When this musical season began, I was unfamiliar with the story or cultural impact of Footloose, so I was doubtful. After all, last year's Aida was a dramatic and tragic love story with huge, moving songs. How could a 1980s cult classic compare? Well, the kids really delivered in all the key roles. We worried for weeks, but once they had costumes and full sets, their confidence surged. Friday's performance was near perfect, but there were some problems on Saturday. Kaelyn's microphone broke down, Jared's throat was hoarse from illness and overuse, and he missed a cue cause he couldn't find his skates. But they sounded great and covered for the errors.
On Friday night, it was the best opening night sales of Ben's career and then on Saturday we sold all seats but three. The crowds loved it!
I took over a thousand photos this week and of course, my computer ran out of memory so I was not able to download all my photos till I did major deleting and moving. It's a long term problem I must solve before backpacking season.
The week was jammed with not only rehearsals, preparation and performances, but also backpacking at three schools and we hosted the Friday night adult after party. Rebellion set in today. We did very little today as a counterpoint to the insanity of the week. Slept late, read till noon, snacked, did a little laundry, edited photos and ate out. That's really enough.
Tomorrow, it all begins again. At 10 am, we pick up all the food for Quest at Tops, check the lists, check out, pack the cars, haul it to school, unload and repack in the storage room. Then in the afternoon, we meet with the t-shirt printer. Classes Wednesday and Thursday. No rehearsal till Thursday. Then two more performances for the weekend. It makes me tired just thinking ahead.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Day 1840: Photo week
Rushing into school yesterday morning, I encountered the parent of several of the kids involved in the musical. He has contributed to set construction while his wife is running the buffet, so they've contributed tons of time. I stopped to visit and he said, "Feels like a full-time job, doesn't it?" Indeed. We were so busy again that I forgot to write an entry at mid week.
There was a ferocious nor'easter that swept up the coast and cast several feet of snow all over the state, closing most schools. Fredonia and our partner schools closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we did not have to travel for backpacking classes on Wednesday. We were permitted to have a full rehearsal that night and Thursday so I got a lot of great shots. There are still a few surprises for the kids coming up this week that will give the show an even greater impact.
I spent a lot of time this week preparing a letter and photo release form for the photos I want to include in the book. I went back through five years of Quest photos and picked out 100. Then I narrowed again and began addressing envelopes to distribute to the kids. I wish so much I had thought to distribute a general photo release years ago! It's taken lots of time to correct that error. I also reached out to some of the young adults on Facebook, explained the project and asked their permission. The response has been very gratifying! They are so excited to read the book.
While I was at it, I began considering photos for the cover and then designed a few options. I'm not an artist, but I have many artist friends. Several of them looked over my designs today at Penelope at offered valuable advice. The publisher has cover professionals, but I want to have a concept developed before hand.
My sister arrived Wednesday night to work on her new house. We had such a great time together and I am incredibly happy to have her in town more often. She worked twelve hours a day and I gave what time I could. I managed to paint both the dining and living room while she worked on the kitchen and bathroom sprinting from project to project. She'll be back at the end of April, while we are backpacking, of course.
There was a ferocious nor'easter that swept up the coast and cast several feet of snow all over the state, closing most schools. Fredonia and our partner schools closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we did not have to travel for backpacking classes on Wednesday. We were permitted to have a full rehearsal that night and Thursday so I got a lot of great shots. There are still a few surprises for the kids coming up this week that will give the show an even greater impact.
I spent a lot of time this week preparing a letter and photo release form for the photos I want to include in the book. I went back through five years of Quest photos and picked out 100. Then I narrowed again and began addressing envelopes to distribute to the kids. I wish so much I had thought to distribute a general photo release years ago! It's taken lots of time to correct that error. I also reached out to some of the young adults on Facebook, explained the project and asked their permission. The response has been very gratifying! They are so excited to read the book.
While I was at it, I began considering photos for the cover and then designed a few options. I'm not an artist, but I have many artist friends. Several of them looked over my designs today at Penelope at offered valuable advice. The publisher has cover professionals, but I want to have a concept developed before hand.
My sister arrived Wednesday night to work on her new house. We had such a great time together and I am incredibly happy to have her in town more often. She worked twelve hours a day and I gave what time I could. I managed to paint both the dining and living room while she worked on the kitchen and bathroom sprinting from project to project. She'll be back at the end of April, while we are backpacking, of course.
Corey in midair!
One of my luckiest shots!
The principal cast
Matt and our principal
Heaven help the man
One of the best treats is having grads return to watch rehearsals!
So happy to see these three lovely ladies!
Rusty and Willard
Willard and his buddies singing, "Mama Says."
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Day 1839: Daylight savings time
Yesterday's work at the musical was so exhausting that we were worthless last evening. With the time change, I slept till 9:30 and it felt wonderful. For hours today, I sat and read. News mostly but also a book called The Secret Chord which is the story of King David written by Geraldine Brooks. It's different from our usual choices and I really like it.
Tomorrow and Tuesday, more work on my book. A big nor'easter is coming tomorrow and promises to drop a foot of snow by Wednesday evening so I'll be confined to the house. Plus, the lighting designer starts work tomorrow so we will be closed out from working for a couple days. The book goes back to the top priority. I'm working on selecting photos so I must make a photo release form for each person in the pictures and get them to all the subjects for their signatures. I'm also narrowing down the choices of photos for the cover. I'll have to do some research on effective covers and also get some input from others.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Day 1838: Give the Boy a Hand
Backpacking class, work party, rehearsal till 10:00. Kids are exhausted and the adults are totally beat. It's been a really rough week, but we finished all the sets and the painting! Hooray! Tomorrow we have day off to recover and then it all starts again at 8 am Saturday.
Ren McCormick
Rusty sings "Let's give the boy a hand!"
When Vi sings , she brings me to tears every time.
Willard and the guys
The railroad trestle
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Day 1837: Behind the Scenes
Musical prep, backpacking classes, more research, class reunion meeting, CC WAG, ice cream with Amy and Annie, a few long walks. Sawdust in my hair, sawdust in my eyelashes, sawdust in my bra. By the time we got home from stage crew today, I fell asleep almost instantly.
I love these kids on stage crew. They are so dedicated, loyal and hardworking. There's James Sr., 6'4", no longer a student, now an employee, who with his entourage creates signs that are works of art. This year, he painted a swinging western style bar door. Then there's James Jr., another 6'4" tall painter, artist and all around cool guy. On construction and set finishing we have Abbey, Sean, Jake, Caryn, Johnny, Kevin, Kaelyn, Adam, Riley and more. Everyone is working furiously to get everything done in time. We have just two weeks and three days till the preview assemblies. On Friday, three cast members showed up to work for 40 minutes. Another one has been a regular, but that' snot surprising considering his family. Their help it was much appreciated.
The costumes require very little sewing, but lots of fitting. We've got almost everyone in cowboy boots, jeans and plaid shirts. Of course, the show has a prom so the girls have drawn from our vast collection of 80s prom dresses. Getting close, but lots left to do.
This week's backpacking class was for ladies only. I like to tell the girls that they can do anything and that they should never let a minor biological function keep them from doing anything. I've become quite blunt in my old age and can comfortably address any issue, no matter how embarrassing.
March 1 was Molly's birthday! She celebrated with a nice meal and several long naps. We made a major mistake, though, she's 20, not 19! I had been using the little book I wrote called Molly's First Christmas which is dated 1998 as my reference point. However, the photos had to come from the previous Christmas. Plus, she gave us joy after a series of deaths. My dad in Oct. 1996, Monique in March 1997, then my precious cat Willy in April. Molly came to us later in May.
On the book front, I'm on pause till I speak with my writer's group tomorrow. I haven't decided what to do about the publisher. Do I go with No Frills Buffalo or self-publish? After eight years of work, I must be cautious and get this right. This book means too much to me to make a mistake at this point.
I love these kids on stage crew. They are so dedicated, loyal and hardworking. There's James Sr., 6'4", no longer a student, now an employee, who with his entourage creates signs that are works of art. This year, he painted a swinging western style bar door. Then there's James Jr., another 6'4" tall painter, artist and all around cool guy. On construction and set finishing we have Abbey, Sean, Jake, Caryn, Johnny, Kevin, Kaelyn, Adam, Riley and more. Everyone is working furiously to get everything done in time. We have just two weeks and three days till the preview assemblies. On Friday, three cast members showed up to work for 40 minutes. Another one has been a regular, but that' snot surprising considering his family. Their help it was much appreciated.
The costumes require very little sewing, but lots of fitting. We've got almost everyone in cowboy boots, jeans and plaid shirts. Of course, the show has a prom so the girls have drawn from our vast collection of 80s prom dresses. Getting close, but lots left to do.
This week's backpacking class was for ladies only. I like to tell the girls that they can do anything and that they should never let a minor biological function keep them from doing anything. I've become quite blunt in my old age and can comfortably address any issue, no matter how embarrassing.
March 1 was Molly's birthday! She celebrated with a nice meal and several long naps. We made a major mistake, though, she's 20, not 19! I had been using the little book I wrote called Molly's First Christmas which is dated 1998 as my reference point. However, the photos had to come from the previous Christmas. Plus, she gave us joy after a series of deaths. My dad in Oct. 1996, Monique in March 1997, then my precious cat Willy in April. Molly came to us later in May.
On the book front, I'm on pause till I speak with my writer's group tomorrow. I haven't decided what to do about the publisher. Do I go with No Frills Buffalo or self-publish? After eight years of work, I must be cautious and get this right. This book means too much to me to make a mistake at this point.
This is my sawing station.
Painting the booths.
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