Photos- what more can I say?

Opening night is Friday! I can't wait. My costume is finished, and we don't have to rehearse in a school cafeteria any more. I never knew how dirty cafeteria floors were since I started doing theater- but trust me, I know now not to go barefoot.

This week we'll be rehearsing in the actually theater, with the set, in costumes and makeup. And also black spray dye.

At the moment I'm enjoying the beautiful weather outside my window, thinking about math assignments, and laughing at the idea of making fortune cookies with "STAY IN CHARACTER!!" and "PROJECTION!!!" printed on the slips of paper inside. But I'll probably be too busy.

There are four crowns and headdresses on top of our piano, and for the past few days we've been in major craft mode. If anyone would like a crown please contact us. It will be terribly sad when there's no more paint, glitter, and those indispensable foam sheets to work with. Of course hat-crafting is not the most practical activity- after all, once the show is over, as my mom said, who wants a crown resembling a combination of Vegas and the Peking Opera?

And yes, for all who are wondering- the cat skull is gone for good. Yesterday amid the glitter and fake hair strewn around the dining room, we discovered the last little shriveled piece. We threw it out the door, and I am sorry to report that the dog consumed it. Gross, I know. But it's the truth. I watched her crunch it up. Oh well. I figure six years in plenty long enough for a cat to rest in peace. (See what a hardened, cruel person I've become?)

I feel like writing something about Herodotus, but that topic deserves a whole post. So at the moment all I have to say is that the Scythians were disgusting, the Massagetae were disgusting, and I'm sure glad the ancient Egyptians were so fastidious in their bathing habits. After hearing "horror stories" about the "dull and stodgy" Thucydides, who served as a sort of "mortal enemy," to Herodotus, I am enormously thankful to be reading the work of a man who does not hesitate to describe scalping and cannibalism in detail. Now here is an odd picture:

This statue should never have been made! Apparently it depicts both Thucydides and Herodotus. They seem to be Siamese twins in this picture, although that thought is quite humorous, considering they were rival historians. Now I'm scared.

But back to the play:

Meet Bill. Bill is a Cyclorama. This picture is actually not of Bill. It is probably his cousin. Or aunt or something. I haven't the slightest idea where this picture was taken, all I know is that the white bed-sheet thing resembles the back curtain in the theater our group uses. Every year we get the same lecture about not touching Bill. Last year we were informed that it was "expensive," this year we were informed that it cost thousands of dollars. That made me feel real comfortable watching someone use a bucket of black paint within 5 feet of it.
Bill is so dubbed because the word "cyclorama" is often abbreviated "Cyc," for short. You might as well say "Sike," which is the name of one of Dickens's villains in Oliver Twist. I wasn't that enamoured with that novel, though I'd consider counting it as one of my favorites. At any rate, the British Sike's first name was Bill, so my brother and I naturally thought this would be a fine name for such an expensive- well, sheet.
Ironically the audition piece I picked for this play was a chunk of Oliver Twist.
(It was a lot better than reciting limericks with a British accent and singing "The Night They Invented Champagne" like I did last year...)
Because of this choice I was able to say one of the best lines in the book, said by Bill Sike himself- to wit: "Get out of my way you stinkin' warmit!"

Why does Dickens haunt me so?
Next picture.

This is what happens when you bring your dog along to a 10:00 A.M. rehearsal. For your information the dog did not actually attend the rehearsal. She just went along for the ride. A nice ride. Well, not for Andre. What can I say? Poodles can be very poodley sometimes. Veeeeery poodley.

My list.

How cute. Thank goodness someone moved the (empty!) shot glass out of the picture. And the beer bottle. Ah. Nothing like a Coors Light to ruin a good picture moment. But I'll settle for what I can get.

And a picture to prove that I've been shooting things as much as ever.