November? Already?!

Okay, October went fast.

Between working backstage on Horizon Theatre's Night Blooms, the Horizon Apprentice Company, and working on the Serenbe Playhouse remount of the Fringe show, I literally had no free evenings for the last month and a half.

It paid off though.

Night Blooms was not a backstage tech intensive show, so while waiting backstage. I re-read three books of Song of Ice and Fire (which, by the way he will never finish), Stephen King's Danse Macabre and half of "The Stand", and knitted a full blanket.

Yeah. A bit of downtime.

And last weekend, we did the awesome outdoor Atlanta Premiere of RTBiG, which was listed as "Best of the Big A" in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and under "Stockbridge Murder Events"(?!)
I made lots of people pay money to look at me and freeze, which was pretty great. It got down to 40 degrees on Friday night, which for Atlantans is just about absolute zero. Fortunately, I was next to a fire, so I didn't notice that it was super cold, despite being barefoot and in a wee little pretty dress. The moment I stepped away from the fire to exit, though, my body just about froze solid.

Loran Hygema of Together Portrait Studios took some lovely pictures, which I will now crib from his facebook page. As you can tell, this was awesome.

A shot of the lovely set, designed and executed by the incredible Brian Clowdus with manual labor support and fire safety tips(!) from my mom. He hauled those LED lights out into the middle of the woods in the pouring rain and not only did not electrocute himself, but also made it look beautiful. The platforms were covered with book pages and the space was surrounded by candles in mason jars and old books.

As the Goth Kid in the Winchester Mystery House:
"I see Eggs. I see...bacon. I see a hot beverage of some kind, hot cocoa... No! It's tea. Definitely tea. Oh my god. Sarah Winchester died while eating BREAKFAST."

"My mother looked from earnest, nine year old me, unicorn notebook and pen at the ready, and back to the clerk, who had just mistaken this nine year old for a fictional federal agent..."
"Hey, uh, 'Trust No One'?"
"The Truth is Out There."

"In a single step, every hair on the back of my arm stood straight up and I could feel something not quite electric course over my skin.
I took a deep, cold breath.
In another step, it was gone."

I love the fire in that last picture. What a beautiful experience and an awesome show. And now, I'm a Serenbe Celebrity. I get a lot of "Oh, yeah, you believe in ghosts, right?" which, I guess is a start.

First, small sustainable arts loving micro community, next, the world!

Actually, next is writing two plays in a month. All the other Horizon Apprentices are doing National Play Writing Month so I'd be a failure and embarrassment to all if I didn't follow suit. Never mind that we lost my lead actor in my apprentice play after I wrote the first half, so now I have to start a THIRD play this month.

I'm saddened by his departure for multiple reasons. First, he had to leave because of a job disaster, which is never good, second he was a great guy to be around and I wanted to hang out with him more, and third, I based my whole play concept around him playing a robot, which he would have been AWESOME at. But, someone else will have to write his robot play. Or, I'll have to find a way down the road to rope him into it again.

Before it disappears into the unfinished play folder, here are some little snippets that made me happy.

Premise - Shelley is a designer at a factory that makes sex robots. She's just brought home SAMMI (Socially Advanced Mechanical Module Innovation), a platonic companion model for her friend Gordon to beta test.

GORDON
He feels so real.

SHELLEY
We’re one of the leading innovators in responsive electronic skin, of course he feels real.

SAMMI
I am huggably soft. See?
HE EXTENDS HIS ARMS FOR A HUG.

GORDON
So, you just scavenged extra parts?

SHELLEY
Actually, I think he’s mostly discarded breast tissue.
NO ONE HAS HUGGED SAMMI. HE HOLDS HIS ARMS OPEN, GLANCING BETWEEN THEM
We’ll probably be working on an alternate formula, it tends to be a bit over-sensitive.
LEFT ALONE, SAMMI SADLY HUGS HIMSELF. IT MAKES HIM FEEL WARM AND FUZZY
But, you may be looking at the new face of personal robotic companions. I mean, not everyone wants mechanical sex butlers, and we thought the SAMMIs might be a good kind of introductory bot. Something friendly and non-threatening. Uncreepy. Or at least, less creepy than say The Naughty Marquise and her interchangeable hand flails.


Later:

SHELLEY
What? You always said you wanted to test the products.

GORDON
Yeah, the sexy products.

SAMMI IS CRESTFALLEN.

SAMMI
I apologize for my physical inadequacy.

SHELLEY
Great. Now his eyes are going to leak.

GORDON
You made a robot who can cry?

SHELLEY
It’s more like stress induced exhaust.

GORDON
That comes out of its tear ducts?

SHELLEY
Mostly.

GORDON
What?


And later still, after Shelley has left them alone. Gordon has spent several minutes teaching Sammi secret handshakes, only to discover he already knows them

GORDON
Why didn’t you say something?

SAMMI
I was having fun. And Shelley said to “humor you.”

GORDON
Did she now.

SAMMI
Yes. And that is a function I intend to perform to the fullest extent of my ability.
What do clouds wear under their shorts?

GORDON
What?

SAMMI
Thunderpants.
Get it?

GORDON
Yeah.

SAMMI
Good, because I do not.

GORDON
This is going to be a long night, isn’t it.

SAMMI
There are 7 and three quarter hours until the sun rises.

GORDON
Thanks Sammi. Thanks.

****


*sigh*

I'll miss Sammi. Maybe after I finish my other two plays due this month...