MD part sette, 2008, pretty darn long
Oct. 9th, 2008 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ptpgradHey gang, I am more tired voiced today than I have been any other weekend, but there’s something about crowds over 20,000 that can do that to you. As always, facts, names, details, and order will be misremembered and changed. I’ll do my best…and away we go.
AMUSING ANECDOTE
On occasion, I go to see other performers during the week. Seamus Kennedy happened to be performing locally at a bar and I met up with a few friends there. Toward the end of the show, Seamus had Trinket and I come up to do a few songs with him (our melded Parting Glass is getting better). The first time we got up, there was an unusually loud cheer from a table not our own. Afterwards, some of the people at the other table stopped over where Seamus and we were talking and informed us that they had two intentions during their visit from CA: 1, see Seamus and 2, see the MD Renn Fest. Ironically, they had seen The Interpreters while at MDRF and purchased our CD. Their comment…”If we had known you were going to be here, we would be brought the CD for you to sign. Ah well. Glad to be appreciated.
OH DEAR GOD THAT”S SUN
For the first week in a while, there was no rain foretold for the weekend, nor was there excruciating heat promised. This boded both well and ill, as it is Octoberfest weekend, one of the biggest of the year and, given that Adventure Weekend was so very rainy, everyone will be coming en masse for this one. This is also the beginning of the season that some refer to as “Drunktoberfest” as there is an inordinate amount of drunk patrons, both playtron and mundane, and we find we have to keep on our toes…especially when we find we have to jump away quickly as they throw up or throw a punch. But, the weather means that we won’t be sweating profusely and can really enjoy the beginning of the changes to the season. I head to site on Friday to drop off costuming and check CD’s and the like. I also prepare my romance war hit for deliver on a following weekend day. I talk with a coworker about a pending delivery for another coworker and she has some great insight. Then, back to work for me and steadily till it was time for me to go to sleep in preparation for the weekend.
LAYERS IN THE CRISPNESS
I have had the windows open and tonight is chill enough I have to close them. In the morning, I dress in layers as I know the morning will be cool, but the evening should be warmer. I stop for brekkies at a newer place, which is just as long a wait as the other I was planning to do, but I was running later and later. When I get to site, I end up seeing the security guard at the gate for the first time. I note that I must be late and he says “if this is late, I don’t want to see early.” Welcome to my life. I head to Gatehouse humming to myself. Trinket arrives after I have finished stretching and we begin to warm up a little and put on makeup while we practice the new song we are adding in tonight at Pub Sing.
TRINKET IS SILLY
Well, next week, she will be IN the 3 Sillies at 4pm at the Gatehouse Stage, filling in for another performer who has to leave early (go see her October 11, the show is fun and only about 17 minutes or less). This morning is her physical run through with the actors. One actor arrives very early so we run her section and let her go as the other two get there a bit later. She takes to it well, has a few chances to run the scenes and makes the Stage Manager crack up. When we are done, it is already near 9. Trinket runs to the White Hart to set up the sound systems while I get changed.
QUEEN MAGGIE IN THE HOUSE
I get into the costume house to walk in and find Queen Maggie back from her new life in warmer climes. She is in playing and working this weekend as Mother Love, Anna of Cleves Head of Household when she was queen (ok, please correct the info I have wrong here). There are many hugs and questions as we all start getting ready and catching up. I finish getting ready early and get out of the way, only turning back to remember my sign. And my sweater thingy, which I angst over. I have many people looking at the sign. I am stopped by BRIAN! who tells me Scary Dave was at the White Hart. Um, it’s tomorrow though. I plan on stopping by to touch base with him. I am at cast call early for the first time. I do a bit more warming up vocally. I see new and wonderful faces, Bob Davinci, new Snot, and more. October is the changing of the guard at MDRF…all we need now is the leaves to change. They have been doing it later and later.
WELCOME BEEP
The meeting today is in preparation for Oom-pah and beer. There are many changes to stages and adjustments that have to happen. We are also reminded of the street bit awards, though I had sent in my thoughts the day before. We are done relatively quickly, beep and head off to prepare. I lug my sign (which gets more looks) to the front, have my last pee break in the privies, while they are still clean and not scary, and get ready to put my face on.
BOOM ALONE
The sad part about October is that William Teller is gone. He is that one face I see each morning before I begin and he always has a kind word and a gentle smile. He always puts me in the right frame of mind. Sadly, he is not here now, so I prepare feeling alone. Anna visits for a while, but has to leave before the horses come in. I face up, the cannon booms and in they come…
WANNA HUG?
So two years ago, I borrowed an idea from Juan Mann in Australia and made my own wooden “Free Hugs” sign. It was a big hit then and, I figured, the temp was cool enough that it might work now and I won’t overheat. Believe it or not, Hugging takes a lot of energy. Today, I have my sign and get a wonderfully mixed reaction. Some take pics, some laugh, some hug, some line up and wait to hug, some look scared but everyone reacts. The crowd is heavy, so I spend some time with it over my head. Many of the first huggers jump on the fountain to hug me, the rest, I squat for. It’s also funny when they hug me, hear my voice and THEN realize I am a girl. Hee. I do tend to be rather un-sexual in that outfit, which can be a nice change on occasion.
SLOW PROGRESS BACK
I realize it’s time to head in, or will be shortly, so I start hugging people on the way back. I stop to hug Bertilda, realizing I have not sat with her in a while between the rain and the hugging, and I miss it. She is a gem of a lady. Go say hi to her and tell her Stupina sent you. Each time I think I am ready to hit backstage, I am met with another group who wants to hug me and it takes a bit longer to get backstage. I don’t mind, it’s my job and one I love, but it does take time to do it right. Finally, I manage to hit backstage and go off to the Costume House to transform.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
I put away my sign and begin the transformation. It is already VERY crowded out there. Juliet is again not here yet. When she arrives, she tells of waiting for so very long to get into the actual festival grounds. Oh dear, we need to be ready to say hi, and soon. Trinket helps me with a few odds and ends and heads out while I finish tweaking and gathering. I head out to the street and to the stage.
SHOW THE FIRST
Today we are still down Mirth, but CDCB is here to help run sound. CDCB has discovered that ElvisOLB walked off with his instructions sheet last week, so we are doing to have to wing it a bit. Gregory of Carrolton finishes a bit early and I go up to help switch the sound, when I realize our systems are not plugged in. We fix that quickly and then begin. CDCB realizes that he can’t really leave the stage during our first song as the speaker system likes to feed back on us quite a bit when we walk around. The show itself is well received and we finish in time. We leave the stage and head to the back.
SHORT TERM WANDER
Trinket goes to take a break at Tiger’s while I get more water and hit the streets. I do stop at Noblesse and am handed more costuming for both Trinket and myself. The pantaloons have a drawstring, which concerns me, but I figure I can fix it that evening. I wander to the food court and area nearby. Soon enough, it’s time to head back to the stage and mic up for the next show.
SHOW THE SECOND
The house is full, though the sun is out, so the stage left side of the audience is being blinded in their attempts to see the show. The audience is appreciative and enthusiastic. We realize we have not done our preshow joke regularly, as mostly it’s the regulars who know what to say. The show ends and we head to the back to sign a CD or two. Then, it’s time to changeover. Trinket heads off for lunch. I decide to check out some lines before I take off for food.
CHARMING THE BRAVE ONES
I check the White Hart privy line, and that is fine, so I head up to the slide and see a line. I don’t have toys, but I stop and chat with the kids as I slowly walk down the line. I inform them how very brave they are as I have yet to go on the slide. It scares me. Be quiet, it does, leave me alone. The kids are amused. I continue down the line and realize it’s not too bad, so once I reach the end, I go to check the privy line at the top of the slide line.
OH DEAR GOD
Here, I find the line and Mother Love working as best she can alone. I have learned over time how incredibly hard this is to do alone, so I jump in. I head off the line at the front and send them in as they privies open up, she guides them in. In a short while, I start to hear that some of the privies have become standing room only. We keep moving the line quickly, but STILL it keeps growing. This is daunting. While there, we see some people 2-3 times through the line. I realize that MLove has been there longer than I and offer her my water and butterscotch candy since I am sure her throat needs it.
TIPS FROM THE THANKFUL
More than once we turn down tips and accept thank yous. Many people end up slowing up the line BY TEXTING! If you don’t really need to pee, let those behind you doing the peepee dance in front of you and step aside. That is the one thing that annoyed me the most. That and deciding up at the front that they don’t want to hold their drinks etc. Get over it, either share a privy or hold the drink or pee elsewhere. One gentleman asks me if I can wear his hat. That I can do. We start pulling paper towel to give to those needing the privies. Finally the crewmember comes with paper…um, we wanted toilet paper. Oh, ok. In a while he comes back, with hand sanitizer…No, toilet paper. Oh, FINALLY about 1.5 hours later, he finally brings paper. We start filling the privies with two rolls each. The crowd is VERY thankful.
HOW TIME FLIES
We keep the line moving, but it is never short enough. At least they have what they need. I am amused that two of the heavily accented characters are running this. People ask us who we pissed off, I take to telling them I do this because I love you all so much. I have a few patrons who saw the show give me compliments and thank me for the music…then I send them in to pee. Maudie Campbell comes by and asks if we need help. We accept and I take a glance at my watch…um, I have been doing this for over 2 hours straight…it’s after 4 and I haven’t eaten yet. I need to fix this. Maudie tells me to go and I head out knowing they are in good hands.
WHAT TO EAT
The lines are rather insane, so I know my best option is going to be Steak on a Stake. I head to the back and get my moo-er. I head to the street and sit briefly with patrons chatting as we eat. I head back to the costume house chatting with patrons along the way. NOW I start to notice my feet throbbing and spasm-ing and how very good the food felt. I guess the adrenaline is wearing off. At the costume house, I grab a wrap for the evening, as I know the temperature will be dropping as the evening progresses. I use the privy, because I really need to pee now, and realize that sitting feels too good. I stretch my calves and remind Trinket that we need to make sure we know the song we are opening with. I know how we used to sing it, but this version might be a bit different. We take the main road with patrons to the petting zoo.
REALLY? YOU ARE DRUNK?
The patrons have been here all day and many of them have not stopped drinking since they arrived. We run into two of them. They want us to wander the faire with them, Sorry, we have to go to work. No, you’re cool. Come play with us. Um, no…Work. Ciao.
We are a bit grateful to get away from them, they were a bit too drunk.
LET UNION STAY IN OUR MINDS
We get to the safety of camp and find Skivee to make sure I remembered the song correctly. When we get there, he informs us that we are going to be following Anna’s version, which I already know is different. We call her over and she sings her version to us. We learn it and keep doing it until we know we will be ok for the show. I still have some time, so I head back to check the slide privy line.
OH DEAR GOD…2
There is STILL a line and Maudie is alone now. I jump in my standard place and start sending them in again. I keep going till I have to leave around 5:45, and there is STILL a line, but another kindly soul takes over the line (thanks Webquatch) and helps Maudie make things move along. I head back to the petting zoo to get last minute instructions and prepare for the evening’s sing. We are to do two songs and have a 3rd on deck, just in case. Off we go to do a pub sing, old style.
PUB SING GERMAN STYLE
We start the show with Anna announcing that this is going to be like when we were at the Red Barrel, the first time she was made queen. We sing the song, and sadly, there are not many who know or remember it, but I do what I can to encourage singing along. We leave the stage for Wolgemut, who notes, in German, that they need 5 beers to appear by the end of the song. Mother Love succeeds in making that happen. More silliness and then we are brought to the stage.
OOM PAH PAH
At the beginning of the season, Anna had asked me if we knew any German songs. My response was that I didn’t really, the best I could do was Oom-pah-pah and sang a bit for her. She loved it and we spent a bunch of the season creating a harmony and learning it. Tonight, we got to sing our work. The audience seemed to really know the song, more than I expected, and I saw most mouths singing along. Its fun and we get a few good cheers and laughs. We step back and jump in the back for Roll the Old Chariot Along. Soon enough, we are asked forward again and at that moment, some gentleman, who is standing at the tree yells something, the perfect lead in for the song Long is the Dark. Again, there are many singing along. We step back again and after a few songs, we are mumbled to that we will need to pull out the back up song. We have it ready and sing Red is the Rose. I have to admit to feeling almost overused (though honestly, I am not complaining, it’s better than being underused) this show, but we were glad to be available and able to help out.
THE INTERNAL FIREBALL
So we aren’t allowed to use fire anymore for reasons we won’t go into. Since the old style pub sings DID have a fireball, Anna has us all take hands and quoting the man and his mime has us build it up inside and share it. The king is not in attendance, but his daughter is a great help and support and the Dowager Duchess appreciates the music deeply. Soon enough, the show is over and we need to go. I head to grab the cash as I have to balance it out tonight and head back to change.
YOU AIN’T GOIN NOWHERE!
We get back and the crowd leaving is heavy. The parking lot is an absolute mess and no one is going far, so we take our time getting ready to leave. This the first day this has been this bad. I start hearing tales of VERY STUPID PATRONS. Like the ones that break the fence and try to drive out that way down a steep 4ft hill…and get arrested. DOH. I have a laundry list of things to do tonight, but there is nothing I can do, so I start to do what I can. I pull out my sewing and start to trim the new pantaloons. By the time the second leg is done, just about everyone is gone. I gather my things and head out. When I get to my car, it’s 8:32 and the cars are still steadily filing out, though not as crowded anymore. I only have to wait for 1-2 cars to get on my way.
ERRANDS ON A SHORT TIME
My first stop is Joanne’s so rush over to get elastic. Once that is done, I head over to the bar at CPK and grab soup and a pizza with some HOT herbal tea. The worst part is my body trying to catch up with the cold and overheating. My cheeks are bright pink, but I am used to this and expect it. Now, to home to balance the books, elastic the pantaloons, finish a project, get some items ready for tomorrow, and bed…and not too late. In the morning though, I don’t feel as well and JUST WANT SLEEP. Not to be so lucky.
DAY TWO BEGININGS
Today my ass is dragging but I pull myself together and head out to site. I grab breakfast on the way but still had more to do before I left, so today, I am even a bit later. Though no security this time. I get to the stage at 7:35. This is late for me. I warm up/stretch and have been listening to music. I am singing a particularly dramatic song from Wicked when Trinket arrives. We run a song or two, get made up and head over to set up sound. Today, Scary Dave is there and ready. We set up the sound and let him know that we have to return everything we change. He is looking at wiring, but we don’t have the time or the staff member available to do anything drastic. I also realize that now not one but BOTH of our sign tassels have been stolen again. One went last weekend, now neither are here. This is pissing me off as those aren’t cheap and I thought this got dealt with last year. Soon enough, it’s time to get dressed.
OFF KILTER
Now, I am feeling off. I get changed and get to the Lyric early. Today, I don’t use socks, since it’s not that cold. There are many cheery faces and some preparations being made. I get time to say a better hello to some returning faces. Cast call is a bit longer as we give out awards and Trinket is the beneficiary of one of the awards going above and beyond the call. Soon enough, it’s time to beep. I hit the privy, get my things, and am ready to start. Soon enough, they boom and we step aside for the horses to dismount and remount their riders. The crowd is still coming in pretty heavily.
HELPING HUG?
So someone recently asked me if I ever felt unsafe hugging people. I had commented that it is rare if ever that I have a person hug me and make me feel physically unsafe. Today, is one of those hugs. I get a hug from one person who throws me off balance and I start to feel like they won’t let go, they are grabbing too hard and without fighting, I don’t think I can get out of it. I am able to push away finally and the person heads in. They didn’t do anything particular, it just felt off and wrong. I was glad to let that hug go.
HAPPIER HUGS
The rest of the hugs are better and I am starting to feel better when I suddenly realize it is already time for me to head backstage. I take my sign and after 2-3 more hugs, we are ready to go. I peel off my face and head down the hill to get changed. When I arrive, I am informed of some very disconcerting news. It has thrown both Trinket and I for a bit of a loop, but we decide there is nothing we can do at the moment, so we just refocus and try to get ready. Trinket is ready before me and heads out while I finish transforming and head into the street wearing my new pantaloons.
INVISIBLE SIGNS
I get to White Hart and meet up with Ghoster who learns the sales pattern, Ghoster’s ex, who has just had a new birth in her family, and Scary Dave. Trinket and I wire up and as we start to pull what we need for the show, we realize our sign isn’t there. Guess the missing tassels aren’t a big deal now. We search everywhere in the closet. The show is about to start, so we can’t do anything about it and we just go without it.
OFF KILTER
It makes for a very odd feeling show. Both of us are dealing with very unhappy thoughts and the stress is feeling awkward is at odds with the comedy and silliness. The sound takes a while to adjust and the first song has some squeally moments as we figure out how to make it work. Eventually, we get our energy going and are able to provide a good performance to the crowd. Once done, we go to a friend for advice about our issue and I head to the pyrate petting zoo to see if the sign was turned in there. I ask the Hooligan Elder to see if he has seen it. No luck. I go and try to talk to patrons, but I am still unfocused. Trinket asks if we need to put the grapevine out to find it and I tell her to wait. Finally, as we are heading back for the second show. I ask HDave behind the bar if he happened to see the sign and he describes it. It seems that someone put it underneath the bar. I still don’t know who. It’s safe, if not a bit damp, which is not good for it, but at least we still have it.
FABULOUS FACES
Standing by the bar as this is happening are HJeff and Louis the Moor, a face from my dear past and present. He is in his fancy blue outfit. I know what his plans are today and am glad to see him. He is as loving and charming as always and still, a consummate gentleman. He is glad to hear that all is well with my sign as am I. Trinket arrives and I give her the good news, we mic up, and head back to the stage. We are having some more issues and Trinket is a bit too quiet, as one person in the audience is happy to let us know. Once we are on stage, Scary Dave steps into the audience to check the balance, comes back and tweaks it a bit, and we are back to normal. (Thanks again to him for being so helpful, it was much appreciated). The show goes well as our energy starts to hit evener keel and when done, my replacement CD boy jokingly informs me that he threatened audience members that if they don’t buy the CD, HE is going home with them. He did better this go round. I am rather amused.
PRIVY DUTY
Again, given yesterday, I decide to check privy lines before lunch. I head up to the slide line and Sir Richard Southwell is there today. I join him and we make rather short work of the line. It’s gone within 30 minutes. I am shocked. We decide to try another since we are doing so well and check the White Hart, no line, then head to the front gate area. There is a line there and Master Weatherby joins us to empty this one as he prepares for his debate. Again, we remove the line and put in a call for TP. I feel accomplished and decide to stop for a meal before I move on. It’s only 3:30. I choose a wrap today. A man steps up when I am waiting and orders ahead of me. When he realizes I was waiting, he apologizes profusely. Amusingly, I get my wrap first. I head off to sit with patrons.
LUCK!
Today, I get talkative and happy patrons. We start chatting up a storm about the history and Henry. Eventually, her son comes back saying he can’t find the fried ice cream. I let them know how to find it and away they go. Another woman is already at the table. She is a long-term attendee in garb and we have a lovely chat about acts she has liked over the years. It is a pleasant conversation, but eventually, it is time to leave.
MORE PRIVY DUTY
I head down to the elephant ride privy figuring there is a line there. I was right and see Mary Lacelles Hall moving people in. I get my start spot and start pushing people in so she can ferret them into a stall. Again, we move well together and next thing I know, the line is gone. SCORE!!! I head out and chat with those in the elephant ride line, confusing little boys and amusing his parents. I start up the hill and am requested by an out of breath Julienne Romero to help out at the privy line, which has grown again. Crap, I was JUST there. Back I go. The joust has let out and no one is moving. I get in and start getting them in, but I am worried about my voice as I have seen the dust and don’t want to yell. Pirate Jean comes in and helps inside while I start pushing the line in. There are many privies open, but no one is coming in. Yeesh. Finally, with some moving people along and in the bay of privies, the line goes away…AGAIN! WHOO HOO. I am the queen of killing privy lines! Accomplished, I move on.
COURTESEANS CORNER
My feet are acting up again and I stop at Merilee’s corner to rest a bit. I lounge on a pillow or two to get off my foot. We call to passers by, she sings to children. When her friend is ready to leave, and she needs to say goodbye, I take over and sing to the children in Italian. She is grateful. She tells a poem and another song. Dprinter stops by and begs for money to get string beans. She provides and off he goes. Its soon to be that time so I head on my way as well.
I DON’T USE BAD WORDS
I run into two rather pretty girls and their group of male friends…all drunk, some stupid drunk and proud of it. They try to get me to day “balls” in Italian. I get offended (no, I’m not, but it’s a good way to get out of not knowing the word). The guys are a bit scary, the women are sober. I compliment them on their taste and wish them luck. They laugh as they are in complete agreement. Boy, I wonder if the guys were nice after their second beer, 3rd? 8th?
KILTED SURPRISES
Trinket and I meet at the zoo and we discuss an earlier issue. Things seem to be better and that makes me happy. Sitting on the bench outside is Seamus Kennedy. He got there late so he missed most of our shows, only pub sing is left. We chat, he is talking with Neidfyre about fiddling and is comfortably in his element amongst the musicians and performers. I had been informed about a potential surprise that might happen tonight, but looking around I can tell it is not to be. It makes me sad as I think there would have been great joy in it, but sometimes there is a reason. I ask what time it is and find out we are at 5. I rush to the massage garden to discuss an issue with a romance war gift I received. I thought it was just the rose and was rather surprised to find out there was more, but my schedule doesn’t allow for a massage during the faire day. Pity. We make arrangements and I head back to the Zoo. It’s that time and we head over to start the show. I am asked by Anna to stay up toward the front of the stage after our first song.
COMFORT IN REPETITION
I can’t speak for Ms. Anna, but since this was the comfort food of pub sings as she termed it, I understood the repeated program for pub sing. Given that most of the attendees only come one night, only the regulars really would realize there was repetition. Besides, if a song is new to you, the best way to learn it is to have a chance to sing it again. And I actually like “Let Union Be The show is similar, but not the same. There are noticeable changes. .” I have wrapped my scarf around my neck to keep it warm, I know my priorities.
AIN’T I HANDSOME?
Ok, story time gang. MANY years ago (before 1995), there was tipping at this festival. When that ended (in 1995), the Bawdy Balladeers tried to find a way to justify not taking tips. Bliss met with Henry each morning to have a bit where she was told “if you give your kisses away freely, you will be given a handsome reward at pub sing this evening.” At the end of the night, she comes to pub sing and is “gifted” with a man as her “handsome reward”…well, normally. One day, I had been doing a joking with the guys I worked with at K. Dopita that I had taken vitamins and now I was a guy with cleavage. They, talking with Bill, came up with a funnier idea. I cut the base of my hair and my bangs and used latex to glue it to my face like a beard and moustache. HDave and HJeff, my coworkers helped me trim it so it was shaped correctly. They decided it would be funny if I was Bliss’ handsome reward. I was dressed as a man, with lots of cleavage. When the king called “oh Handsome!” I came around the corner. There was MUCH laughter. I bowed and said “As I am a gentleman, I will do only and all you ask of me.” Bliss dragged me in the back room. The only time I was ever in the Back Room. When I came out, I had no facial hair, no doublet, lipstick and more cleavage. Bliss was wearing my moustache. This day will stay with me. The next week or so, I was off to the Dellarte School of Physical Theater, and when I came back, Stupina was born.
MY HANDSOME REWARD
Back to the present. So we sing oom-pah-pah and Anna, true to her word, comes up and tells me that she is so grateful for our help that she is giving us a handsome reward. Up to the stage are HDave and HJeff, our “Handsome Reward.” They had been double teamed on Bliss after I had left and the moniker had stayed with them. HDave goes to Trinket and I hear him mumble “I have been waiting 7 weeks for this” and HJeff comes to me and nibbles oh-so-nicely on various parts of me. Life is good. Then, the king comes in and spoils all my, I mean, has us all bow. Anna makes him ask permission to join the stage. It is amusing. Next, there is more music and then, HE arrives.
OH LORD ABOVE
Louis comes to the stage and we back him up on Sailor’s Prayer. I have to note, I never did back up to this before, so I did get a moment lost when we stayed on the same line while Louis embellished. Being on stage for the cheering and screaming was quite powerful and fun. He has a LOYAL fan base. I don’t blame them, he is gorgeous, talented and can COOK. No really, his food is tremendous. We are told before he starts that we may have to cut our second song if this runs too long. It doesn’t and we have to follow him. I comment that while I know we can’t possibly follow that performance, if we bend over for a while, no one will notice. It gets a nice laugh. We sing Long is the Dark and I see many more mouths singing along with us. It makes me happy as this was the first song I sang on the Pub Sing stage…well technically Diet Grog break was the first thing I did and as a court lady I did sing the final song in the crowd, but hey, this one was an official scheduled song.
FINAL MOMENTS
There is more music,, more reminiscence, and tonight’s fireball pulls a cheer from the audience as we send it to the sky. It felt good. Once the cannon booms, we have one more song and eventually, the pub sing is over. In the dark, I head to the back making sure security knows I am getting my materials from the closet. I grab my things, breaking our key in the process, and head to the costume house. It is not nearly as crowded, so I know it won’t be as bad getting out. It’s later than normal so I rush to grab my check then into the costume house to change as soon as I can. Much gathering of things. It gets mighty crowded there at the end of the day. Trinket agrees to join us for dinner and last minute changes her mind, but the group is good and we discover that almost everyone else had the same idea as 3 groups of cast members arrive at the same restaurant. We flip from table to table. I can’t finish my meal, but I am enjoying stories of the day.
TIME TO MAKE SOME SLEEP
Tonight, as we got to leave, I am mildly comatose. I must sleep. I head home, take care of more work that was waiting, love my kittie and crash…hard. My voice is still weak from the dust and privy duty but there was good work done and bad things moved away. This makes me happy.
This weekend is the Robin Hood Pub Sing and I expect some silliness to commence. You have two more weekends to join me in the Grove, I hope to see you there before we close on October 19.
AMUSING ANECDOTE
On occasion, I go to see other performers during the week. Seamus Kennedy happened to be performing locally at a bar and I met up with a few friends there. Toward the end of the show, Seamus had Trinket and I come up to do a few songs with him (our melded Parting Glass is getting better). The first time we got up, there was an unusually loud cheer from a table not our own. Afterwards, some of the people at the other table stopped over where Seamus and we were talking and informed us that they had two intentions during their visit from CA: 1, see Seamus and 2, see the MD Renn Fest. Ironically, they had seen The Interpreters while at MDRF and purchased our CD. Their comment…”If we had known you were going to be here, we would be brought the CD for you to sign. Ah well. Glad to be appreciated.
OH DEAR GOD THAT”S SUN
For the first week in a while, there was no rain foretold for the weekend, nor was there excruciating heat promised. This boded both well and ill, as it is Octoberfest weekend, one of the biggest of the year and, given that Adventure Weekend was so very rainy, everyone will be coming en masse for this one. This is also the beginning of the season that some refer to as “Drunktoberfest” as there is an inordinate amount of drunk patrons, both playtron and mundane, and we find we have to keep on our toes…especially when we find we have to jump away quickly as they throw up or throw a punch. But, the weather means that we won’t be sweating profusely and can really enjoy the beginning of the changes to the season. I head to site on Friday to drop off costuming and check CD’s and the like. I also prepare my romance war hit for deliver on a following weekend day. I talk with a coworker about a pending delivery for another coworker and she has some great insight. Then, back to work for me and steadily till it was time for me to go to sleep in preparation for the weekend.
LAYERS IN THE CRISPNESS
I have had the windows open and tonight is chill enough I have to close them. In the morning, I dress in layers as I know the morning will be cool, but the evening should be warmer. I stop for brekkies at a newer place, which is just as long a wait as the other I was planning to do, but I was running later and later. When I get to site, I end up seeing the security guard at the gate for the first time. I note that I must be late and he says “if this is late, I don’t want to see early.” Welcome to my life. I head to Gatehouse humming to myself. Trinket arrives after I have finished stretching and we begin to warm up a little and put on makeup while we practice the new song we are adding in tonight at Pub Sing.
TRINKET IS SILLY
Well, next week, she will be IN the 3 Sillies at 4pm at the Gatehouse Stage, filling in for another performer who has to leave early (go see her October 11, the show is fun and only about 17 minutes or less). This morning is her physical run through with the actors. One actor arrives very early so we run her section and let her go as the other two get there a bit later. She takes to it well, has a few chances to run the scenes and makes the Stage Manager crack up. When we are done, it is already near 9. Trinket runs to the White Hart to set up the sound systems while I get changed.
QUEEN MAGGIE IN THE HOUSE
I get into the costume house to walk in and find Queen Maggie back from her new life in warmer climes. She is in playing and working this weekend as Mother Love, Anna of Cleves Head of Household when she was queen (ok, please correct the info I have wrong here). There are many hugs and questions as we all start getting ready and catching up. I finish getting ready early and get out of the way, only turning back to remember my sign. And my sweater thingy, which I angst over. I have many people looking at the sign. I am stopped by BRIAN! who tells me Scary Dave was at the White Hart. Um, it’s tomorrow though. I plan on stopping by to touch base with him. I am at cast call early for the first time. I do a bit more warming up vocally. I see new and wonderful faces, Bob Davinci, new Snot, and more. October is the changing of the guard at MDRF…all we need now is the leaves to change. They have been doing it later and later.
WELCOME BEEP
The meeting today is in preparation for Oom-pah and beer. There are many changes to stages and adjustments that have to happen. We are also reminded of the street bit awards, though I had sent in my thoughts the day before. We are done relatively quickly, beep and head off to prepare. I lug my sign (which gets more looks) to the front, have my last pee break in the privies, while they are still clean and not scary, and get ready to put my face on.
BOOM ALONE
The sad part about October is that William Teller is gone. He is that one face I see each morning before I begin and he always has a kind word and a gentle smile. He always puts me in the right frame of mind. Sadly, he is not here now, so I prepare feeling alone. Anna visits for a while, but has to leave before the horses come in. I face up, the cannon booms and in they come…
WANNA HUG?
So two years ago, I borrowed an idea from Juan Mann in Australia and made my own wooden “Free Hugs” sign. It was a big hit then and, I figured, the temp was cool enough that it might work now and I won’t overheat. Believe it or not, Hugging takes a lot of energy. Today, I have my sign and get a wonderfully mixed reaction. Some take pics, some laugh, some hug, some line up and wait to hug, some look scared but everyone reacts. The crowd is heavy, so I spend some time with it over my head. Many of the first huggers jump on the fountain to hug me, the rest, I squat for. It’s also funny when they hug me, hear my voice and THEN realize I am a girl. Hee. I do tend to be rather un-sexual in that outfit, which can be a nice change on occasion.
SLOW PROGRESS BACK
I realize it’s time to head in, or will be shortly, so I start hugging people on the way back. I stop to hug Bertilda, realizing I have not sat with her in a while between the rain and the hugging, and I miss it. She is a gem of a lady. Go say hi to her and tell her Stupina sent you. Each time I think I am ready to hit backstage, I am met with another group who wants to hug me and it takes a bit longer to get backstage. I don’t mind, it’s my job and one I love, but it does take time to do it right. Finally, I manage to hit backstage and go off to the Costume House to transform.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
I put away my sign and begin the transformation. It is already VERY crowded out there. Juliet is again not here yet. When she arrives, she tells of waiting for so very long to get into the actual festival grounds. Oh dear, we need to be ready to say hi, and soon. Trinket helps me with a few odds and ends and heads out while I finish tweaking and gathering. I head out to the street and to the stage.
SHOW THE FIRST
Today we are still down Mirth, but CDCB is here to help run sound. CDCB has discovered that ElvisOLB walked off with his instructions sheet last week, so we are doing to have to wing it a bit. Gregory of Carrolton finishes a bit early and I go up to help switch the sound, when I realize our systems are not plugged in. We fix that quickly and then begin. CDCB realizes that he can’t really leave the stage during our first song as the speaker system likes to feed back on us quite a bit when we walk around. The show itself is well received and we finish in time. We leave the stage and head to the back.
SHORT TERM WANDER
Trinket goes to take a break at Tiger’s while I get more water and hit the streets. I do stop at Noblesse and am handed more costuming for both Trinket and myself. The pantaloons have a drawstring, which concerns me, but I figure I can fix it that evening. I wander to the food court and area nearby. Soon enough, it’s time to head back to the stage and mic up for the next show.
SHOW THE SECOND
The house is full, though the sun is out, so the stage left side of the audience is being blinded in their attempts to see the show. The audience is appreciative and enthusiastic. We realize we have not done our preshow joke regularly, as mostly it’s the regulars who know what to say. The show ends and we head to the back to sign a CD or two. Then, it’s time to changeover. Trinket heads off for lunch. I decide to check out some lines before I take off for food.
CHARMING THE BRAVE ONES
I check the White Hart privy line, and that is fine, so I head up to the slide and see a line. I don’t have toys, but I stop and chat with the kids as I slowly walk down the line. I inform them how very brave they are as I have yet to go on the slide. It scares me. Be quiet, it does, leave me alone. The kids are amused. I continue down the line and realize it’s not too bad, so once I reach the end, I go to check the privy line at the top of the slide line.
OH DEAR GOD
Here, I find the line and Mother Love working as best she can alone. I have learned over time how incredibly hard this is to do alone, so I jump in. I head off the line at the front and send them in as they privies open up, she guides them in. In a short while, I start to hear that some of the privies have become standing room only. We keep moving the line quickly, but STILL it keeps growing. This is daunting. While there, we see some people 2-3 times through the line. I realize that MLove has been there longer than I and offer her my water and butterscotch candy since I am sure her throat needs it.
TIPS FROM THE THANKFUL
More than once we turn down tips and accept thank yous. Many people end up slowing up the line BY TEXTING! If you don’t really need to pee, let those behind you doing the peepee dance in front of you and step aside. That is the one thing that annoyed me the most. That and deciding up at the front that they don’t want to hold their drinks etc. Get over it, either share a privy or hold the drink or pee elsewhere. One gentleman asks me if I can wear his hat. That I can do. We start pulling paper towel to give to those needing the privies. Finally the crewmember comes with paper…um, we wanted toilet paper. Oh, ok. In a while he comes back, with hand sanitizer…No, toilet paper. Oh, FINALLY about 1.5 hours later, he finally brings paper. We start filling the privies with two rolls each. The crowd is VERY thankful.
HOW TIME FLIES
We keep the line moving, but it is never short enough. At least they have what they need. I am amused that two of the heavily accented characters are running this. People ask us who we pissed off, I take to telling them I do this because I love you all so much. I have a few patrons who saw the show give me compliments and thank me for the music…then I send them in to pee. Maudie Campbell comes by and asks if we need help. We accept and I take a glance at my watch…um, I have been doing this for over 2 hours straight…it’s after 4 and I haven’t eaten yet. I need to fix this. Maudie tells me to go and I head out knowing they are in good hands.
WHAT TO EAT
The lines are rather insane, so I know my best option is going to be Steak on a Stake. I head to the back and get my moo-er. I head to the street and sit briefly with patrons chatting as we eat. I head back to the costume house chatting with patrons along the way. NOW I start to notice my feet throbbing and spasm-ing and how very good the food felt. I guess the adrenaline is wearing off. At the costume house, I grab a wrap for the evening, as I know the temperature will be dropping as the evening progresses. I use the privy, because I really need to pee now, and realize that sitting feels too good. I stretch my calves and remind Trinket that we need to make sure we know the song we are opening with. I know how we used to sing it, but this version might be a bit different. We take the main road with patrons to the petting zoo.
REALLY? YOU ARE DRUNK?
The patrons have been here all day and many of them have not stopped drinking since they arrived. We run into two of them. They want us to wander the faire with them, Sorry, we have to go to work. No, you’re cool. Come play with us. Um, no…Work. Ciao.
We are a bit grateful to get away from them, they were a bit too drunk.
LET UNION STAY IN OUR MINDS
We get to the safety of camp and find Skivee to make sure I remembered the song correctly. When we get there, he informs us that we are going to be following Anna’s version, which I already know is different. We call her over and she sings her version to us. We learn it and keep doing it until we know we will be ok for the show. I still have some time, so I head back to check the slide privy line.
OH DEAR GOD…2
There is STILL a line and Maudie is alone now. I jump in my standard place and start sending them in again. I keep going till I have to leave around 5:45, and there is STILL a line, but another kindly soul takes over the line (thanks Webquatch) and helps Maudie make things move along. I head back to the petting zoo to get last minute instructions and prepare for the evening’s sing. We are to do two songs and have a 3rd on deck, just in case. Off we go to do a pub sing, old style.
PUB SING GERMAN STYLE
We start the show with Anna announcing that this is going to be like when we were at the Red Barrel, the first time she was made queen. We sing the song, and sadly, there are not many who know or remember it, but I do what I can to encourage singing along. We leave the stage for Wolgemut, who notes, in German, that they need 5 beers to appear by the end of the song. Mother Love succeeds in making that happen. More silliness and then we are brought to the stage.
OOM PAH PAH
At the beginning of the season, Anna had asked me if we knew any German songs. My response was that I didn’t really, the best I could do was Oom-pah-pah and sang a bit for her. She loved it and we spent a bunch of the season creating a harmony and learning it. Tonight, we got to sing our work. The audience seemed to really know the song, more than I expected, and I saw most mouths singing along. Its fun and we get a few good cheers and laughs. We step back and jump in the back for Roll the Old Chariot Along. Soon enough, we are asked forward again and at that moment, some gentleman, who is standing at the tree yells something, the perfect lead in for the song Long is the Dark. Again, there are many singing along. We step back again and after a few songs, we are mumbled to that we will need to pull out the back up song. We have it ready and sing Red is the Rose. I have to admit to feeling almost overused (though honestly, I am not complaining, it’s better than being underused) this show, but we were glad to be available and able to help out.
THE INTERNAL FIREBALL
So we aren’t allowed to use fire anymore for reasons we won’t go into. Since the old style pub sings DID have a fireball, Anna has us all take hands and quoting the man and his mime has us build it up inside and share it. The king is not in attendance, but his daughter is a great help and support and the Dowager Duchess appreciates the music deeply. Soon enough, the show is over and we need to go. I head to grab the cash as I have to balance it out tonight and head back to change.
YOU AIN’T GOIN NOWHERE!
We get back and the crowd leaving is heavy. The parking lot is an absolute mess and no one is going far, so we take our time getting ready to leave. This the first day this has been this bad. I start hearing tales of VERY STUPID PATRONS. Like the ones that break the fence and try to drive out that way down a steep 4ft hill…and get arrested. DOH. I have a laundry list of things to do tonight, but there is nothing I can do, so I start to do what I can. I pull out my sewing and start to trim the new pantaloons. By the time the second leg is done, just about everyone is gone. I gather my things and head out. When I get to my car, it’s 8:32 and the cars are still steadily filing out, though not as crowded anymore. I only have to wait for 1-2 cars to get on my way.
ERRANDS ON A SHORT TIME
My first stop is Joanne’s so rush over to get elastic. Once that is done, I head over to the bar at CPK and grab soup and a pizza with some HOT herbal tea. The worst part is my body trying to catch up with the cold and overheating. My cheeks are bright pink, but I am used to this and expect it. Now, to home to balance the books, elastic the pantaloons, finish a project, get some items ready for tomorrow, and bed…and not too late. In the morning though, I don’t feel as well and JUST WANT SLEEP. Not to be so lucky.
DAY TWO BEGININGS
Today my ass is dragging but I pull myself together and head out to site. I grab breakfast on the way but still had more to do before I left, so today, I am even a bit later. Though no security this time. I get to the stage at 7:35. This is late for me. I warm up/stretch and have been listening to music. I am singing a particularly dramatic song from Wicked when Trinket arrives. We run a song or two, get made up and head over to set up sound. Today, Scary Dave is there and ready. We set up the sound and let him know that we have to return everything we change. He is looking at wiring, but we don’t have the time or the staff member available to do anything drastic. I also realize that now not one but BOTH of our sign tassels have been stolen again. One went last weekend, now neither are here. This is pissing me off as those aren’t cheap and I thought this got dealt with last year. Soon enough, it’s time to get dressed.
OFF KILTER
Now, I am feeling off. I get changed and get to the Lyric early. Today, I don’t use socks, since it’s not that cold. There are many cheery faces and some preparations being made. I get time to say a better hello to some returning faces. Cast call is a bit longer as we give out awards and Trinket is the beneficiary of one of the awards going above and beyond the call. Soon enough, it’s time to beep. I hit the privy, get my things, and am ready to start. Soon enough, they boom and we step aside for the horses to dismount and remount their riders. The crowd is still coming in pretty heavily.
HELPING HUG?
So someone recently asked me if I ever felt unsafe hugging people. I had commented that it is rare if ever that I have a person hug me and make me feel physically unsafe. Today, is one of those hugs. I get a hug from one person who throws me off balance and I start to feel like they won’t let go, they are grabbing too hard and without fighting, I don’t think I can get out of it. I am able to push away finally and the person heads in. They didn’t do anything particular, it just felt off and wrong. I was glad to let that hug go.
HAPPIER HUGS
The rest of the hugs are better and I am starting to feel better when I suddenly realize it is already time for me to head backstage. I take my sign and after 2-3 more hugs, we are ready to go. I peel off my face and head down the hill to get changed. When I arrive, I am informed of some very disconcerting news. It has thrown both Trinket and I for a bit of a loop, but we decide there is nothing we can do at the moment, so we just refocus and try to get ready. Trinket is ready before me and heads out while I finish transforming and head into the street wearing my new pantaloons.
INVISIBLE SIGNS
I get to White Hart and meet up with Ghoster who learns the sales pattern, Ghoster’s ex, who has just had a new birth in her family, and Scary Dave. Trinket and I wire up and as we start to pull what we need for the show, we realize our sign isn’t there. Guess the missing tassels aren’t a big deal now. We search everywhere in the closet. The show is about to start, so we can’t do anything about it and we just go without it.
OFF KILTER
It makes for a very odd feeling show. Both of us are dealing with very unhappy thoughts and the stress is feeling awkward is at odds with the comedy and silliness. The sound takes a while to adjust and the first song has some squeally moments as we figure out how to make it work. Eventually, we get our energy going and are able to provide a good performance to the crowd. Once done, we go to a friend for advice about our issue and I head to the pyrate petting zoo to see if the sign was turned in there. I ask the Hooligan Elder to see if he has seen it. No luck. I go and try to talk to patrons, but I am still unfocused. Trinket asks if we need to put the grapevine out to find it and I tell her to wait. Finally, as we are heading back for the second show. I ask HDave behind the bar if he happened to see the sign and he describes it. It seems that someone put it underneath the bar. I still don’t know who. It’s safe, if not a bit damp, which is not good for it, but at least we still have it.
FABULOUS FACES
Standing by the bar as this is happening are HJeff and Louis the Moor, a face from my dear past and present. He is in his fancy blue outfit. I know what his plans are today and am glad to see him. He is as loving and charming as always and still, a consummate gentleman. He is glad to hear that all is well with my sign as am I. Trinket arrives and I give her the good news, we mic up, and head back to the stage. We are having some more issues and Trinket is a bit too quiet, as one person in the audience is happy to let us know. Once we are on stage, Scary Dave steps into the audience to check the balance, comes back and tweaks it a bit, and we are back to normal. (Thanks again to him for being so helpful, it was much appreciated). The show goes well as our energy starts to hit evener keel and when done, my replacement CD boy jokingly informs me that he threatened audience members that if they don’t buy the CD, HE is going home with them. He did better this go round. I am rather amused.
PRIVY DUTY
Again, given yesterday, I decide to check privy lines before lunch. I head up to the slide line and Sir Richard Southwell is there today. I join him and we make rather short work of the line. It’s gone within 30 minutes. I am shocked. We decide to try another since we are doing so well and check the White Hart, no line, then head to the front gate area. There is a line there and Master Weatherby joins us to empty this one as he prepares for his debate. Again, we remove the line and put in a call for TP. I feel accomplished and decide to stop for a meal before I move on. It’s only 3:30. I choose a wrap today. A man steps up when I am waiting and orders ahead of me. When he realizes I was waiting, he apologizes profusely. Amusingly, I get my wrap first. I head off to sit with patrons.
LUCK!
Today, I get talkative and happy patrons. We start chatting up a storm about the history and Henry. Eventually, her son comes back saying he can’t find the fried ice cream. I let them know how to find it and away they go. Another woman is already at the table. She is a long-term attendee in garb and we have a lovely chat about acts she has liked over the years. It is a pleasant conversation, but eventually, it is time to leave.
MORE PRIVY DUTY
I head down to the elephant ride privy figuring there is a line there. I was right and see Mary Lacelles Hall moving people in. I get my start spot and start pushing people in so she can ferret them into a stall. Again, we move well together and next thing I know, the line is gone. SCORE!!! I head out and chat with those in the elephant ride line, confusing little boys and amusing his parents. I start up the hill and am requested by an out of breath Julienne Romero to help out at the privy line, which has grown again. Crap, I was JUST there. Back I go. The joust has let out and no one is moving. I get in and start getting them in, but I am worried about my voice as I have seen the dust and don’t want to yell. Pirate Jean comes in and helps inside while I start pushing the line in. There are many privies open, but no one is coming in. Yeesh. Finally, with some moving people along and in the bay of privies, the line goes away…AGAIN! WHOO HOO. I am the queen of killing privy lines! Accomplished, I move on.
COURTESEANS CORNER
My feet are acting up again and I stop at Merilee’s corner to rest a bit. I lounge on a pillow or two to get off my foot. We call to passers by, she sings to children. When her friend is ready to leave, and she needs to say goodbye, I take over and sing to the children in Italian. She is grateful. She tells a poem and another song. Dprinter stops by and begs for money to get string beans. She provides and off he goes. Its soon to be that time so I head on my way as well.
I DON’T USE BAD WORDS
I run into two rather pretty girls and their group of male friends…all drunk, some stupid drunk and proud of it. They try to get me to day “balls” in Italian. I get offended (no, I’m not, but it’s a good way to get out of not knowing the word). The guys are a bit scary, the women are sober. I compliment them on their taste and wish them luck. They laugh as they are in complete agreement. Boy, I wonder if the guys were nice after their second beer, 3rd? 8th?
KILTED SURPRISES
Trinket and I meet at the zoo and we discuss an earlier issue. Things seem to be better and that makes me happy. Sitting on the bench outside is Seamus Kennedy. He got there late so he missed most of our shows, only pub sing is left. We chat, he is talking with Neidfyre about fiddling and is comfortably in his element amongst the musicians and performers. I had been informed about a potential surprise that might happen tonight, but looking around I can tell it is not to be. It makes me sad as I think there would have been great joy in it, but sometimes there is a reason. I ask what time it is and find out we are at 5. I rush to the massage garden to discuss an issue with a romance war gift I received. I thought it was just the rose and was rather surprised to find out there was more, but my schedule doesn’t allow for a massage during the faire day. Pity. We make arrangements and I head back to the Zoo. It’s that time and we head over to start the show. I am asked by Anna to stay up toward the front of the stage after our first song.
COMFORT IN REPETITION
I can’t speak for Ms. Anna, but since this was the comfort food of pub sings as she termed it, I understood the repeated program for pub sing. Given that most of the attendees only come one night, only the regulars really would realize there was repetition. Besides, if a song is new to you, the best way to learn it is to have a chance to sing it again. And I actually like “Let Union Be The show is similar, but not the same. There are noticeable changes. .” I have wrapped my scarf around my neck to keep it warm, I know my priorities.
AIN’T I HANDSOME?
Ok, story time gang. MANY years ago (before 1995), there was tipping at this festival. When that ended (in 1995), the Bawdy Balladeers tried to find a way to justify not taking tips. Bliss met with Henry each morning to have a bit where she was told “if you give your kisses away freely, you will be given a handsome reward at pub sing this evening.” At the end of the night, she comes to pub sing and is “gifted” with a man as her “handsome reward”…well, normally. One day, I had been doing a joking with the guys I worked with at K. Dopita that I had taken vitamins and now I was a guy with cleavage. They, talking with Bill, came up with a funnier idea. I cut the base of my hair and my bangs and used latex to glue it to my face like a beard and moustache. HDave and HJeff, my coworkers helped me trim it so it was shaped correctly. They decided it would be funny if I was Bliss’ handsome reward. I was dressed as a man, with lots of cleavage. When the king called “oh Handsome!” I came around the corner. There was MUCH laughter. I bowed and said “As I am a gentleman, I will do only and all you ask of me.” Bliss dragged me in the back room. The only time I was ever in the Back Room. When I came out, I had no facial hair, no doublet, lipstick and more cleavage. Bliss was wearing my moustache. This day will stay with me. The next week or so, I was off to the Dellarte School of Physical Theater, and when I came back, Stupina was born.
MY HANDSOME REWARD
Back to the present. So we sing oom-pah-pah and Anna, true to her word, comes up and tells me that she is so grateful for our help that she is giving us a handsome reward. Up to the stage are HDave and HJeff, our “Handsome Reward.” They had been double teamed on Bliss after I had left and the moniker had stayed with them. HDave goes to Trinket and I hear him mumble “I have been waiting 7 weeks for this” and HJeff comes to me and nibbles oh-so-nicely on various parts of me. Life is good. Then, the king comes in and spoils all my, I mean, has us all bow. Anna makes him ask permission to join the stage. It is amusing. Next, there is more music and then, HE arrives.
OH LORD ABOVE
Louis comes to the stage and we back him up on Sailor’s Prayer. I have to note, I never did back up to this before, so I did get a moment lost when we stayed on the same line while Louis embellished. Being on stage for the cheering and screaming was quite powerful and fun. He has a LOYAL fan base. I don’t blame them, he is gorgeous, talented and can COOK. No really, his food is tremendous. We are told before he starts that we may have to cut our second song if this runs too long. It doesn’t and we have to follow him. I comment that while I know we can’t possibly follow that performance, if we bend over for a while, no one will notice. It gets a nice laugh. We sing Long is the Dark and I see many more mouths singing along with us. It makes me happy as this was the first song I sang on the Pub Sing stage…well technically Diet Grog break was the first thing I did and as a court lady I did sing the final song in the crowd, but hey, this one was an official scheduled song.
FINAL MOMENTS
There is more music,, more reminiscence, and tonight’s fireball pulls a cheer from the audience as we send it to the sky. It felt good. Once the cannon booms, we have one more song and eventually, the pub sing is over. In the dark, I head to the back making sure security knows I am getting my materials from the closet. I grab my things, breaking our key in the process, and head to the costume house. It is not nearly as crowded, so I know it won’t be as bad getting out. It’s later than normal so I rush to grab my check then into the costume house to change as soon as I can. Much gathering of things. It gets mighty crowded there at the end of the day. Trinket agrees to join us for dinner and last minute changes her mind, but the group is good and we discover that almost everyone else had the same idea as 3 groups of cast members arrive at the same restaurant. We flip from table to table. I can’t finish my meal, but I am enjoying stories of the day.
TIME TO MAKE SOME SLEEP
Tonight, as we got to leave, I am mildly comatose. I must sleep. I head home, take care of more work that was waiting, love my kittie and crash…hard. My voice is still weak from the dust and privy duty but there was good work done and bad things moved away. This makes me happy.
This weekend is the Robin Hood Pub Sing and I expect some silliness to commence. You have two more weekends to join me in the Grove, I hope to see you there before we close on October 19.