LABOR DAY RAMBLE

Hello,
I know, I've been gone a while. Just haven't taken the time to sit down and blog. Been reading my favorites though, so I know what you have been up to....... ;-)

I've been involved with a play that will be opening this Friday the 7th. It is called
That Day in September, by Artie Van Why.

Artie worked in a building right across from the World Trade Center complex. He was there on September 11th, and this play is based on his e-mails to family and friends that he wrote after the attack. It is originally a one man show, but Artie has allowed us to break it up into several different characters. Office drone, VP, teacher, cop, student, blue collar, artist and parent. The parent is the one I play. I like the idea because it shows that this day effected everyone in some way.

The writing is sometimes hard to work around because he wrote what he said and felt at the time, so grammar and such are more like how Artie talks. I have changed a couple words to make it easier to speak and easier to understand.

I have several lines that describe the attack. The first, about debris and such falling, and the second about the second plane hitting. Really want to get those right.

I really hope people will come to see this. I think a lot of us have taken this moment in our history and tucked it way back in our minds, to the point of almost forgetting it. Kind of like how some us think about Pearl Harbor. " Oh, yeah, that was a horrible thing that happened in our history."

Now don't get me wrong. I don't think that we should have it in the forefront of our minds all of the time. But, we need to make sure it doesn't get lost amongst our everyday living. It is a very important part of our history, and the impact that it had on us as a country and as a people needs to be remembered.

Anyway, It has been an exercise for the emotions, as our director put it on his blog. Therapy as it were. I've done something like this before with another show I was in. Death and the Maiden was a very intense exercise for the emotions also. The trick with these shows is not to let it "come home with you" as it were. Leave it on the stage. Feel it, but don't let it consume you. I always feel like taking a deep cleansing breath afterward and blowing it all out.

Dreamwell Theatre is putting this show up. It is directed by Matthew Falduto and will be performed at Arts a la Carte space in Old Brick, 26 East Market Street, Iowa City, Iowa.

Performances are September 7, 8, 14, 15, at 8 p.m. We will also be doing a piece from the show at the Iowa City Public Library on September 11th. There will be discussions after each performance and I do hope people will stay for it. We actually have a cast member who was in Washington D.C. on the 11th and saw the Pentagon at a distance. He experienced first hand some of the panic of the day in that city.

In other news......... Yes, I got Side Notes moved back to Iowa. She hasn't been able to blog lately because she doesn't have an Internet connection, but I just talked to her and I think she is going to try and post something today.

It was quite a trip back. Had some car trouble, or should I say Jeep trouble on the way back. Stayed overnight in Kansas City, rotated the tires, and that seemed to help.

Listened to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through most of the trip. Yes, I have the book on CD. I have all of them on CD, and I love it. Some people have Star Wars, some have Star Trek, I have Potter.

Hey, State 29 is back with a new look and is allowing comments. That blog always has something interesting to read and I agree with some of the things he says as well. And as I stated in an earlier post, I will have a blog entitled State 29 is right. I'm sure that will make him/her/they very happy.

Well, I hope this entry kept your attention and that you will keep coming back. I am always checking my favorites and leaving a comment or two.

Have a great Labor Day. ( I have rehearsal tonight, go figure)