SHALL WE DANCE?

This is from the 10/11/07 posting over at Steve's Corner regarding dance classes for the Fezziwig Ball:

Next week is the start of dance lessons again, yeah! Time to get the dancing shoes on and hopefully this year Quirky and I will be able to finally dance the Venitian Waltz together. Also, time to start finding some more clothes to go with my victorian re-enacting outfit. Quirky and I do re-enacting not a whole lot since I was in school but this year we are going to do more.

Ah hah! Perhaps that is why we are having problems waltzing together--I'm try to dance the Viennese Waltz. Seriously, though, we are continuing to find it difficult to Viennese Waltz together. We waltz just fine with other people. As Robin, the dance mistress, said last night, the problem when we dance together seems to be that either both leads or neither leads. Scott's theory is that since we are both the oldest children in our families, we both want to take charge. I mentioned my fear of falling since I seem to keep sliding out of his grasp and my difficulty in trying to figure out where he wants me to go. He gets frustrated with me because I sometimes stop when I have no idea from the way he holds me what he is trying to do or get me to do, a problem that exists only on the dance floor. It doesn't help that at class people simply stand around on the dance floor, creating roadblocks, rather than dancing. We talked about waltzing in a parking lot so that we can use the lines to help us move forward in a straight line. It will all come with practice, I'm sure.

Last night, in addition to the waltz, we worked on the shottische, a contradance, the first figure of The Caledonians, and my favorite, the Spanish Dance. We actually did just fine on the waltz part of the Spanish Dance--even though I think that both of us were leading.

The Electric Slide and Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Last Friday at our annual "Employee Appreciation Day," actually a one-hour event in which judges donned plastic gloves and aprons and served us ice cream, I proved that it is possible to dance the Electric Slide while consuming a waffle cone filled with mint chocolate ice cream. Enough said.

The Reality Of Growing Older

I was the Table Topics Master at my Toastmasters club today. Considering that I recently celebrated a birthday, that my family will get together this weekend for my mom's 84th birday, and that my oldest daughter turns 21 this month, aging is on my mind. Thus, I chose as my theme "The Reality of Growing Older." I asked each speaker to comment on one of the following quotations:

"I was born in the wrong generation. When I was a young man, no one had any respect for youth. Now I am an old man and no one has any respect for age."--Bertrand Russell

"After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over."--Alfred Edward Perlman

"It is well documented that for every minute that you exercise, you add one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5,000 per month."--Unknown

"Thousands of geniuses live and die every year undiscovered--either by themselves or by others."--Mark Twain

"It is not good for all your wishes to be fulfilled. Through sickness you recognize the value of health, through evil the value of good, through hunger satisfaction, through exertion the value of rest."--Heraclitis

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."--Jackie Robinson (whose words appear on his tombstone as his epitaph)

"You know you are getting older when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you can do as long as you are already down there."--George Burns

"Women over 50 don't have babies because they would put them down and forget where they left them."--Unknown

I concluded by sharing this quote: "So much is pressing in on humans today that no one has time to stand still long enough to evaluate it. They gulp life and taste nothing. They eat life and have no savor."--Geraldine Farrar (former opera star, on her 80th birthday)


Here are a few others on aging from my quote file:

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."--Henry Ford

"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generation."--George Bernard Shaw

"One thing that stirs me when I look back at my youthful days, the fact that so many people gave me something or were something to me without knowing it."--Albert Schweitzer

"Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the face, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-interest, fear, despair--these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust."--Watterson Lowe


The Word of the Day provided by our Grammarian was "scintillating." I commented that the word appears on my blog. When I asked how many people read blogs, only one hand went up. One person asked what a blog is. I doubt that he was the only one with that question. I mentioned this blog and sent out an e-mail letting people know where to find it. I am curious to see how many people actually look for it.

Hitting the Highlights

My fiance over at Steve's Corner has asked me to update my blog. Unlike some bloggers, such as our friend Lisa, my blogging thus far has been infrequent. In order to appease the man in my life, I'll list these highlights:

(1) Scott graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School with a Masters in Systems Engineering. We went up to Monterey for the graduation, where we met up with Scott's parents and with members of his cohort. Obviously I am very proud of him and the two and one-half years of hard work he put into the the Masters program. I look forward to his putting that knowledge into action both in his professional life (obtaining lead positions at work) and his personal one (wedding and marriage planning). And of course I look forward to our having more time to spend with each other.

(2) In honor of his graduation, I agreed on a wedding date: the first Saturday in October 2008. He said he'll hold me to it.

(3) I was able to spend quality time with Scott's parents, including a day at the Monterey Aquarium. They are wonderful people and already treat me and my girls as part of their family. My younger daughter has been referring to them as her grandparents ever since last November. The five of us went to the Spaghetti Factory the night before they returned home, which was great because it was the only opportunity by daughter had to see them this trip. They are talking about returning in February for the Dickens Festival in downtown Riverside.

(4) My daughter's volleyball team won its first game. That puts them 1-1. I was thrilled to see her actually get a point by serving. Actually, I was thrilled just to see her serve go over the net. If there were an award for the greatest team spirit that day, her team probably would have won it. They enthusiastically celebrated each point scored and cheered each other on.

(5) I received a Notice of Entry of Judgment letting me know that my maiden name has been restored. I decided some time ago that returning to my maiden name will have positive effects on my mental health. I found out today that the court is a bit slow--the judgments are not Imaged and input into the system until about five days after they have been entered. I was told that I could mail in a request and get the judgment back in two or three weeks. I think I will check back later in the week and then, when I find that the judgment has made it into the system, go down and get a certified copy. Then the real fun begins. The DMV won't do a name change until the change is made with Social Security, and Social Security won't do a name change without a certified copy of the name change document. I need to change my name with my employer, my credit union, my credit cards, the utility companies, everyone who knows me .... And I've been waiting to apply for a passport under my maiden name. After all this hassle, which I last went through about 23 years ago, I think I will be loathe to ever change my name again! (Yes, Scott, after we get married we can be known socially as Mr. and Mrs. H, but I'll keep my maiden name for everything else.)

Make More Joy

The following comes from e-mail my sister and I had today about celebrations. In many ways, her life is harder than mine since she is raising three boys, one of whom is disabled. She seems to find more joy than I do--maybe "make more joy" is a better way of phrasing it.

LC:

I make huge deals out of the boys' bdays that they never mind who sends them cards. I put signs all around the house--stupid rhymes & stuff. It is a ridiculous tradition that I thought they were sick of by last yr. I didn't do it the morning of Matthew's bday last yr & he looked all over the house & asked about where the signs were! I told him they would be there in the afternoon--that I was doing afternoon signs vs. morning ones. Good grief, I then spent 2 hours making up my dumb signs and decorating the dining room table--making a king type chair, decorated with "reserved for the bday boy" seating & all the things I've done in the past. I guess I will need to keep that up forever.

Me (partial post):

What a cute tradition! We don't have traditions, other than the Advent calendar that often stays on the wall year-round, and celebrating Epiphany (another round of gifts). And going out to dinner.

LC:

We have a ton of traditions & family stuff. We have a bunch of phrases and words....

"Don't have a BBM!!!" (bean burrito moment). That means don't overreact about something. It came from a day when I was eating a bean burrito while driving and got mad about something & my burrito spilled out all over me.

"Go & BFR." That means go & brush, floss, rinse.

Matthew is "JAM," one of his many nicknames. That is "just a minute" because he never gets up & does something immediately.

We have a ton of those acronym sayings.

We have a lot of stuff like "surprise day"...a random day, usually about once per month when I give M&M a surprise or we do something that is a surprise to them. It can be as little as the car "forcing" us to go to Blockbuster to rent movies (we don't do that much, so it is a treat) or my giving them books or video games or a special dessert (key lime pie is a good one!).

Jerry & I used to celebrate our anniversary each month with "monthiversaries" but hey, those are long gone. That was a card or note or flowers or whatever.

When milk or anything spills, we stop what we are doing & everyone must laugh, even a phoney laugh, before it is cleaned up.

Santa calls the house throughout the year. I pick up the phone & have conversations with him. M&M know that only I can hear him & the phone could even have a busy signal, but Santa talks through it to me. I pick up the phone & say something like, "I know they are misbehaving, but they generally are very good." It makes them laugh no matter what. When they see me reach for the phone, it breaks up anything (fighting). That is quite hysterical, now that I really think about it.

I am hugely into celebrating ANYTHING. Maybe because we don't get out that much with JJ or because he affects what we are able to do so much--that I feel the need to do what we can do...my stupid other ways to celebrate & make things special.

Me (partial post):

I can't even remember the last time I put up a Christmas tree. I don't think it was this century, unless you count the little one I put on my desk. I didn't even get that up last year.

LC (partial post):

I am totally big on Xmas. I just love holidays, I guess. I love Halloween. I love Easter. We had a huge egg hunt for the disabled pals of JJ this past yr. It took over an hr for them to gather the eggs w/their siblings. Very fun. I think I'm all about making memories so the kids can look back and recall fun times.


My sister has the right attitude. She doesn't wait for the fun to happen; she makes it happen. I hope her kids appreciate what a wonderful mother she is. I can learn a lot from her example.

Quadrille Quandary

I was asked a question about the dates of the dance lessons in preparation for the Fezziwig Ball next February in downtown Riverside. Not knowing the answer offhand, I went to the Dickens Festival website, http://www.dickensfest.com. What should I find on the Dance Class page but two photos of quadrilles being danced! In the first is a certain barefooted girl. I am standing opposite her as her partner. Look for the bare feet. That's me. In the second, see that blue dress speeding by? That's me again.

Those may be the most flattering of all the photos I have seen of myself on the Internet.


I am reminded of Chapter X of Alice in Wonderland which described the Lobster Quadrille. It does not sound much like a quadrille--more like a contradance as performed by contestants on a "reality" TV program. The chapter also contains the wonderful Turtle Soup song (Soo--op of the e--e--evening, Beautiful, beautiful Soup!). Here is the description of the dance:

The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and drew the back of one flapper across his eyes. He looked at Alice, and tried to speak, but, for a minute or two, sobs choked his voice. “Same as if he had a bone in his throat,” said the Gryphon: and it set to work shaking him and punching him in the back. At last the Mock Turtle recovered his voice, and, with tears running down his cheeks, went on again:--

“You may not have lived much under the sea--” (”I haven’t,” said Alice) “and perhaps you were never even introduced to a lobster--” (Alice began to say, “I once tasted--” but checked herself hastily, and said, “No, never”) “--so you can have no idea what a delightful thing a Lobster Quadrille is!”

“No, indeed,” said Alice. “What sort of a dance is it?”

“Why,” said the Gryphon, “you first form into a line along the sea-shore--”

“Two lines!” cried the Mock Turtle. “Seals, turtles, and so on; then, when you’ve cleared the jelly-fish out of the way--”

”That generally takes some time,” interrupted the Gryphon.

“--you advance twice--”

“Each with a lobster as a partner!” cried the Gryphon.

“Of course,” the Mock Turtle said: “advance twice, set to partners--”

"--change lobsters, and retire in same order,” continued the Gryphon.

“Then you know,” the Mock Turtle went on, “you throw the--”

“The lobsters!” shouted the Gryphon, with a bound into the air.

“--as far out to sea as you can--”

“Swim after them!” screamed the Gryphon.

“Turn a somersault in the sea!” cried the Mock Turtle, capering wildly about.

“Change lobsters again!” yelled the Gryphon at the top of its voice.

“Back to land again, and--that’s all the first figure,” said the Mock Turtle, suddenly dropping his voice; and the two creatures, who had been jumping about like mad dogs, sat down again very sadly and quietly, and looked at Alice.

"It must be a very pretty dance,” said Alice, timidly.

“Would you like to see a little of it?” said the Mock Turtle.

“Very much indeed,” said Alice.

“Let’s try the first figure!” said the Mock Turtle to the Gryphon. “We can do without lobsters, you know. Which shall sing?”

"Oh, you sing,” said the Gryphon. “I’ve forgotten the words.”

So they began solemnly dancing round and round Alice, every now and then treading on her toes when they passed too close, and waving their forepaws to mark the time, while the Mock Turtle sang this, very slowly and sadly:

"Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail,
“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle--will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance

“You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!”
But the snail replied, “Too far, too far!” and gave a look askance--
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

“What matters it how far we go?” his scaly friend replied.
“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France--
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?

“Thank you, it’s a very interesting dance to watch,” said Alice, feeling very glad that it was over at last: “and I do so like that curious song about the whiting!”

Cyrano in Review

Darcie Flansburg of the Redlands Daily Facts wrote an excellent review of Cyrano that was published on 8/30/07. It is available online here:

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/search/ci_6762160?IADID=Search

I was pleased that the reviewer saw Roxane's Duenna the way in which I was trying to portray her. And so I add another quirky character to my theatrical resume.

Absolute lunacy

I am going through old e-mail messages, choosing what should be kept and what should be deleted. Here is a portion of a message sent to my daughter on 8 June 2006, with the names of the theatre company, role, and play deleted:


I have decided that actors are crazy. Why would anyone put himself or herself through the audition process, then the rehearsal process, to spend a handful of evenings on stage? Absolute lunacy. You have to be able to handle rejection, knowing that sometimes it doesn't matter that you are the best actor who has auditioned if you don't fit the director's vision for the show. Sensible people do not subject themselves to a process that so often results in rejection or disappointment when you are not cast at all--or not cast in the role you want. Insane--actors have to be insane.

The latter paragraph is the result of the call I received concerning the ******. I know that it was the best audition I have ever had. The call was left on my voice mail that I am being offered the part of ****** in ******. Let's just say the disappointment was such that I didn't have the energy to take out the trash (or continue pulling the weeds in the backyard, which was supposed to be my project last night). I'm almost over it now and thinking ahead into what I can do with that role--a person who exemplifies how money can ruin lives. It will be challenging to do it well. I guess I can look on the bright side: at least I have lines, and memorization should not be difficult because I don't have too many of them.

As it turned out, I enjoyed the show because I was able to develop the character in a way I had never seen done before, be part of a crowd scene that was really a lot of fun, and work with very talented people.

Quirky characters in community theater

Among the quirky characters I have portrayed in community theater:

Janet McKenzie, housekeeper for the murder victim, in Witness For the Prosecution

Miss Witherspoon, superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitorium, in Arsenic and Old Lace

Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet, a wealthy old friend of the Dowd family, in Harvey
Apothecary, purveyor of fine poisons, in Romeo & Juliet

And, in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac opening next week, the Duenna, Roxanne's governess and companion.

The Duenna is secretly in love with Cyrano after watching his masterful duel in rhyme. She is never seen without her fan. The secret love interest is not in the script but when I mentioned it to the director, he said that if that is the motivation I need for my character, that is fine by him. He has not mentioned the fan, which is neither in the script nor in any version I have seen of Cyrano.

That is my point. I like to add characteristics and motivations outside the script to make my character come alive and be different from what may have been done before. I create a back story for any character I portray, regardless of the size of the role.

As the adage says, "There are no small parts, only small actors."

In crowd scenes, I refuse to be just walking scenery. My character must be there for a reason. In a recent production of Julius Caesar in which I was part of the company, I decided that my character was a middle-class woman named Decima Curia Laenata who was trying to find a suitable husband for her 18-year-old daughter and who had the same sort of feelings for Julius Caesar that a lot of people today have for our president--that they do not like him very much but would engage in a public display of grief if he were to die.


Here is a listing of theater groups with whom I have enjoyed working in the past few years:

Fictitious Theatre Company of San Bernardino http://ftcsb.org/

Redlands Footlighters http://www.redlandsfootlighters.org/

Redlands Shakespeare Festival http://redlandsshakespearefestival.com/

Rialto Community Players http://www.rialtocommunityplayers.org/

"But Never Jam Today"

"It's very good jam," said the Queen. "Well, I don't want any today, at any rate." "You couldn't have it if you did want it," the Queen said. "The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday but never jam today." "It must come sometimes to 'jam today,'"Alice objected. "No it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day; today isn't any other day, you know." Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass.