I know I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve been back in a phase of discovering who I am. And in that process, I think I’ve lost my connection with the term “Bub”. Maybe not. But sometimes it feels like it.
It’s not like this blog is even hosted on bub.org anymore. I moved it when I decided to list the old domain for sale. Speaking of which, if you know anyone interested in dropping 4-5 digits on a very old 3 letter .org domain, let me know.
So, I probably won’t be posting here much in the future. It’s not like I ever did. I’ve moved my creative writing elsewhere, and when I figure out exactly where and how I’m going to land, I’ll put some links here. But barring anything truly unexpected happening, this will probably be my last post here. I’ll keep the address active for a few years, and then it, too, shall fade away.
As I write this, it’s 3:30am on Sunday, September 13. In 10.5 short hours I will go onstage for the final performance of Clue: On Stage. I’ve not written much lately, and that’s probably not going to change much, but I’d like to talk a bit about this experience.
Several months ago, I spotted a billboard for an upcoming play in a nearby city, and as it was a stage adaptation of one of my absolute favorite movies, Clue, I resolved to go see it. Looking it up on Facebook, I discovered that the show wasn’t until September, and that they hadn’t even cast it yet. Now, it’s been a long time since I worked in a full stage production (almost 7 years since How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse, and 9 or 10 since I was in Humbug), I toyed with the idea for a few days. I reached out to some friends, as well as my loved ones, to see if I should try out for it.
The responses were very encouraging. Every acting part I’ve had, ever, has been relatively small, but I really couldn’t resist. I remember commenting to friends that I would enjoy nearly any part in the play, including, but not limited to, Wadsworth, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, the motorist, the cop, the cook, and Mrs. Peacock. so in mid June, I made the journey to the nearby city to audition.
Wow. So many amazing people turned out to audition. I read for almost every male part, and felt severely like I was out of my league. I immediately realized that both Wadsworth and Mr. Green we’re far more intense roles than I would be able to pull off, but I had fun reading for them. I left the first audition feeling a bit overwhelmed and pretty sure I was spinning my wheels.
Auditions spanned two nights, and I wasn’t sure if I should bother going back. After debating it for a bit, I contacted the director and asked if I should even bother. I was surprised to be encouraged by her, and she told me that she really thought I should attend the second night. So I did. The second night, I read almost exclusively for the part of Colonel Mustard, and I felt so much better about it. Still, I had reservations, because that’s how my brain works.
Amazingly, I got a callback, and returned to read for Mustard a number of times, and late that night I was offered the part!
What ensued was a pretty rigorous practice schedule that was so much more intense than anything else I had ever done. I had some bad habits that I needed to break, and I’m happy to report that I’ve finally mostly broken them. My character’s personality went through several iterations, and while they were all a version of “bumbling pompous fool” I really feel like he has evolved.
One of the things that I didn’t realize was how much I missed the community aspect of community theatre. Over the last few months I’ve met some amazing people, made some really great friends, and I hope I can stay involved in some way in the future. It’s been a while since I’ve had a family of friends and that’s really what this feels like. I hope that they feel the same way.
Our show opened on Thursday, September 10. Originally planned for four shows, the current health situation has severely restricted the seating capacity, and all four shows sold out a week before the production. We added a fifth show, which sold out by opening night.
As I said, this has, by far, been the most intense production I’ve ever been in, and if I’m honest with myself, will probably be the most intense production I’ll ever be involved in. With a cast of 16, and another 10 or so behind the scenes, I really feel like this is the pinnacle of my stage “career”.
Today, I was reminded of one of my best friends, who was my partner in crime, early in my community theatre experience. He passed away in 2011. One of the names he went by online was gobo, named for both the Fraggle and for the lighting filters used on stage. As I was getting ready, this box caught my attention.
I miss you, brother.
Now it’s 4am, and I’m writing this instead of sleeping. I’m excited for the final show, but I’m not ready for it to be over. I wonder if any of my cast mates like board games…
I’ve been thinking about doing one of those 30 day writing challenges, but I looked though several pages of suggestions, and nothing struck my fancy. As I was drifting off to sleep, an idea popped into my head. So now, rather than sleep, I’m going to get the idea down here, so I know where I’m going with it.
As I started to write this, it was still Saturday, May 7. I’ll set the challenge to begin on Sunday, May 8, and run until Tuesday, June 7. We’ll see how well I stick to that.
The premise: Each day, I will tell a portion of a story. Each portion will not necessarily be told in order, but by the time it is all done, there should be at least a coherent narrative. Each day’s segment will establish something new about one of the characters or about the setting.
Here’s where my friends and readers come in: After each segment, I would love feedback from you. It may influence future segments.
Ok, now that I have that down, I must retire for the night. Mother’s Day is upon us, and I need to try to rest up so I can try to make the day pleasant for the mothers in my life.
I’ll leave you with this, the first (pending) line of Sunday’s Day 1 installment.
I admit it… I love Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Betty loves to watch it, and I loved Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood (She watches that with me, too). one of the things I love about the show is how they’ve made allusions back to the original Neighborhood of Make Believe.
If you’re not familiar with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, it takes place in an evolution of the Neighborhood of Make Believe from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Daniel Tiger is the son of Daniel Striped Tiger. His friends are the children or nephews of Mr. Rogers’ mainstays. Miss Elaina is the daughter of Lady Elaine Fairchilde, O the Owl is the nephew of X the Owl, Prince Wednesday is the son of King Friday XIII and the younger brother of Prince Tuesday. Katarina Kittycat is the daughter of Henrietta Pussycat. Henrietta and X still live in the same tree, and Daniel Striped Tiger (Daniel’s dad) works in a clock factory. Daniel’s mom (known only as Mom Tiger) was not one of the original series characters.
Some liberties have been taken with the characters, of course. Grandpere, in the original show, lived in the Eiffel Tower (west of King Friday’s castle), and had a granddaughter who lived far away, named Colette. Grandpere was never related to Daniel Striped Tiger, but now he is his father. There are a few others, but this is the “discrepancy” that I’d like to address.
While Grandpere has been established as Daniel’s paternal grandfather, I have an alternate theory. One of the characters who has not returned is Ana Platypus. In the original show, Ana once looked into a crystal ball and saw that Daniel Striped Tiger would eventually marry Colette.
My theory is that Grandpere is not the original Grandpere, but the *son* of the original, and the father of Colette (or “Mom Tiger”).
So, as you can see, I have far too much time to think about the Neighborhood of Make Believe.
I’ve been watching the original series lately, going all the way back to the 1963 series, and William Hartnell’s performance, misspoken dialogue and all. And while some of the stories would be considered “hokey” by today’s standards, so are some of the new series.
Last year, they did a dramatized recounting of the creation of the series, starring David Bradley as William Hartnell, who really did a wonderful job portraying the actor. This left me thinking: The current series now has the opportunity to cross the current incarnation with his “original” self, with David Bradley portraying the First Doctor. This would allow them to revisit some of the iconic early stories, like the first encounter with the Daleks, or the Keys of Marinus.
Jamie and I have been together for around eight years. As of today, we’ve been married for four. It is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in, or ever will be. We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve weathered it beautifully.
We’ve seen a lot of friends come and go. Kent, Amanda, Jaclyn, and more. And we’ve come and gone, as well. Leaving behind Kevin, Amelia, Randy, Robert, and many others. I uprooted her when we first got together, bringing her to Vincennes, and we uprooted again last year, and now we’re where she grew up. To our friends that we’re not around anymore, we miss you.
Since we married, we’ve discovered new things that we like, remodeled our house, brought an amazing little girl into the world, brought my mother into our household (twice technically), changed jobs, passed our business on to new hands, moved, said goodbye to our boys (the dogs), changed vehicles, had our hearts broken, moved again, tried to sell our old house (still trying, and folks, it’s a bargain. Call me) and are now preparing greet our son, as he joins our family.
It’s been an amazing rollercoaster, and no, it’s not all been shiny-happy, but I wouldn’t change a single thing.
