Oh, hey... who's the company that's only been a part of the Fringe for four days and already has the fringe page up, the press photo released, the press contacted, a podcast interview lined up, the postcards printed and shipping, the Facebook page and Twitter feed updated, and the show in rehearsals for two weeks?

that's right... THEATRE PRO RATA.

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. (Please note: If you simply wish to comment on something I've said but don't want to participate in the meme, that is fine. I will only give you five words if you specifically comment with "Words!")

Here's what duchess_of_pie  gave me:

1. yarn
I'm a knitter.  I'm a snobby knitter.  I have two whole bags of yarn that I've either a)inherited from relatives twice removed that acquired it three decades ago (and that's a bad decade to have acquired yarn) or b)procured before I became a yarn snob... and consequently will not touch it.   Primarily because I believe knitting is a tactile and meditative occupation, and when every inch of that yarn winds it's way through your fingers, it better feel fucking fantastic.
I really should take that shit out back and burn it... except there's probably a city ordinance against the fumes it would create.

2. gourmet
I claim that there's no food that I would refuse, but I tend to tip the scales towards the high end.  I couldn't even finish the cheese curds I wasted my precious food tickets on at the Taste of Minnesota, but I savored and drooled over the brains I had at dinner before last year's Ivey's.

3. (i don't know how you spell it, but that russian word for "shake it off.")
zbroz.
(I'm not 100% sure on the spelling, either.  There may be an s or two in there.)
I have a grab bag full of phrases and terminology that I whip out at various stages in the rehearsal process.  Zbroz, which I learned from Stephen Pelinski, who learned it from Kama Ginkas, is one of my favorites.  I use it towards the end of tech, when the actors are wrapped up in their craft and execution.  There's no direct translation from the Russian, but it roughly means, "slough off" or "shed away."  More literally, it means Let It Go.  Take all the blocking, the text, the intention, the craft, that you have crammed in your head (and distracting you)... trust yourself... and just be in the moment.

4. alaska
I was born there.  Although I haven't been back since I was less than half the age I am now, I still consider it my roots, and my touchstone.

5. tuba
I've played it since only just more recently than I left Alaska, and it's really part of my musical existence.  Although I'm no virtuoso (I gave up the major and potential of vocational performance in order to just ENJOY the act of playing) I do hear the world in shades of low brass.  I play infrequently, but when my quintet or orchestra performs, I find that it touches a part of my soul that I don't otherwise notice.

Slept poorly.
Got up way early for a full day of "Play Making" with 7-10 year olds at the G. 
If I wasn't wiped out enough after THAT, we got the call!!!

Monster is in the Fringe.  Excellent!

So I made some calls on my lunch break to start the ball rolling (we are prepped little urchins, and had almost all of our press and PR ready to drop).

Ran straight from the Guthrie to the Gremlin, where I was to meet Crist (special effects designer - Marisol) and Ryan (set designer - Marisol) to look at the space and brainstorm.  Many good ideas abounded.

Ran straight from there to home to pick up tuba for brass quintet rehearsal.

Indulged in a post-rehearsal trip with my brass compatriots to the local Dairy Queen.  Although it's no longer on the menu, I was still able to get my usual:  Cherry Mister Misty Float.

Ran home and spent the past 3 hours feverishly catching up on the myriad of emails/press packets/photos/release proofing/twitter and facebook updating... all that shit that needs to go stat.

...

Well, at least I didn't have to go to Bard Fiction rehearsal as well.

Rehearsals for Bard Fiction are going well.  It pretty much stages itself, and we're all giggles about the volume of movie references we've been able to put in.  And looking at the listing of other shows this year, I think we stand a pretty good chance of being a Best Of.
Sheesh.  There's only about half a dozen that look even REMOTELY interesting, but beyond that...snorefest.

We shot the trailer on Wednesday, and it looks awesome!  As soon as we have a cut online I'll show you.
I ended up being a body double, which was very nerve wracking.  I'm much more comfortable behind the camera.

I finally finished casting for Marisol, which also went well.  It took a little longer than I would have liked, to make sure I had the right person in each of the roles.  Ultimately, I'm pleased.  Of the five actors, three are new to Pro Rata, and two are folks I've never worked with before, who are also very new to Minneapolis.
I always like it when we snatch up those peeps.

One of my weeks at the G got cut due to low enrollment, which put a serious dent in my financial plans of debt elimination.  But my boss offered to let me run a teen stage combat workshop on Saturday mornings in August, providing I could find the students.  Which is awesome, because it could recoup at least half of that lost income.  Combat is very popular, and I'm hoping that I can find enough kids to make it go.

At least for this week...

...


I slept in this morning (which was sorely needed after taking C to urgent care last night for a flare up of his lingering infection*) and slept soundly.  Not even the tenatious Sal could rouse me from my slumber before 9:00.

I had used the 1:00 am trip to the pharmacy for C's antibiotics to also pick up some oragel for a canker sore that developed on my tongue a few days ago.  I eshewed it in favor of something that promised to be more appropriate, the Canker Cover.

Lemme tell you, this shit is BADASS. 

You take the patch and press it directly onto the sore and hold for 20 seconds.  It attaches, turns into a blister-like gel seal in about 30 minutes, and seeps menthol into the sore for the next 8-12 hours as it dissolves. "Some discomfort may occur during the first few minutes, but will quickly subside, followed by hours of soothing relief."
When they say 'some discomfort', they ain't kidding. 

Imagine, if you will, sealing a glob of medicine the size of a baby pea directly to your tongue.  Your saliva goes into overdrive.  The menthol fumes fill your mouth and seep down your throat.  The slight burning sensation creates a vacuum of cold/hot that makes your eyes tear.  But then it fades, and the numbness sets in.  Lovely. 
However, you still have a glob the size of a baby pea attached to your tongue, which makes speech pretty much impossible.  Good thing you've applied said glob right before bed.  You go to sleep before the gel fully finishes forming.
You wake up to find much relief, however, your tongue has fused to the inner side of your gums.  Brushing your teeth is difficult.  Eating your cereal takes three times as long.  But, in the end, as the gel patch dissolves, you are left with a healed and happy mouth.







*He seems to be on the mend.

OMFG I hate scheduling.  I hate dealing with conflicts.  I hate sending out a schedule just to have someone say, I can't make that.
Both times we've sent out a Bard Fiction schedule we've had someone respond with "oops, I can't make that rehearsal for reason X or Y."

And it's not like we can just change it once it's been announced... we have to make sure everyone can do the new schedule.

And with 14 actors that means there's a TON of people who are effected by something like that.  It's maddening.

There's only a small handful of rehearsal days that DON'T have a conflict from at least one person.  I know that these conflicts are totally legit, and they've all asked for them a long time ago, but there's just so many!  We only have about 23 rehearsals... 18 of them have at least one person who can't be there.

Now, to be fair, each actor doesn't have a lot of conflicts, and is being very patient and flexible.  It's just the compounded collection of constant conflicts that makes me want to shout, "You're tearing me apart, conflicts!!!!"

I long for the day when I can work with actors who are paid enough to clear their schedules and just be available for rehearsal.

The kids at Camp Shakespeare had their Friday Final Presentation today.

The performance had their original poetry, sonnets, famous speeches, scenes, improvised contemporary Shakespeare-speak, abstract poetic movement and speech, and of course a big sword/hand-to-hand combat sequence at the end peppered through with insults and monologues.  It was all under the framework of "a day at Shakespeare High".  It was super fun and the kids just ate it up and were hungry for more.
And in performance, they were clear, articulate, and spoke the words with enjoyment and care.  It was beautiful, and fun, and sweet.

I got a little choked up, they were so awesome.  I mean, I felt like Laura and I had inspired a love of Shakespeare in them that might just make them life-long Bard Buffs.

*^_^*

Afterwards my BossWoman lauded not only the kids, but also Laura and my's work.  It felt really, really good.  :D

One of my goals for this show is to be uber-prepared, one step ahead of everyone else the entire time (I experimented with learning the show at the same time as the other artists for Galileo, and I wasn't as happy with how that turned out).  That doesn't mean discounting the input of my fellow artists, but I want to be able to answer questions when they are asked.  I want to see the show in my minds eye.  I want to be a calm and even-keeled hand on the rudder.

I've been rereading the script throughout this week in an effort to osmosis it into my skin. I've been brainstorming with my designers and staff.  I've been browsing online reviews, press, and images related to past productions.  The majority are collegiate, and the majority are SAFE, SAFER, SAFEST.
Boo, I say. 

This show is dark, and gritty, and post-apocalyptic, and sexy, and we're all goin' to hell in a handbasket together so you better hold on tight.

Good lord, it's hot.

Even with my new air conditioner, it's still hot.

This does not bode well for the rest of the summer...

It's the final countdown.
With mere days left on my 101 list, I'm getting close (with nattienatnat 's help).

Tonight we felled two in one go:

80. Have a fondue night. (completed 6/15/09)
92. Learn to play Mah Jong. (completed 6/15/09)

Both were awesome.
nattienatnat , kurosawa , and aerie_queen  came over, we communally cooked and then enjoyed the fruits of our labors.

And we were hardcore about it... beef bourguignon and chicken with four sauces (mushroom sherry, garlic lemon, hollandaise, honey mustard) gruyere and emmenthaler cheese sauce with cheddar jalepeno bread and baguette, veggies...  So many combinations that were all so delicious...  food coma set in.




After a post dinner walk we cut up the fruit and set up the white chocolate fondue.

Then we cracked open my mahjong set, which I'd purchased close to a decade ago because I wanted to learn, and then the Engrish instructions overwhelmed me, and I never did get around to it.
But Sarah's an excellent teacher, and now I'm hungry for more!!



Sal approved.

Courtesy of Courtney over on Facebook.

(mildly NSFW)
Awesomely Bad Unicorn Tattoos.

I can't decide if I like the unicorn zombie or the 'real men love unicorns' the best....

I just got this email from an actor/friend (Amelia, who... incidentally... looks like she's about 15, and ADORABLE): "You were in my dream last night!  I was auditioning for you, for a role that was 14 years old.  You said 'I'm saying this to be helpful, because I care about you, you really need to reconsider your self image.  You look closer to forty than fifteen with those wrinkles and flabby arms.'
Then I ran out of the audition and thought about botox. 
And then I woke up."

Man, losing a pet sucks.
I mean, it SUCKS. 

I keep expecting him to be in his normal spots.  I keep walking into the bedroom and seeing the empty spot on the bed.  I keep seeing the bag of medicine/food I'm going to bring back to the vet and see if I can return or donate it.  I keep seeing his onesies in the pile on the counter.

:(

Sal is quickly becoming the King of the Castle.  He's spending a lot of time in my lap, and loving all the attention and snuggles he's getting.
I'm really glad to have him around.

And I'm also glad to have pretty much constant companionship since Sunday.   C's spent a lot of time over, and I've been stringing together socialization pretty much 24/7 with all of my peeps.  Which also makes it easier.  Not doing anything special, just hanging out, knitting, watching TV, whatever.

It's the nights that are the hardest, when there's nothing to distract me.  When it's just Sal and me and the hollow spot where Wilson used to sleep.

Sal has started sleeping there sometimes, and that's really comforting.

...

I know that I'm a two cat household.  I know I'll be looking for a new brother or sister for Sal soon.  As Jerry says, not a replacement, but a continuance.

but not yet.  Making sure the apartment is FIP free aside, I'm not done mourning Wilson.
Damn, I was lucky to have been his person.

Wilson died at about 3:00 this morning.

I thought he was doing well... and then last week he started vomiting again... He suddenly went down hill very quickly, in about 12 hours.

I did have one last good snuggly day with him on Friday night and Saturday morning, and I was with him when he died.  I'm thankful for that.

I buried him behind my parents house with a stone that says "Wilson.  Good boy."

Called the vet today for suggestions on Operation Stop Vomit.  He said let's lay off drug B, since a side effect is vomiting.  Up the dose of drug C and stay with Drug A.

Wilson ate breakfast successfully on his own, and was relaxing comfortably while bupwethern , onanrulz , and I watched a RiffTrax of The Wicker Man (side note: HI-larious!!).  He got a little smacky, which is sometimes a signal of nausea and then vomitting, so I gave him the upped dose of drug C.
Almost immediately he began freaking out.  Yowling, crying, hiding in the closet, coming back, shifting to find a spot like he couldn't get comfortable, looking at me and crying like he was in pain, limping, there was discoloration that looked like bruising around his stoma ... I was increasingly frantic.  I called the vet on his cell phone, something I try to do only in the most extreme emergencies, and asked for advice.  The vet said he would meet me at the clinic.  Even though it's after hours. 

So I packed him up and Clarence kindly drove us to the clinic.  I was fully expecting that today would be the day to put him down.

The vet looked him over carefully, took his temperature (he did have a fever), did an ultra sound (he didn't have any obvious leaks), inspected the limp (somethings up with his hip, but nothing clear or specific) and determined that there was something going on, but he wasn't quite sure what (they rarely get FIP patients at all, let alone ones that are diagnosed before they pass on, so this whole experience is pretty rare, apparently).  He prescribed some new meds (pain killer and two antibiotics) and said to lay off the others for tonight and tomorrow morning.  He did not charge me for anything but the meds.

As I type this Wilson hasn't left the carrier yet, but he seems to be sleeping comfortably.

...

And I am so grateful that my vet is not only genuinely cares about Wilson enough to come in and see him on the weekend, but also sensitive to my financial state, and wants the best quality of life for everyone in my household.
I feel really, really lucky with the care that I get there.

Wilson was doing really well for a couple of weeks, and I tried weaning him off the antiemetic.
Last Friday (still on the steroids and the other medication) he started vomiting again.  :(

I tried a few different combinations of when to feed/medicate, but it got to the point that doing anything physical (pooping, jumping off the bed) would seem to trigger vomiting.  He was also seeming a little more listless than he was a few days ago.

So I started the antiemetic again today.

He hasn't vomited since then, and I THINK he's getting more active, but he's not nearly like he was a week ago.

I'm hoping that this is merely a shift that will return to the good things (especially with his blood tests coming back so positively) and not a coincidental beginning of the end.

...

It's still really hard to think about that.

........................................................

*edit*

he just vomited again.  after a trip to the litter box.
Fuck.

After all of this effort, I feel like I'm failing.  I feel overwhelmed by his disease.

Fuck.

100. Make and release a tree sweater. (completed 5/31/09)

Before...


( during... )
( after!! )

Here's that video that I submitted for the McKnight.

I'm in an in-between period... spring classes are ending, summer classes have yet to begin and rehearsals don't start until mid-June for Bard Fiction.I'm spending more time with peeps, sleeping in, knitting, and watching TV.

This isn't really news or anything, more like a post just to let everyone know I'm still conscious.



And that I may or may not start consuming Baby Ruth bars.

Wilson gained a pound!  He's starting to eat on his own! 
These are good things.

He also knows how to work it in his onesies...