Friday, February 23rd - Lucaya, Grand Bahama
It's an absolutely gorgeous tropical day out there today. Temperature about eighty, breezes blowing, sunlight sparkling on clear blue waters and I have another forty-eight hours to enjoy it before returning to the drudgery that is work and the madness that is theater. Tommy and I are at the Westin at Our Lucaya resort lounging in one of their signature heavenly beds and trying to decide how little we can get away with doing today.
The trip is courtesy of the Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology. A urologist friend of mine from Kansas was on the program committee and wanted to up the geriatric content this year. For that, he needed a geriatrician and I got the job. A grand total of twenty minutes or so on stage doing my usual schtick equals four days in the tropics. This was a no-brainer. With luck, I wowed them enough to get another gig or two in exotic places in the future. Surgeons go much more interesting places than internists. They have more money.
The resort is very nice, if bearing a few scars from a recent hurricane. The company is reasonable and I have finished my work obligations so I have nothing else I have to do prior to noon on Sunday when we have to think about heading back. With luck I will have a little color and a little sun bleaching in the hair - which should work nicely on stage in 'The King and I' - being one of three Anglo characters.
Spending more and more time thinking about 'Kate' and what I have to do in order to get it up on its feet. At times it seems overwhelming, but I think I have a good team put together so it should work out OK. Auditions are in three weeks.
Wednesday, February 15th
It's been a hellacious few days at work. The hospice for which I provide medical director services has run into some difficulties with record keeping that has led to much uproar. I keep telling them that poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on my part but they have difficulties with that concept from time to time. Things seem to be calming down finally, but who knows what fresh salvo will await me tomorrow morning. Then there's all the usual disasters in the clinic. At least my office manager seems to have recovered from her sudden need for spinal surgery and things are moving forward around there again. I think I need a drink...
I do get some time off next week. We leave for the Bahamas Wednesday morning on a junket. It's all paid for and all I have to do is be part of a three person panel for forty-five minutes sometime Thursday afternoon. I'm looking forward to a beach chair and a drink with an umbrella.
Things theatrical are calming down a bit after a successful one date tour of the cabaret show to Atlanta last weekend. It was a reasonable performance, the audience seemed to like it and with luck we'll book the next version there as well. It was also in an actual theater space for once rather than the middle of a dock or an abandoned boot factory or some of the other interesting places we've taken that show the last few years. I'm now learning my very few lines for my two brief scenes in 'The King and I'. I have one more rehearsal before I disappear to the Bahamas and then come back to the throes of tech. In the meantime, I'm doing prep work on 'Kiss Me Kate' which will audition March 18th and 19th. The local performing community has good buzz about it so I should get a decent cast.
Monday, February 6th
Politically Incorrect Cabaret had its Birmingham performance this past weekend and seems to have been a success. At least the audience buzz was good. It's so much easier to do my part when I have people to play off of. It's really hard doing stand up and telling jokes to a blank wall. There should be a few pictures soon. I'll try and post a few when they're available. The world needs to see me in Carol Channing 'Hello Dolly' drag... We're off to Atlanta with the show on Friday to perform on Saturday. The out of town gigs are always interesting. I hear we have a real venue this time, not an abandoned boot factory.
With that project more or less out of the way, time to start concentrating on 'The King and I' and 'Kiss Me Kate'. 'King' is going to be a fairly minor concern. My two dialog scenes will require minimal rehearsal and it should be a breeze. My real energy has to go into 'Kate' prep if wer'e going to audition in 6 weeks. I have commitments or interest for most major staff positions and it's time to start rolling.
On the work front, my office manager is out with neck surgery adding to the controlled chaos around the place. She should be back next week. What else can go wrong? The next big thing coming up is my free trip to the Bahamas to deliver a fifteen minute talk. I should get things like that more often.
Tommy and I went to a friend's production of 'Long Days Journey Into Night' yesterday and were most impressed. There really is good theater locally if you know where to look for it. Our friend Carole's Mary Tyrone was amazingly good and the James Tyrone was also smashing. I didn't see the recent Broadway revival but doubt it could have been all that much better.
Anyone know someone who wants to donate $10,000 to Center Stage for 'Kiss Me Kate'?
Thursday, February 2nd
Another day, another clinic. Actually two clinics as I do both morning and afternoon here on Thursdays. For some reason, a bunch of people canceled so I have a bit of a lull and can take a minute to type. Clinic is about to become quite chaotic as one partner takes a leave of absence to deal with family issues and the other goes out for surgery. I am not looking forward to the spring. I'll muddle through this as I have muddled through everything else.
Not a whole lot going on other than getting ready for Saturday's performance of 'Politically Incorrect Cabaret'. I was worried after last week's rehearsal. Monday's rehearsal was much better and it should be a show by the end of dress tomorrow. Some numbers are much better than others and it's the usual strange mix of serious political commentary and silly spoof. Highlights this time will be Judge Roy Moore in a bondage ballet, a variant on the strippers from 'Gypsy', Diane's version of 'Blues in the Night' and yours truly as Carol Channing. No one ever said we have a lack of imagination. It gets repeated next week in Atlanta.
Had my first 'The King and I' rehearsal. Sir Edward is pretty much a plot device to give the second act some sexual tension and blocking my six minutes of stage time was pretty uneventful. Should be able to come up with some nice moments with Leah, who plays Mrs. Anna though.
I seem to have met all of my deadlines for the week, which is about as good as its going to get at this point. Barely squeaked out my syllabus for the American College of Ob/Gyn course on geriatric perioperative issues for which I am doing a presentation on geropharmacy in May.
