a report from the boards

Tonight I saw Will Eno's Thom Paine (based on nothing) at Hyde Park Theatre.

Actually... I'm not sure what I saw.

Where was I?

(You had to be there.)

I've finished two 10-minute plays in 5 days, and I've written over 1,000 words in my novel. Boy-oh-boy, is my brain cooked. And that was before the Eno play!

The fellah and I went to Ravi Shankar on Tuesday evening. Traditional Indian music is so dissimilar in structure from western music that neither of us could follow the phrases or find the meter. Instead, we both stared into space and found the solution to, like, three creative problems apiece. Which is a lot. That Ravi Shankar is some goooooood (stuff)!

I think the U.S. Congress should all go to a Ravi Shankar concert together.

High five!

1. We found a screen. Thank you, FUMC Austin.

2. Look at this.

I very much believe that a critic's job is not simply to praise shows blindly for the sake of the artist's tender feelings, nor is it to be unduly harsh. Their job is to ensure that art plays a real role in our lives, that we are aware of what is happening intellectually and creatively in our communities and in the culture at large. They need the freedom to criticize as well as praise.

Having said that: it feels really good to see that Jeanne Claire wrote the above on her blog. :)

I'm especially pleased at this part: "Ohio Trip probes anger, race relations and community action and responsibility. And its absurd moments and whacky humor give the show sweet and charming undertones. "

My goal through this entire adventure was to create a show that is fun, but also has something deeper underneath is for those willing to dig for it. According to her, it worked.

High five!

I'll get my share of negative reviews with other work, I'm sure. Still, it's good to have a nice one now.

Got a spare PROJECTOR SCREEN?

The screen we were going to use for the final remount of Ohio Trip has turned up unavailable. We open tomorrow night and run through Saturday evening.

I don't plan to panic, mind you. I just need to find another one. Preferably for free.

Do you live in the Austin area? Do you have a screen we could borrow? Do email us, please, as ohiotrip AT gmail DOT com. We'd love you for, like, forever.

The goth gloves are done!

I (re-)finished those fingerless gloves I've been working on for entirely too long. They are essentially a pair of Fetching, modified to include 6 more rows of cables on the underside of the arm, and three columns of eyelets on the top side. (Yes, I got permission.) They reach about 2/3 of the way to my elbows. I used Knitpicks Shine Worsted, in ebony, with #6 dpn.

Here they are, on my wrists:

I wasn't aware that my skin glows, nuclear reactor-style.

And there's the pesky left glove that wanted to be a right.

I give them to their owner this week. A bit late, but what custom-made, hand-knit item isn't?

Tough Ladies

Last night, I attended the first Outlaws game of the season. (That's Austin's full-contact women's football.) My friend plays defense for them, although she's still sidelined with a screwy knee. Two thoughts:

1. How on earth was it so blasted cold last night? This is mid-April in Texas!

2. These women would squish me like a little bug if I ever got on that field.

The Outlaws won over the Hurricanes 49-6. Don't tell my friend, but by the fourth quarter, I was just hoping the other team would score so they could go home with something.

Fie!

I put the finishing touches on these fingerless gloves I've been working on forever. I tucked in all the loose ends. I held it up proudly, only to realize...

I made two right gloves.

I think I sat there for five minutes trying to move the thumb over by use of will power.

It did not work.

I have unraveled. Perhaps in more ways than one.

A Slayer Is Born

I am extending my nerdiness to new lengths. I'm joining the Buffy Knitalong.

I've asked to be in the Slayer category. We'll see if I get "chosen." (badum ching)

I'm such a sell-out.

No, really. I am. As in, Saturday night at 7:30. A special thanks to my fellah, my director, my audience, and everyone else who has worked on and supported Ohio Trip thus far.

We have another weekend of performances coming up on April 19-21, but I'll wait a bit to go nuts publicizing those. I'm a little worn out from the weekend.

For now, I wish a little bit of organic cotton peace on all of us.

(This one is, as my mother says, "marinating in the stash." It is very soft.)