Tuesday 1 May 2012

As you were

Trapped in the strange limbo of the A-Z challenge, I've nonetheless been doing other stuff this past month.  Even if it doesn't feel like it.

First, a warm welcome to the new followers and friends.  This is where reality hits and you all discover just how tedious and ranty I can be.  To give you fair warning, this blog's title is not merely alliterative.  It is descriptive.  Who'd have thought?

Drama - is my bread and butter, so you get a lot of stuff about rehearsals, casts, costuming, directing, performance and so on.

Dice - gaming is another passion and I currently run four online games using D&D 4e rules.  It also covers my attempts to build an RPG setting.  Mikelmerck.  So dearly loved, so often the bridesmaid.

Damsons - is a kind of catch all phrase for my ongoing attempts to organise my home and garden.  We have a damson tree which fruits heavily and is a kind of emblem for the chaos that ensues when I try to keep things under control.

The next few days are going to be interesting.  At the end of this week, the Malfi cast have their final rehearsals and then perform on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.  Based on recent efforts, the audience will have a treat in part one and a horrible let down in part two, so that needs to change fast.  I am no believer in things being all right on the night.  I prefer solid preparation, but then I'm stodgy like that.  Unsurprisingly perhaps, some of the cast appear to think differently. 

Costuming for Malfi  is on target with the exception of boots.  I need many, many pairs still.  Failing that, we may just have to go with black shoes, but it will be wrong and will grate horribly.

Dream option

Likely reality

First though, I need it to stop raining long enough to mow the blasted lawn.  Unfortunately, I have a special relationship with the weather gods.  If I even think about getting the mower out and finding the extension cable, clouds rush to my aid and prevent my doing anything so energetic.  While this is a great excuse, I'd like to get the grass cut before it becomes impossible to find my way into the house.

15 comments:

  1. I visited a lovely costume shop in Huddersfield, with lots of period costume hire (for a friends 40th). Although I am sure you have your own resources.

    PS. First time post :)

    http://www.b-authentic.co.uk/

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    1. Hi there :) Good to see you.

      Useful link indeed. The issue is also financial. We have no budget to speak of and what there is is probably being spent right now on building the set.

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    2. Thought that would be the case, but wanted to pop a comment out there. I believe generlly shoe/boot hire was £10, which would break any reasonable production budget. But the staff there were very friendly (even keeping the store open for us for a couple of hours!)

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    3. They are helpful - I've just rung them :) They're calling back about the vexing boots.

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    4. Dress Circle has some. Hooray!

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  2. Must be boots and the ones with the contrasting tops!

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  3. Good luck with the boots. Wrong shoes is a pet peeve of mine. I realise just how expensive they can be, but nothing grates on my nerves more than a really good reenactment/cosplay outfit with wrong shoes. Like the (Star Wars) Imperial soldier I saw who wore cowboy boots. Brown ones. Yikes.

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  4. Lord knows we need the rain here in Massachusetts.

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    1. North Yorkshire has been greatly blessed by the rain gods. I will try and send some your way.

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  5. Amanda, I was a theatre geek in high school and taught drama for a few years in my twenties at a private academy (I think in the UK, that is the public equivalent.)

    At any rate, I know a bit about tracking down the 'dream option.' I well remember finding the perfect powder blue empire dress to play Cecily Cardew, junior year.

    How I wish I could wave some sort of wand and have the proper boots fall into your hands as the 'likely reality' does leave a bit to be desired.

    Tell the weather gods to see what they can do to nudge the costuming gods.

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  6. @ Carole Ann, Jedediah and Suze - victory is mine. There's a place outside York that can rent me some at a hopefully not extortionate figure. Going down there tomorrow morning to collect.

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  7. Excellent. You could have done my tried and tested "everyone is barefoot" option. ;)

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    1. Had I not gone for Renaissance outfitting, this would have been possible. Duh. Maybe in Faustus.

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  8. Hi Amanda .. I sure hope it stops raining too - however much we need it .. good luck with the show - and I'm sure you'll tighten the shoelaces on part 2. Now the mower .. can't help you with .. that grass doesn't like being mown wet?! Cheers Hilary

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  9. Such...pretty...boots!

    Hope everyone breaks a leg on the night of. I *just* managed my first lawn mowing of the season...I have a similar pact with the weather gods / habit of annoying my neighbours.

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