April 22, 2012

  • Italy may not happen

    Italy may get postponed for a year.  Don't know for sure yet.  Two couples may have to drop out.  That allows me another year to save, but the problem is, I was planning next year on going to Disney World for my 50th birthday.  I've only been to Disney World once and that was on my 40th birthday, so I wanted to do the same on my 50th.  And I've invited anyone who wants to come along to go with me.  Which means if we don't go to Italy this year, I have to try and hold on to the money for Italy AND save for WDW for next year, too.

    Where's that big money making surprise/idea when you need one? 

    "The Gin Game" opened this week and I felt it went very well - except for the turnout for the benefit Preview.

    I really pushed for this benefit.  I sent out info to everyone I could think of.  I was interviewed for the Chagrin Solon Sun newspaper -

    http://www.cleveland.com/chagrin-falls/index.ssf/2012/04/benefit_at_chagrin_falls_river.html

    Got announcements/articles in at least 8 different newspapers.

    I e-mailed everyone I could think of and asked them to forward it on to anyone they know to whom this cause is important.  There is even a group at my work that does fund raisers for breast cancer all throughout the year.  And I sent out this personal appeal the day before to a performing arts e-newsletter for Northeast Ohio -

    http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/Week-of-Mon-20120416/067958.html

    The one place I didn't think of until the day of was that I should have gone to message boards at the National Breast Cancer Foundation website.  Don't know why I didn't think of it until too late.  Dang it. 

    Still, all that work and 7 paying people showed up.  For a house of 60 people.  Another two were comped/covered by the theatre President.  And someone else at the theatre covered the rights for the show that night.  So I think we got maybe $200 to give to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

    I was so disappointed that night, I wanted to cry.  But still, the show went on AND we had a critic there.  He couldn't make the other regular performances, so he came to the Preview.  And we had one glitch. 

    "The Gin Game" is a two person show.  And I asked my friends Steve and Linda if they had wanted to do it because it is a classic play - won the Pulitzer and the Tony when it came out back in 1976.  It was also my first chance to do some real directing.  And I thought (and so did Steve and Linda) "This should be easy.  Two very talented, seasoned actors doing a play about two people playing a series of Gin games on a retirement home porch.  How hard could it be?" 

    Turns out - VERY hard.  They have to keep track of what lines they're supposed to say during each game, when to discard, pick up a discard or draw from a deck, all while keeping track of specific lines that have to be said on specific moves in each game.  Steve had to draw up a "cheat sheet" on the pad where he is keeping score.  And during the Preview Night, one section got pretty bad when they went up on the lines and he very obviously referred to his cheat sheet - something the regular theatre-goer wouldn't notice, but the critic - himself a former professional actor, picked up his own notepad and started writing notes right when Steve did that. 

    Oy.

    The reviews both come out by Thursday, so we'll see what's said.  The second review was by the same woman who did the article on me in the link above.  And she was there last night, not Opening Night, but that was good because we had a sold-out house, plus had to add five seats to accommodate walk-ups, so it was a GREAT audience.

    Today is the first day I've had COMPLETELY free in months.  Absolutely no obligations.  I mean, I do have laundry I should do and I will have to go get groceries at some point.  But I'm going to be pretty dang lazy for the first time in months and just lounge about on the computer and catching up on shows on my DVR all day.

    Fazio was also VERY good last night - for the first time ever, he did not make a single noise throughout the night.  Even when I got up twice for a middle of the night constitutional, he didn't make a noise or try to have me wake up to go outside.  He let me sleep a full 8 & 1/2 hours and didn't jump up onto the bed until he saw I was awake and even then he was as quiet and gentle as could be.  I wish he would ALWAYS do that!