Act IV: The Winter Leg - 1/16/05

Staunton, VA - Vacation is over, and with this, the 50th post to this blog, Act IV The Winter Leg begins. Let the rejoicing begin! I am writing this in between brush-up rehearsals of Richard III and Much Ado About Nothing, so I may not get in as much as I want, but I felt I had to get the ball rolling again because I suspect that by tonight I will be too tired to write much of anything. Besides, at the moment I have internet access only by modem at my new digs, so better to write this in the theatre with wireless broadband than a modem connection.

We all arrived yesterday, although I got in late because on Saturday I had to take Eric to an audition he had lined up at the University of Cincinnati, and that was a round trip from Dunkirk and back. About 11 hours in the car for a ten-minute audition. Such is theatre. Then I drove to Staunton early Sunday morning after asking permission to arrive a little late. I got to the theatre just in time to catch the matinee of Greater Tuna with Paul Fidalgo and Jessica Dunton playing all the character (although Joyce Peifer has a pretty big role in the show as well). Funny stuff. Then a music rehearsal for Planet and a run of Planet. Then unpacking and some sleep. Everyone looked pretty much the same. Andrew arrived with a mustache, but shaved it off today already. Chris hasn't shaved, and I trimmed my beard down. Many people mentioned that I looked even skinnier, but I think the lack of a beard is creating an optical delusion. Over the vacation I did my best to watch my weight, but also did some indulging as well. I only got out to walk once because the weather, as grey as it was, was never inviting. Of course there were greetings all around, but as soon as everyone got back to business it seems like we never left. Two weeks seems like an awful long time until it's over, and then it feels like it never happened.

We do not actually leave for the road until Friday, when we travel up to Annapolis MD and perform for the Naval Academy. The veterans tell us that the audiences there are somewhat unreceptive. I've never been to the Naval Academy, so it should prove an interesting visit. Then our next stop is in Fairmont WV, where we spend a full week doing workshops and shows. So it begins.

I am now living at 607 W. Beverley, the actors complex. I am in the east downstairs room at 607. It's small, but it has its own bathroom. The desk in the room sucks. It's something like a convertible chair that doubles as a desk. The kitchen is on the second floor, so I have to climb two flights of stairs to get there. It is better than going outside. When we do Act V - In Residence - that will be my space for the duration. One great disadvantage of the space is that it has only one window, which does not face south and is covered by a porch. Hence I will probably get poor satellite reception for XM radio. I have to figure out some way to remedy this. Rene, who is in the upcoming Renaissance season, lives next door to me, so getting internet from his network will be no problem (temporarily down at the moment). It should be interesting to live in the complex, my third living space while in the company. The Market St. house was nice for its convenience, but everyone tends to be a bit isolated there. The complex is more social, but I discovered last night that the noise level is increased because of that. My natural sleep cycle may be more than a bit affected. And the heat in the room is pretty noisy. The unit is like one of those units in a motel, and it cycles the heat on and off. When the motor kicks on it makes a grinding noise. So either I have to get used to it, sleep with the heat off, or keep the heat on and the window open to regulate the temperature. but by April the weather may have moderated enough down here that I won't have to worry about heat.

Well, my time is running out, so up this goes to the blog and then perhaps more later. Or another day. New pictures are up on Flickr (click the badge on the right sidebar) and I will try to organize them on the road. It will take some time, as there are many pictures unlabeled and I have a lot up there. Might take up the entire tour. I'm working on movies as well, and if you haven't seen the Christmas ones, check those out. I'm experimenting with Google Video and YouTube for video upload as well. Do searches on those sites if you want to look. Later. -TWL.