Well, dear readers, I guess we could call yesterday Boxing Day because there was a whole mess o’ boxing going on around these here parts. It began at ten and ended just a little after two o’clock. The helper was here, as was her husband, as were two of the three LACC students who were helping out. Heaven knows where the third was. While the boxing was going on, the helper’s husband and I did a run to the new hours – he has a nice big truck so we took one of the three coffee tables, lots more art, and a few other things. At the end of the four hours, all Blu-rays and whatever DVDs were in the house had been boxed up. All books in the book room, save for the oversized books, had been boxed up (I’ll be taking the oversized books over myself). And more than half the CDs had been boxed up and then there were no more boxes. But it was a very good Boxing Day and the plan is now to get the bookcases over there so we can unpack the books and recycle those boxes. Not sure exactly when that will happen, but I’m guessing soon.
I’d only gotten about six hours of sleep and that’s starting to catch up to me so I’m hoping to get eight hours of sleep after I post these here notes. After the boxers left, I took a shower and did a few things on the computer and then it was time to mosey on over to The Federal for the Robert Yacko sound check. That went quickly and well, and then the audience arrived. It was a small but VERY appreciative crowd. They were trying new dishes on the menu, so I had the roast beef with vegetables and mashed potatoes. Not sure why they called it roast beef, as it was most assuredly a nice chunk of prime rib – not the best, but pretty okay. I knew lots of folks in attendance so chatted with many of them. Then it was show time.
The act went over very well with great reaction. Robert had asked to switch up the What If he was doing, which was fine but it just didn’t land as well as the other one, mostly because of its length. I wrote it full length because that’s what I did when I created these for a website. But I knew that doing this particular one full length was tricky – the joke is essentially worn out by the second verse and it goes on for a long time after that. Whereas the one we had done is funny from start to finish because it’s much shorter. Last night it was Bury Me a Little from our Yiddish Sondheim bit in the What If revue. But there we ONLY did the first verse and it was hilarious. So, we either have to put it back the way it was or we can add a few of the other Yiddish Sondheim things like we had in the revue – short snippets. Robert was in excellent voice, the patter went well, and Alby Potts was great at the piano. All in all it was rather a splendidly splendid evening.
After, I had a hankerin’ for a donut and even though I knew I was being a bad boy a bad boy I was. I stopped at Yum Yum donuts and got one. Then I came home, wrote another bit of the commentary, had a long telephonic conversation with the sound designer – this whole sound thing is turning into a real nightmare. The original guy had committed to the budgeted amount and was basically doing it as a favor, plus it was all his own equipment. When he dropped out it became a free-for-all, almost impossible to find a designer, and when we did we found one that doesn’t own his own equipment. And the rental packages are outrageous – part of the problem is that we have this Thanksgiving week off thing so we’re actually renting for a month rather than three weeks. So, the designer is going to do his best to keep everything as low as he can, but the potential here is for the sound package to double and if that is the case, I’m not sure where that money is supposed to come from – I may have to go to Richard Sherman and see what can be done. Even with the Indiegogo being such a success, we were barely going to squeak by. Send most excellent vibes and xylophones for a happy outcome and not doubling the budgeted amount.
Today, I have to finish the commentary, I have some banking to do, then we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal and directly after that we have our Levi rehearsal. We start with yet another full cast scene – but it’s only two pages long, I think, and hopefully it will go quickly. Then we can move along to some smaller scenes and get those done – we skip the burning of Chinatown sequence, as Kay is still working on that, and then I’ve already blocked another short scene that happens after that. Then I think we can pretty much sail through to the end. I would surely love to get it done by the end of the evening or at least get close.
Tomorrow I’ll go see Richard Sherman around noon, then I have a production meeting, and then we rehearse. If we’ve finished, then I begin assembling the show – if we haven’t, then I finish and THEN begin assembling the show and hopefully everyone will remember what we’ve done and if they don’t the ASM had best pray she’s written it all down perfectly. This is the first time in years that I won’t be handing out any Halloween candies. The rest of the week is more of the same – Levi, the second Kritzerland rehearsal, more Levi, the stumble-through, more Levi, sound check and then show. And trying to move more stuff this week. I’d like to get all the clothes over there except what I’ll need for the next couple of weeks. I also have to find and book the piano movers, and that move would happen right after the Kritzerland show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, finish the commentary, bank, have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, have our Levi rehearsal, and then come directly home. Oh, I do have to eat at some point. I’m not exactly sure when that’s supposed to be. Today’s topic of discussion: Do you ever look at all the stuff you’ve accumulated for years and years and suddenly have the mad desire to just chuck it all? I had that feeling yesterday, but it was fleeting. And have you ever, in fact, chucked it all. I did at one point in my life – got rid of everything. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a productive Boxing Day.