We closed Talley’s Folly at Williamston Theatre this weekend.

We had a very fine run. This show was a nice piece of work by everyone involved, and I was quite proud to have it on our stage.

It was a bit of a milestone, in a couple of ways – it’s the third-highest attended show we’ve done, out of our 12 productions. Also, it was the final show of our second full season.

There’s something to be said for that, and it was important to acknowledge it, so Jeanne and I hosted a big Season Ending BBQ/Potluck/Bonfire thing at our house on Sunday evening after the closing performance. It was a ton of fun, we invited folks who’d worked with us during the season and had 35 or 40 people show up. Lots of volleyball, bocce ball, food, drink and storytelling!

I had a moment, on Sunday, as I was standing there at the grill.
Here’s the picture: Tongs in one hand, Beer in the other (Magic Hat #9, yum), Chicken wings sizzling on the grill (chipotle/lime bbq sauce, yum), and surrounding me are a bunch of actors, designers, crew, board members, and their kids, their families.

And I realized that we were on our way. I mean, I knew before that we were “on our way” – we’ve had successful shows, etc… But this was different. We’d finished Season Two. And we’d done it with this group of people, this family of folks who had come together in different combinations for six different productions to create a whole, cohesive season of theatre.

It was a good feeling, seeing the veteran professional actors mixing with the veteran non-professionals actors, the board members chatting with the stage managers, and young up-n-coming actors chatting with crew members.

As I was standing there, thinking how far we’d come in a couple of years, and being really, really proud of it… a frisbee hit me in the back of the head.

Yep, a frisbee. Thrown, in fact, by one of my own kids, who will go unnamed (but I’ve decided it’s true, at age 8 boys are more trouble than girls).

I laughed, rubbed my head, and threw the frisbee back… Hard – right at his head. (Okay, I made that last part up. I tossed it back and the kids went back to playing.)

It was a good party. For all sorts of reasons.

Fast forward two days. As I type this, I’m at my desk in my office on Tuesday. It’s been a day of preparing for what comes next. The next few weeks will be that way, and then we launch full steam into our next season. And I realize that the frisbee was perfectly timed…and it was just like coming back to the office this week. Just the snap to attention that I needed. I had my moment, I looked at the past, and I liked it. No time to get lost in it, though.

There’s work to do.

But… as a nice incentive to do the work well… I’ll always have that moment. That moment of standing at the grill, surrounded by the Williamston Theatre family enjoying some well deserved relaxation and knowing that, whatever the future held, we’d made it work for another season. And there’s something to be said for that.

It’s a Monday, and that means we need some fun!

This video is for adults only – but you video game fans will enjoy it!! Video Game Pitch Meeting, from 1979!

This slightly creepy video reveals what’s truly inside our cell phones.

This slideshow is very neat: Sculptor Makes Sci-Fi Art From Wood!

RULES:
* 1. Post these rules.
* 2. Each tagged person must post 8 things about themselves on their journals.
* 3. At the end, you have to choose and tag 8 people
* 4. Go to their pages and send a message saying you tagged them.
* 5. No tag-backs

8 THINGS ABOUT ME THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW…

1. I strongly thought about joining the air force right after High School.
2. A Prayer For Owen Meany is a book that I LOVE.
3. I wear a ring on my right ring finger…it’s black and silver, and people always comment on how interesting it is…but comic book fans always immediately recognize it as the Green Lantern symbol!
4. I shun the idea of keeping track of exactly how much money is in my checking account, and refuse to keep the little register in my checkbook updated. Sometimes, this is not a good plan.
5. I talk to myself…a LOT. (In fact, I said “A lot!” just before I typed it!)
6. I have an earring in my left ear. A small hoop.
7. Although I’m trying lose weight, I’m also horribly in love with the new Starbucks Double Shot+Energy drinks, which I’m certain are fattening me right up.
8. I was surprised at my physical this week to find out that I’m 5′ 3 1/2″ tall. I’ve not been giving myself credit for that extra 1/2 inch, and it’s time I started!

I’m not really going to tag anyone, but I’ll invite anyone who’s interested to post answers in comments here, or in your own journals! 🙂

Happy Birthday Mary919

This beer’s for you! (Well, I’ll finish this 1/2 empty one, and get you a full one!)

The set model of Leaving Iowa, coming soon to Williamston Theatre

Set Design and model by Vince Mountain.
(Click the pic to see it bigger, louder, faster and funnier. Or, at least bigger…)

I’m a big fan of this set – a raked stage, that’s a row of wheat along the back wall, and right behind that are 4 “sky” panels. The show moves so many places, including a lot of scenes in a car, that the furniture will consist of 4 small stools that will come and go as needed. (Oh, and one small table!)

I like Vince’s models, he always includes some of the surrounding theatre space and audience members, so you get a nice feel for the perspective and scale of the set and how it will feel once you get the real thing in place.

Ah, Outta my mind on a Monday Moanin’…

That actually comes from a wonderful writer named Bob Talbert who wrote a column in Detroit for years. That was the title every Monday!

So catching up – a potpourri of stuff to just journal about.

-Back in the office today after a week of being away. Wow, there’s a lot to do! All good stuff though.

-A vacation, even a few days, can really re-energize you. I’m excited about work today!

-It’s Beatrix Potter’s birthday today, and Google has a neat reminder on their homepage!

-We had a great BBQ on Saturday, with a whole bunch of family. Lasted all day, deep into a bonfire with roasted marshmallows and s’mores! Yum!

-My whole body is sore. Saturday night, while the adults sat around the bonfire talking, my kids and their cousins dressed in black and skulked around the shadows of the yard, playing Ninja Spies. They kept sneaking up and stealing marshmallows, tickling people, etc… Of course, I somehow got roped into playing spy with them, so I spent a while playing Ninja Spy: running around the yard, crawling, diving into shadows and rolling around trying to avoid being seen by the folks at the fire. And now my body is angrily telling me “Look, either do that 3 times a week and get in shape, or don’t do it at all, cuz now you’re a big sore mess!” *laughing*

-So, trying to lose weight. Cut out starches, carbs and most red meat, and eating a lot more fruits and veggies. Trying to cut back on sugar, too, but that’s the hard one for me: I need sugar in my coffee, etc…)

No more time for potpourri entry right now. More will come.