Part 3 of the Romeo and Juliet North Shore Tour Extravaganzapalooza wrap-up, where Rebels have fun stormin' da castle

This is the last installment, I promise. After all, there is so much more to talk about, and writing about the plays that took place almost two weeks ago is a little behind the times. School started, football has started (in fact, Geoff's first game was Saturday) so life rages on beyond the R&J run. I'll try and complete this all today and get to entries about real life, for those of you who care.

Eighth Show: Palmer Cove Baseball Field, Salem MA. Photos are here:
After the senior center, the kids seemed tired and worn out from the production run. That show hadn't gone as great as the previous shows, and I was afraid they'd lost momentum. Alex and Chris gave them the big lecture and encouraged them to stick with it. They were more than halfway through the run and they needed to continue giving it their all.

This location was back in the same neighborhood as the Mary Jane Lee Playground, but a very different setting, it was on the baseball field and the idea was that we would start an hour later than the other afternoon shows so we could turn the baseball field lights on.

Ross was Juliet and Emma was Romeo. Madeline was the nurse and Jamie was Paris. The kids really used the props this time, and used the baseball field elements. Henry and Josh ran the bases at the beginning before the big Montague/Capulets fight. And Emma and Ross used the dugouts and the backstop of the field as probably the coolest balcony scene ever. The Capulet's party scene was completely off the hook, with Ross wearing a bra and Jamie as Paris gently pushing the strap down off his shoulder as Tybalt stalked around bitching about Romeo being at the party. Emma paced the field and dugout area before the balcony scene almost like a lion in the zoo, in heat, on the prowl... angry. And Frazier's Mercrutio was dirty and sexy and very gay. The whole "fiddlestick" exchange with Marisa's Tybalt nailed the hatred between the two of them, and their fight was extra rough and violent.

As night fell, were sitting around plot of cement off the field in a circle. The sun started to set, and the ballfield lights were turned on. The sky was simply amazing... and as Juliet's father beat her down (her being Ross, don't forget) and Mercrutio died, it was just simply a gorgeous setting, with colors swirling and sadness filing the air. Very electric and amazing.

For the crypt scene at the end, Alex and Chris had them use the bleachers, but I don't think it worked too well. We really should have returned to the baseball diamond and had everything end on top of the pitcher's mound. There were too many props around and to be honest, the actors were doing an amazing job of just ACTING, without the props. At the last location, at the Senior Center, the props were ignored because I think the kids weren't sure what to do with them that would be okay to do in front of the old people. Here, it was more like the Text took over, and props were unnecessary.

There was a guy there who was a Big Brother to two little boys in the neighborhood. The older boy had seen part of the play on Saturday, and while we were hunkered down around the cement square he signaled to two friends to come over. These were two boys who were at the Saturday show.

They didn't stick around but chatted for a while. I heard them say "Romeo and Juliet is the best play ever. This is the BEST PLAY EVER." Chris K and I looked at each other at that one instant and it was like "YES!" that's exactly what we want to hear.

The littlest boy of the Big Brother was really into the story and the play. At the end, he made a point to go meet the cast.

He was really cute... and perhaps we planted a little seed here in this little guy, and someday he'll be a Rebel. All told,

Ninth Show: Moseley Woods Playground and Park, Newburyport MA. Photos are here:
We took the tour up away from the City of Salem and surrounds and came up to the Merrimack Valley.

I had wanted the show to take place in downtown Newburyport, behind the Firehouse Theatre and Not Your Average Joe's... but we stumbled upon Moseley when our church had outdoor service there earlier in the summer and Doug suggested that it would be perfect.

And he was right.

Kind of far outside downtown Newburyport, Moseley Woods is on the Merrimack River and is a large, pine-shaded playground, with tons of options for staging... including a gorgeous jungle gym, woods and trails, and a small pavilion overlooking the river. The park is much nicer than I ever remember it being. We'd done a geocache there a while back, and it was kind of a beat-up, worn down kind of a joint. I guess in the past couple of years, a friends of group took it over, and invested a lot of time and effort into cleaning it up and making it family friendly instead of just a place to have a barbecue on a run-down hibachi.

Unlike our last playground appearance, this park was totally different. The playground revelers were children much smaller than the kids at Mary Jane Lee, and parents were everywhere... giving us concerned looks as we set up.

The Rebels were doing their warm-ups, very loudly and boisterously, and I went and worked the skeptical and confused crowd. "Hi, I'm Chris, I'm with this here theatre group. We're doing Romeo and Juliet at 1pm. We hope you'll stick around and watch. The kids can feel free to play on the playground and not worry about just sitting still and being good. It's their playground, we're kind of invading it but to bring them a play. They're the residents of Verona... I hope they like it."

Most parents looked at me with surprise. Something like this had never happened in their playground, and they were amused. One woman told me she was leaving but thanked me for the invite and wished us luck. At the end of the play I looked over and she and her kids and a friend were hunkered down, watching Juliet open an umbrella over her head to take her draught of death and fall asleep. The skeptical parent who was looking to beat retreat discovered her kids were interested, and they stayed through the whole thing.

That's the kind of thing we were going for... you betcha.

The jungle gym was awesome. The company used the height all the way up to the top, and the balcony scene was lovely and priceless, with the slide being used and Ross climbing all about. Ross was Romeo, Emma was Juliet. Jess was the nurse and Jamie was Lord Capulet. Maeve was the friar, and Emma2 was Mercrutio.

Again, the little kids had no fear of breaking through that invisible wall and becoming part of the play, part of the witness to what befalls Verona. Tons of little girls climbed to the top of the playset during the balcony scene, perhaps one day they will also play Juliet... who knows. Some of the kids were restless and noisy during the play.

They wanted to play ON their playground equipment, they didn't care about the play going on and watching. It made it a little distracting and I was relieved when we gave them back their playset and moved to another location for the second act.

If you go through the photo gallery, after the company moved off the jungle gym and over to a hollow log structure, kids really surrounded the action and got right up in the play.

Little girls with ice cream sat next to Ross as he hid in refuge in Friar Laurence's cell.

When Juliet is dead asleep, and the nurse came to wake her up on her wedding day, one little boy was popping up through the hole in the fake log, watching every minute.

His facial expressions were amazing, and I can only imagine what he was thinking while Jess cried "Help! Help!" Was he scared? Concerned? Why isn't anyone helping the girl on the floor? He was my favorite kid of the day because while the play was taking place, he went and got a book and started reading it out loud to the audience. He "got" it. This is an audience, to be entertained, and he's going to help out with that. Where's the German-English Dictionary. That's a great place to start.

All told, the audience was huge, my press release actually brought people out that weren't parents (excellent). Even our pastor from our church came out. I thought he'd just make an appearance for the first half and then leave... he's a busy guy. But he stayed for the whole thing, and I liked watching him soak in the story with concerned, confused, and sometimes incredibly sad facial expressions. He got it too. It was funny because the whole first half is rather bawdy... and our Emma2 did a very naughty Mercrutio, rubbing on everything like an alley cat, with Mia's "oh you guys!" Benvolio chuckling in the background. I apologized to him at the end of the first half, "Rob, I'm so sorry you had to see that!" And he and Doug laughed... "It's acting!" says Pastor Rob.

Heh.

Great uses of the props at this show... Maeve as the friar picked up a huge eraser that had "Big Mistake" printed on it when Romeo was telling her how he was totally in love with the daughter of mine enemy. Looking stunned and shocked at the audience, holding that giant eraser up, she got huge laughs. Tybalt (Marisa) killed Emma2's Mercrutio with the dinging of a small desk bell. She covered her ears and screeched, and then suffered and died holding her ears as if they were filled with sharp, pointy things. Emma's Juliet in butterfly wings at the Capulet's party proved to be my favorite photo shot of the day... She and Ross were totally badass in one of the shots, and I loved it. She drinks the daught of death by opening Geoffrey's old baby umbrella, which Doug brought with him out of his trunk that day, and finally dies by using the Magic 8 ball.

Ross and Emma were amazing... watching them on the play set was just plain thrilling. It was a tremendous performance. I hope the audience thought so too.

Tenth (and final) show: Winnekenni Castle. Photos are here.
When Keri asked me to arrange the show locations, this was the first place I thought of. Where better to put on a Shakespeare show than a castle. Right?

I called the woman in charge and asked if she had any availability that week... she said she had one day. It was the day we wanted. The entire month was booked, except that one day.

Providence. Destiny. Whatever. Hallelujah... I was overjoyed.

I told her that I was planning on hosting the cast party after the show here at my house and she said "Hey, why not have it here?"

Are you KIDDING me? For Realsies?! You're offering your castle up not just for the show but for a pack of crazed wild nutcases to have a rowdy party in?!? Well, if you insist!

By far, this was the best possible situation. A 5pm show, and a party raging until 10:30pm. The show in and of itself was amazing, with the best use of props yet. Tybalt (played by Josh) beat the crap out of Frazier's Mercrutio with a fly swatter that I bought at the dollar store. It was an amazing beat down. Like nothing seen yet in the prior shows. The audience couldn't believe it... And Frazier, just like he was supposed to, played the wound to his ass "a scratch, a scratch" by rubbing his butt cheeks.

Henry was Juliet, and by far this was his greatest show. So many of his facial expressions, and running out onto the deck pulling his shirt over his head after the wedding night has taken place got a ton of laughs, but he didn't break a smile or let the laughs derail him. His look of earnestness as Romeo is getting ready to leave sticks in my mind to this moment. No bad second half for him. Grace was great as Romeo, and their use of the upper balcony inside the hall for the balcony scene worked out amazingly. Henry didn't stand in one place, but moved all about... and that caused Grace to have to move all about the audience on the main level. Very well done. Madeline was the nurse, and was a bit more low-key than previous runs. That's okay. It was crowded in the hall so her incredible physical humor was reigned in a bit by the very large group.

I didn't get to see the end of the play because one of Jess' friend's moms showed up to pick up her girl, and I had to pay the pizza guy... I heard Lord Montague's cries over his son's death under the tree out in the field and knew the show was over.

Over.

Done.

I'm peeling off 20s and the show is over. I missed the end. Out of all ten shows, I missed the end. Oh well. Kind of a let down, but there was a party to be had.

And what a party it was.

Need I say more?

I woke up the next morning and realized I had to go to work. Not that work is bad. I like work. But. All of a sudden, I missed my kids. I missed Henry the most. Always there to lift a box of move a 200 pound cooler filled with ice. I missed how he is so tall but curls himself up in such a little ball when sitting and thinking. I missed his smiles, and giving him a ride home, listening to him and Jess and Geoff do Spongebob dialog. I never thought I'd miss Spongebob dialog.

I miss Frazier's insane Mercrutio, and Luke's unbelievably over the top Evangelvist. I missed Emma's Mercrutio too, when she would Groan, oan, oan about love. I miss that insane energy that Ross and Emma had, no matter which one of them played Juliet and which Romeo. They were just magic.

Oh dear. I miss them all.

---

So all told, this was probably the most creative and exciting thing I've had a part in for years. I don't feel very creative at work. I think I wrote in a recent entry that I don't know what's wrong with me, so I'm losing my mind and running around throwing whipped cream plates at teenagers for fun. The zany is missing, the energy is missing, my life is just mundane. Day in, day out... the same the same the same.

So this was a blessing. An amazing blessing for me. And after three entries of me foaming at the mouth about each and every show, I think you get it. And yeah. You get it.

Next year, mark your calendars. None of you Boston Area readers graced the shows with a visit and I shake my fist at you... Next July we're doing "Twelfth Night," and August is "Hamlet." And yes. We're touring. Both months.

"Twelfth Night" will most likely be staged on one of the Boston Harbor Islands. George's Island most likely. I've started working on that now. It will be AMAZING baby. Amazing.

Don't you miss it.

Okay... so if you've read all of these entries, thank you. I promise your normal Way Out Inn content will resume shortly. We have tales to tell of Geoff's first football game, and Jess is getting her widsom teeth out, and she's auditioning for the Fall Production at her school...

which happens to be "A Midsummer Night's Dream." So this won't be a Shakespeare Free Zone anytime soon. Sorry.

Part 2 of the Romeo and Juliet North Shore Tour Extravaganzapalooza wrap-up, where a Ross by any other name smells as Henry.

Oh good friends, thank you for bearing with me as I write and record the memories of the past couple of weeks... I doubt that I'll ever forget anything, because it was so memorable, but just recording these events for myself for posterity, I'll feel so much better. And after all, isn't that what a stupid personal blog is for? yeah. It is.

Here we go with continued recaps of the Romeo and Juliet tour.

Fifth Show: Lynn Woods Reservation Rose Garden. Photos are here.
Sunday's first show was held at the Lynn Woods Reservation Rose Garden. I booked it sight unseen at the suggestion of my girl C from the office. She said it was amazing.

It was funny, because when we GOT there, none of us could even FIND it.

Talk about a hidden jewel!

We eventually figured it out, found it, and it was indeed amazing. The place was indeed amazing, and the garden was perfect for the production. Perfect size for the small crowd. There were several people there who weren't parents, which was awesome. A beautiful family and their baby came out for the show, and the baby was amazingly sweet and quiet for the whole thing.

We had Henry as Juliet and Grace as Romeo. Jessica was the nurse, and Frazier was Mercrutio. Once again we had our Evangelvist, and he decided to be blind on top of being Elvis. Which was bizarre and amazing.

The show moved quickly, and the balcony scene was adorable with Henry hiding behind the black eyed susans. My favorite Juliet with my favorite flower. They came in handy as he gestured that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and got a good laugh from the crowd. There were awesome uses of props, with Romeo hiding behind and umbrella at the party scene and Jessica and Frazier both using this bizarre heart shaped lion for very different purposes.

It was a really nice show, and I loved the location. I just wish more people had come to that show other than parents. It was truly lovely. I'd rebook there again.

Sixth Show: Derby Square, Town Hall, Salem MA. Photos are here.
This one is probably my favorite show of the run. We had an aural conflict with my favorite little restaurant in Klop Alley, right across the street, because they had a band playing that night.

Note to self -- always remember to find out what is going on around the show on the date of production. I had no idea they'd have a band playing, and they knew we'd be there... but forgot. Oops. The band played soft but didn't quit. At times it drowned out the action, but it wasn't a show stopper. In fact, the Grateful Dead pickin' and grinnin' style of tunes they were playing gave the show a real interesting feeling at times.

Madeline was the nurse and was INSANE with energy. She was a drop dead riot and a pleasure to watch. Jess' Peter to her nurse was a yo-yo flippin, book reading aloof jerk, which made for a nice comedic pairing. Ross was Romeo and Emma Juliet, and it was by far the most intense performance yet.

Emma's Juliet had a serious dose of the crazy after finding out Ross' Romeo was "banish'ed." She actually had me worried for her mental health. Wow. The death scenes were astonishing, with Ross killing Jamie's Paris most violently, and his drinking of an entire bottle of Ginger Ale as his poison from the Apothacary almost brought me and the girl I was sitting with to chant "chug! chug! chug!"

In fact, I made an LOLCat, or should I say, and LOLspeare of the shot, just for fun.

Oh, I'm so funny.

Anyway... Derby Square was very well attended, a huge crowd, and the buzz was going around about more shows, awesome shows, other shows for other age groups.

Rebel was taking over the North Shore. Excellent.

The kids had Monday off. A well deserved break... but I think it took the wind out of their sails for Tuesday. Sunday was such a blasted amazing show, that it was hard to come back after a day of rest and kick more ass...

Show Seven: Salem Senior Center, Salem MA. Photos are here.
When I was working with the city of Salem, planning where to stage the shows, and I shared the idea of bringing theatre to the people who normally wouldn't be able to go see theatre, the park and rec director suggested the Senior Center.

It is a "hang out" kind of for the oldsters in town. They get snack and hang around and play cards and do stuff. Most towns have them, or at least have a county Senior Center.

I was really worried that there would be no one at the show, but it was incredibly well attended, and not just by parents. There were large round tables set up, and all the Seniors sitting around them with their friends were really cute.

The kids all seemed a little sluggish that morning, and I think they tried really hard to make the speech and language clear and understandable to the audience, and also toned down the naughty.

Emma2's Mercrutio wasn't as crotch-grabby, with just one or two really good "boner" kinds of jokes (using a toy dinosaur skeleton bone to gesture at the nurse a couple times). Consequentially, the energy just fizzed out and the show was not as good.

Grace was Juliet and Henry Romeo. Henry told me after the show that he has had a problem having a great first half but then completely falling apart after intermission, forgetting his lines, not really playing to the audience right. He really beat himself up and I felt horrible for him.

The thing is, he knew, and the cast knew, but that audience didn't know. Not because they're old and stupid... but because they were just engrossed in the story. They didn't realize a page of dialog was skipped over. They weren't really aware of that because they were following the story.

Jamie's portrayal of Lord Capulet saved the day. When he attacked Juliet because of her refusal to marry Paris, the audience was completely engrossed. When he stormed out of the room, a round of applause followed him, causing Juliet to have to wait to deliver her lines, begging her "honey sweet mother" for help in postponing the wedding. Jamie was on fire, and was the star of the show.

Jess' nurse gleaned very few laughs, because she didn't slow things down very much. She just did things as frenetically as she'd been doing them. Madeline's Peter was more like a playful puppy than ever before. She found a ball and played with it, and used a troll and Shakespeare doll to dance along on the floor. It was quite funny.

Maeve played Friar Laurence, and she plays it without a costume but with a tough, Catholic School Priest kind of vibe. A simple cross around her neck and rosary beads were her only costume. My father in law commented that he liked her acting but had no idea what her role was, until he saw the Evangelvist do the same role the next day. Her utterances of "holy Saint Francis" while shaking her head side to side were like a soft, incredulous swear, whereas Luke's screaming cries of "hoooooollllllllly Saint FRANcis-ah!" were a righteous cry to the heavens.

The look on Grace's face when she was whining about the nurse, griping "But old folks, many feign as they were dead; Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead..." was amazing. She looked around the room filled with ... old folks. Yikes! I think she was on autopilot and was just doing her lines, and then something clicked and I saw her blanch a bit right before she said it. But she got through it. Another funny thing was the introduction of a toy unicorn head/hat into the prop mixture.

Maeve did an amazing job by using the audience and doing her scenes inside the table area. She did a fantastic job of that, where everyone else was reluctant to get in that tight. Her entrances through the back door of the room worked amazingly well. I'm proud of her for taking that angle instead of using the easier option and staying out of the tables.

That was the major problem with this show. The kids didn't work the audience as well, and hid behind the folding screens, didn't bring the action as close upstage as was hoped for. Alex and Chris tried to force them into a center circle with chairs but they still stayed behind them. Hiding is not good in theatre. The use of props was minimal... and the show just really dragged. Intermission was amazingly long because the Senior Center staff brought slushies in for everyone and it took forever.

All of my pictures have a chair in the middle of them, so my flickr set is like "A chair with some play happening all around it." The show was indoors, and it had almost an antiseptic feel, kind of institutional. The fairy lights along the top of the wall were a lovely touch though, and the light pouring in the window made the balcony scene really sweet. Grace sat on the windowsill/heater and just bathed in the glorious light... so the "east and Juliet the sun" was ... rather touching. The use of the two folding screens worked well here, as they were hiding from one another. I liked it so much I had to use it as my horizontal banner, as you can see.

Doug heard some "old folks" behind him talking. "I think that's poison she's drinking." "Oh... now she's awake... and he's dead." "Oh, that's so sad." So they were following along and knew the story. The props threw them off a little bit, but the kids used empty cups as props for the items they were supposed to be drinking... except Juliet who used a yellow highlighter as her suicide device and she scribbled all up and down her left arm and then died. But they got it... they saw it as a "happy dagger" and it worked.

The audience totally loved it. As they were leaving, a lot of the "old folks" were praising the kids and saying it was the best play they'd seen in a long, long time. And that was the goal.

Three shows to go, dear heart. Hang in there. I have to get ready for work now. More later.

Part 1 of the Romeo and Juliet North Shore Tour Extravaganzapalooza wrap-up

Hello, dear reader. Hopefully you remember me and you've not totally given up on my existence. I have had many adventures, and neither the time nor the computer to update you all on my tales of amazingness.

First of all, the whole Romeo and Juliet thing... I'm still processing the amazing feats of theatre that I saw. I don't know if I want to bore the snot out of you by telling these tales. It's my journal, so perhaps I will. Later in this entry, and I'll warn you so you can check out if you like. I have 10,000 photos taken with my new awesome kick-ass camera. I'm proud of what I was able to capture visually from the ten shows. Almost all of them are up in Flickr. At the bottom of this entry I'll link to each of the shows. In fact, I'll write about each and link to the galleries, for those who care about this kind of thing.

I'm madly and amazingly in love with all these kids... some more than others but mostly because I didn't get a chance to really know some of them. I miss them, I want to talk with them, know how they are... instead I live vicariously through my kid and stay connected through facebook comments and tags.

It truly is sad.

Secondly, the other day I sat down here to update all y'all in the blogosphere about my mad R&J adventure week, and somehow my operating system was eaten alive by something insidiously wicked. Perfervidly wicked. Ghastly. I ended up on the phone for 5 hours between comcast and dell, and it finally came down to rebuilding my operating system. Which trashed all of my applications. So thanks to a certain lovely lovely Apple Cake Bakin' friend of mine, I now have certain softwares that I need to make my blog happy. You know who you are ... and I thank you from the bottom of my web designy soul.

The one thing I can't figure out is making the FTP work inside this certain software... so I downloaded my favorite FTP software, CuteFTP. But it isn't free anymore, which pisses me off. I have a 30 day trial, and in that time I have to figure out what da dillio with the built-in FTP over here in order to keep you all properly updated.

Anyway -- I may as well tell you about the Romeo and Juliet thing. Those not interested are welcome to come back another day.

Essentially, director Alex decided that since we had to tour, it would be a good time to introduce kids to the philosophy of The Factory.

The Factory does Hamlet.

And that is pretty much what they do.

The cast knows all the parts, so any night an actor can be called upon to play any part. Tonight, you're Hamlet. Last week you were Gertrude. The week before, Guildenstern.

Usually in the middle of the week, the cast is notified via email or an announcement on the webpage saying "We are performing here at this time." And they show up, without prior knowledge about the location where they are playing. So there is no scene blocking, no nothing. They just have to figure out how to do it where they are.

There are no props. The props are whatever the audience brings with them. So umbrellas, cell phones, tampons, stuffed animals, books... these can all be used as props. The actors must use the items AS THEY ARE, not as a substitute for something else. So, if an actor picks up a pen, he or she cannot pretend it is a sword or knife. They have to write with it to commit murder or suicide or do whatever they're supposed to be doing with that prop.

Sounds interesting? It is. But is also insane. The kids had a hard time initially with this. Chris and Alex taught them that no matter what the object is, as long as you commit to it as your prop, it is believable. Sell it. Make it work.

They did.

There were 10 shows. Each show in a different, new location. The props were all the same, and the audience got used to donating things (and getting them back). Each student knew two parts. So Jess knew Juliet's Nurse and Peter the house boy. Juliet knew Romeo's part, and Romeo knew Juliet's part. There were two pairs of Romeo and Juliet, and they switched off show by show, and sometimes gender for gender. So Henry could be Romeo in this morning's performance, and the following afternoon, he's Juliet. Same with Ross. Same with Emma or Grace.

With this kind of cast switching, it was like seeing a different play every time. Every single time. And they were all unique, different in feel, based on the cast or the location.

Initially, I kind of rolled my eyes at the idea of the boys playing Juliet and girls playing Romeo. But the girls get to play guy parts all the time... this could be interesting for the actors... a real deep investigation into the roles they're playing based on the gender differences.

And it truly was. The boy Juliets were amazing... and not to take anything away from Grace, who was wonderful -- Emma owned the role of Romeo and did it better than all the boys did. No lie.

On top of this, there was no set stage. Based on the location, Alex and Chris would move the audience in its entirety to another point in the park or area to give a different feel to the show. Sometimes it was one move, other times three. Depending on where the show was. The audience initially didn't like the idea of being moved at some shows, but once they did, it was fine and everyone was cool with it. They'd settle right in for the second half, or the second move to the third location where the Capulet crypt was located, and magic was seen.

All told -- this was an intense thing to watch. The play was shortened to its core story... about 90 minutes total. Sometimes running 2 hours if the breaks went long or it took a while to move the audience.

The breakdown is as follows:

First Show: Beverly Common. Photos are here.
The cast all rolled die to see who would play what role.

We had a girl Romeo and boy Juliet in the form of Ross and Emma. Ross was demure and shy, doing an amazing job as our sad heroine. Emma was balls to the wall, paired up with girl Mercrutio (the other Emma) and Benvolio in Mia.

Emma2's portrayal of Mercrutio was as just plain horny frat boy. Lots of prick jokes, and a lot of Mia's Benvolio shaking her head with arms crossed with a "oh, you guys..." look on her face. Lord Capulet was played by Ryan, and his ass kicking of Juliet when she refuses to marry Paris was devastating.

Luke played Friar Laurence as a kind of Elvis Evangelist... crazy, over the top, preaching it and being completely mad. His reasoning was "anyone who would have poison sitting around his office and would make a suggestion like "here, drink this and play dead," has to be insane." Good call.

Jess got to play the nurse and her cries of "Scurvy knave!" could be heard all about the north shore. It was adorable to see Ross giggling and cooing and being all girly while she told him of Romeo's intent to marry... and they were very cute together in the nurse/Juliet parts. Madeline got to be Peter to Jess' nurse, and played it almost like a sleepy puppy, which was adorable.

Josh played Tybalt and died an amazing death after Romeo killed him. He laid there dead in the grass with his neck at an awful awkward angle for what seemed like forever. It was terrifying. Jamie's portrayal of Paris wouldn't come into its true character for another show or two... but he did a great job on this run.

Julia's portrayal of the Prince of Verona was stern, and angry. She called it "Pissed Prince," and he was. She would switch off later with Mia for the Benvolio role, and Mia would be the Prince.

See how it goes? Each student knows two parts... and you never know what the pairing will be.

The show was sparsely attended, which was disappointing. But it was an amazing start to the run. I got to see exactly where Alex was going with the whole prop thing, and it all started to click for me.

Second Show: Salem Athenaeum Library. Photos are here.
This show was introduced by the Mayor of Salem, who came to let the huge crowd (and I'm not kidding... HUGE) know that Rebel is a gift to the city, the kind of kids and culture program that she totally wants to encourage.

Which was no lie.

While arranging all of these shows, her staff was beyond amazing. They suggested dozens of places for us to stage the show... so much so that it was hard to really narrow it down. What a cool thing for the kids to see -- a political body actually encouraging what they do in the community.

This time we got Henry as Romeo and Grace as Juliet. Henry's portrayal was shy and wounded, and giggly and eye-rolly when his friends give him grief; Grace just amazingly gorgeous and sweet. Totally different from what we'd seen with Emma as Romeo and Ross as Juliet, or later with each of them playing their regular gender roles.

Jess got to be the nurse again, and Madeline was Peter... Luke was Friar Laurence again, and Frazier got to be Mercrutio. Now, his portrayal of the role was totally different from Emma2... He was almost psychotic and rather gay, hanging on Romeo and acting like a scorned and spurned lover at times when Romeo doesn't show up to hang out with him and Benvolio (again, played by Mia). His death at the hands of Tybalt was beating by sandal. They battled with sandals and beat the crap out of one another, until Frazier fell to the ground "dead." The sounds of the shoes smacking their bodies was intense... the guys said it didn't hurt, but it felt like it hurt.

Here, the prop choices were interesting. Death by sandal, and death by handkerchief. Death by plastic cup, as if the contents were being thrown at the other person. Death by sniffing fake black rose... but the text stays the same, as if a vial of poison has been consumed. That part doesn't change.

See how it works? The props are interesting and curious, and the kids commit to using them... sometimes with amused results, and other times with "aaah..." of agreement or "gee, that's clever..." The audience was wonderful, and I heard people crying... which made my day.

Heh.

The show was amazing, and I think the setting outstanding. What a tremendous place to do this, and I'm so glad Keri had the connections to do it... the program director is a former Rebel Parent. So the love was there. The balcony scene was gorgeous on the long, tall steps of the back porch, the use of the yard and property all worked out so well. The kids could have used the space INSIDE the crowd better, and played to the group of people off to their right, who were sort of stuck out there by themselves.

But that's all part of figuring this whole thing out.

Third Show: Mary Jane Lee Playground, Salem MA. Photos are here.
This was the show I was looking forward to the most, for a lot of reasons.

And I hope you're still reading... because this is the one I want you to know about the most.

Keri really really wanted us to bring theater to, as she put it, "people who normally wouldn't ever go see theater." And part of that is the poorer neighborhoods and sections of the cities in the area. She wanted to bring the show to kids, and what better place than a playground in the middle of a neighborhood.

This was the location that Chris K., the other director, struck upon the idea of USING the playground equipment. The kids in the neighborhood were initially confused as to what was going on. They made a lot of noise and told us to get out of here. There were some adults too who made similar noises, yelling "this is a public park, get the hell out..." but the kids ignored and the directors and adults didn't engage, so the gripes eventually died down. Also, a guy from the local Spanish Language station made a point to really sell the show on air, and brought his kids to the show. He was awesome.

One little boy was not afraid to break that invisible wall that exists in theatre. He walked around, picking up props and handing them to Ross the entire time.

Ross hardly missed a beat. A couple of times he laughed at the choices the boy gave him as "gifts" in a little gift box. This little dude became kind of a star in the show. The bigger kids were trying to get him out of there, but I gestured that it was okay... and I think that made it easier for them later when they were involved in the show's action as the Citizens of Verona.

The kids totally USED the playground equipment for the whole show. Up, down, under, on top, around, climbing, flying, flinging... sliding. It was awesome. It was exactly, precisely what we wanted to see them doing with this location. It was the City of Verona, and the neighborhood kids and our cast, its citizens.

Ross was Romeo and Emma Juliet. Julie got to be Benvolio for the first time, and played him kind of like a stoner frat boy, which, combined with Emma2's over sexualized crotch-grabbing portrayal of Mercrutio was hysterical. The two of them were a drop dead riot together and I could not get over how funny they were.

During the Capulet's party scene, the cast pulled the neighborhood kids INTO the show. They were invited to dance at the party, and climb on the playground equipment. When Ross kissed Emma for the first time, the kids were shocked. Oh snap. He kissed her. Then, he kisses her again, and they're like "OH SNAP!!!"

When it came time for intermission, the kids were getting restless. Not the cast, but the neighborhood kids. A couple of them told others that they planned to completely disrupt the show and act bad. I pulled a bunch of them aside and gave them water, juice, snacks... and said "do me a favor, and keep your buddies in line. We're doing this for you guys... here. In your neighborhood. And we want you to enjoy it. But if anyone gets out of control, we'll have to stop and leave."

These older kids kept the lid on the simmering pot of restlessness, shusshing their friends or chasing them off when they got too rude. When the action was under the playground, they were on top, looking down. When the action went up on top, they ran below and watched. They were engaged. The were locked in, invested, interested.

And this is the cool part. At the end, when Paris is dead, Romeo is dead, and Juliet is killing herself, they were hanging all around the actors... very very close. Almost like they were the ghosts and spirits of Capulets past, bearing sad, solitary witness to the closing moments and tragic end of this story that didn't have to go all wrong.

When the show was over, Ross stuck his hand out to one kid to get a pull-up, and the look on this kid's face was ... I can't do it justice. Let's just say... I think a life or two may have been touched that day by this performance.

Jess was on fire as the nurse, Jamie as Lord Capulet was terrifyingly brutal and violent. He's not very tall, but man alive the kid is an amazing actor filled with an energy that makes you just stop and soak it in. Luke was back as the Evangelvist Friar, and it was an amazing show.

Fourth Show: Marblehead's Fort Sewall. Photos are here.
This was an important show to a lot of the kids, and to Keri, Alex and Chris.

Rebel used to take place at Fort Sewall until a nasty dispute with a neighbor resulted in the Company's withdrawal from the property and their landing at their current home on Winter Island in Salem.

It's not my story to tell, we weren't involved then, but many of the current Teen program participants "grew up" in the program on the Ft. Sewall stage... Alex and Chris among them. So this was a Rebels Return kind of night, and we wanted it to be amazing and special.

Frighteningly, it was freezing, stinking cold... and the crowd kind of sparse and spread out too much. The wind through the trees on top of the fort made the dialog very hard to hear at times.

Henry played Juliet and Grace was Romeo. There was a much older, white-bearded sea-salt of a man who just about died laughing when he realized what role Henry was playing... which was kind of funny and the first time anyone did anything other than a polite or confused chuckle upon the entrance of one of the boys as Juliet. Henry did a great job but seemed to lack a lot of confidence.

Madeline finally got to do her role as the Nurse and she was amazing. Loud, boisterous, hysterical. Jess' low-key Peter to her insane nurse was a nice contrast.

They used the natural formation of the fort as the balcony scene. The death of Mercrutio was in a BUG SPRAY battle, as Josh's Tybalt slayed Frazier's Mercrutio, and probably dosed a number of audience members as well.

Alex had everyone join into a large circle for the final act, when Romeo kills Paris, Juliet wakes up, and all hell breaks loose. We saw a little bit of Rebel History take place as Ryan, playing Paris, picked up a wooden recorder, and Grace, playing Romeo, picked up a guitar.

They "battled" with the instruments, because remember, the props have to be used AS THEY ARE, not as you want them to be, like a sword or dagger or what have you. Grace struck a particularly bad chord and Ryan fell down dead.

The epic Battle of The Bands was over. The audience was laughing hysterically, but the best part was the look on Alex's and Chris' face when Ryan died. When you can make your directors make faces like this, you're either on to something magical or you're really screwing up. This was ... magic. I think Alex was honestly shocked. It cracks me up every time I see this picture.

Alright. That's four of the ten shows. I need to pee, Jess needs the computer. It's late. If you've made it this far, you get a cookie. I will finish up later. I promise, and I hope you're interested enough to read more.

Romeo and Juliet tour BEGINS!!!

"We started out like Romeo and Juliet, but it ended up in tragedy!"
-Milhouse Van Houten

Good morning everyone, this'll be a short one as I have to get in the shower, load the car, get the girl... Today is the first day of the R&J tour, kicking off in Beverly MA at 1pm. I broke down last night and bought a camera to document the even with. A nice shiny new Sony Cybershot semi-fancypants camera with features I don't even know how to use yet. Gotta figure them out on the fly, I guess.

I also spent 75 bucks on a digital camera for Geoff. It is a simple camera, nothing fancy, but hopefully he learned lessons from when he lost mine and now will be a more responsible steward of properties.

Anyway -- expect little bursts of updatey goodness from me over the next several days. Today we have Beverly Common and the Salem Athenaeum. Tomorrow morning it is Mary Jane Lee park in Salem followed by the big Marblehead show at Ft. Sewall.

Sunday at 1pm is Lynn Woods. If you are at all inclined to come to a show, dear reader from the area --this is the one. The Lynn Woods rose garden is easily found off of Rte 1 if you're coming up from Boston. Take the Walnut Street Exit off of Rte 1, follow Walnut Street past the pond and on your left after the pond ends, the 2nd left is Pennybrook Road. If you're coming from the north, it's a little harder to get to because I do not think there is a Walnut street exit off of Rte 1 as you're heading south. You have to take rte 129 and drive around the Lynn Woods into Wyoma Square to get over to a road that takes you to Walnut street... You can punch "Pennybrook Road, Lynn MA" into maps.google.com to get your route if you like.

The garden is gorgeous and amazing... one of the rebel dads went to the site to check it out and called me from there, insisting that it was by far the coolest spot, and he hoped that dozens of people come to soak this show up.

Sunday at 5 they are in Derby Square at old Town Hall in Salem MA. This will be an interesting show.

Monday is a day off for the kids.

Tuesday at 1 we're at the Senior Center in Salem. A huge room that I hope is filled with Seniors. Tuesday night at 6pm we're at the Palmer Cove baseball field in Salem, under the lights, on the diamond. It'll be amazing.

Wednesday we're in Newburyport at Moseley Woods. You far northern types should take a half day and come down... and then at 5pm on Wednesday we're at Winnekenni Castle in Haverhill. A Castle. And Shakespeare. How awesome.

So yeah. All the info is on the webpage if you want directions, a cast list (so you know when Jess is the nurse and you can come see her in all her awesomeness!)

And you can see the feature article written on the company in yesterday's Salem News.

I'm outta here. Gotta shower fast and get going. I've pissed away an hour so far figuring out how to turn the sound off on my camera so it doesn't make all kinds of stupid noise when I turn it off and on! Times A Wastin'... so ....

more later. Wish us luck. Wish us a nice big fat audience. Wish us well. Thanks for your support (and for putting up with my lack of blogging and still coming back to visit.

Pie Fight at the Burrow

There are phrases I honestly never imagined I would utter in my lifetime. Phrases such as "I'm off to slay a thousand babies and put their heads on pikes 'round town!" Or, "I really think that I prefer the Nazis over the Jews. They had snappier uniforms." I'd never say that. And finally, I never ever thought I would say, "This weekend, I'm going to a pie fight."

Yup.

But that phrase came out of my mouth this weekend for the first time ever, and probably not for the last.

There is another family we know through Rebel, and this is the third year they've done this. They gather friends and family at their house, and fill 7" paper plates with whipped cream and then proceed to "pie" each other.

Why?

Well, why the hell not? Really. When it comes down to it, why not?

When the dad told me this is one of their late in the summer fun activities, I cursed myself for not thinking it up myself, and then insisted we be invited to the next one. A few weeks ago, a facebook invitation flew my way and my heart soared! Yes! Here we go!

When I told Doug, he looked at me dubiously. Doug thinks, honestly (and he may be right) that I'm losing my mind. But I told him that there was a giant wok for stir frying foods and we could bring beer, and his sense of panic seemed to subside. I thought he'd beg off, but he came with... as long as he didn't have to have pie thrown at him.

Well, that's no fun. But if you insist on not having pie thrown at you... then so be it.

The thunderstorm followed us to their front door, and we figured that it would be better to just do the pie fight in the pouring rain than to wait until it gave up. The Dad of the house laid the ground rules, and then Geoff read a spoof of Henry V's "St. Crispin's Day" speech which the dad reworked just for him. Geoff told me that he wanted to do the speech, and the dad thought it would be better if it were funnied up.

This is how it turned out:

"This day is called the feast of Crispian Cream:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home with hair and sanity intact,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian Cream.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil pie his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian Cream Day:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's Cream day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Keri the queen, Geiger and Magnant,
Scott and Staples, Kingsley and Yoffe,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispian Cream shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the summer,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For she or he to-day that throws his pie with me
Shall be my sister and brother; be he ne'er so vile and pasted with cream,
This day shall gentle his complexion and fertilize the roots of her hair:
And gentlemen and ladies in New England now a couch potato,
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their lives cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin Cream's day!"

Geoff read the speech, having memorized the real one he did a great job with the emotions of this one. When he called out the names, the dad of the house and I put our fists in the air and looked at the crowd of 30 people and were like "Yes! That's US!" and they started to cheer and laugh.

We all cheered like mad and ran to the back yard to start the fray.

Here is what we looked like before and after. Photos all by Doug, who didn't want to have pie thrown at him, so he played photographer. The flickr set is here if you want to go see the vicious pie-throwing action.

Now, I'm not sure what is happening inside my brain that thinks this kind of thing is a good idea.

Am I having some sort of mid-life crisis? Some sort of existential crisis?

Maybe.

You will see, if you go through the photos, that the dad of the house and I are the only two adults (well, not so... his sister participated and she's only a couple years younger than he is...) with no sense.

I think that there is something happening in my brain that is looking for something more fun and creative and insane and amazing on a daily basis. Or at least on a once in a while basis. The typical day-in/day-out crud that I feel myself mired in has resulted in me longing for something more creative, expressive and entertaining. It doesn't have to be meaningful, or earth-shattering. Just ... fun.

Throwing pies at teenagers, my own and some that I don't even know, brought me a great deal of joy for about 20 minutes yesterday. Hearing my son read his rousing speech? Amazing. Watching my daughter chase people with whipped cream on a plate and receive a spattering to the face before she could hit her mark? Also amazing. Sitting around watching the garage band of the house play while eating stir fry out of a giant industrial wok and hanging out with new friends... well. That was icing on the cake of the day.

All told, it was a really fun event. And I'm already looking forward to next year.

---

We haven't been to church nearly all summer. Next weekend we won't get there because Jess needs to be in Lynn at 11:30 for her Rebel performance. Doug and Geoff could go, but I'll need to leave here to take her there.

And the weekend after is Labor Day weekend already, so the summer rushed past us with amazing speed.

This morning, church was nice. Since we haven't been for quite a while I expected a lot of "oh! Where have you been?!" comments but we only got one. I think most people understand that summer is a busy time. Church was half empty, so I think we aren't the only people who haven't been.

After the service, Geoff approached our pastor and reminded him that when we first started attending that Rob (the pastor) promised two things. First, that Geoff could ring the church bell. Second, that he'd show us the bell tower. Since it was winter when we started, we couldn't quite go up due to the ice and snow. Today, though, was a picture perfect day, an amazing day, it was THE day to go up if we were going to go.

We trudged up the narrow stairs to a 3'x3' opening that I was afraid I wouldn't fit through (due to my girth, ya know) and as I stood on the bottom step and looked up at Geoff going through the hole, I honestly started to panic. There are no walls up there, no windows. Just sky. And I didn't see the 3 foot high railing that went around the platform... I just saw Geoff leaping out the hole and into what I could only assume was ... sky.

Jess got up after me and assured me that there was a railing, and I heard her encourage Geoff to use caution. I got up next and was relieved to see that he couldn't just accidentally spill out to the streets of Newburyport below... and then I saw the view.

Wow.

Amazing.

I mean, honestly. Woah. Holy... wow.

There is a Paul Revere bell from 1802 up there, and not much else. A six-sided platform that offers 360 degree views of all of Newburyport, Salisbury, Amesbury, Newbury, all the way to Rockport and Halibut Point, Seabrook NH, and ... amazingness.

Because I don't have a camera, and Jess isn't always thinking and didn't have hers with her, we don't have a visual record of the day. You just have to take my word for it.

The pastor of the church, Rob, takes people up there all the time. Tour groups from all over the country come all week long and the church has office hours where you can just show up and go up. You can also go to the basement where the crypt of the church founder is.

But to be honest, THIS is the thing to go see. I can't wait to go up again. Perhaps in the fall, when the leaves are all ablaze and amazing.

In September, they are doing historical tours of the North Shore, and if you're thinking of something interesting to do... just let me know and I'll tell you where to head and who to ask for. And you can tell'em I sent you.

Anyway. I guess that's about it. In less than one week, the Romeo and Juliet North Shore Extravaganza Awesomeness Tour 2008 begins. I secured a date for Beverly, so we'll be on the Beverly Common at 1pm on Friday, August 22nd. The dates are on the website. Be sure to try and come to a show. It'll make you happy.

They Call it Stormy Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday, and ...

I'm damp. For the last five days it's rained. Some days, a little bit... with a lot of cloudy hours before and after the actual rain. Last night and today it has been rather Ark like. Raining so hard that the sound of the rain on the road outside my window was loud enough to make me think there was a car accident happening this morning.

There has been no wind with this soaking rain. So all my windows have remained open -- allowing the cool mid-August night air in.. along with all its dampness. I woke up this morning when the aforementioned deluge woke me, and just felt cold and clammy. My sheets were damp. My pillows damp. Cold and almost comfortable, but noticeably damp.

I'm wondering when we all beginning to grow mold spores on our bodies.

Right now it isn't raining, but I bet it'll start up again. You just watch.

I don't mind the weather like this for a while in the middle of summer. The grass is amazingly vivid green instead of dead, burned brown. The plants and flowers are thriving. I don't have to pay the electric department for AC and fan usage; and I don't have to worry about just selectively watering the plants only and letting the lawn die. This is our third summer here (if you can believe that) and the yard has never looked more amazing. I love it.

But I want it to sunny up and warm up a bit here, not too much. It can stay cool if it wants to... I don't mind that. But the rain has to stop by August 22nd so the kids can do the Romeo & Juliet tour.

I'm still looking for a location in Beverly for the show. I'm finding it nearly impossible to get the Parks department to return my calls. I'm not sure if my persistence annoys them and they're not calling me back for spite or what ... but really. I have 10 days until that show, and I have nowhere to stage it.

Everywhere else has been a breeze. I've been treated with respect, the people I've been working with have been kind and amazing. Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging and interested in what we're doing. Just this one town is posing a problem and it's hard because a mess of the kids live there and want to stage the play in their town. I could do a sixth show in Salem, or go to Danvers or something... But I want the kids to represent in their home towns... I emailed one of the moms from that town and asked her to pull the "I live here, book it" card. I hate having to do that. This is supposed to be MY responsibility. I shouldn't have to call someone to pull townie rank.

While that has been frustrating, everything else is going great. Jess is off book and totally into her parts. The kids are amazing. The photographs that we've taken are amazing. I look forward to picking her up each day and hearing all they've got planned. I cannot wait for the shows.

So. Mark your calendars, dear friends. And I will post this again to remind each of you area-resident types.

Each show will be different and amazing, unique in its own way. From a playground to a castle; a ball field to a bustling inner-city historical square, no two shows will be the same.

Friday, August 22 @ 1pm - TBD
Friday, August 22 @ 5pm: The Athanaeum, Salem MA
Saturday, August 23 @ 1pm: Mary Jane Lee Park Playground, Salem MA
Saturday, August 23 @ 5pm: Fort Sewall, Marblehead MA
Sunday, August 24 @ 1pm: The Rose Garden, Lynn Woods Reservation, Lynn, MA
Sunday, August 24 @ 5pm: Derby Square, Old Town Hall, Salem MA
Tuesday, August 26 @ 1pm: The Senior Center, Salem MA
Tuesday, August 26 @ 6pm: Palmer Cove Ballfield, Salem MA
Wednesday, August 27 @ 1pm: Moseley Woods, Newburyport, MA
Wednesday, August 27 @ 5pm: Winnekenni Castle, Haverhill MA

Thursday - collapse and break. And then my journal entries won't involve Shakespeare for quite a while. :-)

---

There hasn't been much to write about I suppose. There are some incredibly random things that don't really MAKE an entry on their own, so I'll just list them out here.

Olympic Opening Ceremonies
I wasn't going to watch them. I am really not a big Olympics fan in general... for as much as I like sports. I think it is a spectacular waste of time and money, especially when you know that the Chinese government built these amazing structures and pushed people out of homes to make room for this, what, ten day event? Ruining lives left and right so they look good. Nice.

Well.

I happened past the 2008 drummers drumming and was astonished and I stopped to watch.

Nothing in recent memory has made me say "wow" as many times as these vignettes. I was absolutely moved by the beauty and scale of the whole thing, the combination of really high-tech visual amazement and sheer number of humans out on the pitch making all of the things run. Some of it was hokey (Oh look, here come the children. Horray for Children! Aren't they cute!? Oh yes, they are our future! Horray! Feh).

Overall, it was fantastic and then I got horribly bored with the parade of nations and oooh this designer made this country's clothing for tonight's parade and oooooh don't they look darling in their little hats. Whatever. I liked the more traditional garb that a lot of the African countries were wearing, and the sweet humility of some of the smaller countries who showed up in khakis and polo shirts or T-shirts with their country flag on the front... looking like tourists, strangers in a strange land.

And I might just say that no other Olympics after this need bother having an opening ceremony. Nothing will top this. Ever. Nothing. So don't even bother planning, London. Just have everyone show up and do the parade of nations and shoot off some fireworks and go out for a pint.

China did something right, and better than anyone else ever will.

Brains are Mysterious
Has this ever happened to you? I get up once a night to go to the bathroom (sometimes I'm able to sleep all the way through the night but I wake up at 6 and really really need to pee!). I don't turn the light on, because I'm a girl and don't need to SEE to pee. And if I do turn the light on, my eyes don't adjust to the dark well enough to walk back to my bedroom without tripping on a dog.

So I'm sitting on the lou, in the dark, and I look out the window. And I see a SNAKE on the garage roof! A SNAKE! I swear to God! And I look at it for a long time and say "Why is there a snake on the roof of the garage and how the hell did it get there?" I slowly start to realize that it isn't a snake. It's a serpentine branch. Sitting in the moonlight, being a stick on the garage roof. My mind registers that and I say "Oh, okay," finish up my business and go back to bed.

The next night, it happens again. I look out, see the snake, wonder why it is there and how it got there, ponder, and realize. Accept and then go back to bed.

Over and over this happens.

Do you have any weird brain not absorbing things adventures you'd like to share.

At least I don't SCREAM when I see the snake on the roof. That would be bad. A nightly scream of terror when I see the stupid thing.

TV
I watch a lot of DVR'ed TV shows. Doug recently started DVRing two shows that I highly recommend. Normally, I don't tell people what to watch because someone will take me up on a suggestion and say 'ugh, that was AWFUL' and then I feel like I've let them down.

But if you get a chance, AMC has a TV show called "Mad Men." It takes place in a hoity toity advertising agency in Manhattan in the early 60s. It is really amazingly beautifully shot. When I first saw it on the screen as I walked through the living room, I thought Doug was watching a movie, it was that good. TV normally doesn't have that kind of a super detailed amazing eye to the period. But this does. The dialogue is snappy, rude, smart, amazing. And everyone smokes, just like they did in the early 60s. And you can see smoking etiquette taking place. A man lighting two cigarettes to give one to the dame on his arm, huge fancy lighters as table pieces. Astounding.

The other show is "Aliens in America" on the CW. I don't know how long they can ride this show, because it is about a Pakistani exchange student living with a family deep in Green Bay Packers' territory in Wisconsin. The characters are great, the dialog is really believable and funny, and I love it, even when it is cringe-inducing. Watch it.

---

Alright. I guess that's it. I have to get some work done this morning. Geoff started football last night and came home a sopping, disgusting mess. So all of his stuff is in the wash. I'm going into the office later this afternoon and hope to not have to eat any vacation time this week thanks to him not having anyone to be with him. Sigh.

More later.

Camp Grandma

I didn't intend for a whole week to pass but that is sometimes the thing that happens. I worked a lot this week, helped out with some stuff for professor CM, and that was amazing and fun and so rejuvenating to me. I had forgotten how smart and creative I am. I haven't worked with CM for a long time so it was such a blessing to have the opportunity to help him out with his workshops. I enjoyed it to the core of my soul.

I spent time with Jess goofing around. Having just her and me in the house made for a very different dynamic. We kidnapped one of her "Romeo & Juliet" directors and took him up to the castle in Haverhill where we will be doing the play later this month so he could see it and start thinking wicked thoughts about staging and blocking and the like. He's up to no good in a good theatre sort of way, and it will make it an amazing event. Mwah ha ha ha.

We went out to dinner and he invited another person from the program from when he was a student. I was a little wary of meeting someone new but something just clicked with me and this guy. And I adored him instantly. Amazing. Fun. What a fun time.

I intended to do amazingly productive things with my week free of Doug and Geoff but the only thing I did was clean out the recycling and get the bottles ready to go to return redemption. And I 99% finished a web form that was making me have kittens (thank you Peter Wood for your help) and have gotten it to the point where it is running but I have some tweeeeeeking to do to make it perfect. That'll hopefully happen this week.

---

In the last entry, I'd mentioned that Geoff had nowhere to go and nothing to do for the next three weeks until school starts. Because he refused to do Rebel again (he says it conflicts with Football, whereas I say it does not) he puts me in a position where I cannot just leave him home alone all day. So I have to find somewhere for him to go.

My mother, God bless her, agreed to have him come stay again. I call it Camp Grandma. He calls it "Suffocating to death in Old People Land." He is a little ingrate and I could smack him... but he doesn't like being the ONLY kid in the neighborhood and he gets bored easily. My mom pointed out that the water park nearby is open, and she'll take him there, if he's good. I told him that and he shut right up. So hopefully that'll make it better. We also started giving him an allowance for doing things here in the house. He was sad because he would not receive his allowance because he wouldn't be HERE to do his jobs. I told him that he needed to work it out with Grandma -- that I'm sure she can find things for him to do to earn a dollar a day, and we'll pay him for it when he gets home.

Knowing how to spin shit to this kid is key. I always feel like I have to sneak in the back way in explaining stuff to him to get him to do it. And sometimes it works, other times it turns into a ten day negotiation battle with lawyers and industrial labor relations representatives and closed door meetings and shady deals... resulting in a stalemate.

So long and the short of it is, one week at Camp Grandma and then after that I have no idea again. I'm stressing out. He has to stay close to home because football practice starts a week from tomorrow, so it isn't like I can send him back to Camp Grandma or to Pennsylvania or anywhere ... so I'm at a loss. meh.

---

The other big news is that Doug and Geoff had a great time at camp and fun was had by all. Which was an answer to prayer, because I somewhat envisioned him pulling up into the driveway, pushing Geoff out the door, and going to the pub to get shitty drunk after a week with The Boy.

Doug came home all fired up because he enjoyed himself so much. Geoff behaved wonderfully, and he didn't get into any arguments or do anything epically wrong or stupid. He did two things that were kind of WTF moments. But they weren't show stoppers or anything that would go down in history as the "Oh My GOD you guys do you remember when Geoff..." kinds of things that I imagined he'd get into.

Well -- we're on our way out. I have to finish up getting him ready and go brush my teeth so I don't have dragon breath. More later.