Enchanted April

The show has opened and it is time to relax. These are the promotional pics I pulled off the website. It is a beautiful show. These two ladies are going through the motions in their life. They both have unhappy, childless marriages shortly after WWI. They attend the same ladies club and happen to read the same advertisment to rent a Castle in Nothern Italy To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine...


After secretly corresponding with the owner they learn that it will be 60 pounds for the month of april and will need travelling companions, unhappy ladies, like ourselves, perhaps in greater need than ourselves. They place an advertisment and recieve two replies - they young socialite who enjoy cognac and dancing and the old, cranky lady who knew Tennyson and likes nuts.

The four ladies are lined up, they have met with the charming castle owner and have told their husbands they are going without them. Our two ladies get on a train to Italy and close the first act questioning their decision.

Act II stars with they craky old lady mistreating the cook while the socialite lounges on the terrace. Our two ladies race from their room in their nightgowns to start their adventure and their relationships with the other ladies.

After nine days the lady who started the whole thing reveals that she has written to her husband and invited him. This causes conflict with the ladies and we learn more about each of their pasts. Our two ladies have a heart to heart, we learn that one has lost a child. They return to tell the other ladies that both of their husbands will be joinin them at the castle.

The old cranky ladies cries out that men were not a part of our arrangement, that she would invite a guest, Kate Lumly, and she would see to no men - just as the very charming owner arrives to check on his guests. He dotes on the ladies and wins even cranky pants over.
As the husbands arrive it is revealed that on of the husbands is having an affair with socialite. All is revealed in a very funny event.
The final scene ties all of the stories up. The old lady has warmed up and becomes the match maker between the socialite and the owner.
The ladies share a kind moment together to reflect on their stay.

And the show finishes as it began with our lady delivering straight to the audience - the wisteria would return next april, we all would infact. And there would be a wedding, a new child and Kate Lumly. There is a beautiful curtain call with cognac, sunset and the love between all of them put to music.
It is a beautiful show. Not only visually but the story make you hug your spouse.

64 hours

It has been another tech week. Those weeks are really long. And this one wasn't even that bad. I put in 64 hours this week - and that is really low for most shows. Two days in the rehearsal hall doing runs and last minute stuff. Then we had to move all of the props and furniture down to the stage and re-organize. And then four 12 hour days of adding in lights, sound and effects. But I am glad that it is done.

This show has an actress that shall remain nameless, let's just call her the Queen (I do). She is a bit demanding of my time. I have my own job description that does not include slave of the actors, in fact there are 21 pages in the Canadian Theatre Agreement that acts as my general contract - and none of those pages include the word slave. On Saturday she walked off stage where I was to receive her prop (and reset it during a scene change). She then pulled her hat pin and held it out for me to catch - if I wouldn't have stuck out my hand I am sure she would have dropped it. Then she handed me her hat and pressed her jacket into me so that I had no choice but to grab it. I nicely said "Ok, let me show you where you can hang this up" "No. That's okay". With no other choice I hung it up. She followed me over to the wardrobe area and asked me where the mirrors where (she had been given a tour of the space already). I said "The mirrors are right beside the hooks that you can hang your jaket and hat on".
Yesterday she didn't hand her stuff to me, but put it down on my props area - not the correct place. If she had a quick change I would be more than happy to accomodate - but she has ten minutes. That is just one example of the way she has made me her slave.