By 10:30 this morning I'd:
- Thrown in a load of wash
- Worked out at the Y
- Picked up a few things at the grocery store
- Had breakfast
- Got my hair colored
- Made a deposit at the bank and set up online banking for myself
- Set up an appointment with the allergist
- Gotten a flu vaccine, and
- Fielded a call from work
The rest of the day was no less busy, which was par for a week that included 24 hours lost to food poisoning, too many hours in the office, an evening out with Katz to celebrate our anniversary, time put in on a play-writing project with a deadline, and a major house cleaning effort as we prepare for house guests (son BJ and a (girl) friend) and a work party.
This is my life and my excuse for not blogging and for not working on my book. I've got to stop the madness somehow or chapters seven-and-up will never get done.
I'm starting to think it's not going to happen.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wooed by Shakespeare
Went to see Shakespeare yesterday with my sister, Mary. We saw the incredible American Players Theatre troupe perform As You Like It in the round, outside, on a seasonal, overcast fall day in the beauty of rural Wisconsin. It was awe inspiring!
Theatre in and of itself is a wonderful thing. I've written my share of plays, so I'm kind of partial to the medium, and of course, Shakespeare was genius. The more you see his work, the better it gets; more nuances are revealed with each reading or viewing, and the poetry, juxtaposition and depth of his words only intensify.
Besides the play, the acting caliber, and the setting, two things stand out from the day. The first is how much I enjoy spending time with Mary. We have a lifetime in common and we love the same people--a great foundation for conversation.
The other thing I loved about the experience was the audience. It was a rare late morning performance, timed to promote school participation and the audience was three-fourths students. You always take a chance mixing teenagers with Shakespeare. Will they understand his humor? Can they follow the story? Will the challenge of Shakespeare's language put up a wall?
It was probably a combination of the stellar acting and the intelligence of the students present, but these kids got it. The laughed, they sighed (out loud, no less), they clapped. But they saved their most impressive reaction for the curtain call. On a day when the clouds kept a tight hold on the rain, when the mosquitoes were in hiding, and when the play had perfect pitch, the youngest members of an appreciative audience were the first on their feet, pulling the rest of us with them.
In a day and age when standing-o's are too cheaply given, yesterday's was well deserved. The students didn't look right or left to see who else was standing, they didn't hesitate to leap to their feet, there was even a hearty whistle or two.
All in all, it was a fitting response to great theatre. Kudos to the American Players Theatre for casting their spell, to the National Endowment of the Arts for subsidizing Shakespearean theatre for youth across the country, to English and Theatre teachers who see fit to challenge their students, and to the students themselves for taking on the master and learning to love him.
Theatre in and of itself is a wonderful thing. I've written my share of plays, so I'm kind of partial to the medium, and of course, Shakespeare was genius. The more you see his work, the better it gets; more nuances are revealed with each reading or viewing, and the poetry, juxtaposition and depth of his words only intensify.
Besides the play, the acting caliber, and the setting, two things stand out from the day. The first is how much I enjoy spending time with Mary. We have a lifetime in common and we love the same people--a great foundation for conversation.
The other thing I loved about the experience was the audience. It was a rare late morning performance, timed to promote school participation and the audience was three-fourths students. You always take a chance mixing teenagers with Shakespeare. Will they understand his humor? Can they follow the story? Will the challenge of Shakespeare's language put up a wall?
It was probably a combination of the stellar acting and the intelligence of the students present, but these kids got it. The laughed, they sighed (out loud, no less), they clapped. But they saved their most impressive reaction for the curtain call. On a day when the clouds kept a tight hold on the rain, when the mosquitoes were in hiding, and when the play had perfect pitch, the youngest members of an appreciative audience were the first on their feet, pulling the rest of us with them.
In a day and age when standing-o's are too cheaply given, yesterday's was well deserved. The students didn't look right or left to see who else was standing, they didn't hesitate to leap to their feet, there was even a hearty whistle or two.
All in all, it was a fitting response to great theatre. Kudos to the American Players Theatre for casting their spell, to the National Endowment of the Arts for subsidizing Shakespearean theatre for youth across the country, to English and Theatre teachers who see fit to challenge their students, and to the students themselves for taking on the master and learning to love him.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Discoveries Away from Home
We love discovering new places, and our trip to Mt. Rainer, Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle was a blast. Here are some highlights:
- Archer fish: They catch their breakfast by spitting water at bugs in the air
-Thousand year old trees and a tree root big enough to shelter a half-dozen people
-A suspension bridge in the midst of an old forest
-Elk standing below moss encased trees
-A sub-alpine meadow chock full of wild flowers, deer and a purple grouse
-A surprising garden of incredible beauty built in a quarry almost 100 years ago
-A perfect rose
-A poem that moved us:
"Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace
And a new hope, or for nothing, we cannot say . . .
We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young. We have died. Remember us."
Archibald McLish
-A thought-provoking sign in the woods with a sentiment Katz hopes to impart to the folks at work: Change: Rule Without Exception
-Pike Place Market's flying fish
-Ladder climbing salmon
-Cindy Lauper singing the blues in a leather suit and Raggedy Ann wig
-Using GPS for the first time and loving it. We named it Mary.
-A chicken purse--We passed on buying it, but it made us laugh
-The best new reading glasses in the whole, wide world
-Time to talk, read, love, laugh, relax, reflect, refresh
-Coming home
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