Welcome back, Will. It's nice to have you again.
Always a pleasure.
It's been a while since anybody's heard from you. How are things going?
You know what? Things are pretty good, I think. It's been a good couple of weeks. Finished another script I was working on, that's always a good feeling. Already talked to the director, and he likes it, so the rewriting probably won't be too difficult. Of course, the NHL lockout is over. Officially, now, as of late Saturday night.
Thank heaven.
I know, tell me about it. So hockey season is starting up this weekend, which has got me in a good mood. Plus, I'm in an opera right now.
You sing opera?
Ha! No. But I can cross upstage and carry two suitcase into the inn while other people sing opera. It's a talent of mine. We're about to go into dress/tech rehearsals for that, and then it'll run through February 10th. And the next day I start rehearsals for another touring show to schools. Plus, I recently found out I'll be back with the Astros this summer. So lots of good things lately. Of course, there are some hiccups, too, but that's always the case, right?
Sure. Now, I understand you've got something pretty exciting coming up quite soon...
Yes! Of course, my first ever musical opens tomorrow night. Kim and I are headed out that way as a date night thanks to the extremely gracious Hannah, who'll be watching the boys while we're out.
You want to tell us a little bit about the show?
Sure. It's a new adaptation of Thumbelina. Obviously, I didn't write the music, but the guy who did write it is way better at what he does than I am at what I do, so it's going to be a great show. It's a one-act, but we had to cut a lot to make it close to an hour, so I may one day reconfigure the script so that I can try to sell both a one-act and a full-length version of the show. Which would be great, because I had to cut a character I really liked just for the interest of time, so who knows? He may live again in the full-length version one of these days.
Now, isn't that kind of a girly story?
What? Thumbelina? How so?
Well, isn't it about a princess who lives in flowers and wants to get married and all that jazz?
Well what if I told you there's a dragon in my version?
Really? Sweet!
Yeah, no. Not really. And I don't think it's necessarily an overly-girly story. I mean yeah, if you're a preteen boy, you're probably going to shy away from it, just because that's the way you are at that age. Really, though, I think it's a story about a kid who, yes, is a girl, and she's trying to fit in and find her own identity in a lot of trying circumstances. It's about being lonely, about looking for friendship, about fake friendships, about believing in yourself. So I think everybody can relate to that. Plus, the support characters in this show are going to be hilarious. (Hopefully) So I think anybody who can enjoy a good story, a good song, or a fun morning at the theatre will be able to appreciate the show.
Fair enough. Hey, how about those kiddos?
You're right, that's what folks are most interested in, isn't it? Sorry, sometimes I slip back into my old Xanga mindset where people would log on to my blog to read about me. (Kidding, I promise) The kids are a joy. Robbie is reading pretty well now, even though there are times he doesn't want to because he claims it's hard. It's not really hard for him, though, it just takes effort. And he's not crazy on putting much effort into anything other than playing right now. So we're working with him on that. Really, though, he's doing so well in school. He's also doing fairly well socially. The other day, he saw some kids playing out in the courtyard outside our apartment, and he asked if he could go down there and play, so we let him. Out he went, and he played all afternoon and made something like three new friends. That was huge, because he's never done that sort of thing before. He's always wanted to stay by Kim or I or just stay inside. So that was cool. Isaac is hilarious. He loves music, he loves making crazy noises, he loves dinosaurs. He uses some words that you can understand--actually quite a few if you've been around him enough--but he actually sings more clearly than he talks. He loves Beatles music. He'll be playing on the floor of the living room and suddenly he'll bust out in "Love Me Do" or "Eight Days a Week." The favorite is probably "Yellow Submarine." He and Robbie will actually sing that one together. I need to try to get that on video, now that I think about it.
How about your 365 photo project? You still have one picture to post, you know.
I do know that, actually. I'm debating whether or not to bother with it. By this point, whatever I post is going to be terribly anticlimactic. I knew a while back what I wanted to do, but I needed my camera for it. The iPhone wouldn't do. So I lost my camera, and by the time I found it I was pretty far behind schedule to complete it, and then a LOT of time had passed. And besides, I think I was down to something like 4 or 5 people who still cared about my 365 at that point. So maybe I should post a slide asking if anybody still cares to see what my last picture would be, knowing that there's no way that it could live up to the 2-month buildup. Or maybe I'll just take a different, more boring picture, just so I can say I finished it. Even though, technically, I failed the intent of the project by not posting a picture every single day for 365 days. Came close, though. And for someone like me, who isn't very good at nor used to taking pictures, I think there's still something to be proud of there.
Well, I'm going to let you go, because it's getting late and you've got a big night tomorrow. Any hints about the future?
Um...well, I think flying cars are a terrible idea. Other than that, can't say. God only knows, and lately I've been finding comfort in that rather than trepidation. Anyway, maybe I'll do a ShuffleBlog next time. People seem to like that.
Right then. Until next time, The Truth Fights Like a Panther!
........what was that?
What?
That bit about panthers?
It's my tag line.
You've got a tag line?
All the reputable news and interview programs end with a tag line.
Okay. And that's what you came up with?
Panthers are fierce.
Okay.
Fierce.
Okay. Goodnight.
