There's Nothing Like Gilbert and Sullivan in the 'Cheer You Up' Stakes (oh and by the way, we found my phone!)

Hooray for the 'Find My iphone' app! (by the way, am I the only one who wants to type 'Phind my iphone'?). Last night my friend called to say she had been contacted by a woman whose 14 year old daughter had been naive enough to buy my phone over the internet! Once she had it home and tried to activate it, the 'Find My iphone' app kicked in and told her the device was lost, giving her my friend's number to contact. Salient lesson for Miss 14 who had paid $250 of her hard earned pocket money to buy the phone.

It's all been handed over to the Police and I will get my phone back, but during the week, a wonderful friend gave me a spare iphone 5 she had lying around after an upgrade, so I am less desperate to reclaim my baby and more inclined to donate it to the silly 14 year old girl.
But......
Will that reinforce the lesson about internet purchases that she needs to learn? Probably not........

Meanwhile, I am soothing my soul by creating very silly sets for our local Light Opera Society again. I must say, I've seen worse....

Day one of the set up for The Mikado:

Enter a myriad of players. Average age 58.

The orchestra has never been so 'well contained'...hahahahaha

"Tell us about it KoKo...."

And tomorrow the builders arrive. Here are the 'before' photos.....

This is looking into the kitchen from the strangely designed eating area, or seating area....or corridor. However you see it...

And this is looking back out from the kitchen into the weird area, which we are currently using as a computer 'nook'.
The idea is to remove the wall/arch, replace the benchtops and update the splashbacks.
Stay tuned for developments, starting tomorrow!

Am Dram Revisited

It's been a very long time since I was involved in the world of amateur theatre and these past few days have been like dipping into the chapters of a most beloved book from my past entitled: The Art of Coarse Acting. 
Coarse actors are described as those who 'know all their lines, just not the order in which they come'. Their  talent is for enthusiasm and ingenuity rather than any ability to perform adequately. There are also coarse backstage crew, and sadly, I am one of them.

Coarse backstage crew like to reminisce constantly about shows they have worked. They like to describe in intricate technical detail the lighting/sound set up they have utilised for any one of a number of productions. They have Channel Envy (I have 3 x 14 channel dimmers at home, you know) and Wattage Envy (We bought 8 x 1000watt globes for the last show, you know) and Delusions of Indispensability.  They have pet names for each actor based upon characteristics (we call her Terry because she dances like a bird of prey...a pterodactyl) or former failures (we call him Mr Bouncy Bouncy because he couldn't keep the follow spot still) or previous hi-jinks (I call her the BN, Bunny Napper, because she stole my two authentic Spamalot Bunnies).

Which is another thing. There are a lot of sci-fi/comedy/cult nuts in am-dram. Star Wars, Monty Python and Dr Who
T-shirts abound and conversations skew wildly from Comic Con to the latest Medieval Re-enactment get together. In jokes fly thick and fast and everyone has a favourite one-liner. ("Ooooooo, I SAY Duchess!")

And gossip! Everyone seems to know everyone else and many of the local am-dram theatre types come to see the 'opposition' at work:
"Lovely show dear! No, reeeeeally! Mwah, mwah..." etc etc
 One director is known as Voldemort because he has such a bad temper that no one likes to mention him by name anymore.
There are hierarchies. Lesser types like to list the well known directors/actors/companies they have worked for, while the superior types roll their eyes at the very mention of lesser types and are loathe to admit ever having worked with them. And don't even start me on who's sleeping with who!


Another fascination, is the fiscal difference between cast and crew. Way back in 'my' day, when we were co-opted into the ranks of chorus and eventually speaking roles, by the directors of a drama school I attended, we received a book token at the end of each performance season. As we got older, we may have received $20.00 for the run and, when I was 17,  I was elated to find a cheque for $100 in my little brown envelope!!!! Now, the actors pay for the privilege of being in the show (it's called a performance fee) but, weirdly, the crew get paid. I find this most perplexing. I suppose back then, the company I worked with was professional, whereas these companies are am-dram; but even so, this qualitative difference between the backstage crew and onstage cast amuses  me. I protested loudly that I didn't want any remuneration for my efforts but was quickly squashed as the other crew  pointed out I would be setting a dangerous precedent!

How strange that the performers doing all the hard work are not rewarded financially, whilst backstage crew are....

But now, The Student Prince has finished its run. I learned a lot about painting sets; I learned a lot I had forgotten about amateur theatre and I had a fair bit of fun. I have a whole new bunch of facebook friends and more invites to social events than I have had since I was married.

Next, I'm crewing again, this time on a production of 'Cats'. After attending rehearsals tonight, I can already see that this company is of a different ilk. Mind you, after a brief chat to some of the management I can see that the 'gossip' factor still applies :-D

Another Week Down...

...and no progress. But we do have nice sunsets.

I am trying to focus on enjoying where I am right now rather than obsessing over the fact that I'm still stuck in this house. Recently  the deaths of two lovely people, both sudden and unexpected, has reminded me to 'live in the moment', so that's what I'm trying to do.

For example, this weekend we didn't have an open inspection (long weekend and to tell the truth, I think the agent is just a bit fed up with driving all the way down here....) so I have been getting stuck into the garden. There is nothing like pruning when you feel you have no control over anything in your life. Pruning is all about control. Not happy with this bit? Chop it off!!

Having built up quite a sweat from my efforts, I went for a swim in that bane of my life, the pool.
It is that moment, when you plunge into water at the perfect temperature, washing the sweat from your face as you surface smoothly to glide towards the warm rocks; it is at that moment that it all seems worthwhile. All the topping up; the vacuuming;  washing the filter out; emptying the skimmer box; removing the leaves, palm blossom and never ending gumnuts; all the associated bills: water, electricity, bags of salt and algaecide, all this fades from your consciousness as you scull on your back, looking up at the afternoon sky.

I will be glad when it's someone else's job though.

I'm also keeping a few promises I made to myself. I'm going to get back into amateur theatre. I've reconnected with an old friend who is a local choreographer and she has asked me to do backstage, dressing room supervision and quick changes etc for a season of 'Cats'. It's a start! Plus I might be painting sets for another group and.... it's senior school musical year (oh boy oh boy)!! After the excitement of running the Primary School musical last year, I return to the realm of costumes alone for the secondary school.

Here's a bit of last year's fun and games:

Modest costumes for 10 year old 'harem dancers'.

A Babylonian crown. Of course.

The only picture I took of the set! And this was as we were bumping out.

Ever since my SLR camera died and I was forced to replace it with a point and shoot digital (with no view finder :-(.... ), I have kind of lost my photo mojo. During the production of this show, I was so flat out I didn't even think of it until the last night. Since then I have packed the camera away along with everything else in my office but, hopefully, I will have moved house and unpacked all my boxes before the next show, ensuring a more faithful reporting of all our endeavours. The whisper right now is that we will be doing 'The Jungle Book'.

The other exciting thing in my otherwise limbo-like life, is the Church Centenary Quilt...I mean Banner.

When I was invited to be on the Centenary Committee, I was asked to think of a way to decorate one of the halls for the celebration lunch. One thing lead to another and I suggested that we see about making a banner for the chapel, to commemorate the event. I approached another two ladies whom I knew were crafty and keen and we have been plotting and planning ever since. We've now got our basic design (and guess what...it will be two banners) and we've started handing out squares for people to create upon. This is to be a community effort, with 24 squares representing the many ministries of our church surrounding two central panels, one the old church and one the new, and linked like chains. Hard to picture I know. Don't worry. I'll post progress reports.

Finally, I have hired a personal trainer and I'm trying to get my body back. As often happens in times of stress, I allowed myself to put on a lot of weight last year, and more importantly, to become very unfit. Now, with my twice weekly training, I was able to comfortably lift a 25kg bag of salt yesterday, as well as cart 6 boxes of books downstairs for the Bestie, who is in her own 'moving, selling and building a new house', hell.

So there you are. Living in the moment, doing what I love to do.

What have you done with yourselves this past week? I'd love to hear.

Sick

I'm sick.

I've been off work for three days, with one ill advised sojourn back into the World of the Working for Wednesday. (It was all those 'w's you see, I couldn't resist.)

I might have Swine Flu. Well.......I might! Some people in Adelaide do have it you know.

Such a shame it had to be 'Swine' Flu though, isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't mind getting 'Tiger Flu' or 'Gazelle Flu' or even cute little fluffy 'Kitten Flu'. Heck, I think I might even want to get 'Swan Flu'. But 'Swine Flu' is just not attractive.

Which just about sums me up at the moment.

So, what have I been doing with my forced R&R? Well, Monday I slept and watched 'The Sound of Music.' We had been to see Prof J's daughter performing in her annual school musical on Friday night. (Say, come to think of it, last time I saw you Prof J, I came down with a cold the next day!!!!! Hmmmm. Suspicious methinks.)

But back to 'The Sound of Music': an ambitious project for a High School Musical, especially an all-girls school.
Prof J's very beautiful and talented daughter (let's call her J Jnr) was, slightly to her chagrin, cast in the role of 'Rolf' the telegram boy. She had wanted Leisl. You see kid, being five foot eight never got you anywhere in the world of show business!

She took the stage confidently and flawlessly delivered a beautifully sweet version of 'You Are Sixteen' etc etc etc. During this time I fumbled for my camera and got a few fuzzy still shots before I remembered that I had video capability; just in time to record the entire performance of the other girl.

.......Who turned out to be a 'belter'! Shame they couldn't have swapped voices for the roles actually. Or height.

I kept my camera at the ready however, remembering the powerful scene at the end of the movie where the Captain and Rolf 'face off' in the churchyard. I was determined to capture her performance for posterity.

Well, I did.



Unfortunately, the stage show and the movie vary on this point, amongst others. I guess you don't get the nuances of the emotional interchange from a distance....

All in all though, it was a fine effort for a school production. You had a whole family of beautifully attired Von Trapp children, you had hills (look, up there behind them!),
you had a wedding,you had politics,


and of course you had nuns. Something for everyone.

Speaking of which:

The Baby Angel and I were fascinated to see a note from Maria Von Trapp in the program! Apparently, someone on the school board knew someone who knew the lady in question and so an email was sent and a congratulatory telegram received wishing the girls 'good luck' with their production and thanking them for keeping alive the Von Trapp family name. Now, I had thought she was dead......and the BA hadn't known she was a real person at all.....so we were intrigued by this. The BA spent most of the show whispering "Did this really happen? What about this bit? Did THIS really happen?"

Of course my nosy, 'history geek' streak took over and when we got home I hauled out my 40th Anniversary DVD Edition of the Sound of Music (now with MORE special features!). Sure enough there was a Von Trapp Family documentary. It turns out there was a daughter called Maria (nicknamed Mitzi) in the family. It was this Maria who had written to J Jnr's school.

Now, for those of you just as interested in these movie/real life things as I am:

• Maria married the Captain at 22, he was 47.

• They were married in 1927.

• It was not a marriage of love initially on her part although she' grew to love him' over time.

• The family lost all their money in 1935 in the collapse of an Austrian bank.

• Performing as a family choir was initially a way of making a living.

• The Von Trapps did not flee Austria over the mountains but rather quietly took a train out to Italy in 1938. They had been asked to sing at Hitler's birthday party and declined. The eldest boy had been offered a job as a doctor in a position left vacant by the sacking of a Jewish doctor. The family saw what was coming and chose to leave before things got worse.
• None of the children had the names assigned to them in the musical
• Maria was reputedly a bossy, domineering woman with a quick temper while the Captain was a quiet, depressive man who whilst never working again after the end of WWI, somehow kept the family together with his gentle nature. He died of lung cancer in 1947.
• Maria Von Trapp sold the rights to her book and story for a mere $9000 when the family were in financial straits. She was given a small percentage of royalties as 'goodwill' by the film makers. She always regretted having given away creative control of the story.

There now, you see what you learn when you are sitting at home sick?

My second day at home involved ironing. A LOT of ironing.

And today I have been sorting photos and playing on the internet.

At some point I will have to do some marking......