I was commenting tonight on a select group of actors I would do almost anything to be on stage with. I’ve been thinking about it since I’ve said it, and I imagine I can count them on one hand. This does not mean that I wouldn’t want to be on stage with some other actors, but there is a select group that have a special presence on stage that makes the time on stage a wonderful event.

A look, an action, a tone of voice that bring out the best in other actors on stage. They are the ones that push you to bring your best. Not by telling or lecturing, but by their actions and style. A select group indeed.

Are they the award winners? Some but not all. Are they the most friendly? That does not seem to matter. Are they the most knowledgeable? Often, but not always. The most talented? In a way, but not. Most comfortable on stage? Some are, some aren’t.
But just what makes them part of this group? That is what I’ve been trying to decipher. What puts one person on it, and leaves another off? I wish I knew. I’ll keep thinking about it, because I would like everyone I act with to be in that group. Can it be taught? 😉

I was heading home in the usual direction after the play tonight. I found myself up against some high water that wasn’t there the day before (river crested today). So I backed up and headed down another county road. Low and behold there was water blocking that path too. I never remembered that area with water, but what ever. So back up and down a third road (remember these are 1/2 to 1 mile apart here in NW Ohio) and there was more water!!!

Now I’m somewhat stuck, how can I get home without going back to town. Really there was no way, so I had to do just that. Back to town and head down the main roads. This was a side jaunt of about 5 miles. Water was just under the bridge heading west out of town. The village cemetery was under water, or at least the access roads were. So there is still a lot of water hanging around.

Then I get to my road and I find another spot where water is crossing the road. Lucky for me, that it was only a few inches deep, or it would have been another turn around. And I was only 1 1/2 miles from home…

We haven’t had rain since Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but in some spots the water is much higher than it as last night. The streams and rivers must be carrying that water from somewhere else.

Have we had enough rain yet? It was a downpour last night and I knew that my usual routes to work may have some flooding, so I left a bit early.

I was not prepared for the amount of water on the roads this morning. I had to backtrack twice when I got to places with more water than my truck would handle. Our little bridge (culvert) at the end of the drive was flowing over with water this morning. Of course I did notice there were many places that had water on them earlier, but it went down enough to be off the roadway by the time I passed.

I was worried about one place I didn’t pass this morning, but did this afternoon after the water subsided. I pass one place just outside of a small town, where there is a small donkey and a few goats. When I passed the place this afternoon, I noticed that the goat/donkey pasture was under at least 3 to 4 feet of water. I did not notice any animals standing in the water, so I am assuming the owners got them out and they are all safe.

On the way home from play rehearsal today, I also had to do a couple of bypasses of flooded roads. There were a few places where I had to go through some standing water just to make it home. It felt like one of those “You can’t get there from here” sort of stories.

I’m sure some of the roads I travel on will be better tomorrow, but some will be worse as some of the local rivers have yet to crest.

Stay safe if you are driving in flood prone areas. There is water, water everywhere.

We have the following items from the value menus of the local fast food chains (again Williams Co Ohio)

McDonalds — McDouble (99cents)

Wendys — Jr Bacon Cheeseburger ($1.00)
DoubleStack Burger ($1.00)

Burger King — Junior Whopper (99cents)
Bk Stacker (??)
Double Cheeseburger (??)
A&W — No cheap burgers only KFC has 99 cent snackers (chicken/fish)
Dairy Queen — Double Cheese burgers (2 for price on one day of the week)

I’ve already commented on the McDonalds sandwich. One less slice of cheese than the original Double Cheeseburger at the same old price. It’s exactly what you expect from McDonalds. It isn’t the same comfort food I grew up with, but for the price and speed of delivery, I always thought it was hard to beat. Until….

On a whim, I stopped at Wendys for a DoubleStack and a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. All I can say is: I think I’m hooked. Little burgers with a big burger taste. Not at all what I expected. I thought they took a quarter pound single or, in the case of the DoubleStack, a half pound Double and shrunk them. Same taste as a regular size Wendys burger. I have a new mini-price comfort burger. When I want a cheap burger, that is where I am going.

One word on Dairy Queen burgers, I’ve had them, and they were OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. If I want onion rings or some specialty burger, that only they carry (The flamethrower or mushroom burgers are good), I will go somewhere else. There cheeseburgers and double cheeseburgers are just ok, and more than the dollar menu values of the other chains.

Burger King, I’ll have to say I’ve only had the Whopper Jr. Burger King has never been my favorite stop for burgers. I’ve always been able to taste the “gas” from the flame broiling. It may just be me, but it wasn’t a pleasant taste. On the bigger burgers the taste is less noticeable, but very strong on the smaller burgers. Not sure why that is. Their Angus Burgers, while not cheap, are quite good.

A&W — Even their Cheeseburger is more than a buck. Even at the old A&W stand in nearby Antwerp OH, I never cared for their burgers. Give me a chili Dog, Onion Rings and mug of root Beer. Great Combination, but it isn’t a cheap burger.

Next Up Franchise burgers — What they sell now (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Whopper, Grillburgers, Single, Double, Triple) and the winner is….

We had a quick run through of our show before starting the live performances again. Just something to work off any cobwebs that may have formed during the two days off. And by quick I do mean quick. A complete show has been running a bit over two hours without intermission. We finished the entire show in under 1.5 hours. Shaving over 1/2 hour from our show was a bit of a feat. Yes, there was fast talking, flying scene changes (only moving what was necessary) and quick moving. But it was needed.

First and foremost we had fun on stage tonight. So many times in a performance, we the actors, forget to have fun. We are concerned with getting all of our lines. Hitting all of our cues. Making all of our entrances. Giving a good show to the audience. All of that yes, but we forget from time to time to have fun. Tonight we had fun. We had fun with the characters. Fun with our lines. Fun with the other actors. That is what community theater is really about. We do this, not only for love of theater, but for fun. It is a non-paying hobby. A passion for some, but it is a way to relax and have fun. From all the plays I’ve seen in the past 10 or so years, the ones where the actors are having fun are the most enjoyable. If the fun of this evening carries over to tomorrow and the weekend, our best performances are yet to be seen.

The second part of this rehearsal was to get back into gear. Shake off some of the dust that had settled during those last few rehearsals, and the first weekend of the play. Go back and re-visit some of the lines. Make sure we are saying them as close as possible. Always trying to give the audience the play as it was written. Since we are human and this is live theater, we come close, but never quite perfect. We strive, but fall short. Gaffs are made, but we can’t let that show to the audience. We take this rehearsal to again get comfortable with our characters.

Fun stuff tonight. This looks like a good omen for this weekend’s shows.

Again.. Come see a show, it is well worth it.

Nerves, nerves…. Yes, I found out I have them. I’ve known about them before, but only before a show. Will I forget all my lines? Will I stumble on stage? Will I remember the blocking? Will I miss an entrance? Will I have ALL of my costume? Will my fly be zipped? Oh yeah, I don’t have to worry about that one in this show. Will my tights stay up? That’s better…

I guess I can’t think of anything else that could go wrong for me. But the same things could happen to anyone else on stage. Live theater don’t you love it?

Just a few more hours remain until the curtain comes up. The butterflies are floating in my stomach, and that is a good sign. Energy levels will be up, and we get to feed off the audience tonight. Most of the theater folk I know are just big hams. We crave, want or desire to be in front of people. We like the applause and laughter. I don’t even mind criticism every now and again. This night is the night when all the hard work and long hours finally pay off.

Come watch a show. We are just waiting to entertain you.

No rehearsals tonight, and that is a good thing. I have to go over my lines again, but that is a given when in a play. Until it is over, the lines have to be comfortable in my mind. But it is an easier night.

I used my time to get a bit of shopping, and also some relaxation. So I found the ultimate in relaxation, someone else to do my housework. And here is someone that will work for peanuts, or dried fruit, and maybe some hamster food.

If the embeded youtube doesn’t work, here is the link
Bionic Hamster

My darling oldest daughter made period shoes and boots for The Lion in Winter and they do add a lot to the costumes. I know I’m a bit biased about this, but to see the actors on stage with period looking shoes made the costumes look better.

We definitely had several talented seamstresses and craftspeople working on the show. A period piece needs all of that. From tapestries to walls, costumes to shoes, chairs to beds, this is a show that can take you to 1183.

The wonderful thing about this, is that the family is real. We can understand their background. We can see where they are coming from. They can be your family or mine. Arguments between husband and wife, son and parent, or brother to brother. Everyone wants their share of the pie. The difference? The pie just happens to be the throne of England. Knives and swords can be drawn to solve a problem or two. But the sharpest tool used on stage is the sometimes wicked tongues of the family. Brothers bandy words against each other. Parents argue about the future of the kingdom. A brother plots against everyone in his family. A French King watches and actually participates in those cutting words. The King’s mistress is only a plot of land to some, but she gets her voice heard.

Who wins, who loses? Well, I think, if you come to the show you will win. Comedy, danger, and a highly dis-functional family are there to entertain you.

Double tech… Dreaded words for most community theater actors in this area. The day to get the whole show down to an audience ready production. Lights, props, backstage crew, sound and of course the actors. Two complete runs of the show. The first usually is all tech driven. Make sure the props are on stage, make sure the lighting is what is desired, make sure scene changes go well. In some shows food is cooked and served. In others some sort of beverage made. This day is hard all involved.

In our little theater, we used to have an even worse day. We used to do two shows on one of the Sunday. When I first started we had two Sunday shows on the last Sunday, and then we tore down the set after that last show. It was not a fun day, very tiring and very long. That day has now been replaced by double tech. Very long, and very tiring.

The good news is that it looks like we have a show. Three more chances to polish it up. Polish the lighting, polish the scene changes, polish the makeup and of course polish up the line and acting.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:

Yesterday, on my way home from Toledo, I heard that Paul Harvey died at the age of ninety. His news broadcasts were my first foray into news of any type. I remember sitting next to my Dad at noon on Saturday to listen to Paul Harvey News. When Dad was home during the week, he would listen to those newscasts too. I would occasionally go to work with him, and he had a radio to listen there too.

When I had my first job after college, my Dad and I would share a ride to and from work. We started listen to “The Rest of the Story”. Paul Harvey was sort of a father and son bonding time. It went on for a few years. A small way to connect.

I’ve since lost my Father, but I never stopped listening to Paul Harvey when I could. Work didn’t always let me tune in during the week. Prior commitments sometimes took me away from the radio in the evening. Listening to Paul Harvey news or “The Rest of the Story” brought back many memories.

I’ve lost another connection to my past. Sad day.