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ptpgradI think the memories of the weekend have been melted out of my head. Dear GOD it was a hot and humid one. Caveats of time, place and space as well as names are going to go out of my head and my editing is a bit, um, lacking…but here goes:
PROMISES OF UNPLEASANTNESS
It’s warmish on Friday, but as the week has progressed, the tales of what is coming our way is more and more depressing. Heat, heat and more humidity. Possible rain, and other joy. I get my stuff dropped off at site and forget to grab the sound equipment from the prior week. I will try to get it tomorrow morning. I have thai food for lunch at a non thai place and finish work which ends late, then head to bed.
OH CRAP!
I am woken by Robin Hood who says, hey, it’s 7:20, aren’t you usually gone by then? OH CRAP, my alarm didn’t go off cause I set it for 6:30 PM. DOH! I throw stuff together and run as fast as I can to site, getting there 20 minutes late. This meant my vocal and physical warm ups were next to nil. Yuck. Trinket is already there and we run over some things as we prep for the day. We head to White Hart and begin setting sound. I prep my romance war hit and set it up for delivery. Sound is a bit ringy, but the air is already moist, so we know what we set now means nothing. At least everything works. Onto the costume house.
BREAKFAST?
On the way, I stuff a cliff bar in my mouth and swallow my healthy breakfast of sorts. This is NOT the way I like to start my day, but at least I won’t be hungry at 10. At the costume house, I prep my bota bag and start getting ready. As I go into the costume house, I realize, it actually IS air conditioned. We forget this, but it is significantly cooler than outside…at 9 am. Oh dear, this is going to be brutal. I get into Stupina and head over to the Lyric for morning meeting. I see Seeaytee and give her many scritches, She is shedding up a storm. Her body is preparing too. I am feeling thirsty already and start drinking from my bota.
BEEPING WETLY
Morning meeting consists of reminders of who is leaving (Don Juan and Miguel) who is arriving (Albannach) and any extra technicalities that arise with such changes. We also remind people to drink and be careful as the weekend has been icky. After some random silliness, we BEEP and head out. I stop to chat with our Courtesean and to hug Miguel preemptively. I am going to miss that man. He has been such a joy to work with and get to know. Scapino and I had a great chat with him about body mics the week before and he is so very generous with his knowledge. He also has a wonderful singing voice, which I learned this weekend. But that is for later
ITCHY, DRIPPY MORNING
The only real issue I have with wearing Stupina on days like today is that the face is papier mache and, well, it doesn’t breathe. The only place that feels a breeze is my chin and my eyeballs, which I tend to like moist anyway. I pee, but not enough, drink more and face up. The gates are starting to open and my nose is beginning to get itchy. Quick drop and scratch and I am up for cannon. Today is the first day I really feel the moisture and sweat in my face. Luckily, it’s not into my eyes. I stop to drink more than normal. I find some fun people to play with. I spend more time with Bertilida. Most people are keeping distant, so we are calling to them. A few little boys and girls get scared, so we hide behind our curtain and play skeet ball in invisible land again. As I am finishing, I see she doesn’t have water, so I empty my bota into hers. I make a stop or two to see smiling faces as I head backstage.
POURING OFF INTO COOL
I hit backstage and the face peels off. I head down to the costume house, go into change and am hit by a wave of cold air. Wow, it really IS air conditioned in here. I don’t have to pee, so I just fill my tankard and set it outside and get changed. I am mostly there when Trinket stops by to help me fix my hair. It feels so good inside I really don’t want to go out there, but we have to, so away we go.
WANDER, SET, AND GO
I head out to site with my fan in motion. Ironically, it doesn’t seem to be fanning as well as I expected, and I feel a little looseness in the mechanism at the bottom. This is a fan I got from Venice with Burano lace, so I don’t want to screw with it. I make comments to patrons along the way and finally get to White Hart. There, we mic up and get more water, as it seems to be going in me quickly. The closet is actually cooler than being out in the rest of the grounds. We catch up with a few regulars and head to the stage. The audience is surprisingly responsive. Today, we start with show 1, since it has the best Scottish reference and it is Scottish Weekend. We are asked if we will be singing the Zucchini song. And luckily, today we are. As we are singing along, one of our regulars walks up with a rather large Zucchini and gifts us with it. The joke gets good laughs and the crowd is having fun. I end up being able to stuff the entirety of the zucchini in my bodice…Yeah, my costume is that loose on top. I am corrected on the name of my regular 7-year-old female fan. We end on time and head off the slightly sunny stage.
SURPRISE?
In going for my pen to sign CD’s after the show, I see a rose seller waiting for me. I ask him to wait a moment, grab the pen and head to sign. I chat with audience and receive the gift of a feathered red rose from our CDCB which has some lovely blue earrings attached. I am touched. I spend the time wandering about the area, stopping by KitteBlue to go over more costume stuff, to visit Piland, to wander up to the food court. Before the second show, I have completed another tankard and have to refill. It’s time for another show and we remic and head in. We get the stage a minute early and start right in. We do show 2 today and the audience is again laughing and happy. I am amazed as I am dripping sweat and I can see moisture beading on Trinket while we are on stage. Once finished, we head to the center again setting up in time for the Hooligans
WANDER WATER, WILL IT STAY
When I return t the closet to pick up what I missed, I see another white rose sitting by my things, along with a copy of Black Jack, the Pyrates CD. Seems my romance war “hitter” has gotten me. Now I know why he was waiting to deliver. I am also gifted by another rose from a patron who delivered one to Trinket during one pub sing and almost didn’t offer one to me as well. I think the entire audience guilted him into providing me one that day…today, he offered one freely.
LONG WANDER WATER BE GONE
I have to eat, but I want to get things back to the costume house. I stuff things away and head out toward the front chatting with patrons on the way, doing my best to stay out of the sun. It’s uncomfortable no matter where you stand. By the time I get back to the Costume House, my water is gone, and I still don’t have to pee. This is a bit scary
I refill my tankard and in my wander back to the costume house, it is emptied into me. I STILL don’t have to pee. This is not a good sign. I refill again and head out to the street.
WHY CAN”T I PICK THEM
I head to the wrap shop and get a cold cut wrap sandwich. I find a table in the Boar’s Head with patrons and AGAIN, while it looked like I could start a conversation, I was wrong. I go start small ones, but they are not really willing to talk and share. I get some small conversation, but nothing is really clicking. I finish quickly and head on my way chatting with patrons heading back again to the costume house for something I forgot. I finally have to use the bathroom and pulling the fabric from my skin rips at my flesh. I get help reapplying the Body Glide that has been suggested, and it made a HUGE difference as the fabric finally slides over the sticky skin it was holding tightly to previously. I am feeling a little bit of relief. Out I go back on the street.
BABY AND ME
I grab Baby Stupina and we walk about in the front of the village. I take her to the shade of the gate to waive at people who are leaving in droves. After a while, I take her back and head back into the village. I find myself by the Courtesean’s Coterie and we sit and share conversation and tales, jokes, and music with passers by. While there, two little girls and their mom visit us. One little girl is fascinated with the grapes while the other wants stories. Merilee is able to satisfy both. We chat till I have to head to prepare for Pub Sing.
PREPING AND PUB SING
We go over what we are doing for the show and at 5 head over. The show is casual, fun and again, we sing The Zucchini Song for Pub Sing. Mirth finds the zucchini in the back and has a Pyrate deliver it to us during the song. Again, it gets good laughs. Emrys and Kat have a fun and light dynamic. Toward the end of the show, London Derriere is sung with accompaniment by Miguel on the Bladdevarius. OH MY GOD. I am watching the cast in tears on stage. It amuses me. Trinket, Cat, and I all flash the stage with our bottoms toward the end. Kat sings a song that touches Amethyst and she and I sit holding hands (I move Charles Howard as he was in between us and probably a bit uncomfortable. I am handed a rose anonymously from someone who felt “I looked like I deserved it”. And another from a friend. Tim is picking on us and we both show our opinion. I head back to the stage and we end the show on some quieter music and send the crowd home, those who are left in the heat. I head back with all the roses I have received today. It totals 7, which is a bit of a shock, but I love how they smell and look, so I appreciate them all.
CHANGES AND RESTS
We head back to the costume house quickly and begin to get changed. The cast is wilted and tired from the heat. I end up agreeing to meet friends at Noodles and Company knowing I can’t eat what I had the other day as that is what gave me the one hive I had today. Bleah. Some friends mention they are going to a party that I was not invited to, so my crowd is a different group tonight. They end up at one side of the restaurant and I at the other with Trinket, Mirth, and Amethyst. This ends up being ok as there is business to discuss and it’s nice to have them all connect. Dinner ends early and I run home to get work done, and sew away as I have stuff to finish before I can go to sleep. It is after 11 before the lights go out for me.
URGHLE
I am tired and Just want to sleep, but that is not in the cards. They have warned this is to be a hotter day. I am already parched and have to be careful with water. I start drinking earlier and more if I can. I grab breakfast on the way. When we first get to site, it’s not awful, but by the time we head to start setting up the sound system, it’s already unpleasant. We play with the moist air, practice sibiliants and pack up for the time being. I head to the costume house. Today I fill my bota up almost full, because even if I am only on street for around 45 minutes, I don’t want to risk dehydration. Once changed, I head out to the Lyric.
MORNING BLAHS
Before the meeting started, Thatliardiego is singing part of act 3 of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. I know the follow up line and in half of Stupina, I sing “We’d do the weird stuff”, which amuses the hermit wildly because of my look. Morning meeting is the same stuff we go over the general, take care of yourself, still do what you can, these people are leaving stuff. We beep and head to the front. I pee, but I am already pouring liquid out my pores. I am dreading putting on the face, but time comes, and I do.
FOUNTAIN CHANGES
Today, some of the regulars are back, others who joined us have moved back to traditional locations. The No swimming sign is gone from the fountain (it was there during the hurricane), and there is a decent crowd, but not as huge as we would love to have. People ask me how I am and I say warm, hot, or squishy, depending on my mood and the guest. I am stopping regularly to drink, far more than normal. I am sticky and sweaty and feeling the drips behind the mask. I find a patron to fall asleep on. He turns out to be a co-worker of a friend and I am actually able to tell him how to find her deep in the village. I stop by Bertilda and again we play skeet ball mentally when we encourage kids to come by. Sitting at her feet, they assume I am some kind of gnome or fairy, which confuses a few when I explain who I am…sort of. Time is finally up and when I pull off my face backstage, it’s a bit of a relief.
HEALING TRANSFORMATION
When I get backstage, I am again joyous at the coolness in the air of the costume house. Unfortunately, it is also filled with a few sick actresses. The heat has been so bad that many have not recouperated from the night before and haven’t healed yet. One actress is sitting with skirts up a fan in hand and a cold glass of gatoraded water in the other. She is the color of her green dress and feeling queasy. We try biosalts, which melt immediately, I give her a tiny bit of food to cover the salts in her stomach and after a while, give her a piece of crystallized ginger to help the queasiness dissapate. She has to perform shortly, and we are concerned she won’t make it. One other court lady is being threatened to not wear her headdress on pain of beating, because the heat is taking it’s toll on her as well. I hear later that another court lady who surely knows how to take care of herself is falling under the intensity of the weather. Before the day is out, 3 women have gone down and many are not feeling well. This reminds me to take care of myself. I refill my tankard again as I get dressed in the back up bodice and new skirts and by the time I have made it to White Hart, I need to refill.
SHOW ME THE SHEEP
So today, we start with show 1 again, since it does have the Scotts joke. The show goes well, but the audience is a bit quieter, though still having fun. We finish just in time and I pull my hidden watch back on, and grab up props to clear the stage. We chat with patrons and sign some CDs. One woman with a decided military look thanks us. When I offer to sign the CD, she informs me that she can’t, because it wouldn’t make it back to Iraq without issues if we did that. Nice to know we will be possibly entertaining the boys and girls who are out there doing everything that I know I wouldn’t be capable of. I feel a bit USO-ish. I refill my tankard and guzzle it down while wandering and chatting with patrons. I am not really hungry because of the heat and I am feeling the stickiness. For the next show, I am ready for ANOTHER new tankard of water.
SECOND SHOWS
We head back to the stage, luckily on time and start the second show. I have to say how happy I have been to have a sound person there helping us with the body mics and ringing speakers. It has been so minimal and I am grateful for Mirth’s help. So there. This is show 3 and again we have a premature clapper. It causes amusement and fun. The crowd appears appreciative and we are dripping before we leave the stage. I always wonder at these moments when someone takes a pic and we are this moist, how much it translates to the pics. I am lucky that my hair won’t drop much since I know the curl is rather crunchy from the Aussie Stiff Stuff that I use. It makes all the difference. Someitmes we still look “fresh” even when we don’t feel fresh. Heck, the ED joked that she wanted to hose us down during pub sing the night before, and I don’t think we would have minded.
GLIDE ME
I finish and wander to get some body glide as my waist is burning with the fabrics. I get back and feel the cool of the costume house and see more actors recouperating. I grab the body glide and get help to apply it thickly under my bodice at the waist. The relief is palpable. I am very grateful to our running actress for mentioning this. I realize I need to go to the privy. I am actually given a round of applause as I announce that I have to pee, as it seems to be a badge of honor that I did something right today. I head back out with another full tankard of electolyted water and to find lunch.
THE VEGAN AND THE CARNIVORE WITH KIDS
I wander with Rose Jones and Chastity Smudge who are off to find lunch. Their final food choice is not what fits my mood, so I leave them to get another wrap. I take this wrap to another table and try to start a conversation at a table with two men, a girl, who ai think is their daughter (well, one of theirs) and a young man. Most are eating the ribs, with they like. One is only eating potatoes. Turns out he is vegan. As I have some in my life who are also vegan, I am able to give him some ideas of places to eat and he realized he could have the wrap people custom make the vegetarian wrap I am currently eating. We chat more about the show and find that some are new, and when the older men take of, I realize they are not a family of friends, but two separate groups that happened to sit down together. I chat with the young couple a bit longer before I head off as well.
DON JUAN, MIGUEL AND THE HOTTEST DAUGHER IN THE SHIRE
Since it is their last weekend, I make sure to stop by and see a Don Juan and Miguel show already in progress. It is rather amusing and DJ’s daugher Esmerelda has grown up into a stunning woman. The show is fun and I can see them jump off the script, or stay on so stunningly that it appears to all be improved. They are a pleasure to watch and they will be missed here. Once done, I wander into the village farther.
THE COURTESEANS EN FORCE
In the shade, I find a courtesan sitting alone and join her. Together, we entertain wandering guests, call them closer and Merilee tells tales. She offers me water that has a cinamonny taste to it. We think about getting a slushie or lime ade, but never quite order it. Mirth stops by and we eventually have him go and profess his undying love to the ATM pole. He does, and rather well. Two young girls ask for a song, and when they ask for Italian, I ask if I may handle this request and see the Italian love song I know. They are very happy and impressed. When they ask to tip me, I tell them to note my name at the Royal Registry when they leave the village.
VERGING ON A HEALTHY LINE
As we sit, Merilee hands me a banana. We each have one now and keep walking a very fine line on what is appropriate. Neither of us really tries to swallow it whole, mine having a bruise on it keeping me from it…but only partially. There are random children walking by, but not often. The streets are emptying in the heat. As we sit and laugh, we are visited by most of the Hooligans who each need to stop and say something. Each comment is amusing in it’s own way. Even Tim stops by and stands a moment slack jawed, perhaps wondering if we are going to a bad place, or if we are just flirting with it and being “safe”. Various members of Wolgemut also wander by and we call to them. I even invite Mary Lacelles Hall over, who politely declines. It is not till she leaves that I inform Merilee that she is one of the most notorious puritans in the village. This is even more amusing.
AM I OK?
As we sit, I suddenly realize I am not sweating. I panic. I ask others around me if they are sweating and they are not either, but I do start to drink more again. Still nothing, but I am feeling ok. Then, we feel it, a blessed breeze. We step out to the street and call out loudly to the breeze thanking it to the amusement of patrons walking by. Soon enough, it is time for me to head over to Pub Sing. I head to the camp and am informed that we are only being used for the opening and ending. I head over to Pilands to sit and am approached by a very good looking gentleman, the father of my 7-year old love from last week. He asks my name as his son has professed his feelings for me. He realizes that my name is unusual and that is why he did not remember it. Soon after, my love’s mom stops by as well and we chat. She informs me that her son was very put out that they were going to faire without him, until he heard he got to go to grandma and grandpa’s with the pool. I might even have preferred to be with him myself. We chat a bit more and I head with Trinket back to the petting zoo.
DO WE OR DON’T WE
Trinket and I are wondering if we should be in the opening/ending if we aren’t doing another number during the show. I guess in my past history being in or not in the show, I always only got up on stage if I had done a song at another point in the show. We discuss the verse being done by another or solo and just agree we will do the song and head out early as we are exhausted and if we aren’t singing, we don’t have to be there. Inside the tent, I catch up on news of health and we discover that Kat looks like Julie McCoy, and a silly bit is born. Once the show starts, we find out that one of my favorite songs is being done later in the show, so I decide to stay after all. The song has to be cut for time, but it does feel right to be there. I am still not happy with the girls verse in Health and am planning on another possible fix if it’s on the schedule again this weekend. I don’t know yet and will find out when we get there. I already have more stuff to learn and have been working on foot work.
SPECIAL GUESTS
Tonight, Hack and Slash join us and Miguel has another song with his bladdvarius. Toward the end, we join the stage again and sing. I stand next to Miquel and that is where I hear his lovely voice and watch him doing sign language. He is less visible today with more people in the front of the stage and I am concerned. I know I did not express myself well and think there were a number of miscommunications with the same person. I fear I have offended, but won’t really ever know. It puts my energy off a bit, but overall the eve has gone well for the crowd, including finding out that even I might have impregnated Kat Fairbanks. This is rather amusing, though Trinket’s face was priceless as she came to the stage with her summons.
ENDINGS AND RELIEF
The King does arrive and the evening’s bells and cannon are split interestingly. Once done, I go grab materials from the closet and head back to the costume house. I get changed and we are being rushed out a bit when suddenly, one final actress goes down. Turns out she had been given a energy boost drink toward the end of the day and, while already a bit weak, she is crashing from the caffeine and sugar. We need to move, so we help get her dressed, watered and cooled down. We take her back outside and Nymblewyck, Cat, Fiddle, Croaker, Bellv and I sit with her until she seems back to normal. It’s near 8:30 before we head out. I am afraid I will be late to meet friends for dinner. I should have not been as the others had just arrived at the restaurant by the time I was on my way.
COLD ENDINGS
I get to Ruby Tuesdays and forgot to bring in a jacket. This was a mistake, the place is FREEZiNG. While others enjoy the cool, it’s too much for my overwarm system and I am just short of shivering. I have taken my hair down just to keep my shoulder’s warm. The Hoods kindly bring in their jackets and the trumpeter and I curl into the warmth of the fabric. I get salad, soup, and an appetizer…plus one white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, still warm. It’s quite lovely. We head out finally and I escort the trumpeter to the highway and we head our separate ways home. Sleep and laundry are welcome as is a well needed shower. Sleep hits pretty hard and I am wiped out.
This weekend, is Rose Jones’ Wild Irish Pub Sing and more silly fun from other. The weather looks to be amazing, so I am excited by the prospects ahead. Hope to see you in the shire.
PROMISES OF UNPLEASANTNESS
It’s warmish on Friday, but as the week has progressed, the tales of what is coming our way is more and more depressing. Heat, heat and more humidity. Possible rain, and other joy. I get my stuff dropped off at site and forget to grab the sound equipment from the prior week. I will try to get it tomorrow morning. I have thai food for lunch at a non thai place and finish work which ends late, then head to bed.
OH CRAP!
I am woken by Robin Hood who says, hey, it’s 7:20, aren’t you usually gone by then? OH CRAP, my alarm didn’t go off cause I set it for 6:30 PM. DOH! I throw stuff together and run as fast as I can to site, getting there 20 minutes late. This meant my vocal and physical warm ups were next to nil. Yuck. Trinket is already there and we run over some things as we prep for the day. We head to White Hart and begin setting sound. I prep my romance war hit and set it up for delivery. Sound is a bit ringy, but the air is already moist, so we know what we set now means nothing. At least everything works. Onto the costume house.
BREAKFAST?
On the way, I stuff a cliff bar in my mouth and swallow my healthy breakfast of sorts. This is NOT the way I like to start my day, but at least I won’t be hungry at 10. At the costume house, I prep my bota bag and start getting ready. As I go into the costume house, I realize, it actually IS air conditioned. We forget this, but it is significantly cooler than outside…at 9 am. Oh dear, this is going to be brutal. I get into Stupina and head over to the Lyric for morning meeting. I see Seeaytee and give her many scritches, She is shedding up a storm. Her body is preparing too. I am feeling thirsty already and start drinking from my bota.
BEEPING WETLY
Morning meeting consists of reminders of who is leaving (Don Juan and Miguel) who is arriving (Albannach) and any extra technicalities that arise with such changes. We also remind people to drink and be careful as the weekend has been icky. After some random silliness, we BEEP and head out. I stop to chat with our Courtesean and to hug Miguel preemptively. I am going to miss that man. He has been such a joy to work with and get to know. Scapino and I had a great chat with him about body mics the week before and he is so very generous with his knowledge. He also has a wonderful singing voice, which I learned this weekend. But that is for later
ITCHY, DRIPPY MORNING
The only real issue I have with wearing Stupina on days like today is that the face is papier mache and, well, it doesn’t breathe. The only place that feels a breeze is my chin and my eyeballs, which I tend to like moist anyway. I pee, but not enough, drink more and face up. The gates are starting to open and my nose is beginning to get itchy. Quick drop and scratch and I am up for cannon. Today is the first day I really feel the moisture and sweat in my face. Luckily, it’s not into my eyes. I stop to drink more than normal. I find some fun people to play with. I spend more time with Bertilida. Most people are keeping distant, so we are calling to them. A few little boys and girls get scared, so we hide behind our curtain and play skeet ball in invisible land again. As I am finishing, I see she doesn’t have water, so I empty my bota into hers. I make a stop or two to see smiling faces as I head backstage.
POURING OFF INTO COOL
I hit backstage and the face peels off. I head down to the costume house, go into change and am hit by a wave of cold air. Wow, it really IS air conditioned in here. I don’t have to pee, so I just fill my tankard and set it outside and get changed. I am mostly there when Trinket stops by to help me fix my hair. It feels so good inside I really don’t want to go out there, but we have to, so away we go.
WANDER, SET, AND GO
I head out to site with my fan in motion. Ironically, it doesn’t seem to be fanning as well as I expected, and I feel a little looseness in the mechanism at the bottom. This is a fan I got from Venice with Burano lace, so I don’t want to screw with it. I make comments to patrons along the way and finally get to White Hart. There, we mic up and get more water, as it seems to be going in me quickly. The closet is actually cooler than being out in the rest of the grounds. We catch up with a few regulars and head to the stage. The audience is surprisingly responsive. Today, we start with show 1, since it has the best Scottish reference and it is Scottish Weekend. We are asked if we will be singing the Zucchini song. And luckily, today we are. As we are singing along, one of our regulars walks up with a rather large Zucchini and gifts us with it. The joke gets good laughs and the crowd is having fun. I end up being able to stuff the entirety of the zucchini in my bodice…Yeah, my costume is that loose on top. I am corrected on the name of my regular 7-year-old female fan. We end on time and head off the slightly sunny stage.
SURPRISE?
In going for my pen to sign CD’s after the show, I see a rose seller waiting for me. I ask him to wait a moment, grab the pen and head to sign. I chat with audience and receive the gift of a feathered red rose from our CDCB which has some lovely blue earrings attached. I am touched. I spend the time wandering about the area, stopping by KitteBlue to go over more costume stuff, to visit Piland, to wander up to the food court. Before the second show, I have completed another tankard and have to refill. It’s time for another show and we remic and head in. We get the stage a minute early and start right in. We do show 2 today and the audience is again laughing and happy. I am amazed as I am dripping sweat and I can see moisture beading on Trinket while we are on stage. Once finished, we head to the center again setting up in time for the Hooligans
WANDER WATER, WILL IT STAY
When I return t the closet to pick up what I missed, I see another white rose sitting by my things, along with a copy of Black Jack, the Pyrates CD. Seems my romance war “hitter” has gotten me. Now I know why he was waiting to deliver. I am also gifted by another rose from a patron who delivered one to Trinket during one pub sing and almost didn’t offer one to me as well. I think the entire audience guilted him into providing me one that day…today, he offered one freely.
LONG WANDER WATER BE GONE
I have to eat, but I want to get things back to the costume house. I stuff things away and head out toward the front chatting with patrons on the way, doing my best to stay out of the sun. It’s uncomfortable no matter where you stand. By the time I get back to the Costume House, my water is gone, and I still don’t have to pee. This is a bit scary
I refill my tankard and in my wander back to the costume house, it is emptied into me. I STILL don’t have to pee. This is not a good sign. I refill again and head out to the street.
WHY CAN”T I PICK THEM
I head to the wrap shop and get a cold cut wrap sandwich. I find a table in the Boar’s Head with patrons and AGAIN, while it looked like I could start a conversation, I was wrong. I go start small ones, but they are not really willing to talk and share. I get some small conversation, but nothing is really clicking. I finish quickly and head on my way chatting with patrons heading back again to the costume house for something I forgot. I finally have to use the bathroom and pulling the fabric from my skin rips at my flesh. I get help reapplying the Body Glide that has been suggested, and it made a HUGE difference as the fabric finally slides over the sticky skin it was holding tightly to previously. I am feeling a little bit of relief. Out I go back on the street.
BABY AND ME
I grab Baby Stupina and we walk about in the front of the village. I take her to the shade of the gate to waive at people who are leaving in droves. After a while, I take her back and head back into the village. I find myself by the Courtesean’s Coterie and we sit and share conversation and tales, jokes, and music with passers by. While there, two little girls and their mom visit us. One little girl is fascinated with the grapes while the other wants stories. Merilee is able to satisfy both. We chat till I have to head to prepare for Pub Sing.
PREPING AND PUB SING
We go over what we are doing for the show and at 5 head over. The show is casual, fun and again, we sing The Zucchini Song for Pub Sing. Mirth finds the zucchini in the back and has a Pyrate deliver it to us during the song. Again, it gets good laughs. Emrys and Kat have a fun and light dynamic. Toward the end of the show, London Derriere is sung with accompaniment by Miguel on the Bladdevarius. OH MY GOD. I am watching the cast in tears on stage. It amuses me. Trinket, Cat, and I all flash the stage with our bottoms toward the end. Kat sings a song that touches Amethyst and she and I sit holding hands (I move Charles Howard as he was in between us and probably a bit uncomfortable. I am handed a rose anonymously from someone who felt “I looked like I deserved it”. And another from a friend. Tim is picking on us and we both show our opinion. I head back to the stage and we end the show on some quieter music and send the crowd home, those who are left in the heat. I head back with all the roses I have received today. It totals 7, which is a bit of a shock, but I love how they smell and look, so I appreciate them all.
CHANGES AND RESTS
We head back to the costume house quickly and begin to get changed. The cast is wilted and tired from the heat. I end up agreeing to meet friends at Noodles and Company knowing I can’t eat what I had the other day as that is what gave me the one hive I had today. Bleah. Some friends mention they are going to a party that I was not invited to, so my crowd is a different group tonight. They end up at one side of the restaurant and I at the other with Trinket, Mirth, and Amethyst. This ends up being ok as there is business to discuss and it’s nice to have them all connect. Dinner ends early and I run home to get work done, and sew away as I have stuff to finish before I can go to sleep. It is after 11 before the lights go out for me.
URGHLE
I am tired and Just want to sleep, but that is not in the cards. They have warned this is to be a hotter day. I am already parched and have to be careful with water. I start drinking earlier and more if I can. I grab breakfast on the way. When we first get to site, it’s not awful, but by the time we head to start setting up the sound system, it’s already unpleasant. We play with the moist air, practice sibiliants and pack up for the time being. I head to the costume house. Today I fill my bota up almost full, because even if I am only on street for around 45 minutes, I don’t want to risk dehydration. Once changed, I head out to the Lyric.
MORNING BLAHS
Before the meeting started, Thatliardiego is singing part of act 3 of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. I know the follow up line and in half of Stupina, I sing “We’d do the weird stuff”, which amuses the hermit wildly because of my look. Morning meeting is the same stuff we go over the general, take care of yourself, still do what you can, these people are leaving stuff. We beep and head to the front. I pee, but I am already pouring liquid out my pores. I am dreading putting on the face, but time comes, and I do.
FOUNTAIN CHANGES
Today, some of the regulars are back, others who joined us have moved back to traditional locations. The No swimming sign is gone from the fountain (it was there during the hurricane), and there is a decent crowd, but not as huge as we would love to have. People ask me how I am and I say warm, hot, or squishy, depending on my mood and the guest. I am stopping regularly to drink, far more than normal. I am sticky and sweaty and feeling the drips behind the mask. I find a patron to fall asleep on. He turns out to be a co-worker of a friend and I am actually able to tell him how to find her deep in the village. I stop by Bertilda and again we play skeet ball mentally when we encourage kids to come by. Sitting at her feet, they assume I am some kind of gnome or fairy, which confuses a few when I explain who I am…sort of. Time is finally up and when I pull off my face backstage, it’s a bit of a relief.
HEALING TRANSFORMATION
When I get backstage, I am again joyous at the coolness in the air of the costume house. Unfortunately, it is also filled with a few sick actresses. The heat has been so bad that many have not recouperated from the night before and haven’t healed yet. One actress is sitting with skirts up a fan in hand and a cold glass of gatoraded water in the other. She is the color of her green dress and feeling queasy. We try biosalts, which melt immediately, I give her a tiny bit of food to cover the salts in her stomach and after a while, give her a piece of crystallized ginger to help the queasiness dissapate. She has to perform shortly, and we are concerned she won’t make it. One other court lady is being threatened to not wear her headdress on pain of beating, because the heat is taking it’s toll on her as well. I hear later that another court lady who surely knows how to take care of herself is falling under the intensity of the weather. Before the day is out, 3 women have gone down and many are not feeling well. This reminds me to take care of myself. I refill my tankard again as I get dressed in the back up bodice and new skirts and by the time I have made it to White Hart, I need to refill.
SHOW ME THE SHEEP
So today, we start with show 1 again, since it does have the Scotts joke. The show goes well, but the audience is a bit quieter, though still having fun. We finish just in time and I pull my hidden watch back on, and grab up props to clear the stage. We chat with patrons and sign some CDs. One woman with a decided military look thanks us. When I offer to sign the CD, she informs me that she can’t, because it wouldn’t make it back to Iraq without issues if we did that. Nice to know we will be possibly entertaining the boys and girls who are out there doing everything that I know I wouldn’t be capable of. I feel a bit USO-ish. I refill my tankard and guzzle it down while wandering and chatting with patrons. I am not really hungry because of the heat and I am feeling the stickiness. For the next show, I am ready for ANOTHER new tankard of water.
SECOND SHOWS
We head back to the stage, luckily on time and start the second show. I have to say how happy I have been to have a sound person there helping us with the body mics and ringing speakers. It has been so minimal and I am grateful for Mirth’s help. So there. This is show 3 and again we have a premature clapper. It causes amusement and fun. The crowd appears appreciative and we are dripping before we leave the stage. I always wonder at these moments when someone takes a pic and we are this moist, how much it translates to the pics. I am lucky that my hair won’t drop much since I know the curl is rather crunchy from the Aussie Stiff Stuff that I use. It makes all the difference. Someitmes we still look “fresh” even when we don’t feel fresh. Heck, the ED joked that she wanted to hose us down during pub sing the night before, and I don’t think we would have minded.
GLIDE ME
I finish and wander to get some body glide as my waist is burning with the fabrics. I get back and feel the cool of the costume house and see more actors recouperating. I grab the body glide and get help to apply it thickly under my bodice at the waist. The relief is palpable. I am very grateful to our running actress for mentioning this. I realize I need to go to the privy. I am actually given a round of applause as I announce that I have to pee, as it seems to be a badge of honor that I did something right today. I head back out with another full tankard of electolyted water and to find lunch.
THE VEGAN AND THE CARNIVORE WITH KIDS
I wander with Rose Jones and Chastity Smudge who are off to find lunch. Their final food choice is not what fits my mood, so I leave them to get another wrap. I take this wrap to another table and try to start a conversation at a table with two men, a girl, who ai think is their daughter (well, one of theirs) and a young man. Most are eating the ribs, with they like. One is only eating potatoes. Turns out he is vegan. As I have some in my life who are also vegan, I am able to give him some ideas of places to eat and he realized he could have the wrap people custom make the vegetarian wrap I am currently eating. We chat more about the show and find that some are new, and when the older men take of, I realize they are not a family of friends, but two separate groups that happened to sit down together. I chat with the young couple a bit longer before I head off as well.
DON JUAN, MIGUEL AND THE HOTTEST DAUGHER IN THE SHIRE
Since it is their last weekend, I make sure to stop by and see a Don Juan and Miguel show already in progress. It is rather amusing and DJ’s daugher Esmerelda has grown up into a stunning woman. The show is fun and I can see them jump off the script, or stay on so stunningly that it appears to all be improved. They are a pleasure to watch and they will be missed here. Once done, I wander into the village farther.
THE COURTESEANS EN FORCE
In the shade, I find a courtesan sitting alone and join her. Together, we entertain wandering guests, call them closer and Merilee tells tales. She offers me water that has a cinamonny taste to it. We think about getting a slushie or lime ade, but never quite order it. Mirth stops by and we eventually have him go and profess his undying love to the ATM pole. He does, and rather well. Two young girls ask for a song, and when they ask for Italian, I ask if I may handle this request and see the Italian love song I know. They are very happy and impressed. When they ask to tip me, I tell them to note my name at the Royal Registry when they leave the village.
VERGING ON A HEALTHY LINE
As we sit, Merilee hands me a banana. We each have one now and keep walking a very fine line on what is appropriate. Neither of us really tries to swallow it whole, mine having a bruise on it keeping me from it…but only partially. There are random children walking by, but not often. The streets are emptying in the heat. As we sit and laugh, we are visited by most of the Hooligans who each need to stop and say something. Each comment is amusing in it’s own way. Even Tim stops by and stands a moment slack jawed, perhaps wondering if we are going to a bad place, or if we are just flirting with it and being “safe”. Various members of Wolgemut also wander by and we call to them. I even invite Mary Lacelles Hall over, who politely declines. It is not till she leaves that I inform Merilee that she is one of the most notorious puritans in the village. This is even more amusing.
AM I OK?
As we sit, I suddenly realize I am not sweating. I panic. I ask others around me if they are sweating and they are not either, but I do start to drink more again. Still nothing, but I am feeling ok. Then, we feel it, a blessed breeze. We step out to the street and call out loudly to the breeze thanking it to the amusement of patrons walking by. Soon enough, it is time for me to head over to Pub Sing. I head to the camp and am informed that we are only being used for the opening and ending. I head over to Pilands to sit and am approached by a very good looking gentleman, the father of my 7-year old love from last week. He asks my name as his son has professed his feelings for me. He realizes that my name is unusual and that is why he did not remember it. Soon after, my love’s mom stops by as well and we chat. She informs me that her son was very put out that they were going to faire without him, until he heard he got to go to grandma and grandpa’s with the pool. I might even have preferred to be with him myself. We chat a bit more and I head with Trinket back to the petting zoo.
DO WE OR DON’T WE
Trinket and I are wondering if we should be in the opening/ending if we aren’t doing another number during the show. I guess in my past history being in or not in the show, I always only got up on stage if I had done a song at another point in the show. We discuss the verse being done by another or solo and just agree we will do the song and head out early as we are exhausted and if we aren’t singing, we don’t have to be there. Inside the tent, I catch up on news of health and we discover that Kat looks like Julie McCoy, and a silly bit is born. Once the show starts, we find out that one of my favorite songs is being done later in the show, so I decide to stay after all. The song has to be cut for time, but it does feel right to be there. I am still not happy with the girls verse in Health and am planning on another possible fix if it’s on the schedule again this weekend. I don’t know yet and will find out when we get there. I already have more stuff to learn and have been working on foot work.
SPECIAL GUESTS
Tonight, Hack and Slash join us and Miguel has another song with his bladdvarius. Toward the end, we join the stage again and sing. I stand next to Miquel and that is where I hear his lovely voice and watch him doing sign language. He is less visible today with more people in the front of the stage and I am concerned. I know I did not express myself well and think there were a number of miscommunications with the same person. I fear I have offended, but won’t really ever know. It puts my energy off a bit, but overall the eve has gone well for the crowd, including finding out that even I might have impregnated Kat Fairbanks. This is rather amusing, though Trinket’s face was priceless as she came to the stage with her summons.
ENDINGS AND RELIEF
The King does arrive and the evening’s bells and cannon are split interestingly. Once done, I go grab materials from the closet and head back to the costume house. I get changed and we are being rushed out a bit when suddenly, one final actress goes down. Turns out she had been given a energy boost drink toward the end of the day and, while already a bit weak, she is crashing from the caffeine and sugar. We need to move, so we help get her dressed, watered and cooled down. We take her back outside and Nymblewyck, Cat, Fiddle, Croaker, Bellv and I sit with her until she seems back to normal. It’s near 8:30 before we head out. I am afraid I will be late to meet friends for dinner. I should have not been as the others had just arrived at the restaurant by the time I was on my way.
COLD ENDINGS
I get to Ruby Tuesdays and forgot to bring in a jacket. This was a mistake, the place is FREEZiNG. While others enjoy the cool, it’s too much for my overwarm system and I am just short of shivering. I have taken my hair down just to keep my shoulder’s warm. The Hoods kindly bring in their jackets and the trumpeter and I curl into the warmth of the fabric. I get salad, soup, and an appetizer…plus one white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, still warm. It’s quite lovely. We head out finally and I escort the trumpeter to the highway and we head our separate ways home. Sleep and laundry are welcome as is a well needed shower. Sleep hits pretty hard and I am wiped out.
This weekend, is Rose Jones’ Wild Irish Pub Sing and more silly fun from other. The weather looks to be amazing, so I am excited by the prospects ahead. Hope to see you in the shire.
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Date: 2008-09-20 08:34 pm (UTC)We enjoyed the Interpreters show a lot, and I've been listening to the CD in regular rotation all week. The song you and your brother wrote is hysterical (made me laugh out loud a couple of times). Thank you for making my brother Number Four; he got a real kick out of being included his first time at faire. If you like, the pictures I took of the show are here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whizzrjohn/sets/72157607349277138/).
Hopefully, it won't be quite so long until we see you again.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-22 01:00 pm (UTC)Thanks so much for letting us play with you and your brother. I will take a check at the pics soon as I get a chance, and I am so glad you like the CD and the song. I will let Mr. Mulls know.
Here's to visiting our part of the world in Revel Grove again! Soon!