Keep It Moving

Last night's rehearsal centered on giving the new actress her movement. Instead of walking through the entire script, allowing actors to deliver their lines as normal, I gave them their cues to move. She would take her notes, we'd flip to the next page, find the next cue line, and make her movement notes. That took the hour we scheduled. The mom actress said the play felt differently -- better -- then she initially thought. It's still a sitcom plot, and the awkward weaknesses remain. But she feels more confident of the tone of the play and her obligations to it.

Another actress asked if she could tackle a scene more broadly, play it bigger. I was initially against it, but the character has so little to do that I feel bad for the actress. She wants to join the fun, and I should at least see what she has in mind. It's rehearsal. We're supposed to play around. During the swift rehearsal, I started to change actor placement before we realized we had it right the first time. Much erasing ensued.

I get the feeling that the play could be longer. Not three acts necessarily, but definitely two. The script we have -- submitted for the play competition -- may be a stripped-down story. I easily imagine the playwright scrambling to salvage the pieces of a potential full script, condensing it down to one act, and hoping for the best.

Your Sis rode the new bike to Asheville and back, but this was her first night ride. It gets cold, even in the summer. Her skin was even more cadaverous when she got home. But the grin. The grin could not be contained by her helmet. She saw what she considers the best Shakespeare production the Montford Park Players have slapped together.

I had returned home before she did, and I played with the new online access. Oh. Oh, it's glorious. I was voice-chatting with online friends, and I even tried a World of Warcraft demo. It didn't win me over, but I can see the appeal bolstered with voice chat. I also set my iTunes to download my favorite podcasts -- Coverville, Savage Love, etc. -- something I've always used my work PC for.

When I dragged myself away from the PC, I watch the coverage of Mark Sanford. I lived for a few years under Sanford. He was a Congressman before he ran for governor, and he didn't leave much of an impression. He was a soft candidate as McCain's VP until he blew a TV news interview by blanking on any distinction between the McCain and Bush budgets. He recently made headlines by refusing federal stimulus money and then fighting the legislature when they overrode his veto.

Now this scandal has seemingly scuttled his governorship. The missus gave him the boot a few weeks back, and I can't see him recovering credibility. It's just so outlandish an affair. He didn't woo an aide or an aide's spouse like normal people. He pursued an online romance with a divorced mom on another continent. Points for novelty.

I ran a 5k course this morning. My time was off, as expected, but I'm content to just have run the whole thing on a half-glass of water and a teaspoon of peanut butter.

The garden is busting out all over with tiny tomatoes and pepperitos. I'd like to plant more items this weekend.

Picture of the Day
Always keep your bat clean. This is not a euphemism.