Md part otto, 2009, short from brain freeze
Michele/Columbina/Stupina
delay in my tale and the details I will have lost before it made it to
the screen. Dear GOD, how cold it was! Somehow, it did end up being
a not awful weekend, thought it was far from pleasant. The cold has
frozen away many memories and the rain washed them far from my
mind...so names, order, dates, events...all will be missed. And here
we go...
NO, I DON”T WANNA
The weather began to get chill on Friday and the rain came in on
Wednesday prior. By the time the morning hit, it was cold, rainy, and
bitter. I parked up by the road and had to hike with everything I
needed that I hadn’t brought with me earlier...the second cloak, the
apple cider, and more. It was rather heavy and unpleasant, but I knew
I needed it all. I head to the Gatehouse and check the “covered”
stage, which is soppy wet. I head upstairs without the cloak and
cider to the only dry spot on the top level of the stage. It’s
pouring and promising to pour most of the day, so I already know that
Stupina is not coming out. I am layered in my clothing and still feel
a chill. The day before the costume house was very cold and I am not
looking forward to having to change in it. Ah well. I stretch and
warm up more slowly, put in LOTS of braids while my fingers become
more numb and chill, then apply make up. Ironically, I know I will be
able to keep most of this on today as I have the magic hat of
dryness. Time to head to the costume house.
HURRY TO WAIT
I get a call from Mirth and Trinket who are running behind schedule. I
say we expect to set sound unless we hear it’s not going out. Soon
after, we hear it’s not going out. I change and add layers to my
regular outfit. I have added socks, thicker pantaloons, a layer of
thermal-ish capris, the rain bodice and skirt (doubled), thick chemise
and thermal undertop I have cut from some pajamas while getting
dressed. Over that, I have added my thick cloak, pirate hat of doom,
fuzzy scarf and doubled gloves. I am mostly warm. I keep my throat
warm, but my um...assets, are left exposed. They are much more fatty
tissue and really don’t feel the temps, so I am not worried. Trinket
arrives and I give her the cider to take to the special protective
location. Before she leaves, she is handing out lots of hand and body
warmers. Um, FYI anyone on cast, etc that she gave them to...she paid
for those herself out of her own pocket...and she’s a starving actor.
If you got some from her, a donation to replace them might be
appreciated. But she never knew I said anything...oh, crap. Well, you
should still pay it forward or back.
MEETING IN THE RAIN
I finish getting dressed, which is taking much longer than normal, but
head to the White Hart to drop something off, which should have been
helpful, but turned out wasn’t until much later. I head to the Lyric
for morning meeting since it is only drizzling. Once there, we check
in and the rain starts up in earnest. So much for meeting at the
Costume house if it is raining. We pile in under the stage cover. We
huddle together and go over notes and warnings etc. for the day.
People will have paid to get in, and it’s our job to make sure they
still have a good time and feel entertained. We beep and head out. I
keep remembering things I need to do. So I head back to the costume
house to grab another scarf, my jewelry, my mug and other odds and
ends.
KNOCK KNOCK
I head to the gate and arrive moments before it opens. I see panic in
poor Wesley’s face as he appeared unsure if I would make it in time.
No worries, I am up on the fountain as the cannon booms and in
trickles the crowd. The court looks a bit bedraggled as the men have
changed hats to protect their regular ones in good shape. The women
all have their hair up and look pretty, if less formal. They men look
wilted and it makes me chuckle. They only open one gate as there just
aren’t enough people coming in and those letting them in have much
more to do elsewhere with the changed weather. People have prepared
for the weather in strange ways, the most amusing is Kevin with his
“safe Squirrel” wrapped in plastic.
DOES IT HURT?
I have not covered my cleavage as 1, it’s entertainment, and I know
it; 2, it really doesn’t feel much and I don’t notice the cold.
However, after a while in the rain and cold, I notice they have
started to turn pink...like “my nose is frozen” pink or “I am an
icicle” pink. I don’t feel the cold, but it’s starting to disturb
people. For their sake and my longer-term heat protection, I cover
up. It’s cold, REALLY cold for us who have been acclimating to the
90-100 degree temps we have been expecting in the summer. I am just
not ready for this. My feet have gotten wet through the boots as the
rain downpours again and are getting cold. Bleah.
HI EVERYBODY!
I begin to wander the streets, chat with every vendor I pass and the
patrons nearby. We are all kinda in this together, so we might as
well enjoy it. I head down to the boardwalk and make a visit to
FINALLY get some information I needed. This is helpful and very
refreshing. I visit more...but in my brain, it’s a wash of no details,
except for a few silly ones moments. My hat bounces and I bobble up
and down it to music wherever I go, including the musical merrymaking
in the Customer service booth. Climbing around into booths to avoid
the mini-floods on the muddy streets. The no swimming and no diving
signs in the puddles. The Chicken on a Stick girls making boats out of
foil and paper dishes and floating them down the hill...yes, they
moved downhill without our help. Climbing the stairs of doom because
there was no way I was handling the hill. Stopping by the bookstore
to compare the Fleur de lis with the Florentian lily of the valley.
Power going on and off in the booths periodically. Repeating stories
over and over to new people..wait there are new people? And having to
pee...a lot.
THE ART OF THE WET PRIVY
So going to the privy in a skirt isn’t much fun normally, but when the
bottom 6 inches of the skirts are wet and cold, it adds a special
layer of “I just don’t wanna” to the day. Add to that that the cold,
and no one wanted to drink water or anything for fear of the
repercussions. Even with that plan, because it’s not hot, I have to
hit the privy. A lot. Luckily, they are all clean. I start a
pattern. Open the privy door and put the seat cover down. Remove
things that can be safely set to the side. Flip cloak mostly over head
(to side). Move skirts to the side. Pull down what needs to be and
simultaneously sit and lift the seat. Do business carefully and hope
to keep hands mostly dry (from mud). Stand and drop seat lid again.
Pull up all layers one at a time to keep them from binding. Drop
skirts, flip cloak back into place. Stick hands out into the weather
to clean them (ok, use sanitizer, which is VERY cold). It could have
been worse, but it wasn’t fun.
MORE RANDOM MEMORIES
Getting hot cider, oh dear god that did help...until the need to pee
kicked in again. Seeing my houseguests and announcing that tonight is
“order in Chinese and do laundry all night” night...they heartily
agree. Finding out that something NEEDED fixing and heading over to
the person to fix it...who isn’t nearby, but will be able to later.
Seeing the joust from the other side and being amazed that they are
still running as the ground is starting to turn into mud. Chatting
with Face Painters who are painting each other to keep warm and
unbored. Watching the joust and hearing great drumming during the
show...which was from down the hill at Albanach’s show, which turned
out to be the only 15 minutes they played that day. I guess I was
able to experience it in an odd way. Chatting with patrons on the
street who are trying to keep warm. Realizing that I need to keep
warm and I head to find my lunch. I stop to get a bowl from the props
and get the one lunch I treat myself to only once a year...pork
pocket, no pocket, over fries. The lady thinks I am a bit strange,
but I have her dump the fries in my bowl, cover it with pork and add
cole slaw and more barbeque sauce. I look for a dry spot to eat with
patrons, and end up in O’Shuck’s under the overhang. The steam over
the bowl is amazing.
MEETING THE REGULARS
Thomas, Lulu, Colleen, the nice lady from Vermont, and the guy in
civvies who protects me from the rain were wonderful hosts. They told
me of how they watched Don Quixote on the stage and I told them the
tale of the first shows that were performed that way. We talk wine
and chocolate (can you tell season is almost over) as well as other
fun things. It is a pleasant conversation and they are all amazed by
my concoction. I think I might have converted a few souls. I also
find out that tomorrow is Lulu’s birthday and remind myself that I
must find her tomorrow. I stop in Southern Exposure and find two cold
ladies huddled under the heat lights of their jewels. At least there
is some warmth. I head over to refill my water and see Maudie
Campbell staring bemused at the food court. It seems that EVERYTHING
they are selling this week is Scottish. Scottish Teriyaki Chicken,
Scottish mashed potatoes and gravy, Scottish scotch egg. It makes us
chuckle as they have added little “Scottish” signs over all their food
items. They are at least getting into the spirit of Scottish
Weekend. I comment that this is good Scottish weather as the bagpipes
can’t be played in a downpour.
THE GRAND CHAPEAU
I get my hat complimented right and left. I have a pirate hat that
has a brim of unusual size. I purchased it years ago at CRF from
Pterodactyl Leather (for those who asked, the only info I can find
online for them is Dawn Celeste, New Pterodactyl Leather. Centuria WI
54824, 715-646-9333 and I cannot vouch for the current-ness of the
info). The size of the brim, when out, gives me great protection from
the rain and I am grateful for it. After hours of wandering, it is
finally time for our first show. We see the O’Danny’s have stood in
the center of the stage, but they are doing group sing alongs as we
have no sound and are trying to save our voices. The Pyrates pick a
side and Trinket and I decide we will make the audience vote. When
it’s our turn, we head to the stage and ask everyone who wants us
more. The regulars stage left are rather quiet, but stage right
almost blows us off the stage, so there we go.
INTIMACY AND FAMILY
We stand up on the benches and derobe from a number of layers (as I
always try to limit the levels of oh, you look cold in front of the
audience). We decide to take suggestions from the audience and get
Captains Daughter, There Was an Old Woman, Professions, and we throw
in Book of Love as well as some others. I recognize two particular
mundanes in the audience, as my sister and cousin have traversed down
in the cold and are singing and smiling along. It’s a great pleasure
to see them there and having fun, despite the cold. After the show,
we sign a CD (huh?, really?) rerobe and introduce my family to the
king and others nearby. They need to find the cinnamon nuts and soup
and come back to see the Pyrates before they go home. Off they go and
off I go to wander some and get warm again.
MORE WANDERINGS
The next hour is again a blur of a privy breaks, sitting, sort of, in
the pyrate encampment to discuss music for next week, wandering for
cider, and noticing that the cold has started to freeze my feet and
they are not bending anymore because they have seized up in the cold.
I am having a bit of trouble walking, but at least my feet are numb
and now I don’t feel all the pain. Whee. Soon enough, I see my family
and get to spend a few moments with my cousin. Hugs and they are
away, and we are next up. I am complained to by the stage left
regulars as to why we didn’t perform for them and I told them they
needed to be louder. I am speaking with another regular who tells me
that she thinks they will not make it to the end of the day... This
person NEVER misses the end of the day. If the diehards are wilting,
this might not be much of a rest of the day. The sun, what there was
through the raincover, is going away and it is getting even darker and
harder to see...and colder.
SHOW THE SECOND
So we go up and ask the crowd again for cheers. This time, it’s a
close tie, but the left side prevailed and we switched over for show
2. The other group mostly moves over, but some adamantly stay in
their spot. Here, we sing Roll me Over as well as Yorkshire Couple,
and Sir Eglamore, to poor Trinket’s chagrin. We end on Parting Glass
and head “off the stage” to be rerobed and warmed. Again, we sell a
CD. CDCB calls them pity sales...but I hope it’s just cause people
hadn’t gotten the music yet and realized how much they wanted it. We
do have time to chat with regulars before we head out as we aren’t in
a rush to go back out “there.”
PUB WHAT?
We head to the Pyrate Encampment to find out what is happening
tonight. We hear tales of actors and acts not performing because of
the weather. We are a bit shocked and horrified having just completed
all our shows and interactions and spending ALL DAY in these
treacherous conditions, but each person is different. With the
audience leaving, we don’t know IF there will be a pub sing, or even
WHAT it might be. There is no set list yet and everything is up in
the air. Finally, our hosts arrive and inform us we are doing the
show. Once in places, our hosts stand at the front of the stage and
note that neither side wants to move, so we require that the ALL move
in closer to the stage as we can’t fill the put without the sound and
with talking. They move in and pack the front 6-10 rows on each side.
INTIMACY
The show is cosy and special. We are told we didn’t need to do the
show, or could do a ½ hour show, and that the rest of the cast had
already been released and were going home. But the audience has stayed
in hopes there would be a pub sing and we don’t want to disappoint.
And tonight, we are celebrating Michelmas. We make constant
adjustments as we go. Trinket is afraid the spoken words aren’t
playing, but I say to go with it, as I catch the crowd laughing at
spoken jokes and listening more and more. Tonight, when we come up,
we are asked what our thoughts are of Michelmas, which makes Trinket
announce how it reminds her of Blissmass. And without planning, both
John Rugby and I say, in unison “Blissmass?” At this moment, John
realizes he is in a bit and steps back as Trinket shares her
memories. After a nice laugh, we sing to keep the audience
energized. The Renaissance Man’s wife arrives and sings from her
heart to him on this their anniversary of meeting. There are moments
that reach into our hearts and bring us closer together, including the
lovely put down of the loud and annoying audience heckler. Capt Sledge
comes and sings a lovely song that is actually Scottish and is invited
to stay with us. There are 15 or so of us left on stage. Everyone
else is going home. We end on Wild Mountain Thyme. The show lasts up
to 7:00 pm and as a group, we yell to the cannon and finally it
booms...after Michelmas is thanked once more. We made it through.
CUTTING OUT
We take the back route to the costume house as it is better-lit and
less muddy, but still gross. Back at the costume house, there is
blessed space because everyone else has left. This is helpful. Stitch
comes in and asks if we can lock up as she is done and needs to get
home. We are fine with it as she never leaves before we do. We take
our time getting changed and as I begin to warm up, my feet start to
hurt. Once we are done, we lock up. I have lots to wash and lugging
it to the car is unpleasant. I have forgotten to take off my jewelry,
but don’t care. On the way home, I get gas and newspaper to dry my
boots. I get home and they have ordered dinner and started laundry. I
get the strudel reheated and dinner arrives. This is wonderful and I
am sleepy. My feet are begining to cramp and seize up. We have many
more loads of laundry and much drying to do. My shoes are stuffed with
paper and need to get dry. We talk about putting them by the oven, and
do, but my houseguest takes the paper out for fear the heat might let
the paper catch on fire. I know this is off, but can’t remember why
because of exhaustion. Eventually, we head to bed with laundry
running in our heads and heat running in our bodies.
DO I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN?
I wake up and just have no desire to move. My morning clothing got
left at site, so I have to pull my sweats out for today and layer. I
am prepared. I head to site with warm food in my belly and lots of
heat blaring. Once on site, I consider staying in the car to get
ready, but know I have to face the cold. I head to Gatehouse with a
slightly less heavy bag and upstairs to stretch. It is still slightly
dry and I start to warm up. It’s an awkward space today, but I get
everything done and head down to the costume house. It’s colder today
and we find out that yesterday was the coldest October 17 on record
for 138 years. On the way in, someone say “37 degrees, feels like
31” ...joy. I am grateful to get inside and add new layers on.
OH CRAP!
I go to get dressed and realize EXACTLY why I was supposed to keep the
newspaper in my leather shoes. The heat has shrunk them and I almost
can’t get them on. It takes me over 20 minutes to get them on and need
the assistance of Stitch to shove them on my feet at one point, only
to have me have to take the off to try again. And my toes are curled
up into the shoe about 1/5 from the toe. AUGGGGHH! I at least have
plastic bags on my toes, that are in pain and one foot is pulled from
trying to get it in. joy. I FINALLY get dressed barely in time for
cast call. On the way, I realize I have again forgotten my jewels.
Bleah. I will go back. Cast call includes a lot of thanks and a
special visit from the General Manager thanking us for our hard work
the day before. This happens rarely, so it is means a lot, and he
even cracks a funny or two. We find out that one actor is home VERY
sick and won’t be in and we have to work around her, others are
stepping into new roles overnight and some people have deigned to
return to the scene of the crime again. We finish a bit late and beep
heading right to gate (by way of the costume house and my jewelry). We
haven’t checked sound but game plan with Mirth the plan to get it up
quickly for the first show.
BOOM CHAKALAKALAKA
The cannon is loud today simply because the sound travels well in damp
weather. Another reminder to tell Mirth. Again, the doors open for
only a little while but one door stays open. They don’t need more.
Welcome to soggy England, where the whole village is a mud show...it’s
the Rain-a-sance...and I’m going back to Italy, who’s coming with me.
And today’s Village Tour...Allow us to give you a brief tour around
town. The Pubs are THAT way (fin). There is amusement and a slightly
larger crowd. Again, it feels colder, but we are all more prepared.
Trinket is almost out of all her huge stash of warmers as she gave so
many out (again, reminder gang, if you took some, be kind and either
replace them or drop her a couple bucks so she can...she’ll never ask,
so I will).
THE FUZZY COLD
I begin to wander again today. As I head in, I see groupings of
people near O’Shucks. On the way, I see Dash in his fez with
Nyblewycke and his hurdy gurdy. He had been playing it up front, but
it fell at one point, so it had to travel. Dash is doing impressions
of the horrible cymbal smashing monkey toy I knew as a child (It used
to scare me), and I can’t quite get to him before he starts. The
crowd is amused (such as it is)...and there is footage of it on
Facebook at least. I continue on and chat with patrons. I am informed
that because of the low numbers, there are so many extra roses that
the crew are trying to sell them just to get rid of them...since the
high seller the day before sold...20...total roses...not dozen. I
note if they are going to have some at the end, I will get some. I
used to be a florist (yes, another skill) and love the look and smell
of roses, irises, and other flowers special flowers.
ZUPPA
I wander and decide it’s finally time to eat. I head over to get my
bowl and wander over to the bread bowl place. I hand them my bowl and
ask to have it filled with soup as I can’t really eat the bread. I
receive a steaming bowl of chicken rice soup, which is LOVELY and
warming. I sit on a bench near the two pillow booths that one of my
cast mates did not realize existed. There, I am greeted by Thomas
Tallis who stops and plays the composition he wrote for me. He meets
some music enthusiasts who end up purchasing the music. I am heated
well from the soup and actually begin to pull off layers. Soon
enough, though, the heat dissipates and I am back to layering up. I
am told from the person who fixes things that he could not find it,
but had the assistance of another to help him get the right feel to
fix it. This makes me happy.
SHOWTIME
I wander back through the village center and chat with more people. I
hear the O’Danny’s up the hill, but there doesn’t seem to be many kids
on site, so perhaps it’s not too bad. At least, it’s not raining. I
do mention sound to Mirth again though, because I don’t want the same
issue as the week before. Soon enough, it’s time for our show.
Today, we can put up sound. We do a quick run through what needs to
happen before we walk up and speed through the set up. We are up and
running in no time and ready to begin. The audience, while smallish
compared to a regular day, is in great spirits and has fun. We through
in some fun stuff and improv a bit. We sell more CDs and sign them in
the back afterwards.
WHAT’S OUT THERE
Between shows, Trinket rests and meets up with her mom while I ‘hit
the streets” and chat with regulars, vendors and more. I even take
out Baby Stupina and we have time to wander around quite a bit. She
dance to the Rogues and on the wood floor of Sandlars, wanders up to
Rosies Posies when suddenly, I realize she is broken (broken broken
broken) and needs “surgery.” I walk her to Dragon Wings and leave her
in good hands to fix her dragging bottom. Now, I have nothing to play
with, so I wander back to get my mug and cider, stopping by Lulu to
sing Happy Birthday to her in Italian. Then into the barrette booth
and pick a new one for this year. I wander into the glass booth and
discover the good vibrations it offers my back and share it with the
court ladies passing by. I also find out that a friend was to purchase
a replacement for me there, but it was not available at the time. No
worries. Now, time for show two and back we go.
HIGH ENERGY
We are having a lot of fun this show and the improv runs high as I
have blanked on a few songs and she has to reset me. This seems to
make the audience very happy. We hit tangents and get silly and get
to the pitch on time, but end up going...somewhere, and run short. We
still have Parting Glass, but only have 2 minutes. We warn the
audience we are about to sing the High energy, high speed version of
the song. And I almost can’t get thorough it for laughing. Everytime
I look at Mirth with his face buried in his hands, it cracks me up.
Some of the regulars are bouncing about and everyone is singing along
with us at high pace. I slow it down a bit, but not tons and we make
it off EXACTLY on time! GO US!
MAKING PLANS
We head to the encampment and find out the game plan for the night, we
meet up with two people we needed to run things by and are pleased to
be able to work things through. We are asked to sing Book of Love
tonight. We start the show and I find myself near the stage more than
normal. The audience has started to let Book of Love be one of THOSE
songs, and I am grateful. While sitting there, we hear our names to
sing Parting Glass...um, ok. It wasn’t on the list we had been told,
but that’s ok. We tell the audience “for making it through the
weather and the cold, this is for you” and they sing with us. The
last song tonight is I Come for To Sing, and again, I get that energy
when we sing our verse. There is a sense of pins and needles I feel
from the crowd that erupts into cheers as we finish. It’s a magical
feeling. We blow the cannon, and SOMEHOW have made it through this
bitter cold weekend.
NEW FOOD
I head to grab the things I need from the closet then head to the
costume house. I am slow getting ready again once back at the costume
house. There is less space, and I am in draining energy mode. I
find out that a group I have very much missed eating with is going to
a new place, and I ask to join. I head out and mostly knowing where I
am to go, after collecting roses, dirty cloaks and more. My bags are
HEAVY and the walk is longer today. Bleah. I am taking out my hair
while driving to the restaurant. Once there, I am pleasantly
surprised by the food, atmosphere, and home made root beer. We talk
late into the evening with much laugher and silliness. The
conversation turns serious for a stretch, but it’s after 10:30 before
we realize we need to leave, and I could have talked more. It was a
very good night. I missed that and was happy to have it back for a
bit. Once home, I chat with a house guest and balance the books until
it’s time for bed.
This weekend coming up is our closing one with a jousting tournament
and great silliness planned. Our shows are 3:00 and 4:30 at the White
Hart, and the 4:30 Sunday set is our yearly Unscriipted Show. Don’t
miss it gang, there will be things seen today that will never happen
again...VEG.
Michele/Colubmina/Stupina
The Interpreters, And we're back!
Teatro, when all you need is a little cheese
www.taskmaskers.com
AFR Goddess of Love