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Tags: friends, joy, sadness, smtw, ttny, writing

Here we are at the end of week 5. Whoops.

There may be a long essay coming. Or there may be a nap. Hard to say.

Either way, we did it. It was an exceptional experience.

Tags: joy, smtw, ttny, writing

The show, by the way, is turning out to be completely different from anything I've ever done. And a lot of fun to perform, and quite right for the young actors. So: despite the fact that it is currently about 25% overlong, at present I seem to be accomplishing the goals I set for myself.

Tags: smtw, ttny, writing

An ass-kicking, exhausting, depressing, frustrating, thrilling, messy, sweaty, exhilarating five days.

As I see it, there are currently two choices:
(a) Chronicle week 3
(b) Keep working on the show.

See ya.

Tags: smtw, ttny, writing

Way back when, there was an awful, terrible, very bad, no good placeholder of a scene in They Fly. It was always meant to be replaced by a big musical number, but that number was the last thing I wrote for the show, and its absence made cast and director nervous--then its arrival provided relief and joy.

There's a song in True New Yorker now that makes me feel that way. Like it's my show now. Not that it wasn't before, but this one's got some spark that the rest of the score doesn't.

I'd play it for you (or record it and stick it up here) but I've got to put some new stuff together for tomorrow. This week is a hairball of writing-to-be.

Tags: joy, smtw, ttny, writing

Finally, on the way home yesterday, I finished drafting a lyric that has been circling the runway for several annoying, disheartening days. And, yeah, I felt like a bit of a stud, even as I knew that I'd probably get sent back for rewrites.

And, yes, I was. And the rewrites are not heavy lifting, and I've mostly achieved them. And the composer has taken a long look at the piece, worked on it for a bit, and brought me a first-draft tune that is alarmingly similar to the dummy tune I had when I was working out the lyric. (In this case, I don't mean "dummy tune" as in the case of borrowing a tune--say, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"--and setting a lyric to it just to keep yourself rhythmically honest; when I do it, I create a tune that just isn't as fully fleshed-out as it would be if I were going to complete the setting.) Anyway, Ken brought me a tune that sounded a great deal like my dummy tune. I wonder what that means.

* * *

I have completed the three running days of Week 1 of the Couch to 5K program. I made the third workout at 7 AM. I can't recall the last time I got up early for the express purpose of going outdoors to exercise. Perhaps I have been abducted by aliens and replaced by someone who enjoys this sort of thing. Which is not to say I did. Nor that I'm looking forward to Week 2.

* * *

Auditions continue. Some of the kids are great. Some are good. Some are mildly annoying, either from their inability to focus on the task at hand or their reticence to participate. Even so, we'll be able to cast this show. Of course we will. I'm writing it more to fit the talents and abilities of the kids than I usually do. While I'm sure this will make for some sleepless nights next week, at the moment it just feels like it will be easier than usual to cast.

* * *

At a design meeting this morning, I suggested a couple of cutout TV cameras pointing onstage from the wings to give more the impression of a TV studio. Producer suggested, "Well, what about a couple of design interns with camcorders?" We decided that camcorders wouldn't "read" as TV cameras, but it would be easy enough to build something that did. I got a little more excited about this than was probably warranted. "See? I come in here asking for cardboard and you give me people!"

And then, on the way home tonight, came up with a great use for at least one of them.

I think I'm developing some enthusiasm for this project. About time, eh?

Tags: exercise, smtw, ttny, writing

Today's rehearsal was fine. The kids retained nearly all of the music I taught them yesterday; we built upon it and they've got two songs very solidly learned. We did some book auditions using sample pages, and it's clear that we'll be able to cast with plenty of options. Now, of course, there is the small matter of my finishing the writing, but that will come.

* * *

Earlier in the day, I had a funeral with a loud, operatic guest vocalist who made me laugh quite harder than I've laughed in a rehearsal in quite some time. She'd had a problem with her contact lenses (and so was wearing only one of them). During a checking-for-the-right-key runthrough of "Amazing Grace," she sang:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved and set me free.
I once was lost, but now am found...

Then, getting lost in her blurry vision, finished the verse:

Da da da da da da

Look up the real lyrics if you have to. And see if you could keep from snickering a little bit.

* * *

In other news, after the nearly five miles of walking I did yesterday, I had fiersome shin splints and deep exhaustion. At least the exhaustion passed once rehearsal kicked into high gear.

Tags: church, humor, smtw, ttny

I'm escorting a 13-year-old friend to her summer dance program, which starts plenty early. At 19th and Broadway on a pleasant early-summer morning, it seemed like a fine idea to walk to my own rehearsal--48 blocks north. It was a pleasant walk, and the tall buildings ensured there was plenty of shade in which to walk; I was ready for a rest by the time I arrived but not overtired. It wasn't much of a recovery-day after a run, though. And about 46 blocks into the walk, I remembered that I'd been dropped off at the train station this morning--which meant I was going to have to walk home. (Or take a pricey cab.) File this under "ideas that are going to prove to be bad before long."

The rehearsal day went well enough--no better or worse than usual. Many of the kids seem talented. They learned all of our closing number, and most of another song; Steve taught them some dance-audition combinations; we played some "interview" activities to get to know them.

If I was a little underenergized by the end of the day, it might have been from mild dehydration. Maybe the morning walk was a little more taxing than I thought. Lots of water on the way home, and the walk home from the train wasn't a problem at all. But I'm not walking tomorrow. Let very much alone running. Sue me.

Tags: abject stupidity, exercise, rehearsal, ttny

A very small amount of progress with the Vacation Bible School kids: it's Day 4, humid, hot, very sleepy. A pre-K kid looked at me and said, "You have no hair." Well, son, actually I do, but you're makin' me want to tear it out.

A moderate amount of progress on the show: I found a display font for the score, finished a verse for the opening sequence, and got to the end of the first scene. Oh, yeah, the bookwriter is off the project; she's been AWOL and I can't wait any longer. I'd rather have a collaborator, but I'd rather work alone than work with someone who doesn't show up.

A spectacular achievement in petland. The weather being lovely, Ariadne and I worked on the deck most of the afternoon. Well, she didn't work on the show; her tasks were more oriented toward sniffing the grass and playing with her friend Birdie, who dropped by from next door. And then Siddhartha the turtle ate his dinner, a goldfish that has been eluding him for several days. (This just in time: I was beginning to fear we'd have to get the fish its own tank.)

Me, I made a pizza. And it was darn good.

Tags: cats, pets, ttny, writing

Struggling with music. The object is always to be unexpected yet inevitable, and I'm usually able to get one or the other. That sweet spot in between is proving elusive. I've been going back for more reharmonizations than usual these days, often discovering the fresh harmony that makes me want to change the melody to accomodate it...and then starting to feel that the new harmony isn't as fresh as it ought to be, so trying reharm-ing it, which sometimes leads to a new melody note...and soon enough I'm down the path to who-knows-what-this-sounds-like-but-it-ain't-what-I-intended.

I can't help feeling this would be going more smoothly if I had more lyrics. Which I'd have if I had more book. Bookwriter still AWOL. I may start on it without her.

Sigh.

In other news, Herself is on the Left Coast visiting family and friends. Which is fine; she wouldn't want to be around while I'm hacking over the same four measures over and over. I took her to the airport yesterday and got several kinds of twisted around trying to find my way home with some NJ-cheap gas. Why would there be a gasoline-price sign next to a ramp if it isn't the ramp for the turnpike rest area?

Again, sigh. Back to the reharms.

Tags: frustration, temporary bachelorhood, ttny, writing