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Out of the past, and into the woods
Apr. 12th, 2007 10:12 pmMy too-busy day included setting up the stage for an orchestra rehearsal I couldn't attend, hopping a train into Philadelphia to do the Liquid Nitrogen demonstration at the Franklin Institute for the first time in... six years?.... heading back to strike the stage, and going to the opening night of Into the Woods.
I got kind of nervous about doing this demo, which I semispontaneously decided to do a couple of days ago (I've started a consulting project for the Institute, teaching the demo, the current script for which I wrote) -- nervous enough that I had trouble getting to sleep last night and had it appear in my dreams. Of course it wasn't unfamiliar material, but would I remember the flow, the words, the stage manner.... and I was ecstatic that the answers to all three were yes. A bit rusty, and a little too explanation-heavy (partly from not remembering where to make which points and partly because four trainees were in the audience and I wanted them to see as much as possible, especially of the scientific explanations, since most of them have theatrical backgrounds and tend to focus on that instead of on information), but definitely presentable, and well-received (I'm very fond of audience approval :^)
I also want to thank everyone who came to the SWIL talent show; that turned out to be my warm-up.
Getting to watch Into the Woods in LPAC made a spectacular reward. It's Sondheim, which guarantees interesting plots and intricate lyrics -- and vice versa; I at least liked all the players and loved the Witch, Cinderella's Prince and the Mysterious Man In The Woods. If you're unfamiliar with it, Sondheim weaves a whole bunch of fairy tales together, starting out like we expect but intertwining and trading characters until they're leading wholly new lives (and with no narrator to guide them anymore since they kill her off!). It's playing for the next three days and I highly recommend it!
I got kind of nervous about doing this demo, which I semispontaneously decided to do a couple of days ago (I've started a consulting project for the Institute, teaching the demo, the current script for which I wrote) -- nervous enough that I had trouble getting to sleep last night and had it appear in my dreams. Of course it wasn't unfamiliar material, but would I remember the flow, the words, the stage manner.... and I was ecstatic that the answers to all three were yes. A bit rusty, and a little too explanation-heavy (partly from not remembering where to make which points and partly because four trainees were in the audience and I wanted them to see as much as possible, especially of the scientific explanations, since most of them have theatrical backgrounds and tend to focus on that instead of on information), but definitely presentable, and well-received (I'm very fond of audience approval :^)
I also want to thank everyone who came to the SWIL talent show; that turned out to be my warm-up.
Getting to watch Into the Woods in LPAC made a spectacular reward. It's Sondheim, which guarantees interesting plots and intricate lyrics -- and vice versa; I at least liked all the players and loved the Witch, Cinderella's Prince and the Mysterious Man In The Woods. If you're unfamiliar with it, Sondheim weaves a whole bunch of fairy tales together, starting out like we expect but intertwining and trading characters until they're leading wholly new lives (and with no narrator to guide them anymore since they kill her off!). It's playing for the next three days and I highly recommend it!
