Audioblog - 5/16/06

Week 47 - 5/12/06

Staunton VA - All of a sudden there seems to be so much to do, and unfortunately most of it keeps me chained to my desk and computer. I've been spending my time trying to get all my photos and movies organized, so I can prepare the troupe's DVD and scrapbook. I started on Yahoo and moved to Flickr and now find I have to re-cation a lot of stuff. O memory, how cruel and fickle thou art!

In the meantime, here's a rundown of the past week's events. Sunday we did the two Planets, and the second one, which was a benefit performance for the Augusta Medical Center's new hospice facility, was probably the best Planet we've ever done. Not only was it a good show, but it raised $33,000 in pledges for a good cause. There was one young boy sitting on one of the stage left stools whose leukemia had gone into remission, and he had a rollicking good time. And after all the Willard Scott/Al Roker jokes that flew around in the dressing room, the report is that he was quite good, very funny. I did not pay attention to him because I was down in the dressing room and just wasn't listening to the monitors, but even Tyler said he was funny, so there you have it. Ralph went before him and gave a pretty good "Shakespeare weather report" to warm up the crowd. So i went home tired, but feeling good about the evening overall. For a cause like that I'd do a double-show day anytime.

The "weekend" of Monday/Tuesday saw some pretty rotten weather. Monday night was a planned "Ochco de Mayo" celebration (since on the cinco we had shows), so I went out in search of some cheese. There is a Mennonite cheese shop in the area, as well as a Trappist convent of nuns who make gouda. I found the convent and got a wheel of gouda, which was sensational. I also squeezed in a hike up at Shenandoah National Park along the Doyle River Trail. Very scenic. I splurged on a new walking stick for its varnish finish. The party was pretty good. Daniel and Andrew slaved over a hot stove and coals and turned out some steak fajitas, BBQ shrimp, and a spicy fish chowder. They were making some rather strong margeritas, but I stayed away from that stuff. There is nothing on earth as bad as a tequila hangover - I know! Tuesday I began the organization of pictures and movies, and posted some of the last movies on my movie web site. I did not realize how messy the Flickr pictures were. I tried to create a set with the Complete Tour, and though I could create it, it is hard to manage because there are over 2,000 pictures in the set. So I've gone back to editing the months, and hopefully that will translate to the complete set, which I can have printed and backed up on DVD. I also did some shopping, and in the evening went down to Marino's for their Tuesday bluegrass night. I brought my spoons and jammed out with the group, and Daniel played his concertina and got in a version of "Johnny Come Lately," which is a song we're doing for the Much Ado interlude. Sarah found a five-string guitar in the bar and joined in as well when she could.

Wednesday we had a matinee of Much Ado for a full house of students. After the show, Chris was supposed to do a tour, but it turned out that one school with 60 kids had asked for the tour and no one told us. So Chris called me up and I got Tyler to go with me to help out with three tour shifts. Then a nap and R3 in the evening. Yesterday during the day I went to see Mission Impossible 3 with Tyler up in Harrisonburg. Not a bad movie - I like action movies and the MI-3 idea. Pretty good cast too for the picture. X-Men is coming out next weekend, trying to get a jump on the summer movie season. And Planet last night. And you're up to date.

I'm going to leave it there for now, as I really have to hunker down on these pictures and such. I know I'm forgetting something, but that's a patter that's been developing over the past few days. I plan to take things with me, like my plug for my computer, and leave them on the desk or dresser. Right now in my dressing room locker are my sweatshirt and my jacket, which I could use at the moment. So hopefully I'll remember what I forgot and add it later. Ciao! -TWL

Cruise Control - 5/7/06

Staunton VA - Well, here it is, Sunday morning, and I've got a little classical music on the XM going, as well as a cup of fresh-pressed coffee. This weekend we have five shows over 51 hours, from Friday night through Sunday night. The extra performance this week is a benefit performance of Planet for a local hospice group featuring an introduction by Willard Scott. So it's a busy weekend, but I find spending some time writing in the blog is actually relaxing and takes my mind a little off the work.

Events of the week are as follows: Wed. morning we had a matinee of middle-school children. There were some of the kinds of reactions you'd expect, but I think they had a good time. We then had Planet, Much Ado, and Planet over the next three successive nights. The Much Ado felt a little stale to me, but the two Planets seemed OK. The music is really settling into a nice place in terms of dynamics. And audiences continue to dig it - the dancing in the seats at the end still gets me every time. We only have one performance of R3 this week, which we did yesterday afternoon. Then another MA, followed by today's two Planets.

The shows themselves are pretty much on cruise control. We have them at a pretty good place, and we basically come in and get them done. Of course, this can as much be a trap as a good thing, and I think I got a taste of this on Thursday's Much Ado. The gulling scene seemed off, and I don't know if we are judging it by audience reaction or how we're executing the scene. Audiences on the road, which generally skewed a bit younger than at Blackfriars, really had large reactions to the gulling scene, but in the Blackfriars it has been a bit more subdued. It might be the scene is exactly the way we've always done it, but the reactions of the audience has changed a bit. I think we have to adjust to this and not have too many expectations going into the scene. I find myself that when I do my "bad actor" bit as Leonato, sometimes I am waiting for a certain reaction rather than just executing the action. But this is one of the challenges about long runs, the attempt to keep everything fresh. I have discovered in the past few days I am losing the ability to surprise myself on stage, as my head seems to be clogged up with anticipation. It's partly fatigue, partly boredom, partly the curse of routine. It can't be denied that, after a while, a long run can become as repetitious a job as assembly line work. Now, doing that well means the audience cannot know that's the case, but I think the only way to guard against that feeling coming on stage with you means you at least have to recognize it exists. I think once I actually walk through that curtain I am present and ready on stage, but I need to take that five seconds beforehand to get in the right place. Cruise control is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you stay alert, and shows have to be repeated so that everyone is on the right page. Staying alive and alert while on that stage is the key, of course, and I think the best tool I have found for getting that done is listening.

With only one school performance this past week, the daytime schedule was pretty open. So on Thursday I finally got to make my pilgrimage to the Cedar Creek Battlefield up in Middletown, VA. It's about a 75-minute drive down the valley, close to the area where Interstates 81 and 66 converge. I have an interest in that particular battle, because the subject of my one-person show, J. Herbert George, Principal Musician 10th Vermont, participated in that battle. The battle is a famous one because it represents the final defeat of the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and is cited as one of the reasons the election of 1864 swung to Lincoln. Confederate General Jubal Early had launched a successful sneak attack on Federal forces camped in the area, and had succeeded in routing the enemy, but regrettably chose to halt his advance of the Federals and re-group. This gave time for General Phil Sheridan to dash back from Winchester VA (he was heading to a meeting in Washington DC), rouse the Federal forces, re-organized his troops and counterattack. His charge routed the CSA forces in return, and Early was forced to take his troops back up the valley to Fisher's Hill, having lost too many men and equipment to ever become an effective military force in the area again. The war would be over six months later.

I went to the battlefield and first stopped at the Visitor's Center. They re-enact this battle every year on the weekend closest to October 19th, and the visitor's center is across from the open part of the field. The battle itself covered a large area of ground, and much of where the battle took place is actually private property, but a large open area between the visitor's center on the east and Belle Grove Mansion on the west is where the re-enactment takes place. I got a very well-written guide book, which takes you on an auto tour through the area and points out in chronological order the progress of the battle. I concentrated on the area where the 10th Vermont would have been, which was about half the tour. I took a bunch of pictures as well. I also took a tour of Belle Grove Mansion, which was General Sheridan's HQ in the valley and saw a good deal of the fighting. You can follow my tour a little bit through the picture here as well as following the online version of the guidebook here (I started at Stop 8). It was a great experience. Whenever I do these battlefield visits, I can always feel the events inside me, with that sense of being connected to the lives and deaths of the soldiers who once fought here. This particular battle is rightly famous for its tactics and its displays of courage on both sides. It raged from 4:00 in the morning until 7:00 that night, close to 15 hours. There were several significant actions in the battle, most notably the Second Division of the Third Brigade, Sixth Corp of the Federal forces, who held off Early's charge for over an hour with significantly less forces on a hill which is now a cemetery. My man Herbie was probably located with the supply chains and hospital, as musicians also served as nurses, and was thus probably stationed rearward, but no doubt he saw much of the action as it unfolded before him. Anyway, it was a good visit, one I had been wanting to make for a long time.

Friday was nothing but a lazy day, with everything done on the spur of the moment. I went to Lowe's in the morning to get a screen for my broken window, as it appears the landlord isn't going to do anything about fixing it while I am here. On an impulse I was going to go up to Sherando Lake to explore the area, but as I was driving I changed my mind and headed for Crozet, to try to find a convent of Cistercian nuns who apparently make a very good gouda cheese in the French fashion. I did not find them, but I did find an awesome whole foods store, a nice-looking Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating, other places to eat, and a back road to the Charlottesville reservoir and a trail leading into the back country of Shenandoah National Park. I later found the trail on a park map, but no indication of the type of trail it is. I have an urge to do some backcountry camping in the park, but they don't allow campfires in the backcountry (WTF?), and Ann Marie says I can't spend any money to buy a tent. So I may have to settle for a hike this coming "weekend," although the weather does not look promising.

Some more illness is starting to creep back into the troupe: Chris has been battling laryngitis all week, and Kevin seemed a bit hoarse last night. Let's hope this doesn't spread too far. Still five weeks to go! -TWL

Daze Off - 5/02/06

Staunton VA - It's been a good two days off, and there's really nothing to write about except the time off. The only thing I've had scheduled since Sunday evening has been an 11:00 AM tour today, but as no one showed up for the tour, I've essentially had a good chunk of time off with not too much to do. I think it's been the largest chunk of time off where I just stayed in Staunton and relaxed.

The only thing remarkable about Sunday's matinee was the presence of a little girl sitting with her family on the stage left Lord's Chairs. She was so quiet and attentive, couldn't have been more than 4 or so. During the interlude she came out on the stage while we did our musical numbers, and at the end of the play, as I was striking some stuff from backstage, I saw her still there. I couldn't resist going out and congratulating her for being such a great audience member. It was her first play, her parents said, and she really wanted to meet Hero, although she was too shy to talk to me. So I got Olivia out from the dressing room and she went out to say hello. Very sweet.

For the life of me I can't remember what I did Sunday evening beyond coming home and sleeping. The Sunday night baseball game didn't interest me, I know that. I truly can't seem to remember. Usually a performance of Much Ado leaves me little energy for much else. Oh wait - now I remember!! Duh!! We had a poker night at 605. Jake, Susan, Matt and Rene from the Rez troupe came over to play with Tyler, Olivia and me. It was a pretty fun night. Matt went out early, and the rest of the players hung on for quite some time. Lots of laughs. Jake is one of the new members of the Rez troupe (he's an American Indian and he's given me a new Indian name: Sky Mirror. Think about it.), and he tried a Jacks-or-better-Trips-to-win session, and it went outrageously bad. The game went on for 20 minutes with no winner, and I kept shuffling the cards all that time. Finally, after all that time, Olivia and Jake decided to split the pot that was in there and call it quits. Tyler - that lucky bastard - got to win back his money in that game under some rather suspect conditions (I suspect that in the 1870s he would have had to have been pretty quick on the draw) and then went on a win streak. I ended up losing about $4 out of five, so that's a good night for me. Rene took me out on a pretty good hand, and I went downhill from there. But it's hard not to have fun playing poker. The game finished at a good hour - midnight - and THEN I went to bed.

Monday was a hiking day with my hiking buddy Jessica. She had scouted out a trail at the Todd Lake Recreation Area in the George Washington National Forest, which is only about 25 miles from here. We intended to do the Trimble Mountain Trail, but we had some difficulty getting there due to the paucity of directions. The first time we tried to drive up there, one of the roads ended up being a logging road, so we had to turn back and go in from a different direction. Once we got up to the campground, we had an even more difficult time finding the trailhead. We had no map, since the US Forest Service does not have any maps on their websites. The information said only that the trailhead was "near the campground." Well, we walked about the area for at least 90 minutes, covering about 3.3 miles before we finally found the trailhead. Turned out the Todd Lake Trail and the Trimble Mountain Trail shared the same trailhead, but only Todd Lake was labeled. It was also hard to find any trail markers. So by the time we found the correct trail, we'd already put in over 3 miles. But we sucked it up and determined to do the Trimble Mountain trail, another 4 miles, and it was pretty worth it. The trail offered some spectacular views both of the Alleghany Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge off to the east. It was a ridge trail, following deer tracks, which meant it was narrow and steep. The nice thing about it was it is a circuit trail, so no backtracking. By the time we finished the trail Jessica had a bit of a heel blister from her combat boots. All in all we walked a bit over 7 miles. On the way back we drove some scenic roads for some more great views. The greens around here are really something else, and in the forest the way the light comes through those different shades of green is nothing short of spectacular. Everything is just about in full bloom down here, and the lightness of the leaves in the forest interior and along the mountainsides really looks lovely. Our drive took us to the Natural Chimneys , another natural site similar to the Natural Bridge. I did not know this, but the park surrounding the chimneys hosts the largest jousting tournament in the nation. I got to see the jousting ring, which was pretty nice, although I think the one at the Renaissance Faire in Sterling NY is larger.

After a shower and a nap of sorts, all of Atomic Fission that was in town went to John Michael Shott's house for a dinner party. His housemate, Jenner, is a costume designer at James Madison University, and prepared some outrageously good food. I don't know why this is, but I have never met a costume designer who wasn't an outstanding cook. John Michael has been a house manager for the ASC, and has recently been promoted to Director of Tour Operations, so he'll be the one managing the Tragical Mirth's tour next season and beyond. It was very kind of him to open his house to us. He has a spectacular location for sunsets, and last night's was of high quality. We had a fabulous meal, some tea, and a fire in the firepit. Although I was having a good time I left a little early to be able to bowl one game over at Staunton Lanes (lest you have forgotten from last summer, Monday is dollar bowling night and is a tradition with ASC actors). Obviously I brought some good luck with me, but not for my game. Rez troupe actor Sarah Fallon (Miss Texas) bowled something like a 174 in her last game when I got there. That's pretty awesome! I think the only person who bowls better than her is Chris Seiler, who holds the record somewhere around 235 or so. She looks like she has no idea what she's doing, but she had a triple in the game and several spares. Amazing. So Monday was a pretty active day off.

Today was a much more mellow day. I went downtown to the ASC office and paid off the poster I had made up for my dad of Planet, then basically waited about until my tour was cancelled. I had ordered a refurbished Airport Base Station Extreme, so I picked that up on the way home, as well as getting a haircut and a cigar. I set the Airport network up, so now both houses have good coverage, since I linked up my Airport Express with the network. Then I got my car washed, did a little shopping, listened to the Indians/White Sox game, took a little nap, uploaded some new photos to my Flickr site (click on the sidebar to see them), watched Sarah try to feed her duck again (this duck arrived in the back yard yesterday for no reason, and Sarah has been trying to get her to eat out of her hand), and got set to watch the Yankees/Red Sox game. I discovered that MLB.com offers a month-by-month subscription to watch baseball games on the web, so I bought a month's worth ($15) and was hoping to watch the game, having missed Monday night's contest. Unfortunately the game was rained out in Boston, so I settled for Blue Jays/Orioles. I wish the picture screen wasn't so small and surrounded by so much other stuff, but it's not too bad. This is going to be a bad thing to have in the dressing room!

And that brings you up to date on my two days off. Tomorrow we start off with a matinee, like every Wednesday, but I think there are no added matinees this week. We do have an added performance Sunday evening, a benefit for a local hospice, with Willard Scott as guest host. So another 8-show week. But after two good days off I feel far more prepared to tackle it. Only six weeks left! -TWL

Transformation II - 4/29/06

Staunton, VA - Well, there went another week without writing. How time gets away from me so fast, I cannot explain. I can tell you that some of that time went towards driving home to surprise Ann Marie on her birthday, which was this past Monday. That was a complete success. I walked into her office while she was finishing up a meeting with an accrediting visitor, and I think "stunned" is perhaps the best phrase to describe the look on her face before she burst into tears. We had a nice day together, going out to lunch and then having Eric home while I made her birthday dinner. A wonderful carrot cake from her good friend Peg topped the festivities. Then back here on Tuesday.

This week's collection of shows were pretty much without incident. We had an extra morning show on Thursday, and it caused a bit of pre-show concern, as these students from Albermarle High School (which I presume is in Charlottesville) had a reputation which preceded them. Apparently there had been a spitball incident and some other rowdy behavior from this school in the past, so we were on our guard. But I thought they were a fine audience in the end. Interestingly enough, they enjoyed the music and the comedy, and when the play turned dark, they were quite hushed; it was as silent a house as we've ever had. In fact, there was one young man sitting on the stage right stools, and right after the moment where I throw Sarah to the floor and stagger away, he flinched and cried out, thinking I was going to crash into him. That's when I knew I had him. It was also nice to have a culturally diverse crown in the theatre for a change. It's a great feeling to know you did have some effect on kids from different backgrounds.

The two-show combination Wed. and Thurs, wore me out a bit, so I loosened up a bit (maybe a bit too much) on Thursday night while watching a basketball game up in 605. I've been doing a lot of computer repair lately, and I've been working on the barter system - beer for repair work. First Tyler, then Andrew, and earlier this evening, Chris. So Friday I had to take it slow, but I did manage to go out to lunch with Jessica, where we got some good hamburgers and Cajun fries at 5 Guys. It's a chain in this area that makes fresh hamburgers and fries their potatoes in peanut oil. They were quite good. I took a nap and then went to the theatre to begin the weekend of shows. Today we had a workshop called Teaching Shakespeare before our R3 matinee, but I had no workshop responsibilities. So an R3 and then a Planet this evening, which was another audience of baby boomers who had a great time. During the encore they got up and danced in the theatre, a pretty amazing sight. As I search through my memory I think there have been no other incidents of note for the week.

But now I have to backtrack a little and go to this theme of transformation (if you did not read the previous post, you might want to do that first). Last week I took a hike up in Shenandoah National Park, and it was during this hike that w few thoughts came to me. The first thought that came was how much I was enjoying the hike. The simple act of walking in the woods alone with my thoughts these days gives me a great deal of pleasure. I really think I would like to take up hiking as a hobby of sorts, with an eye towards doing the Appalachian Trail or some other major route. This particular hike I planned as a lunch hike, and when I got to Calvary Rocks, I sat and had lunch, enjoying the 360-degree view around me.

It was while I was enjoying this experience that the thought came to my mind that I would rather be doing this sort of thing more than anything I could think of at that moment. And it also occurred to me how many summers I had given up over the years to act in theatres. It was at that moment that I had that sense of transformation - that I could see a life for myself which was one other than this life. I saw it pretty clearly: a life out in nature, walking, maybe canoeing or kayaking, but one where the outdoors became dominant, not the dim backstage light of the theatre. I asked myself at that moment - what is left for me to achieve in the theatre? What's left to accomplish? And the answer came back - nothing much. At that moment it seemed to me that finally, there was nothing more I needed from the theatre itself. I have performed or directed in over 100 shows, I have now toured, I've done numerous Shakespearean roles, and I could think of nothing at all left that I was really desirous to achieve. I really don't care whether or not I get into Actor's Equity, because even if I did, it's not much good to me now. I've no intention of turning fully professional. There are still roles I'd like to play out there, yes, but somehow it no longer seems so pressing or urgent that I do so. I'd rather hike, I think. You see, it's the need that has begun to fade. And this is where the transforming process is happening. I sense other needs that have to take more prominence - like hiking, and writing.

Does this mean I would never do theatre again? No, I don't think so - but it does mean I no longer feel that urgent need to do theatre again, and if I never did anything else in theatre again, it wouldn't matter to me at all. I can see another life I can live, one a bit more introspective and quiet, one away from all the hustle and anxiety that theatre seems to produce in people. And I also feel a need to begin to do something that truly matters. When I look at the state of American theatre, I realize that it's fun, some of it is good, but little of it seems to truly matter. Perhaps by seizing the opportunity that this transforming moment is offering, I can begin to find my way to that place where I can do something that matters to me.

One thing that's critical to understand about transformation, both in the theatre game itself and in life, is that a transforming moment does not reveal the entire nature of what you're about to enter. You can only see possibilities, but it remains up to you to leap in and begin the exploration and creation of those possibilities. And amazingly enough, as I began to continue my hike, this idea was enhanced by nature itself as it presented a metaphorical journey for me. At one point in the hike I began a steep descent into a valley, I knew that the trail eventually led up to some sort of river, but I was not sure how far that was. As I got to the bottom of the valley, it was apparent that the formations around me spoke to the existence of a stream somewhere, but it looked dried up, no more than a path for rainfall or snowmelt run-off to follow. But I kept on walking, remembering that the trail map did indicate a blue line. I kept my eyes open, and finally I saw some rocks which appeared moss-covered, a sign of moisture. I went off-trail and down into the stream bed, poking about until I found a small underground stream bubbling to the surface. Within about 25 yards it became a small flowing stream, and the water was cold and refreshing on this 80-degree day. I took off my shoes at a convenient spot and sat a bit with my feet dangling in the stream. I wet my hat and put it on my head for the natural air-conditioning it provided.

I was about ready to go and return the way I came, when a fellow hiker and her dog came up the trail from the opposite end. The dog took a bit of a drink, and as she saw me soaking my feet, she mentioned there was a good swimming hole ahead. I put my socks and shoes back on and continued to follow the trail a bit more. As I did so, the stream became wider, more varied in its path, and stronger in its flow. When I came to the swimming hole, I found much more than a swimming hole; it was a beautiful canyon of rocks and trees amidst this cascading waterfall. I stood at the top of the falls, surveying the scenery around me. I had gone from a hot, dry descent into a small valley, followed a dry stream bed until I found its source, and witnessed it as it grew and expanded into this magnificent waterfall, a view I assume very few people who visit the park actually see. And there I sat for about 20 minutes, just sort of entranced in it all. Transformation does not take much to reveal itself, and often looks like nothing at all, like a dry runoff bed. But if you have the wisdom to follow where it will take you, the payoff can be well worth the journey.

It would have been better has I been able to follow the trail in its circuitous path, but I was getting pressed for time and found it more prudent to return the way I came. The metaphoric sense of that decision did not escape my attention, however, as I found that reversing my journey and going back the way I came was not as rewarding. I had to go back to do a show, and knew at that moment I did not want to. But it was quite an experience, liberating and exhausting, heady and physically taxing. And I think this transforming experience is going to make a difference once I finish this contract. It has already begun to make a difference, as I now seem to find all the things that people around me take so seriously to be just so much foolishness. While there is a great deal of foolishness and pettiness in the world of theatre, it's no less so in academia (or probably in any other workplace in America). But what I have come to realize is that I may finally have hit a place where I do not have to endure the foolishness because I have some other need to fulfill; I can simply walk away from it, figuratively and literally. Come mid-June, I think I'll begin to do more walking than I ever have before. -TWL

Transformation I - 4/22/06

Staunton VA - It's Saturday evening, and Saturday is always a long day. With my parents in town, it was a little longer today than most, as I got up to meet them at 9:00 AM for breakfast. That generally isn't so bad, except when you don't get as much sleep as you'd like the night before. I'm running a little short on sleep this weekend, and so having to get up at 9 when I probably did not get to sleep any earlier than 3:30 AM was a little rough. But I do know that I was fast asleep at 6:30 AM, because everyone in the troupe except me heard a massive thunderstorm go through town at that hour, while I heard nothing. It has been nice to have my parents in town to see the shows. I took them out to dinner last night for their 55th wedding anniversary. They both like the baby back ribs at the Mill Street Grill, while I had a seafood pasta, which was pretty tasty and generous. They saw the Friday night Much Ado and then the two shows today. Tomorrow they head back to Long Island, and for me another bit of time off.

This week has been a Richard week, with back-to-back R3s on Wed. and Thurs. night, and again tonight. We also had an added performance at Veritas Winery, the same place where we started our tour back in September. Apparently we were a little out of practice in traveling, because we sort of forgot a few things. I forgot to "dress up" for the affair, and had to go back home to get my dress clothes on. WHen I got back I assumed, because everything was sitting on the sidewalk by the van, that my garment bag with my costume had been grabbed by someone and packed. Wrong. I did not discover this until about 90 minutes before showtime, so I had to drive back to Staunton (approx. 20 minutes away) and get it. Greg had made the same mistake, so I grabbed his as well. Tyler thought he had forgotten the thundercan, but it was packed. And Carie forgot the tentacle, having taken it home to do some repair work on it. They also shifted the schedule on us here and there. First we thought dinner was going to be after the show, but it turned out they served dinner before the show. Confusion reigned as to when the troupe would eat. I ended up eating after the show, because I was driving when dinner was served. Cold chicken, cheese and grapes was my dinner. And we got a bit of a late start because the patrons we lingering over their dessert and wine. The crowd had fun, I think, but it was not a re-creation of the September event, where people were slightly tipsy. The crowd felt like a mid-60s and up crowd, a bit older than baby boomers, and they were nowhere near as raucous. And there was no event after the show. So we didn't really need to dress after all because there was no mingling. But aside from all these small mishaps, the show was OK. Hopefully Veritas thought so, and will continue to sponsor the Center.

The R3 crowds this week were sparse, although tonight was a healthy crowd. I think it was Thursday when the count was 39 people. I would expect weekday crowds for Richard will be small. One very happy thing to report - the Richard pre-show is new and vastly improved. I have always been very embarrassed with the R3 pre-show, which Greg and I had been charged with creating. Our original idea back in September proved to be unworkable, so during the tour we did nothing but a straight delivery of the information. But someone (I forget who) gave me the idea of writing pre-show catches, and so I did. I took tunes from three of the catches I sing with the Fredonia Catch Club (Mac Nelson is our kappelmeister and catch guru), wrote new lyrics for them, and what we now do is create a small skit where I am introduced to get the Blackfriars Catch Club to perform, even though we aren't quite ready. Daniel, Greg, Kevin and I constitute this erstwhile Catch Club, and it's been fun to create, much more along the spirit of what pre-shows for the ASC should be. So now I am very happy to do the R3 pre-show, whereas before I was always embarrassed at the lack of anything interesting.

I was scheduled to do a tour Wed. PM but no one showed. We have only done one Planet this week in the Blackfriars, which was today's matinee. Not as large a crowd as we have had, but respectable. There was a group of giggly girls for Friday night's Much Ado and they got the crowd going as much as we did. And it feels good to report that everyone is again healthy, suffering only from the usual wear and tear of long runs.

Thursday afternoon was a gorgeous day, with temperatures reaching into the low 80s by the afternoon. I took the opportunity to take a hike in Shenandoah National Park, along the RipRap Trail. I packed up a lunch to eat at the Calvary Rocks area. While on the hike, I really had the feeling of having a transforming experience. Nothing deep or profound, mind you; only a sort of coming-together of a lot of seemingly unrelated thoughts and events which seemed to coalesce as I walked through the woods. Now, in order to get some sort of understanding of what I mean by this, I'll tell you about a theatre game that, when I teach aspiring students, I usually play as a culmination of a lot of other smaller games that lead up to it.

The game is called "Transformation," and the rules are simple enough. Two players start an improvised scene. As they play the scene, they must stay alert for the possibility that the scene will have a "transforming moment," and become a completely different scene. The scene will present itself as an opportunity to the players; the players cannot do anything to force a change of scene. Both players must sense the possibility of transformation together; one cannot sense it and force his/her partner into the new scene. The game is designed to train the actor to be aware, not only of him/herself, but of their partner in the scene. The rules may be simple, but the game itself is very difficult. Often very seemingly disparate elements will signal a transformation - a physical gesture, a vocal inflection, a particular physical relationship the partners find themselves in. The trick is to recognize the transforming moment and be prepared to leave everything about the former scene in the past and plunge fully into the new scene.

Even though I was hiking by myself, the feeling of transformation came through thinking about many disparate elements which I've been mulling over in my mind and heart these past few weeks. I have, however, decided to post these things in parts, because I do not want to write one big long convoluted post. Rather, smaller bits I think will be easier to read. It may also be easier to mix shorter posts along with the general company news, which I know some readers like to get. And hopefully it will let me post a bit more often. Rather than trying to write one long post in one sitting, I can write a little bit here and there to make the total over time. So for now I'll leave you with what's here, and sometime next week take you into Part II. -TWL

The Long Run - 4/17/06

Staunton, VA - So, I was walking back from yesterday's matinee and M.Litt. dinner party, and as I approached the front door if the BevHouse, a woman walking across the street in the opposite direction saw me and said, "I loved your performance, and I love your blog. Get some rest!" I told her I was on my way to do just that. Today happens to be an excellent day for blogging; rainy, fairly chilly, a day which encourages you to stay indoors and lounge around. I've now made my second cup of coffee, and so on to this entry. I do regret that I cannot seem to muster the energy to blog more than once a week. I realized in getting set to write that it's been a week since the last entry. But the week went fast, I think, and if it continues to go as fast this one went, I'll wake up one morning and bam! - someone will be telling me I have to move out.

I think I'll start this morning by thanking the Mary Baldwin M.Litt/MFA students for their wonderful Easter dinner party. They invited us to a pot-luck Easter feast, and all the food was very good. There was a wonderful leg of lamb with fruit compote, ham, chicken, pot roast, salads, veggies, baked beans, green bean salad, and a strawberry cake shaped in an Easter bunny, which was pretty much half-eaten by the time I got there. This same group of people did a nice Twelfth Night last week as their M.Litt project, and it was a very convivial atmosphere. So hats off and thanks to the M.Litt crew! You've been very supportive of our company, and we appreciate it.

The next order of business should be to give a health update. All last week a good two-thirds of the troupe was suffering from some sort of ailment. Alyssa, who gets the Super-Trouper Award for last week, fought off her broken toe and bronchitis to keep performing on the stage. We did make some alterations in the shows to take as much stress off her as possible, such as going with only two members of The Watch in Much Ado (I adopted her character and Tyler and I split the lines between us), and eliminating Mr. Spaceman and modifying Robot Man in Planet. By Saturday, thought, she was pretty much up to speed, and did Much Ado without her cane, sang all her songs in Planet, and returned as the mighty George Seacoal, leader of the Watch. The remainder of the sick list slowly but surely got back up to speed, although Andrew still has a somewhat sore back, which I assume he is resting today. Kevin's back is better, Olivia seems up to speed, Jessica is doing OK, Chris and Tyler seem fine. I think only Greg, Daniel, Sarah and myself got away with not getting sick, so knock on any wood you can find for us. The bug also found its way through the resident troupe, as Matt Sincell, Rene Thornton and others seemed to pick up the bronchitis bug to some degree. Better now than in June.

Apart from doing the shows all week, we are now beginning to work on other projects. I did my first playhouse tour on Wednesday, which went just fine. We are preparing for Shakespeare's Birthday celebration, an annual event held here on the Sunday closest to his birthday (April 23 this year, which is the day he is assumed to have been born). We also have to prepare something for Jamestown 2007, the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown VA, but as of now I have no clear idea what that means. And tomorrow we take another trip to the Veritas vineyard and Winery to do a performance of Planet once again, same as we did in September.

A couple of reviews have come in for Much Ado. You can read them here and here. They're really not much to speak of in the way of reviews. Both are positive, and will serve to attract audiences, but in terms of good theatre review writing they leave a lot to be desired. The state of theatre reviewing at most newspapers tends to be abysmal outside major cities like Chicago or New York, as often the people picked to do reviews are staffers with no particular credentials in the arts at all. But at the last podcast I did, Ralph showed is a copy of Theatre Week from Washington DC and said some people from that publication might be coming down to check us out. I'll be interested to see what shows up in there, if anything.

Apart from all this news-y stuff, there's been a lot on my mind in terms of how I'm adapting to running the shows at the Blackfriars. In some ways. I've begun to think of this whole gig in relation to a long run of a show, and interestingly enough, I am not sure I like long runs. This is by far the longest amount of time I have ever committed to a set of shows, and often I find myself during the day thinking that I should be in rehearsal or something for another production. My brother Jim, who plays in the jam band moe., always has side projects going, because he says after touring for some time and playing the same songs from venue to venue, you have to have something else to keep your creative juices flowing. I understand that now, because keeping up the commitment to a long run is difficult. Of course, the days are pretty much gone when great stars actually do perform long runs on the Broadway stage. Usually you get a name star for a limited run, and then hope the replacements can keep the thing going long enough to make a profit. And most regional theatres today have a definitive season where the shows run only a set amount of time. But it's deceiving to do a tour, because you tend to see all the various venues you get to play at, but what's a little hidden from sight is the fact that the shows remain the same for the entire year. Of course, to the Blackfriars audiences these shows are all new; it's the spring season of shows after the Renaissance Season. And that's the way you have to play it, even though you've been at these shows for nine months now.

The shows themselves have now settled into a good place at the theatre. We have gotten Planet down to a place where the sound is good in the space without being overpowering. The audience reaction to Planet I think has been off the scale; it's like nothing I've ever seen in a theatre. The mood of the show actually runs from a sort of polite and enthusiastic initial response to something more resembling a rock concert by the end. When the audience is filled with baby-boomers who recognize all the songs, it's really fun, because they groan and laugh within the first three bars or so. Encores have become commonplace, and people get up and dance and sing along and everything. It is such a wild and intense sight to see all these people sitting in a recreation of a Renaissance indoor theatre behaving like they are in a concert venue. And every time it happens I find myself surprised that it's actually happening. It's both fun and incongruous at the same time. Maybe one of these nights I will bring my camera out on stage and record some of this for you to see. The other shows do just as well. Much Ado still gets that same reaction of a fun comedy which all of a sudden turns tragic only to resolve back into a fun time at the end. And Richard III I think has benefitted the most from returning to the Blackfriars. The words seem to fit best in that space of any place we have played, and I think playing this piece in the Blackfriars gives it an authority and presence that all the other venues on the road lacked. When that magnificent language bounces around the walls of the Blackfriars, it just seems right and proper, much more so than in a transformed gymnasium.

Well, that's enough for this morning. It's still raining, so maybe this afternoon I will get on to doing some movies and uploading stuff on the movie page for you. I keep promising but I keep failing. So please forgive me, because I've been trying to get as much rest as possible to stay in shape - for the long run. -TWL

Open and Running - 4/11/06

Staunton VA - It's Tuesday evening, and after these past two days off I'm feeling OK. By Sunday evening, after our official opening weekend, I was pretty beat and my throat was a little weak, but two days of rest has been good. Monday I took a road trip into the Alleghany Mountains from Lewisburg, WV up to Cass, WV, and then back across to Staunton VA. I got a look at the Greenbrier River Valley, and there is a nice 60-mile trail which runs along it, good for bicycling or hiking. And you can also rent river tubes for a day of tubing down the river. May have do some of that before long. I also caught a sunset over the Appalachians, while the moon rose in the east. Some beautiful scenery. Today I finished my taxes, wrote out my index cards for doing the Blackfriars Playhouse tours, and am set for the catches we'll be doing in the R3 pre-show. Then I spent the afternoon listening to the opening day game at Yankee Stadium against the KC Royals. The temperature was in the low 70s. Very, very good for the soul.

The opening weekend at Blackfriars went well overall. There wasn't much of an "opening weekend" atmosphere around, but that seemed to trouble other people more than it troubled me. It somehow seemed anticlimactic to me to think of shows we have been doing since September as "opening." So I did not concern myself too much with that issue. Planet seems to be a show which really has gotten people going. We have learned to play the show with more restraint out of necessity at the Blackfriars, because that space is just so acoustically alive. Nevertheless, audiences large and small so far have really enjoyed the show tremendously. Much Ado went off well on Saturday evening, and the Sat. matinee of Richard III also went very well. I have noticed particularly with R3 that it plays so much better in the Blackfriars. Perhaps it's just the atmosphere, but the words seem more natural and alive there, making the show more accessible, I think. Anyway, I think it all went very well. The Sunday matinee of Planet had a small but no less enthusiastic audience. There was a row of middle-aged women in the rear of the gallery that were just rocking with every song. That's how it seems to go.

It's also been a good week for my children. My daughter Jenna just bought a house in Framingham MA and moved in over the weekend. My oldest son Brian won a playwriting contest at Oswego which came with a $100 prize for a play he wrote. And Eric, who is rehearsing the role of Bill from The Hot L Baltimore up at the University of Buffalo, was put on the wait list for Carnegie Mellon's BFA Acting program as well as being accepted to University of Northern Illinois. He had to write an essay for CMU and got that done and sent in. So we shall see.

I have a funny feeling that a lot of my posts from here on in might be a bit shorter. Since there is no new locale to report about every other day, there is nothing much to write about but the shows. Since the shows are now in rep, they probably won't change too much over time. Being located in the actor housing complex, there may be more to report there, but I tend to doubt I'll be so much in the mix that there will be anything to report. And I find that I am not taking as many pictures as I have been. So this blog may either become quite boring, or it may begin to turn into what it will eventually become once my contract ends; just general musings I have about theatre in general, and events and situations at SUNY Fredonia once I return there in the fall.

I can say that talk has already begun about what people will be doing once they complete their contracts: where they will live, where they will work, etc. Often I tend to forget that this gig is the sum total of my colleagues' lives, and once it's done they have to go back and find the next thing to do with their lives. Some people have plans set: Alyssa will be joining a company doing Oklahoma, Chris is going to a gig in Ohio doing Our Town, Greg will be joining another touring group similar to S2 run by his friend Dennis (an alum of ShenShakes), Tyler will be doing the Tragical Mirth tour next year as Cyrano, Puck and Casca. Kevin, Jessica, Sarah, Olivia, Daniel and Andrew have less certain plans, although I think Jessica and Andrew will be doing the Philadelphia consolidated auditions two days after we close here (both have connections in Philly). So they are all in the process of finding "the next thing." I plan to take the rest of the summer off and perhaps do a little traveling before I return to teaching.

Finally, the Blackfriars Backstage Podcast for Planet came out the other day, so if you want to get it, follow the instructions from the last post. It's pretty good, and I'm on it! -TWL

Germs A'Plenty - 4/6/06

Staunton, VA - Well, now that we are back and all settled in, everybody, it seems appears to be getting sick. Chris first came down with bronchitis, and now Tyler has a cough, Jessica has something going on, Kevin threw out his back, Andrew has a sore throat and has trouble talking, and Alyssa, on top of still recovering from (and performing on) her broken toe, is lying in her room sounding miserable. I am a little nervous trying not to catch any of this. While I have pretty much recovered from my general soreness, I find each show saps some energy from me, and I have to make sure to get full rest to get ready for the next day. Chris actually brought masks into the men's dressing room to help us avoid catching any germs. I think I may start to upgrade my daily dose of Vitamin C and get some of that wellness stuff my wife likes from the health food store.

The past week has been sort of hectic. We are scrambling a bit to get our interlude stuff together, which includes music in between acts (our intermissions are called "interludes"). We're learning new stuff, and we are trying to squeeze it into 30-minute rehearsal blocks before call for each show. I'm playing percussion (which is cymbal and snare) on some MA music, and I am also trying to put together a R3 pre-show composed of catches. I am using catches I already know, and writing new words for them. We're a little behind in it because the other shows have taken precedence, and today I am missing Kevin(sick) and Greg (nursing Alyssa), so I canceled a scheduled rehearsal and am waiting until tomorrow. I don't feel too much of a rush, as we still have more than 2 months to do pre-shows, but I would like to get it over and done with ASAP. The current R3 pre-show, which Greg and I do, is a boring, straightforward announcement type of preshow, and is rather dull. So the sooner I can get something there that's more clever, the better I will feel. We don't officially open until this weekend (starting Friday night), so there is still time.

The past week of shows has been great. The first weekend home the audiences were loving the shows. Adjusting to the space has been the hardest thing. The Blackfriars Playhouse is so live that modulating sound can be very difficult.My high-frequency hearing impairment has made it even more difficult for me. Our first Planet performance was too loud, so we adjusted by bringing everything way down instrumentally, and that made the situation better. It doesn't feel like you're rocking out too much in restraining the instrument, but it does give a better sound. So it has been for the other shows, trying to find adjustments as needed both vocally and in the pacing. I must admit, being back on the Blackfriars stage is a good feeling, although it did seem a little unreal at first. I caught myself a few times in a sort of surreal trance on the stage, thinking maybe I was dreaming, and that at any minute it would all turn back to some auditorium or conference room. it's interesting how everything feels more at home here than it ever did on the road.

I am also now mostly settled in my room, and I have had visitors come to my window and admire my set-up. My XM radio gets great reception with the antenna set right between the houses. I still have my microwave and hot plate from my Belle Grae place, but I mostly use the kitchen for cooking. I did indulge in one splurge and bought a very small electric car cooler so that I can have cold drinks and keep my half-and-half downstairs. I can make coffee in the morning either from my Belle Grae drip pot or my French press. I have an electric water kettle for tea, and I bought a few crates and storage tubs for storing things. So it's not too bad at that. They still have to fix my window, which I can take right out of the sill and which won't go up on the track. Good luck getting that fixed in a timely manner. The landlord of these Bev houses is not exactly swift in terms of repair. The one thing still missing is a solid internet connection. I can use my modem, but hopefully the houses will be getting together to get a cable connection into the house. At least Paul Fidalgo will be getting internet into his place, which is right next door to me, so within the next week I hope I can get some sort of cable connection. Otherwise I'll be spending a lot of money down on Coffee at the Corner.

This past Monday was a day off, as well as most of Tuesday, so I did find the time to relax. On Monday I traveled to the Natural Bridge, which is exactly what its name implies. It is a huge rock structure which rises from the Cedar Creek valley straight up over 200' on either side, and has a bridge spanning the top. Cedar Creek flows under it. The height of the structure is taller that the drop from the top of Niagara Falls to the bottom. it's actually pretty imposing when you get right down to see it. I took a number of pictures and a small movie (I know I'm behind in updating my movie page), so you can check them out under the April set on my Flickr site (click the badge on the right sidebar). I had lunch at a small cafe in Natural Bridge Station, VA (not to be confused with Natural Bridge, VA), and the cook there kep trying to push the ice cream on me (I did give in to the peach cobbler). On the way back home I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, and man, what a great drive! I had the parkway pretty much all to myself, seeing maybe one car every 45 minutes or so. The views were incredible, and towards the end I got caught in some passing thunderstorms. It was cool seeing the clouds roll in from all across the mountains. By the time I got home, though, I was pretty tired, having drunk a bit too much wine the night before (thanks, Olivia!), so I took a nap at 5:30, got up at 8PM and listened to the opening game of the NY Yankees, who are out in Oakland (lost 2 of 3). Tuesday I was supposed to go on a practice tour with Greg, but no one showed up to tour around. Then I rehearsed some music with Olivia and Kevin for MA, and the night was free. Wednesday we had an MA matinee, after which I did the Q&A with Tyler, followed by an evening R3. And today (Thursday) I have spent getting a lot of busy work and personal errands done. So that about catches you up on events here.

Tomorrow I will be doing a podcast for the ASC on Planet. These podcasts are new, and you can subscribe to them through Apple iTunes. Open up iTunes and click on the Music Store. Then go to podcasts and seach for American Shakespeare. You should get a search return with the ASC podcast on it. Hit the "subscribe" button and you should be all set. If you don't have iTunes, to go to the American Shakespeare website and get them directly by clicking right here. iTunes is availabe free for Windows and Mac. Give us a listen and let me know what you think! -TWL

Act V: Residency - 3/31/06

Staunton, VA -

Sometimes the light's all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it's been.

-"Truckin" , Grateful Dead

It's all over, including the shouting. Tonight we opened Planet in the Blackfriars, and last night we did our final official gig at Virginia Military Academy. We actually do have one more travel stop - an added return trip to Veritas Winery in mid-April, where it all unofficially began back in early September. But for all intents and purposes, the tour is officially over. Hardly seems real.

I am sort of at a loss for words, as I don't really think I have fully incorporated the fact that the tour is complete. I've settled into my room at 607 Beverley, been grocery shopping, got my printer and all sorts of kitchen materials out from the boxes. I retrieved my bicycle from the heavens over at the theatre, and everything has been unloaded from the vans. I'm not quite into a routine as of yet, as we have some further orientation to go through in the next few days. Of most importance is learning how to do the tours of the Blackfriars theatre. We have a weighty tome to memorize (although we can use cue cards), but once that's done we're pretty much on a regular schedule. The weather has been lovely - in the high 60s/low 70s yesterday and today. So, there it is - home.

The gig at VMI last night was quite funky. We had not done Richard III since Platteville, back on March 9, and so we had to dust the rust off. The space at VMI was completely makeshift, a large open ballroom, and there was no room backstage, so we had to do the neutral walk thing to the kitchen, which served as the dressing room. At one point one of the platforms in the most upstage row gave way, almost collapsing, and Tyler (corrected 4/4/06) had to go out and fix it up. We were all a little skittish after that, I think. The stage was not very deep, so we had to adjust on the fly with spacing and such. On the whole the performance was serviceable, but not much more. Too much rust for one run-through to dust off, I think. The audience was a mix of cadets and civilians, and they seemed to take it all in. VMI does this as part of their first-year educational curriculum, and Alan, the English professor who organizes all this, always brings the troupe in for this program. It appears, though, that the fund which pays for this is becoming thin. I hope he manages to keep it going.

I did manage to take in a few ceremonies while there. The lowering of the colors at 5:00PM featured the firing of the cannon - a loud boom indeed. I think I have it recorded on my camera. I also caught a little bit of the cadets marching off to dinner in full formation. VMI has been around since 1839, and it just seemed weird to see the name of Stonewall Jackson in the background as the US flag was lowered.

Prior to this stop we traveled to Western Carolina State University in Cullowhee, NC. We traveled on Monday, did two shows on Tuesday (I did a workshop as well), and traveled back on Wednesday. Monday night after we got settled in, I went with Jessica and Andrew for some Chinese food, and it was really quite good. We got a story about this place: apparently the restaurant had been robbed and the owner shot to death a few weeks back. The whole community rallied around the family to support them, and in return the restaurant is throwing a free buffet day for the city tomorrow (April 1). Both shows went very well, especially the evening performance (Much Ado), which was very well attended - about 450 people. They had actually closed their club section but re-opened it because of the attendance. And there was this one guy sitting dead center in the second-to-last row whose full grey hair and beard totally surrounded his face. He sure enjoyed himself. Tyler said he looked like Walt Whitman.

WCU is actually quite a lovely campus, and Andrew, Sarah and I got to stay at the University Guest House, a beautiful old stone house with deep oak interiors and some 1950s furniture. I grabbed the downstairs bedroom while Sarah and Andrew each had a bedroom upstairs. There was a back porch as well, where I spent some time sucking on a cigar after Tuesday's show and meditating on one wandering star peeking through the trees. Andrew bought some groceries and we had a nice breakfast of eggs, juice, coffee and ham on Wednesday morning (although Andrew was getting a bit sick and phlegmy due to the overheating of the house). The view was quite nice; mountains in the distance, the campus down at the bottom of the hill. Apparently this part of NC is big into retirees, and I breezed through a little booklet featuring all these retirement locations within 40 miles of Asheville, NC. Cullowhee apparently has that "earthy crunchy old hippies" reputation (although I did not see any other hippies around), and if the bakery we spent time in between shows on Tuesday is any indication, I could believe it. I had some coffee and a sticky bun while in there, and it was good! I spent time fixing Andrew's computer (he had captured a little worm), but did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked because of the workshop. I did get to talk to one of the acting teachers before the workshop, and unfortunately the theatre program there is suffering from a lack of students and dwindling attendance at plays. But they do have an unusual situation in that their Musical Theatre program is in the music department and not in the theatre department. So they may have to downgrade their acting BFA to a BA, and lose some jobs. Too bad, as the location of the college is so ideal and a nice place to live. Daniel and I had a chat about the possibility he may return sometime to open his performing arts center there, and he even offered me a job! I could be sort of a wandering artistic consultant, pulling down a small salary to supplement my retirement. He has my number!

So that's it for now. At some point I will try to digest the tour and write a little about it. I do know one thing - I will miss the traveling. Touring may not be the most ideal way to travel, as you do lose a lot of independence and you can be sort of cooped up, unable to enjoy where you're at. But I did like seeing all these venues and colleges and traveling through this really beautiful country we live in. I've come to appreciate the south more than at any time in my life, and hope to come back through as soon as I can to really get into the parks and the cities without the necessity of having to go to "work." Wouldn't touring be great if you didn't have to do shows?? Wow! -TWL

Home Stretch - 3/26/06

Staunton, VA - Only because of the fact that it is a Sunday morning am I sitting in the Daily Grind in Staunton VA pounding out this particular post. Were it any other day of the week I'd be over at Coffee at the Corner, but Dave does not open on Sunday. So it goes. We got here Saturday at noon after driving through quite a little spring snowstorm in the Appalachian mountains between Lewisburg and Staunton - up to 4" at the top of the mountains. Ironic to have avoided snow during the entire winter leg only to have to drive through it to get home to Staunton!

I am slowly recovering from a pretty hard few days. On the 23rd we travelled to Lexington VA to do Much Ado for the Virginia Military Institute, then after the show we traveled another hour to get to Lewisburg, WV. We had a 7:30 AM call on the 24th for Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, where we did a 10:00 AM NEA 90-minute Much Ado and then later that night we did an 8PM Much Ado for the city. Then yesterday morning we travelled home to Staunton, arriving around noon. Everyone was relieved to be home in time to see the last performances of the Renaissance season. But I chose not to go, opting instead to try to lay down and heal from the last week. We are not officially done with the tour, as we leave tomorrow morning for Cullowee NC and Western Carolina University for two shows on Tuesday, and we still have one final gig at VMI doing Richard III. Then on Friday night we open Planet, and that begins our official residence in the Blackfriars.

I am really pretty frustrated and depressed because my body is not holding out as well as I wanted it to this past week. I was psychologically ready for the week ahead, knowing there were going to be many Much Ado shows, late nights and early mornings and 2-a-days. No alcohol, no going out after shows. I kept up my vitamins and tried to eat well, and also tried to keep up some light exercise by walking around Raleigh. But nothing helped, I guess. At NC State we did two Much Ados, and that was the beginning. Two MAs is a bit rough for me, the hardest physical show I have, because I expend a lot of energy between the Watch and the worked-up Leonato in the wedding scene and beyond. And I have found traveling to be wearying too as of late, so the drive from Raleigh to Lexington, followed by a full MA, pretty much did me in. The early morning MA and the evening MA in Lewisburg were the coupe de grace, so that by the time I got back to the hotel room I was dead to the world and sore in so many places. I think in the two nights I roomed with Chris during the Lewisburg stay I didn't say more than 10 words to him. I slept between shows for about 3.5 hours, and tried like hell to conserve as much energy as possible, doing little talking and looking for quiet places to sit, rest and be still. I got a lot of rest yesterday, got to bed relatively early, and today feel a bit better, although my neck is still hurting and my back is still a bit stiff.

All this physical discomfort has led me to begin to ask the question of how long I can keep doing stage acting. The tour is rough, sure, but I think it goes beyond merely touring. I remember feeling like this in the summer of 04, when I was doing Grumio in Delaware Park. I was not in as good a shape weight-wise, but still, doing 6 shows a night for close to four weeks with all the running around I did back then had me pretty exhausted, and one day off a week was not enough. Add to that the two hours of commuting, and it was tiring. On this tour I've lost weight, did walking and bike-riding to help improve my stamina, and the first leg, as I recall, went OK. But Christmas Carol was exhausting (many 2-a-days with one 3-a-day), and this latter part of the tour has been tiring as well.

One of the things I try to drive home to my students in my acting classes is that someday, at some point in time, 95% of them will have to face the mirror and realize they will not make their living solely as a professional actor. Only a very small percentage of people get to do so, and sometimes coming to that realization helps people move on. I remember so clearly that day for myself, when I began to see my hair thin, realized I was never going to be taller than 5'9", and was not a ruggedly handsome man with ripped abs and a tight butt. So I pursued a teaching career, figuring I could do some summer acting on the side that way and not have to worry about making a living in the theatre. Besides, I was never able to sell myself effectively as you have to do to get an agent and be seen. I hated the commercial end of it all, and that was another factor in deciding to get out from a fully professional career. But these past few days, combined with the past few years and jobs, has led me realize that another day comes - the day when you can't do anymore the things you used to do. During the rehearsal process I was doing all these somersaults and jumping over boxes, but a lot of that got cut (and rightly so) for fear of my hurting myself or overextending myself. I thought then how silly that was, that of course I could still do all those things. But this week has really got me to realize that perhaps, no matter what I do and no matter how good a shape I can get myself into, I'm never going to have quite the strength and recovery ability as I had 20 years ago. It's even been some time since I've done an 8-show-a-week full rep season (probably not since WSF 1995), so the upcoming residency has me, shall we say, concerned. I find myself envying the energy and recovering ability of my younger colleagues. They say about athletes that they know the time comes to retire when the rewards of playing are trumped by the pain of getting it together to play. As much fun as it is has been to play, the pain of playing is no longer bearable. Witness someone like Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros, whose shoulder is so full of arthritis he can no longer throw the baseball, and can barely swing the bat, yet as of this writing has still not retired and is still trying to play under his current contract. It's hard to recognize that day, but I find myself staring at the rising sun of that day myself.

Of course, I've whispered about "retirement" from the stage before. If my wife had a nickel for every time I said I would quit acting, she'd retire herself. Then that call comes with the great role you've never played, or a chance comes to do something you've never done (like touring?). I could say I'll quit at the end of this contract, but when someone comes around to offer me Malvolio - the only male role in Twelfth Night I haven't played - or King Lear, I'll probably crawl out of my Lazy Boy and get back in the saddle. The stage for me is an addiction, not because I particularly like the attention or any of the exterior trappings, but because it's such damn fun. And exciting. O Theatre - I wish I could quit you!

But enough whining. I should report that the shows did go well. Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg was a very nice venue, and the food we got there was fantastic. Most impressed were the vegetarians, because the dinner offered was a tofu-broccoli stew in a peanut sauce with brown rice. There was no meat dish. A nice salad, raw veggies and rolls complimented the dinner. Lunch was just as good, with some fantastic whole grain rolls, chicken salad and hummus, salad, veggies and great cookies with milk. As Kevin said, "These people get it." But we did have one unfortunate incident - during the performance Sarah stepped hard on Alyssa's foot and broke a toe. So Alyssa went to the emergency room, and is now again limping around with a soft cast on her foot. We will have to make some adjustments for the upcoming performances on the road, and no doubt during the opening weekend of our shows in the Blackfriars. And Jessica has also been limping about with a sore foot, keeping it wrapped up during performances. So a few minor injuries are out there, along with my general soreness. Would it be the Atomic Fission Tour without a few injuries here and there? Of course not! - TWL

Thrown to the Wolves - 3/22/06

Raleigh, NC - I've just come in from walking to the hotel after this evening's performance of Planet, and boy, am I tired. I could have ridden in the van, of course, but I wanted to stop along the strip on Hillsborough St to see if there were any food establishments open. Only a pizza joint was open for business, so pizza and an ice tea it was. And now, time for a quick blog before the next few days of insanity hit. I am sorry the last few blogs have not had many pictures, but for some reason Blogger.com is not being very cooperative in the past few days with uploading my pictures. Sometimes the pictures upload, but lately often they don't. I will keep trying, but in the meantime you should be able to see pictures at Flickr.com.

We have spent the past few days in Raleigh, NC, playing on the campus of North Carolina State University - the home of the Wolfpack. We arrived on Sunday afternoon, but due to some confusion we had to spend our arrival night in one hotel, and the rest of our stay in another. The first motel really sucked hard. The room Sarah and I shared had a sign on it that said it was a non-smoking room, but they must have put that sign up 10 minutes before we got there. The room smelled of smoke, but we both thought we could bear it rather then move to another room. Jessica and I made our way over to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I tell you what - the Outback Steakhouse does a pretty good steak for a chain restaurant, and the Bloomin Onion is quite the appetizer. A couple of Newcastles with the steak and not too bad a dinner. When I got back to my room, I sort of watched an episode of Big Love on HBO, and it was not too good. It's about a Mormon guy and his three wives living in the middle of suburbia, but I think it's just an excuse to watch a man make love to three different women (which he did in the course of the episode, amd of course they all got jealous). Then Daniel came around and I listened to the song he and Sarah are writing in preparation of the interludes for Blackfriars. It's a good song which needs just a bit of tweaking here and there; very metaphorical in tone, but could use just a bit more clarity in the storytelling. Then, as I went to sleep, I began to choke a little on the stale smoky air. Sarah tried to hide the odor with some incense, but it was too little too late. It was a restless sleep, and we were glad to leave that nasty place.

We traveled to the neighborhood which borders on the NC State campus in Raleigh, and we had to hang around until our rooms were ready. It was supposed to be a day off, and it mostly was, but we did have to sort of kill time waiting to come back and move in. The hotel here is quite nice. It must have at one time been a Holiday Inn, but I cannot tell whether it still considers itself as such or is a private motel called the Brownstone. At any rate, it's nice, with Tempur-pedic mattresses, those foam deals which conform to your shape. Kevin is my roommate for this sojourn. In killing time I walked down Hillsborough St, which apparently is also known as the Wolfstrip. It has a collection of coffee shops, pizza joints, record stores and a few bars (less than you might think). One store I went in right away, however, was a little jeweler store, where the repairman replaced the second hand on my watch. Nice guy, good job. $5. Can't be beat. I also walked up the strip to a little tavern called the East Village, where Daniel, Andrew and I had lunch with our Bloody Marys. It was sort of nice to have an afternoon drink, seeing as how we had no show that night. Then we walked over to CupAJoe's, a smoky coffee shop with some nice atmosphere. The smoking section was in a separate room (remember, this is North Carolina, where they grow a lot of tobacco). It also had wireless, so I sat for a bit and had a cup of joe, but no cigarettes. I concluded with dinner at the downstairs restaurant in the hotel, a fairly weak Italian-style restaurant but convenient. Then I finally settled in for the World Baseball Classic final between Japan and Cuba. It was a pretty good game, with Japan getting a quick lead, Cuba almost catching them, and Japan closing it out in the final inning. I really enjoyed the World Baseball Classic, and from what I can read it's getting a good review all around. Nice to have meaningful baseball - and well-played baseball - in March.

Yesterday was a very long day. We had a 10:30 AM Much Ado for a mostly high school crowd, which went well. Carie informed us that this stop is a very important one, because it's Ralph's old stomping grounds, and because a lot of people come from here to Staunton and the Blackfriars. The kids were for the most part pretty good, although Tyler got hit with a spitball during curtain call. This wasn't an NEA show, as Raleigh is hardly an "underserved population." The in the afternoon I had to give my Planet lecture on sort of short notice to a crown of senior citizens taking continuing education classes. I walked from the theatre over to the McKimmon Conference Center, not quite realizing how far it was. NC State is a fairly large campus, with expansion hubs all around. It was sort of a "specialized" workshop, taking about 90 minutes. I felt a bit sorrier for Daniel and Jessica, who tried to do an improvisation workshop with this over-65 set. Not too many people wanted to get up and participate, so they finally gave in and gave them a little show. Then dinner with Chris, Kevin, Tyler and Tyler's girlfriend Olivia (who is in from the west coast to visit him), and then back to the theatre for another Much Ado, the full version. It was a good show, one of the best we've done in awhile, I thought, and a good thing too, because I understood that the university chancellor was in the audience. Hopefully we made a positive impression.

Following the performance there was a great party at the house of one of our contact people. The highlight of the party was the pizza - five types of vegetarian pizzas, with terrific crusts and a combination of veggies and spices not to be believed. The company was fun, and there was this little dog which provided a great deal of fun for all, especially Greg. You should check out the movie page when I get this movie of Greg and the dog on the site. It's almost obscene!

Today I got up feeling quite a bit stiff and sore. I was really tired after yesterday, but despite going to bed ASAP I still felt sore. I tried to walk it out a bit by slowly making my way towards the day's workshop, a Shakesfeet session over at Meredith College, about 2 miles from the hotel. First I stopped at Brueggers Bagels for a smoked salmon on bagel sandwich, then down to CupAJoe's for some coffee, then to the bodega for some plantain chips, then to the college for the workshop. Meredith College is an all-women's Baptist college, and there is something very peaceful about being on an all-female campus. The workshop went well (Sarah was my workshop partner), and afterwards we walked back to the NC State area. The day was bright and sunny, but the temperature was just a bit chilly in the low 50s and some breeze. Sarah went on to other things while I moseyed over to the library to see if I could connect to a network (no). A light (and cheap) Chinese dinner, and then to the theatre for tonight's rendition of Planet. The audience went for the show big-time; seemed as if there were a lot of boomers in the house tonight. Our audiences were mostly adults, not so much college students. But I will say the university treated us well; coffee, bagels, fruit, water, soda, tea and more all in the green room, plenty of student help (which we hardly used) and fine contact people. Thanks Sharon!

So now I am in my room getting ready for the next few crazy days ahead of us? How crazy, you may ask? Quite crazy, bordering on the absurd. Tomorrow we drive to Lexington VA, load in, do Much Ado at the Virginia Military Academy, load out, and actually drive in the night to the hotel at our next venue in West Virginia. We then have a 7:30 AM call on Friday morning for an NEA high school Much Ado, and also a Much Ado performance that night as well. We drive back to Staunton on Saturday, off Sunday, and back out for one more gig on Tuesday, I believe. One week from tomorrow and we will be back in Staunton, ready to open at the Blackfriars and begin Act Five. It's the end of the word as we know it, coming soon. -TWL

(Note to Cathy Wilmoth - I would like to sincerely apologize to you for my indecent references to a certain part of your daughter's anatomy in this blog. Such ungentlemanly-like behavior on my part will not happen again. I think, however, you can hardly blame me. After all, from what I remember the last time we partied together in Ohio, she's only shakin' what her mama gave her. - twl)

Countdown Begins - 3/19/06

Tusculum, TN - Actually, it is Sunday morning and we are on our way out of town, heading for Raleigh NC. We did a performance of Much Ado last night at Tusculum College, another small religious college located in this eastern Tennessee town right on the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Prior to this past gig, we did Planet at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. That performance was pretty OK, but the hall was rather large, and on my first number I lost the beat because all of a sudden I could not hear the band behind me. I had to turn upstage to get the beat back from Chris, and once I did that I walked a bit upstage to get upstage of the proscenium arch, and then I could hear everything. A strange space for that. Jim trenberth had driven over from Ames again to bring Nancy to see the show, and after load-out we went looking for a place to eat, but nothing in Waverly was open at all, so we ended up in the Fox Motel, where we were staying, sitting in the lobby and chatting. Hopefully Jim and Nancy and Ann Marie and I can get together at Stratford ON this summer to see some Shakespeare there. The Fox Motel was a strange little place, something of a "classy" motel sometime in the fifties, but now showing its age. First, they claimed they had "wireless," when in fact they distributed their internet through their electrical system via Netgear. You had to get one at the front desk, and they had a limited number. I tried to set up my wireless Wiflyer, but it has a limited reach through so many walls. Then, on the morning we left, people came down to breakfast, and they had a brand new cook in the back on his first day ever, without any help. My omlette took 40 minutes to arrive, and when it did, the onions were raw. We eneded up being late getting out because everyone's breakfast was delayed. They had to call in the head chef from home to help with the backup. And the place smelled of smoke in the lobby area. Altogether somewhat nasty.

Wednesday was another one of our 8-hour travel days. We went from Waverly to Muncie IN. Over the course of this leg of the tour we have had several 8-hour travel days, as it seems our gigs are spaced that far apart. As we approach T-2 weeks and counting, it is clear that we are all weary of 8-hour travel days and the vans. Next weekend we apparently will be home in Staunton for two days, with one more trip after that before opening with Planet on April 1. Everybody is holding up well under the circumstances, and at least here in the south the greening up of the countryside and the mountains are a welcome exchange from the cold, flat, brown prairie. There are very clear signs of spring in this area, and this morning as I write on a crisp sunny morning the mountains in the distance are a very beautiful sight. Jessica and I tried to find a place to hike yesterday, but everything was too far away and she was not feeling too well, so we shall wait until Shenandoah.

Thursday brought us to the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie, Indiana. The space itself was gorgeous - an opera house environment within an old Masonic Temple. There was a humongous chandelier hanging above the audience, and a mural above the front of the stage on the ceiling. Apparently there are many more of these in the building. The dressing rooms were sort of tiered along the stage left area, from mainstage level to second floor. The space was old, but sort of dignified, reminding me a little bit of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. But although the space was nice, the audience ended up being an obnoxious group of kids, by far the most obnoxious we have encountered. It made the show very difficult to perform, and left everyone in a prety bad mood by the end of the show and the Q&A. It was more than talking; it was just the snide, smug attitude they brought to the event. We could not win the group of boys on the stage right side over, so we settled for getting through the show and out by noon. Done. The staff was very cordial and nice, and I should not paint the audience with such a broad stroke, because there were some audience members who enjoyed the show, and some mentally challenged kids in the house as well who were having a good time. It's so very hard to concentrate on those having a good time when the knuckleheads are at your elbow. One of the great traps of direct audience contact is that, when faced with hecklers, you, as the actor, are constrained, because you don't have the same freedom in those circumstances as the audience has. If we REALLY wanted to have "direct audience contact" then perhaps we should be as free as the actors in Shakespeare's day probably were to handle the hecklers. Ah well, you can't win them all.

Thursday we had a troupe meeting to discuss some issues relative to Richard III and to the interludes and pre-show stuff when we get back to the Blackfriars in April. I did not have much to discuss in either context, so I pretty much sat and listened to other's ideas. After the meeting I took a walk out into the suburban MallofAmerica landscape, roamed through a Best Buy, got caught in a small hailstorm, and wandered back to the motel room to begin watching the evening's sports presentations. I have been following the World Baseball Classic, and believe me it has been worth watching. At this point the final is set for Cuba and Japan, but I had been rooting for Korea and Puerto Rico. Team USA was not playing well at all, and their lack of preparation was evident throughout the whole series. It's sort of that same arrogant USA approach to all international sports except maybe soccer - throw together a team of professional players and expect to beat everyone. Well, it don't work that way. All the other teams had their fundamentals sound, and it's interesting to note that the Cubans, an essentially amateur team, and Japan, a country where fundamental baseball is the name of the game, are the teams in the championship. Even teams like Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico had MLB players who are not skills players, and so they lost. I am sorry for Team Korea, who pitched so well and played such great ball beating Japan twice, that due to how the brackets worked they get eliminated even though their record is 5-1. Such is playoff ball. And in watching the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse is already out if it, losing to Texas A&M in the first round. Typical of Syracuse at times, this is not the first time they've had a first-round loss. Usually if they get past the first round they have a good tournament, but such was not to be. Gerry McNamara couldn't play after that great run in the Big East Championship. So it goes. All in all Thursday was not one of the better days in my life.

Then guess what? Friday - another 8-hour van ride. From Muncie IN we took off for Greeneville TN and our Tusculum performance on Saturday night. The drive took us through Knoxville, bypassing Cinncinatti and Lexington KY, where we had lunch in a Waffle House where all the employees had Universuty of Kentucky T-Shirts on. I've come to like Waffle Houses - simple food cooked up right on the grill in front of you. Probably too fatty, but in moderation it's OK. Our performace yesterday in Tusculum was pretty good, given that it had been a long time since we had done a full Much Ado. For the record - Tusculum College gets the prize for worst dining hall food this leg. Nothing about last night's show really stood out except Tyler's dive into the stage left gallant seats during the gulling scene. It was a very nice audience, good receptive house. And yesterday was Tyler's 26th birthday, so during the pre-show the Blackfriars Four sang "Happy Birthday" to him on stage before "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." After the show some of the troupe went to help Tyler celebrate, but I stayed in for the semifinal game between Korea and Japan, which Japan won 6-1. I did not see the whole game, falling asleep during the rain delay, but I did see all the scoring.

So today - Sunday - is a travel day again, about 6 hours to Raleigh, where tomorrow we get sort of a day off. Due to some confusion and delay, we have to stay in two different hotels while there. So tonight is one hotel, and during our day off we have to switch hotels. The second one is nice, I hear. We are in Raleigh for a few days, doing both the 90-minute and the full Much Ado, and then Planet the second night. From there it's off to Lexington VA to Virginia Military Academy and then to Lewisburg WV for a Much Ado, and then home for a weekend. I am going to give the same lecture at North Carolina State that I gave at UA-Huntsville for a special workshop, so I have to polish that up a bit.

I must say that today the drive is pretty spectacular. As I write this we are passing through the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, just east of Asheville NC. From Greeneville TN we drove up into the mountains and along a very winding mountain raod, following the Paint Creek. The road was hilly, winding and narrow, but the view was very nice. There were some nice hollows within the mountains, and as we came to a crossroads in the river there was a spot where several fishermen were flyfishing for trout. The area was dotted with some very nice houses mixed with some run-down shacks. We've crossed the Appalachians in several places now in the south, and every time it's been quite nice. Again, I am struck by the beauty of the scenery and the temperateness of the climate. It's no wonder people like to retire down to this part of the country. You get the benefit of four seasons but not the bitter harshness of deep winters, with earlier springs and slightly longer falls. Hard to beat. Makes me long for a weekend on my land. -TWL