Countdown to DOOM, Day Three
So here we are in July, which, if Nietzsche knew anything at all, should make me pretty damn strong. I'll be rehearsing at least five nights a week for Planemaker, and on top of that I need to learn an entire script for the new play so that I can jump straight into blocking come August. It wouldn't be a problem, in that I'm only in six scenes in Planemaker, and will have a lot of dead time backstage, but, as kphoebe will attest, I am terrible at learning lines by rote. I have a preternatural memory for film quotes and song lyrics, and that extends to being in a scene and learning lines that way, but that's about it. Ah well. Just another skill I need to pick up in my quest to become a Proper Actor.
Speaking (intermittently) of Planemaker, I am very much enjoying rehearsals at the moment. We are learning the steps for the big dance number, so I'm flexing muscles (both literally and figuratively) that I haven't used since Oliver!, which (holy shit) was ten years ago. Sadly, my partner hasn't been at the rehearsals, so some of the time I've been dancing by myself and just miming a woman (practice has loaned me a not inconsiderable degree of proficency in this regard), but the rest of the time, I have been dancing with the leading lady and secretly planning to hijack the show. As a cast bonding exercise, and by way of appreciation for all our hard work, petebuke is taking us ice skating instead of rehearsal tonight. I fear my legs will not work tomorrow.
On top of all this, of course, I have tonsillitis. Again. I'm actually managing to suppress its advances with various medications, but it is making me seriously think about setting some store by health insurance in case I need to get them out at some point. Seriously, it's getting a little worrying right now.
The burgeoning illness meant I stayed home all weekend (well, apart from rehearsals) and missed spotting Mandy Patinkin at EELS *sadface*. Still, it was nice to have a chill-out weekend for a change. I played a bit of Rise of Legends (a fine game, but the worst backstory and cutscenes in history), watched Heat and some Arrested Development, and wrote a small mountain of email.
I also played some Dungeons & Dragons, which was an extremely welcome social interlude in my weekend, although I think some of the other players are starting to resent my character, who, in bear form and suitably buffed, can do sixty points of damage in a full attack, and also has a commensurately-powerful pet bear. Comments like "Mike, after we win, can we run this fight again with just Brenya and see if she wins?" are starting to get just that little edge of nastiness to them - but of course, there's no way I could have rolled a 34 on a Diplomacy check, or even got out of the room without help (Kataw-Jo was too big to climb up the pile of coal in the corner of the room). I think maybe having a party tank with a pet as strong as she is, and who can also cast spells that do 5d6 damage with no save or summon elementals to do her monstrous bidding (well, she will in another 1500XP, anyway) is a little intimidating...
Poetry Thing was, I think, a success, not so much for the quality of the results (I have no illusions in that regard), but in my ability to stick at something every day for thirty days and see a marked improvement by the end. I have been planning something similar involving taking photos on my new camera, but I think that will have to wait for August, given my hectic schedule.
Work continues. It has its ups and downs, but in general, I wouldn't trade a minute of it for Old Place, which is a great feeling.
Speaking of which, I am not supposed to be goofing off.
ACTIVATE POWER OF AWESOME GO