Back in the Saddle Again - 10/16/05

Colchester, VT - I am back with the troupe, having arrived here yesterday evening. I managed to rent a car out of Erie PA one-way to the Burlington VT airport and then get picked up from there. It was so exciting to be back. I got a nice warm reception from everyone when I walked into the dining hall at St. Michael's College, and we probably turned a few heads given our mutually enthusiastic greetings. Sat down for a low-fat meal of turkeyburger and turkey sandwich and ministrone soup. When we got back to the Days Inn people stopped by to visit. I brought back with me a "taste of NY" - about seven bottles of NY wine, and we had a little (not me - no drinking for me for a long time). I was so excited that by 12:30 PM I wasn't a bit tired, having also rooted the White Sox on to their smashing victory for the AL Pennant. Four starters, four complete games. What a series. The only down side was finding Tyler a little under the weather, nursing a cold, but other than that the rest of the troupe seems hale and hearty. Haven't picked up any other news so far other than the adjustments were handled well. Andrew was just about off-book for Leonato, and Chris only had to do two performances of Planet. And I think there were no more than two performances of R3 as well. Jim Warren, the AD of S2, says everyone is entitled to one "Tom is my bitch" day for having to cover for me while I was out. Egad.

Got to admit I'm a bit nervous about tonight. There will be some pick-up rehearsals this afternoon as I asked for a few scenes to go through in Much Ado, but other than that I think I should be fine. Do some music rehearsal tomorrow and clean off all the rust that's been building up.

The drive up to Burlington was superb, but a bit windy and some rain. The trees were changing color, but this year there seems to be an apparent lack of red in the trees. Some of the hillsides along the Mohawk River valley and into the Lake George area still were green, in fact. Seems late for them not to have turned. The road along Lake George - 9N - is incredibly scenic, and was a treat to drive. I had to force myself to keep going rather than stop along the way at every scenic view. I was desperately wishing for a good camera. I tried to take some pictures while home but the lousy camera I had there took rotten shots.

New England has been under a deluge apparently during the past week - rain everywhere, with roads flooding out and such. Some of the drives were apparently a but treacherous according to Kevin, but then again he's a tiny bit paranoid. He told me last night about two accidents he was in while touring with his band way back when, so he has some reason. He got into both those accidents in one day in bad weather.

I've already been out this morning to look up the daughter of a good friend of mine from my Nebraska days. Red Shuttleworth's daughter Jesse goes to school here and I hope to get a chance to meet her. I went to her first class but she did not show up on time. I will try to look her up later.

Before I left on Sunday I attended Bess Brown's funeral in Buffalo on Saturday morning. It was both a sad and beautiful affair. The general tone was low-keyed and dignified, and the priest who gave the homily was very good - best sermon I've heard in years. He had known Bess for many years starting when she grew up on Buffalo's south side. There was applause at the end, a fitting tribute. The Diva by Diva ensemble, which Bess had worked with many times, did the music. About the saddest and yet most wonderful part of the whole event was to see Ariel, and to see in her the spitting image of Bess. Very haunting and moving. Bess' beauty and vivacity will be sorely missed by all. -TWL