Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Morning
readers! Want to hear something neat? I got to bed before midnight last night.
Two minutes till, in fact. Want to hear something even neater? All of us were
able to get a bit of rest last night. When you’re traveling around from place
to place, sleeping in different places, living out of a suitcase, it’s not easy
to get a good night’s sleep, so any night when we grab 5-hours or so is a good
night. Leah, Katherine, Andrew and Daniel decide to enjoy the hotel breakfast
while Brett, Taylor and I head to a local hot spot. Some things are worth
walking across the street for. Pancakes with homemade cinnamon syrup are among
those things.
Breakfast
ingested, we get everything packed into the car. It goes quicker than yesterday
since we actually know where things fit now. Vehicles loaded, we begin our
drive to Lake City. Today’s weather report – partly cloudy and windy. There’s a
storm moving in later today and we may get some snow overnight. Daniel comments
that it’s a nice day today. He’s not wrong; at the moment we still have some
blue sky, so we’re enjoying the beautiful scenery as we make our way to Monarch
Pass. The car is very quiet this morning. Not sure if that means everyone is
taking it all in or if we’ve just reached the point that we have nothing left
to say to each other…
Brett
comments about the road, wondering just how in the heck they built it. I’ve
wondered that too. I’ve also wondered what it was like for the pioneers who
settled these mountain towns. There they are, traveling though the lovely
valleys and bam! Mountain. I would
imagine, as they were looking up at those snow covered peaks, the words “Nope”
were uttered by someone. We make it over Monarch pass (there’s still a lot of
snow up here) and head into Gunnison where we’re stopping for groceries. We
have a cabin for the next two nights that Lake City is housing us in and we
want to get supplies. When you’re on the road and you have a chance to not eat
in a restaurant, you take it. Groceries in hand, we somehow get them and
ourselves back into the cars and hit the road again.
The scenery
changes from mountain vistas to really cool rock formations and a river with
stunningly blue water. Brett, who is in his second year with the program, slept
through this drive last year. This year, awake and observant, his comment is
“How are we not in another state by now?” No wormhole here, we are, in fact,
still in Colorado. We keep driving and the road ends at our destination, Lake
City. We head to the theater and snap a group photo by the marquis. We’re on
the marquis! Peggy, one of the many wonderful locals, comes and unlocks the
theater for us. I know this is how she spells her name because Leah asks if she
is Peggy with a “y” or an “ie.” Leah likes to know about people.
While
Assistant Road Manager Andrew leads the charge in unload the set, Road Manager
Brett and I walk to our housing so I can get the layout and he can protect me
from bears. We’re staying in a cabin that overlooks the town. It’s lovely.
We’ll need to be a little creative with sleeping arrangements, but I have a
plan. I’ll be assigning the room downstairs that has two single beds and bunk
beds to Leah, Katherine, Andrew and Daniel. I will be on the next level up. Here’s
where I must digress for a moment… The headboard in the room I’ll be in is an
amazing sight. It seems to have been carved from a tree from Mount Olympus. It’s
hard to describe. Let’s just say, I won’t exactly be sleeping alone
tonight. The headboard has a likeness of
Zeus or something like that on it. He’s flanked by scantily clad figures on
each side and the foot board is carved too; with faces that curl up into
branches of some kind. Can’t wait to see what I dream about with this
inspiration surrounding me… Digression over. I’ll assign the top level to Brett
and Taylor. This is a call made based on safety. Occasionally, when sleeping,
Brett issues forth noises that are eerily similar to an Ursidae. In layman’s
terms, a bear. I fear, leaving him on the ground level, we may have some furry,
but toothy visitors. Taylor is the logical choice to room with Brett on the top
level. He has ear plugs. We’ll make it work. There are also couch options in
the living room. We are tremendously grateful to the community to providing us
housing for the next two nights!
We walk back
to the theater and join in the set up process. We get a few details ironed out
in terms of the space and then we all head to the cabin to unload the luggage,
put the groceries away and take a quick break for lunch. Andrew is having steak
for lunch. Not kidding. He’s looking quite happy at the stove. In no time (see,
time again), we head back to the theater to rehearse for tonight’s performance.
Since this is Taylor’s first time playing for the group, it’s important that we
take some time to go over music for the Arias and Ensembles and run through Hansel and Gretel – that’s right, the
whole show. It’s a good thing we do too, because there are several issues that
pop up with the musical timing and others with the staging because the stage is
quite compact. I’m able to get things figured out and we take a break before
dinner. Brett and I don’t have long though, we have to meet Brenda at the
theater who will be setting our lights and running them for the show. There are
so many details to a live performance that people may not think about. We get
the lights set as the rest of the group walks into the theater and we head to
dinner. This community is amazing. They’re providing us dinner tonight and
tomorrow at night as well. Tonight’s meal is being served at the school.
Our wonderful
chef, Shawn and our hostess Debi are delightful and the food is yummy. Over
dinner, the conversation picks up. We discuss many things. This group is quite
intellectual. Topics are: medications you can use to combat the high altitude
blues, various ways that Brett can interpret Rosina Daintymouth (aka the Witch)
for tonight’s performance of Hansel and Gretel
(I think Satchmo Daintymouth is a universal favorite), Disney movies (the guys
make questionable comments about Bambi and venison), who our favorite James
Bond is (Katherine and I are prone to Daniel Craig) and the political beliefs
of Daniel’s gondola boss (no, that is not a mafia term, he is in fact employed
as a gondolier). We finish up dessert and head back to the theater to get into
performance mode.
Everyone
warms up and finishes changing for the beginning of the evening, which will be
an Arias & Ensembles program. I’ve selected pieces that will give a good
representation of opera; some well-known and some not as familiar. Brett has
located the costumes and props storehouse and is making some very thoughtful
additions to tonight’s Witch attire. He chooses a lovely pair of pearl earrings
and a purple hat with red ostrich feathers. It’s become a bit of a tradition to
incorporate some of the theater’s props into our performances here and the
audience loves it. Daniel gets into the spirit and lets Brett choose some items
for him as well for his role of the Sandman. The items are a grey beard and
mustache that look like dryer lint and a sombrero. Inspired by his
transformation, Daniel launches into his aria as the Sandman with an accent
that would pay homage to Speedy Gonzales. In the minutes before we take the
stage, we hold an impromptu pageant where Leah and Brett compete for the honor
of Guacamole Queen. We have a sash and everything. Yes, we’re being silly, but
it’s this type of behavior that can get you energized when you’re feeling
tired. Everyone is laughing and the energy in the room is great.
Show time. I’m
introduced by John Smith, who spearheads bringing us to Lake City. We’ve built
a fabulous collaborative relationship over the years and this community is
excited that we’re here. The great thing… even though this is a small town,
we’re reaching new people each time we perform. There are people in the
audience tonight who have never seen one of our performances before. I take the
stage and introduce Taylor and begin the first half of the program. The
audience is responsive and they’re cheering as the first half ends. Now there’s
a brief intermission as we set for Hansel
and Gretel and everyone gets into costumes and makeup. This is not a small
task. Not when you have the gorgeous Katherine Sanford who becomes Hansel, the
dashing Brett Sprague who morphs into the Witch; our elegant Leah Bobbey has to
turn herself into a little girl, complete with doe-eyes. Ah, the magic of live
theater.
Costumes and
makeup complete, I introduce the second half of the program and talk a bit
about we take an opera from a full score to an abridged performance and then,
we’re off. I’ve directed this show over
several seasons now; this season is its third run. I’ve got every note, every
word memorized. I can honestly say, I never get tired of it. I love being able
to put the frame on a production and watch as the talented artists bring it to
life. The audience is loving it as well and before we know it, we’re at bows;
our audience cheering for each person.
We begin the
Q&A portion of the evening, something we do after every performance. Yes,
it adds to our workload and the hours we put in, but it’s so important to give
our audiences a chance to connect with us and what we do on a personal level.
Questions start off slow, but they pick up. There’s one woman in the audience;
this is her first performance with us, who has question after question. She’s
excited and clearly eating up every bit of information we provide. I believe we
have a new opera lover in our midst. One of the questions we get is “How do you
think this program helps you as artists?” Leah talks about how it’s a bridge
between college and mainstage work. Katherine talks about how it helps emerging
artists make connections in the business. Andrew talks about the importance of
getting to learn by doing and Brett rounds things out by talking about the fact
that they are working at what they love; basically living their dream. Well
said all.
We end the
evening by talking one on one with a few of our audience members and I grin to
myself as I watch people leave. Not a single person leaves the theater without
a smile on their face. That means we’re doing something right. We decide not to
load out tonight. We’re getting tired, it’s getting late and we’ll be back in
the theater tomorrow for workshops with students. Everyone gets out of costume
as I mingle with the final few guests. Taylor decides to walk back to the cabin
and the rest of us are close behind. Before we leave, I’m given the key, not to
the city, but to the theater. How amazing to have this kind of relationship
with a community.
At the
cabin, we gather at the dining room table and chat about anything that pops up
and snack as the post-performance munchies kick in. I suddenly realize that
Daniel is not among us. He’s apparently walked back into town to converse with
the locals. The rest of us decide to play a game called “Telestrations.” The
best way to describe it is a visual version of the game Telephone. You start
with a word and then the next person draws a picture that represents that word.
Then it is passed and you repeat; guess, draw, guess, draw, until you end up
where you started. The goal is to have the word you started with be the same
word you end with. This does not happen often. What happens is… well…
hilarious. On one round we started with ‘key lime pie.’ By the end of the
round, it had turned into ‘packman bomb birthday.’ ‘Small talk’ became ‘neck
pain,’ ‘racket ball’ took a turn as ‘cookie machete’ and ‘Mother Nature’ became
‘pregnant forest.’ The most memorable one was ‘termite’ which somehow morphed
into something that is banned from this blog. Does this give you a glimpse into
the psyche of the people I am traveling with? Brett laughed so hard he actually
squeaked.
It’s grown
late and we decide to turn in. We quickly figure out a shower schedule and bid
each other goodnight. Andrew and Daniel decide to hit the hot tub, which I
didn’t even know we had. I’m hoping it’s that and not some sort of bear
watering trough. Tomorrow promises to be a day that we have to be on our toes.
We have two workshops with students on performance skills and the Young Artists
will sing a few pieces for them as well. You never know what you’re going to
get when you’re working with kids. I have a game plan ready, but I also know
that I will need to be flexible once I see them in action. We’re meeting one of
our hosts for lunch and we also have to load out. There’s repertoire to plan
for upcoming programs too. Oh, and then there’s dinner with members of the
community. It’s never dull, that’s for sure and every new event is another
opportunity to talk about opera and Opera Colorado.
It’s time to
turn in. Thanks for reading today’s blog. We’d love for you to ‘share’ it with
others, ‘comment,’ ‘like,’ ‘tweet,’ whatever it is that you do in the
cyber-social-world. We love knowing that others are following us on our
journey.
Till
tomorrow,
Cherity
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