Matilda As set designer for this show, my work began last February. Under terms of the licence agreement, we were not allowed to copy the Broadway set - it could be similar but not made out of the “scrabble” like blocks (see the Broadway set here - we can use the exact words, the songs, the music, the order of events but we have to come up with something original for the set design) The build began in early June. I (working alone) established a pattern which became 6 days a week (rested most Sunday’s but not all) from around 9:00 till noon. This continued week after week until September when I took two weeks off to go north to our cottage. Upon my return I resumed the schedule until October 21, when we moved the pieces I’d constructed into the theatre. (other crew were building the pieces I designed that moved on and off and in and out) Because it was so large I never saw it as “a set” until it was in the theatre. I consider it more an “art installation” than a stage set. The show went well with two sold-out afternoons (theatre holds 1,200) and 4 evenings selling in the low 90%. I was very pleased with the result. Time to take a break and renew energies in this area. See pictures here. Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) WIFF is the largest all volunteer run film festival in Canada. This year it ran 10 days, around 150 films and about 30,000 attendees. I worked morning shifts (9 - 12) in the Capitol Theatre and was prisoner to films showing at those times. You can follow this link to see what I saw. Dad turned 96 this month. I created a replica (48 x 60) of a Mark Rothko painting (White over Red) for the play called “Red” being put on by Bloomsbury House Stage Productions. It was used as part of the set. (the one on the left) Nov 16 - Mary came down. Pat had come down to London to visit his father who was in hospice and Mary continued to Windsor. Pat’s father died on the 20th. I’d really only met him once (first time was just an introduction) , and he told so very interesting stories about his time working for a Mexican bank (in Mexico City). His obituary is here Nov 20 - Holly arrived and stayed for 3 nights. The Trump impeachment started and ended. It made for some TV binge watching, in which I did not participate. Read Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior Dan Millman 1991 I’d read his first book “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” many years ago and really enjoyed it - very much a new age kind of thing. I also enjoyed the movie version with Nick Nolte playing the enlightened guru Socrates. Just like the main character - Dan Millman - I lost touch with the teachings only to have this book pop up at the Value Village while browsing - and again was pleasantly surprised. Do things come into your life - “when the student is ready the teacher appears” - or does your thinking and/or understanding change so that information is understood in a new light? Does it matter :) Attended The Wolves By Sarah Delappe University of Windsor Players - a teenage girls’ soccer team and their back and forth banter. Sparse set with minimal lightning changes - not my cup of tea. Attended with CM. SoCA Jazz Concert The annual University of Windsor School of Creative Arts jazz concert directed by Windsor’s own Robert Fazecash at the Capitol Theatre - was great. A 23 piece big band (plus 3 singers) playing jazz favorites such as “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and 12 more hits made for a swinging time! From Robert’s bio: “Mr Fazecash has performed with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Thad Jones, Billy Ekstein, Buddy DeFranco, and with Aretha Franklin, Burt Bacharach, Natalie Cole, Sammy Davis Jr, and Wayne Newton, to name a few.” I spoke with Robert after the concert (he was friends with my brother and sister) - he had just finished playing in the pit for “Matilda”. (I was ushering for this show) Beauty and the Beast University Players Directed by Monica Dotter Monica comes out of choreography and has given us “Beauty and the Beast” - the ballet. There is no set but for 7 doors (3 on each side and one large one upstage). The scene changes are indicated by a pop-up book which sits on the edge of the stage. The actors turn the pages and a pop-up shows you where you are (Beast’s castle, in the woods etc). The choreography is quite wonderful and the costumes are beautiful. I enjoyed the first act, but the second was more of the same and became repetitive. Our introduction to the Beast during the first act was excellent - we don’t quite see him, but his reveal in the second act was disappointing, he lost his “scareyness”. Plot gets too thick and I was just waiting for the end. Viewed The Good Wife Last Episode (after watching the previous 153 over 3 months) This is for fans of the show - so spoiler alert if you’re still watching. In the final episode Diane slaps Alicia - reason - they put Kurt (Diane’s ballistic-expert husband) on the stand and bring up his affair with his student (we never actually hear his answer as we follow Diane out of the courtroom). So in the closing moments Diane meets Alicia in a backstage hallway and slaps her (hard) Is this the end of Alicia at the firm - I say yes. We thought Peter was going to jail again for 10, then 2 years and though Alicia had asked for a divorce, it seemed Jason had pegged her correctly - she needed to be needed. But alas Peter gets a year of probation and Alicia is free to carry on with Jason, but Jason has left. This is a bit dramatic as it seemed they were in love and could have met again to try and work things out. But Jason was a free spirit not to be tied down. If Alicia wanted him it had to be on his terms - he knew the remodeling of either of them would destroy what they had - it would never work. I think Alicia would have licked her wounds, maybe gone to work with Louis Canning (Michael J Fox character) and then run for governor. I would have liked the last scene to have been Cary and Kalinda having drinks on a secluded beach in the south pacific. Great series. There should be seven posters of the ties the men wore - one for each season. Spitfire Netflix 2019 Documentary about the famous plane. They made 22,000 of them and 50 are still flying. You might see the name Supermarine Spitfire - that’s like a Boeing 747 - Supermarine = Boeing. The company started in the early 1900’s building racing pontoon planes which at the time were the fastest machines on earth. I watched it because I was building a 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk XIV which was a very fast version designed to chase down German V2 rockets. . This links to an F4 Phantom I built during the summer. The Laundromat Netflix 2019 It’s described as a biographical comedy-drama and stars Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. Based on the “Panama Papers” it explains how the 1% and their bought and paid for politicians, hide cash to protect it from the taxman. If they only played fair, paid their due share, the world could be a paradise. Can you say greed? See you next time - happy holidays (a link to an Xmas newsletter I do for my Mum)
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AuthorI believe we are what we think. What we think depends on what we feed our brains. This is a partial record of what my brain has been eating. Archives
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