Much Adone This Weekend
The weekend was good, in a semi-crazy way.
Saturday I drive to work, packed up for possibly a weekend away from Irvine, but not knowing for sure. I'm dressed semi-nice because I'm going to a play that night and because there's a portrait sitting at work that day and I like making good impressions.
Maybe an hour after I get to work a woman comes in for passport photos. I notice she has a cocker spaniel with her so I invite her and the dog inside. We allow pets in the store because, duh, we take pictures of them. She was thrilled he was allowed in and he was quite a sweetie so I like fussing over him.
As I'm snapping photos we notice how Tyson (the spaniel) is sniffing the room like crazy. I mention how many dogs have come by recently, many for portrait pictures. She thinks it's a great idea and wonders if we could do a sitting right then and there with Tyson. I figure why not? Dogs like me, I like dogs, and the dog probably will like me better than the idiot manager wannabe coming in for the portrait sitting.
The pictures turn out great. He was panting a lot so I gave him water, which made him even happier. I got some great shots of him next to a little Christmas tree we brought in and even a lovely one of him and his owner next to the tree. Kudos to her because she was VERY pregnant and she immediately got down on the ground to snuggle with Tyson.
While I'm editing the photos, Dinesh comes in (for those of you who don't know this is why I hate him). He sees me working on the photos and I explain the situation. He looks perturbed that I took photos, but he admits they look great and he's pleased I brought in extra business. So we wait for the sitting at noon.
At 12:15 he gives up and says he's going to Costco and to call him if they do show up. He's been bitching about how late they were for the entire 15min. They of course walk in at 12:25. They thought the sitting was for 12:30 and apologize profusely while I call Dinesh back. To kill time and keep the two little girls occupied (adorable 7 and 6 year olds Tiffany and Christina), I say, "Hey girls, want to come and help me fix the lights?"
So they follow me and I end up "taking pictures" of them to make sure the lighting is in fact correct. I have them in a couple of poses and they giggle and smile and finally Dinesh comes back. He sees what I'm up to and starts telling me that I was doing a great job.
He ends up helping with poses and brings down another background, but otherwise I do the entire sitting. I felt bad for the girls because he's horrible with people and while trying to explain what poses he wants them in he gets a little snippy and bossy while the poor girls just blink at him because they don't understand. I try kid language and using myself as an example, which works, while Dinesh practically yells at them.
He leaves almost the minute I'm done. I finish printing and editing the sittings, then start on the other work that's been piling up over the day, and end up actually being really busy for the most part.
When I finally leave, I head up to San Pedro, pick up my buddy Miranda, and we go to Redondo to see Jack's play.
Oh lordy.
Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It's funny, the women in it are fairly strong characters, and it's just plain awesome.
This play, if you can call it that, was horrendous. There were a grand total of 4 good actors, including Jack, and none of them were the leads. Miranda and I were laughing at everything or making faces of shock and horror at each other during a really bad scene. The theme for the play was the 1960s, which wasn't too bad. You could make all the good guys and citizens of Messina into hippies and the soldiers would be soldiers. Cool. Ok. People walking around barefoot, people in tie-dye, cool. Taking the main three villains and making them women: worst. Idea. Ever.
The play has sexual intrigue in it. One of the MAJOR plot points that basically changes the course of the entire play is the sweet, young, innocent girl Hero is charged with being a slut. They do this by having Boraccio (a bad guy) go to her window at night while his girlfriend, the slutty Margeret, stands at the window, pretending to be Hero, and talks about how many times they've had sex. The night before Hero's wedding. Now, take Boraccio and make it into Boraccia, but Margeret and Hero are still girls.
What the fuck.
Oh, and the main villain of the play, Don John, brother to Don Pedro, who starts this whole mess because he hates how his brother plays favorites to other guys and is considered wholly evil for his actions of malice to men, is now just a bitchy and annoying younger sister, Joanne.
What the fuck.
Good news: Jack, his friend Nick (who was Leonato), Antonia (used to be Antonio), and a few of the ensemble were absolutely amazing. They never broke character (even when Nick broke the set), and they had good acting skills.
Miranda and I recast some of these people into a popular movie, simply because of the way Claudio and Antonia were acting.
YOU'VE SEEN THEM IN MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, BUT NOW SEE THEM IN...ROBIN HOOD MEN IN TIGHTS!!!
Starring:
Nick Ivons as Leonato as Little John, swinging his staff around to break sets and heads!
Jack Kopakowski as the Friar as Rabbi Tuckman, distributing wisdom and wine!
Kevin Kretzer as Benedick as Will Scarlet O'Hara, wooing women and dazzling all with his...wit!
Kenny Roberson as Claudio as Achoo, bringing the street to the stage!
Eric Beck as Don Pedro as Robin Hood, the only one amongst them with any dance skills!
Rebecca Foley as Joanne as Prince John, fouling up the play and the plot!
Claire Simon as Antonia as Blinkin', seeing things that aren't there and not seeing anything that is!
and Patricia Smith as Boraccia as the Sheriff, being only slightly evil!
And that's a wrap folks!
Saturday I drive to work, packed up for possibly a weekend away from Irvine, but not knowing for sure. I'm dressed semi-nice because I'm going to a play that night and because there's a portrait sitting at work that day and I like making good impressions.
Maybe an hour after I get to work a woman comes in for passport photos. I notice she has a cocker spaniel with her so I invite her and the dog inside. We allow pets in the store because, duh, we take pictures of them. She was thrilled he was allowed in and he was quite a sweetie so I like fussing over him.
As I'm snapping photos we notice how Tyson (the spaniel) is sniffing the room like crazy. I mention how many dogs have come by recently, many for portrait pictures. She thinks it's a great idea and wonders if we could do a sitting right then and there with Tyson. I figure why not? Dogs like me, I like dogs, and the dog probably will like me better than the idiot manager wannabe coming in for the portrait sitting.
The pictures turn out great. He was panting a lot so I gave him water, which made him even happier. I got some great shots of him next to a little Christmas tree we brought in and even a lovely one of him and his owner next to the tree. Kudos to her because she was VERY pregnant and she immediately got down on the ground to snuggle with Tyson.
While I'm editing the photos, Dinesh comes in (for those of you who don't know this is why I hate him). He sees me working on the photos and I explain the situation. He looks perturbed that I took photos, but he admits they look great and he's pleased I brought in extra business. So we wait for the sitting at noon.
At 12:15 he gives up and says he's going to Costco and to call him if they do show up. He's been bitching about how late they were for the entire 15min. They of course walk in at 12:25. They thought the sitting was for 12:30 and apologize profusely while I call Dinesh back. To kill time and keep the two little girls occupied (adorable 7 and 6 year olds Tiffany and Christina), I say, "Hey girls, want to come and help me fix the lights?"
So they follow me and I end up "taking pictures" of them to make sure the lighting is in fact correct. I have them in a couple of poses and they giggle and smile and finally Dinesh comes back. He sees what I'm up to and starts telling me that I was doing a great job.
He ends up helping with poses and brings down another background, but otherwise I do the entire sitting. I felt bad for the girls because he's horrible with people and while trying to explain what poses he wants them in he gets a little snippy and bossy while the poor girls just blink at him because they don't understand. I try kid language and using myself as an example, which works, while Dinesh practically yells at them.
He leaves almost the minute I'm done. I finish printing and editing the sittings, then start on the other work that's been piling up over the day, and end up actually being really busy for the most part.
When I finally leave, I head up to San Pedro, pick up my buddy Miranda, and we go to Redondo to see Jack's play.
Oh lordy.
Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It's funny, the women in it are fairly strong characters, and it's just plain awesome.
This play, if you can call it that, was horrendous. There were a grand total of 4 good actors, including Jack, and none of them were the leads. Miranda and I were laughing at everything or making faces of shock and horror at each other during a really bad scene. The theme for the play was the 1960s, which wasn't too bad. You could make all the good guys and citizens of Messina into hippies and the soldiers would be soldiers. Cool. Ok. People walking around barefoot, people in tie-dye, cool. Taking the main three villains and making them women: worst. Idea. Ever.
The play has sexual intrigue in it. One of the MAJOR plot points that basically changes the course of the entire play is the sweet, young, innocent girl Hero is charged with being a slut. They do this by having Boraccio (a bad guy) go to her window at night while his girlfriend, the slutty Margeret, stands at the window, pretending to be Hero, and talks about how many times they've had sex. The night before Hero's wedding. Now, take Boraccio and make it into Boraccia, but Margeret and Hero are still girls.
What the fuck.
Oh, and the main villain of the play, Don John, brother to Don Pedro, who starts this whole mess because he hates how his brother plays favorites to other guys and is considered wholly evil for his actions of malice to men, is now just a bitchy and annoying younger sister, Joanne.
What the fuck.
Good news: Jack, his friend Nick (who was Leonato), Antonia (used to be Antonio), and a few of the ensemble were absolutely amazing. They never broke character (even when Nick broke the set), and they had good acting skills.
Miranda and I recast some of these people into a popular movie, simply because of the way Claudio and Antonia were acting.
YOU'VE SEEN THEM IN MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, BUT NOW SEE THEM IN...ROBIN HOOD MEN IN TIGHTS!!!
Starring:
Nick Ivons as Leonato as Little John, swinging his staff around to break sets and heads!
Jack Kopakowski as the Friar as Rabbi Tuckman, distributing wisdom and wine!
Kevin Kretzer as Benedick as Will Scarlet O'Hara, wooing women and dazzling all with his...wit!
Kenny Roberson as Claudio as Achoo, bringing the street to the stage!
Eric Beck as Don Pedro as Robin Hood, the only one amongst them with any dance skills!
Rebecca Foley as Joanne as Prince John, fouling up the play and the plot!
Claire Simon as Antonia as Blinkin', seeing things that aren't there and not seeing anything that is!
and Patricia Smith as Boraccia as the Sheriff, being only slightly evil!
And that's a wrap folks!