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May 27, 2015:

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, yesterday guess what I did?  I ate food, glorious food, is what I did – not once, but TWICE – with no nausea at all.  At lunch I had what was a small submarine sandwich and a little salad, and then much later in the evening I had a turkey sandwich, dry.  I even had some cherries that I bought just before taking ill.  So, that was simply lovely and let’s hope it continues.

Yesterday was otherwise not an unpleasant day at all.  There was definitely pleasantness, save for not getting enough sleep, maybe six or seven hours.  Once up, I did stuff on the computer and then got ready for my lunch meeting, which took place at Tony’s Bella Vista restaurant in the Bank of Bur.  I rather like Tony’s Bella Vista (I ate there a few days before getting the stomach bug) – it’s old-fashioned with good Eyetalian food.  You know what I ate.  The meeting was chatty and fun, items were exchanged, and I had a swell time, so that was definitely part of the pleasantness.

Then I went home, answered e-mails, did a little organizing and cleaning up because I have just been letting piles o’ stuff build up and I do not like built up piles, so lots of filing things in the trash and putting things away.  By the end of it, things were definitely neater and sweeter.  Then I went and picked up two count them two packages, after which I moseyed on over to The Grove theater for our first rehearsal for the Sami show, aka Welcome to My World.

We began at four-thirty at the top of the show.  This is what I call the point and click blocking section.  It’s perfunctory but out of it comes a fully blocked show that I then finesse.  In three hours we managed to block almost two-thirds of the show.  It’s simple, and the staging of the musical numbers will get cleaned up and made sharp, but I’m happy with the flow of the blocking so far, although we’re moving so quickly I’ll have to see it when it’s all put together.  Here is some actual photographic evidence that we were indeed rehearsing, just in case anyone thought I was a fibber who was fibbing.  First we have Sami and her I Want list.

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This song was really fun to create.  I hate these rules they teach in musical theater writing workshops, you know, that the second song should always be an “I want” song, as in what the character wants.  Sometimes that’s fine and sometimes who cares?  But I thought it would be fun to actually have a song called I Want, about everything this character wants in her life.  To do it, I simply asked Sami to make me a list of everything she really wants.  A day later I got this huge list of things.  I removed some stuff right away that I knew wouldn’t work, and then I sat at the piano, trying to organize it and figure out how to extract lines, make them rhyme, be musical and have form.  And nothing I did was working.  At all.  So, I went away, then came back and just stared at this pared down list.  And then I just set it to music, finessing lines when needed and making the rhymes, and it was just one of those magic moments when something just happens and it’s right.  Have I already told this story?  It sounds familiar.  Well, if I have just chalk it up to my ever-present senility.  Here’s a photo of Sami doing a number about boys, in which she’s telling boys how they should behave with her – and signing the whole song – it’s really sweet and cute and Sami’s a great signer.  That’s musical director Alby Potts in the background.

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Finally, here’s Sami in her mad science teacher outfit for the number about dissecting a frog.  We do that in the number, complete with frog guts, brains, and dismembered limbs.  Just a hint to our dear readers – you probably don’t want to sit in the first two rows or you may be called on to participate in this number.  Just a warning.

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I think we all felt good about the rehearsal.  Sami has tons of work to do, not only getting the blocking in her bones now, but getting all the acting beats back after three weeks away from her director.  She’s been running lines every single day with a nice fellow her family knows and she’s got almost everything down, but now we have to get her back into performance and acting modes.

Then I remembered I had to come right home and have a little song rehearsal for this David Wechter recording we’re doing Thursday.  Thank goodness I remembered because one pianist and three singers were waiting at my front door.  So, I didn’t get to our own Nick Redman’s big birthday bash, which was on the Fox scoring stage and which I’m sure was a huge and wonderful affair.  I believe Nick is turning ninety.  Only kidding.

The song rehearsal took about ninety minutes but all is well and they’ll all be ready for the recording.  Then I went and had my turkey sandwich, then came back home.  It was too late to watch anything so I just relaxed, ate a few cherries and that was that.

Today, the helper is coming at nine, she’ll ship a LOT of CDs, then I’ll be able to relax until rehearsal time.  I’m sure I’ll nibble on something to tide me over till a meal after rehearsal and hopefully I’ll pick up some packages. The rehearsal plan is to block the remaining scenes and songs and then go back to the top and assemble everything so that tomorrow we can run the show start to finish.

Tomorrow is another rehearsal, and then it’s straight to the recording studio to record David’s song.  I’m sure I’ll be ordering some Astoburger if my stomach continues to be in good shape.  Then we rehearse the rest of the weekend until show time on Sunday.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, hopefully pick up packages, nibble on something, rehearse, eat, and watch something fun.  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, happy to have finally been able to eat food, glorious food.

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