Month: August 2004

Well, have been hard-pressed to get all the updates up in time, so y’all’ll just have to bide your time until I return. But you are invited over to mi casa on Sunday, August 22 at 7pm to view the DVD(!) of the production of Patience that Jonathan and I are doing this evening.

BTW, can anyone pick me up at Intergalactic Thursday afternoon?

Not called until 1:30, so got to sleep late again, then Jonathan and I went to check email and exchange our tickets for Friday’s Ruddigore and get some for Saturday, to allow us to attend the ‘cast bonding’ dinner the Ariana and Joseph arranged. Successful in both endeavors, we lunched at the Chinese place on the square, discussed the proper items for government to fund, and then tried to figure out the best way to get Jonathan back to Gatwick in time for his flight at noon the day after the show. The direct bus leaves at 9:25am, so not an option. That means taking the bus or train from Manchester. The last bus to Manchester, though, leaves at 9:30pm, when we’ll still be in the show. A taxi to Machester is £50. We figured might as well just go ahead and rent a car: that way, we can both perform in the cabaret, take a nap for a few hours, then drive to London and get him to the airport in time and me with a full day in London. Got an economy from Alamo for about £40/day, but the taxes added on another £40, but the savings in time and hassle made it worth it. We’re going to take the bus to the airport Tuesday afternoon.

Got the rest of the Act I finale blocked, then wandered around the high street the rest of the afternoon. Met up with the cast at the King’s Head pub, dined, drank, and chatted for a couple of hours, then went to the Club House (I had been calling it the Coach House, mistakenly) and drank some more, then to the cabaret to watch John and his family, who were quite good…John has got an incredible baritone voice, and, at just 19, he’s got a good career in front of him. I snuck off as soon as they were done because of a 9am call Saturday morning. Bleah.

Slept in late, then got the rest of the travel diary entries done, as well as completed writing the encore verse for Heavy Dragoon. Went to rehearsal, and we got halfway through the finale of Act I. We lost a male chorus member, so it’s going to be pretty scant onstage, but the ones we have sound good. Went to the Coach House to find John, then went to Pizza Express for dinner (pretty tasty). Went to the Palace to post all the remaining backlogged pics and entries (and to IM with the various and sundry folk), then met up again with J&J and went in to the cabaret. Chatted a bit with Ian, then did the quiz with the three of us and Sam Silvers (got twenty-some-odd out of thirty correct, mainly due to Sam and Jonathan, but John and I chimed in a a couple). Wandered the streets of Buxton until finally alighting at the 24-hour Esso station, where we got ice cream. Dropped John off at his hotel and said goodbye, then came on back to the casa.

Cereal and tea for breakfast that I bought at the Safeway, then off to the first Patience rehearsal (though I’m not called ’til the afternoon, I wanted to see how things were). The director, Pamela, is doing some really neat things, and the other principals and chorus all sound great…this is going to be a lot of fun. Wonder off to Spring Gardens and type up the first batch of diary notes. At lunch Jonathan and I make copies of The Zoo as we contemplate auditioning for the festival production that goes up the day before Patience. Another good rehearsal in the afternoon, and I start reworking a verse of ‘A Heavy Dragoon’ as an encore. Dinner with two Savoynet ladies who did ‘Brush Up Your Gilbert’ at the Savoynet cabaret, then an absolutely incredible Yeoman from Trent Opera. All were pretty awesome, but the Jack Point and Wilfred Shadbolt were absolutely stunning. I cried at the end.