Tag Archives: theatre

Egg Update

Posted on May 5, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m not exactly going to talk about that play I’m in (which I believe I’ve mentioned before). However, I thought I would talk some more about emptying egg shells which are needed as props.

Having successfully blown one egg with the egg blower my friend Rachel so generously sent me, I felt I was all set to prepare the poultry related props. Since Steven had gotten some deli ham (I think it was even turkey ham — lower in fat and calories!), I thought a ham and cheese omelet would make a nice Saturday supper. That way I would get a few more eggs blown.

My plan was to do the egg blowing earlier in the day, while Steven was at work, rather than when it was time to cook and we were both quite hungry. I would blow the eggs into a bowl with a lid and nicely store them in the refrigerator till needed. I could get at least four eggs ahead! This was going to be great! I got to work.

Good God, did this process really work for me before? I’m sure it must have; I wrote a blog post about it. Well, yesterday I even had a hard time putting the two little holes in the egg. Twist, don’t push; it’s a drill. Twist, twist, twist. Maybe push a little. Finally I accomplished it. Then I poked the doodah in (I believe doodah is the technical term used by native Ukranians), tried to add a little water, shook.

And spent about three hours blowing with the rubber bulb. OK, it was more like five or ten minutes, but when you’re puffing and puffing (luckily not with my lungs), watching this little blob of egg white kind of sort of poking out of this tiny hole, and it doesn’t appear to be getting any bigger… How do people do this with dozens of eggs to make those gorgeous baskets full of the decorative ones?

Eventually I had a blow-out. As Rachel told me, it was not a dramatic explosion, just the sort of crack you sometimes get when you boil an egg. I got the rest of the egg out through the crack. The crack didn’t go all the way around the shell, so I think it is still usable. Perhaps for a rehearsal prop.

The second egg took a while too but remained intact. I looked at the two eggs in the bowl, thought of a few more congenial chores I wanted to get done, and decided that when it was time to cook dinner I would crack the remaining eggs needed the regular way.

So I’ll be blowing a couple more eggs as the week progresses. Will it rate a blog post? Hard to say. I foresee a busy week. I’m afraid this blog may experience a Week of Lame. But I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Just a Little Silliness

Posted on March 7, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m afraid it’s Wuss Out Wednesday, a feature I have not taken gross advantage of like, for example, Lame Post Friday and Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I didn’t like the “real” post I was working on, but I came up with this bit of nonsense which I am oddly a little proud of. It may be that this will only be appreciated by theatre geeks — uh, I mean theatre lovers. It’s best read out loud in an airhead voice.

I have to do this paper for my online MFA course, so I thought I’d do it about that modern playwrite, Henry Gibson. Why everybody thought he was so modern when he was writing in the 1800s, I don’t know, but that’s what they call him. I know he wrote a play about hunting, something about a Wild Duck. I don’t think it it included recipes, which is too bad, because my boyfriend hunts.

What? I don’t see why plays can’t include recipes. They could put them in the program notes. I once read an Agatha Christie novel that included a recipe for chocolate cake. Delish!

Anyways, getting back to Gibson, I think he also wrote a play that was a biography of Hedda Hopper, only he had to change the name to avoid a lawsuit. I forget what that one was called.

I was hoping they had made movies out of his plays so I wouldn’t have to read them. Of course I mean read them AGAIN. I’ve read Gibson. That other guy, too, that wrote about the salesman. Roger Miller. Or was it Barney?

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Not a Bored Meeting

Posted on November 16, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I usually don’t write about my Ilion Little Theatre meetings, either Board of Director or monthly dinner. One reason is that I’m not sure if the people involved would like to be mentioned in a blog post. I mean, it’s one thing to stand up on stage in a play or even work backstage. In those cases, your name gets put in the program or even in the newspaper (spelled right or wrong). It’s already public. Meetings might be considered… less so.

By now some of my nosier readers may be sitting up by their monitors, wondering if they are going to be made privy to what goes on behind closed doors. Unfortunately, I do not plan to write anything that exciting, but I hope to come up with something at least mildly entertaining.

Last night (Wednesday) I arrived at The Stables, Remington Avenue, Ilion, NY, only slightly late for the 6 p.m. meeting. One board member could not be there because he had recently had surgery (was that a HIPPA violation to mention that?).

“If he was really dedicated,” I said, “he would have had his wife push him here in a wheelbarrow.”

I don’t know if anybody else remembers, but when Iraq had its first democratic elections, one old woman was pushed for miles and miles in a wheelbarrow just so she could vote. To me, that sets the standard.

“He might be at tomorrow’s dinner meeting,” someone said.

“In a wheelbarrow?” I asked hopefully.

As we continued our meeting, cast members of Rented Christmas kept walking by and going into rehearsal. Soon we heard the sounds of vocal warm-ups: “La la la la LAH la la la laaah!” (It sounds better than it looks.) Our president, who is also in the cast, shared with us a couple of cute stories about the younger cast members.

At the end of the meeting we had to sneak through rehearsal to get tables and chairs to set up for Thursday’s dinner meeting. Some of the cast was lined up across the stage singing Christmas carols. I sang along, but quietly. I have a terrible singing voice.

So I guess the main point of today’s post is to plug Rented Christmas. The singing I heard sounded pretty good. The story is heartwarming and family friendly. I personally look forward to seeing it. Performance dates are December 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30. For more information visit Ilion Little Theatre’s website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org or their Facebook page.

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Tribulations of a Theatre Junkie

Posted on November 4, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post. Seriously, I have spent at least portions of the last three days inclined to burst into tears at the slightest provocation, and, really, I must admit, the provocations in my life are slight. I really do have a pretty good life: like my job OK, love my husband, have a great dog. And yet, it’s just not easy being me.

I think I mentioned in a previous post being a theatre junkie. Some people might use a less polite word for it, but I think junkie works just fine, thank you. I became secretary of Ilion Little Theatre Club, pretty much because somebody asked me to. I am in two performances of Strike Story next weekend, just because somebody asked me to. And I have been at the theatre for the past two days and will be there this afternoon, because… if you guessed somebody asked me to, YOU’RE WRONG! Nobody asked me to! I volunteered!

Some people would say it is not a wrist to forehead situation when it is your own stupid fault, but I disagree.

I am at the theatre to sell memberships and subscriptions. Last night I also attempted to sell raffle tickets. We are raffling four tickets for our next show. I am, unfortunately, the opposite of a salesperson. I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing: I smile, I tell the people what we’re offering, I tell them the price. They say, “No! In fact, you should pay me five bucks for standing here listening to you!”

OK, that’s not really true. People are very polite, and some of them did buy the tickets.

It’s really not that bad of a gig. I don’t know why my wrist is anywhere near my forehead over it, unless it’s that I have nothing to wear. Or that I would really rather be home in sweats, crocheting and watching crime shows on a Sunday. Or that right now it is hanging over my head: I have to be there in two hours. I have to shower. I have to get my stuff together. I ought to be taking care of a few more chores before I go… Oh yes, the wrist is on the forehead.

Well, it’s yet another post for the sake of posting something. I’m not even apologizing for them any more. Oh, well, maybe once more: I’m sorry to post lame again. I’ll try again tomorrow.

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In My Defense, I’m in a Play

Posted on October 25, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is a Mid-Week Middle-Aged Musing. At least, that’s what I’m calling it. In fact, once again, I got nuthin’.

Part of the problem is that I am in another play at Ilion Little Theatre. You see, after Dirty Work at the Crossroads got postponed, our little group needed another play for our fall production. After much discussion (to put it mildly), we decided to host another group’s play.

Angela Harris, a Mohawk Valley native, has written a readers’ theatre piece about the Little Falls textile strike of 1912, entitled Strike Story. It was presented in the Black Box Theatre at Canal Place in Little Falls recently (I may have mentioned in a blog post that Steven and I attempted to attend but it was sold out). One of our members went to see it, liked it and thought it would work just fine on our stage. The Little Falls group was amenable, and so it was arranged.

Unfortunately, not all participants could make all the production dates that were set. This is where I come in. I was suggested for one of the parts. I felt so flattered, how could I say no? I somehow had the impression it was a small part. Thinking back, I don’t know where I got that impression, because it is not the case. It is kind of a large part. Oh dear.

All this by way of saying, I have been studying my part on breaks at work, not writing blog posts. I made it OK yesterday by running after work and writing about that. Today after work I had to do something else (which may make tomorrow’s blog post), and somehow it got to be after 6:30 and I have neither fixed supper nor made my blog post.

Anyways, here is the one musing I can come up with: I am a theatre junkie. I just can’t say no! It doesn’t matter what it is, if it is theatre and somebody asks me to do it, I jump in with both feet. In this case, I am kind of glad I did it. I never did readers’ theatre before, I love local history, and I am inspired that this lady actually wrote a whole script and finished it. I’m going to start writing myself. Only, it seems, not blog posts. Try me again tomorrow, and Happy Wednesday.

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