Well, dear readers, I must say the reaction on the Facebook to my announcing Drat! The Cat! has been amazing, with one person already saying they’re going to fly in from England, and others on the East Coast saying they’re going to come, and many asking when tickets will go on sale. I think some people mistakenly think it’s one or two performances and don’t realize we run for six weeks, which gives everyone a lot of options. Everybody loved Doug’s poster design, too. It was very heartening. Otherwise, I spent most of yesterday working at the piano. The first two songs are completed. The third song is very complicated – the music is two-thirds done but I’m still adjusting lyrics for those sections. Once it hits the final third, I’m still struggling with the feel of the tune and accompaniment. Then there’s one more to do after that, and I’ve written assorted lines for it but don’t know where they fit yet – I do have the title. And it has to serve a very specific function in that it ends the piece. It’s tricky when there is not a single line of dialogue in the piece. I’m having fun, doing it. The adjusting of the lyrics is somewhat frustrating in the third song, but it’s my own fault. I just wrote lines I liked without worrying about their scan, but once I set the long first section to music, then the second section had to at least approximate the scan – I took the liberty of making the opening two lines to that second verse longer, but it works with the music. So, I’ve still got four lines that don’t work at all, so I’m going to try and conquer those today, for sure. I’ve really missed writing songs, so this has been a real treat, and I’m happiest when writing for a specific character, in this case a thirtyish woman (could be a little younger, too). I haven’t titled the actual piece yet, but I have a few ideas. I got about seven hours of pretty good sleep, and once up I answered e-mails and went right to the piano to write and stayed there for a couple of hours. Then I went to the mail place and picked up a little package, went next door and got a spicy Eyetalian footlong Subway sandwich, and then I came home and ate it. It was good, not great. That has been the food story for the last six or seven days – nothing tastes that good to me at the moment. Weird. Weirdly weird. Oddly odd, too. I had some telephonic calls, set the final adult performer for the December holiday show, and I still have to cast three kids, which I’ll try and do today. I have room for one more adult, but I’d like it to be a name of some sort. We shall see. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish and instantly dozed off for about twenty minutes. Then I watched the rest of The Thief of Bagdad and what a marvelously marvelous and entertaining film it is. It can really use a brand-new transfer with some good color correction and clean-up work. It opened in L.A. as a huge event picture at the Carthay Circle Theater, with reserved seats and a two-show day. I fell asleep again during the last fifteen minutes, so I’ll watch those later today or tonight. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll go to the framers and pick up my newly re-framed thing I was gifted, now with plexiglass rather than regular glass, and with proper conservation mattes. Can’t wait and I’ll share it here – can’t remember if I did already. Hmmm. I’ll eat something fun that hopefully tastes good, I’ll continue working at the piano and I’ll definitely try to finish song three and move on to song four. Then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow will be more of the same, then we’re into the weekend and I’m not sure what’s going on yet.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, go to the framers, come home, eat, work at the piano, and then watch, listen, and relax. 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 that the Cat is out of the bag and off the hot tin roof.