of all Maigrets. But, it’s a curio and I’ll finish it.
After that, I went back to writing, and by the end of the evening I’d done twenty pages. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get my beauty sleep and be up and ready to finesse and write anew at nine.
Today, I shall hopefully be up by nine and finessing by nine-thirty. Then I’ll write a new page or two, then do the two-mile jog, then write some more, then take a lunch break, at which point I also have to pick up a homemade Blu and Ray to watch, eat, and hopefully pick up some packages. Then I’ll come home and write for the rest of the afternoon. I have a telephonic meeting at four that should last thirty minutes, then I’ll write more, and then I’ll watch a motion picture of some sort.
Tomorrow, more writing, of course, then our second rehearsal. Friday, writing, and a dinner. Saturday, writing, a stumble-through, and a dinner. Sunday, writing, sound check and show. Next week, more of the same.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, finesse, do a two-mile jog, write, pick up a Blu and Ray, eat, hopefully pick up packages, write, write, watch something, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I’m sure I shall dream of writing.