The Proof is in the Photos

    Thanks for your patience as I have been talking about little else but Bat Boy as we were in tech and finally open.  I saw it again last night - this time with an audience - it was great - the house was packed (about 450 people,  I would guess)and the audience primed to have a great time.  The actors were energized by the audience and the show was great!  Just so you know what I was talking about with blood and soot and fur, here are a few photos of the costumes to help you understand.

  

Pan

  

Two of the deer

the dingy ranchers

Edgar, the bat boy

Crispy Ron = more soot

Bat Boy in the gold lame graduation gown

Meredith and Edgar learning to trust each other

Discovery of the Bat Boy

     The lighting was pretty saturated with colour, which, unfortunately, the camera washed out completely.  

        I think the toughest part of this show was that I decided early on there would be no red in any costumes so when we see blood it is that much more startling.  Do you  know what a popular colour red is for textiles?? I think it all worked out well.  I am going to miss this cast a great deal when this closes.  The actress playing Meredith is one of several who will graduate this May.  She and I have worked together on six shows and I couldn't find a nicer person to work with. Kari has beauty, grace, a lovely voice and an inordinate amount of acting ability.   While I know she will move on to a wonderful career, she will be missed around here.

Did I mention MORE BLOOD??

Bat Boy opens tonight!

   Wow!  I could leave it at that, but it would ruin my reputation for wordy posts!  Last night's final dress was terrific!  There was a small invited audience, which really gave the actors a better sense of where the laughter will happen than having just  the other designers and me in the audience.  The show ran smoothly, we got laughs and groans in all the right places.
    Have I mentioned how proud I am to be associated with these student actors and crew members. With just a few exceptions they are doing wonderful work.  The principal actors are giving such wonderful performances! They are required to be triple threats on this show (actor/dancer/singer) and they have all given it their all. 
    So, the show opens tonight - is nearly sold out for two nights, and now we have the fun of seeing if the audience loves it as much as we do.
    Break a leg, my dear actors, merde to you dancers, and toi, toi, toi to all you singers. Have a great show!

  I am so fortunate to work in a field I love with people I really enjoy.  I always wanted to teach - well since the third grade.  And theatre  has been my love since my first lines in the kindergarten play.  To combine them both into one job makes me a very lucky woman. 

Final Dress

       Final Dress means this is the last chance I have to see the costumes before the public does.  This is an exciting night.  Last night went pretty well.  The make up crew actually showed up, so we had make up on the actors - a huge help when one of them needs fangs and pointy ears, when one needs to burn, and there is blood on several occasions.  All the costumes I have put together for this show are great - if I do say so myself!  There is a patina of  "dinge" over everything since this is set in a coal mining town.  The Bat Boy looks wonderful, is creating an endearing and frightening character, and is one of the most gracious, patient actors I have ever had the delight to work with. Pan looks great - thank heaven for men with hairy chests - the real stuff looks so much better than trying to paint it on with make up! 
     There are animal costumes in the show which I did not design - our scenic designer has a past history  of working with body  puppets (similar to mine), so when she really wanted this project - I gave it to her, since a) she is also my department chairperson, and b) as I have already discussed, I am over the "fun" of working with fake fur (or real fur for that matter!). The animals that are complete are very nice - how often do you see a moose costume on stage, really?  There are a few yet to be completed - a few tails and even faces not finished, and this always worries me.  I really like to see the whole show before the audience does.  I hate last minute additions that have not been rehearsed with...keep your fingers crossed.
    All this being said, I have to give a shout out to our actors - they are college students and they are very talented, incredibly well trained, and very dedicated to this project. Ray Delaney who plays the Bat Boy is doing wonderful work.  The seniors in the show will be sorely missed.  Look for these names on Broadway one day, Kari Crimmons, Colin Henehan, Trista Hoyt. 
     Am I gushing? Yes, but it is always such a pleasure when I get to work with such a talented cast, and when the show really comes together - it is a joy!  Thanks to all the men and women on the cast and crew who made this such a fun production!

dress rehearsals looming

    We go into dress rehearsal for the show, Bat Boy:The Musical this coming Sunday.  My costumes are in good shape - still a few hems or little things still to do - pulling hosiery, etc.,  but over all pretty good.  Of course there are the unexpected glitches - I made pants for the Wolf in Into the Woods a couple of years ago and was expecting to use them on the character of Pan in this show.  After several summers of making and repairing  Sesame Street Live costumes, I have no great love for faux fur. By using these, all I would have to do was exchange the wolf tail for a goat's tail.  Our students searched through costume storage - no luck.  I finally got the brilliant idea to ask the actor who had played the Wolf if he knew where the pants were.  You guessed it - he has them.  Well, his dad does, but as he is not in contact with his dad any longer, the pants are as good as gone.  So, tomorrow I am cutting out fur pants and a tail for Pan.  Tonight is for cutting the gold lame´ graduation gown for Bat Boy - don't you just wish you were me and could have all this last minute fun???
    Okay, I have a confession.  I was the Big Bird specialist for Sesame Street Live in the years I worked with Vee Corporation - the company that built those costumes.  Thousands of yellow dyed turkey feathers each summer helped pay my expenses in grad. school. But I had plenty of experience with fur, too. Whenever there were fittings for the smaller Muppets, I was called on.  You see, each dancer playing the Muppets has to be within a certain height range.  A tall gentleman would be needed to keep Big Bird the required height (he is 8'2" on the tv show) and  small dancers would play characters like Elmo, Rosita, and others.  That's where I came in.  At 5'3" I  was one of the smaller people in the shop,  the perfect size for some of the smaller characters.  I must say, I do not know how the dancers did it.  I would be in those hot fur costumes for a few minutes and be hot and sticky when I climbed out.  Imagine dancing under hot stage lights wearing totally synthetic (read, non-breathable) fur outfits and heads!
     A graduation gown awaits! Adieu.
  
  

Knitting bits

    Started to teach myself to knit Continental style as opposed to English style - the way I was taught as a girl. So far it is slow and my tension is all over the place.  I am told it is actually faster to knit this way, but I think I need a bit more practice!  I want to try a small piece of Fair Isles knitting before summer's end - just a scarf or hat to get the feel for the style. I am told knowing how to knit Continental style will facilitate keeping my yarns from tangling. I must admit I have never been fond of Fair Isles sweaters - that is, until I started reading Alice Starmore's books and patterns.  The woman is such an artist - using incredibly complex palettes to make gorgeous knitwear.  I still am not certain I would have the stick-to-it-ness to knit one of her sweaters, but I might - one never knows.  My real goal for the year is to knit an Aran style fisherman's sweater.
     Years ago, when I was 14 or so, my godmother - a true Irishwoman - had one made for me when she was in Ireland. She had wanted to bring one back for me from the time I was very small, but my mother kept putting her off, saying it was too expensive for me to outgrow.  Finally she gave me the sweater she had had made for me.  It was gorgeous and I have treasured it for more years than I care to admit.  Due to the loose style of this sweater, I can still put it on - and I could wear it if 3/4 sleeves were popular in this style sweater.  My son has worn this sweater.  My daughter is the latest owner of this wonderful garment, and in a few years, I am certain it will be passed down to my youngest child.
      So now I am going to try to create my own fisherman's sweater.  It will be my big knitting challenge for the year - heck,  it might be the challenge of the decade -  because, you see, I have never even knitted a cable, much less some of the bobbles and cross patterns involved in this sweater.  But, if one does not set challenges for oneself how would we ever grow?

life springs eternal

It is thrilling to me how the cotton is bursting forth in its milk carton containers.  Unlike sunflowers or tomatoes, which come up carrying the husk of their seed with the leaves, the cotton seems to burst from the ground as a leaf.  Makes me think of Athena springing full blown from the head of Zeus.  Check out the photos.

It looked like this initially - about three days ago

  

This is what it looked like this morning.  

 

I  am fairly certain that there are folks in the South, or who have lived in the South, or even passed through the South who liken this giddy excitement over cotton seeds to being crazy.  But I must say folks, I am a Yankee true bred and I have never seen this.  This plant has played such a huge role in our history I am very glad to be able to learn about it  and watch it mature.

Planting by the Moon, the Leaves and Your Instincts

     Whenever we have moved to a new place - which has been often in my married life - it takes me about 4 years to get the growing seasons right. Moving from one frost zone to another can be tricky. When I moved from Minnesota to Southern Maryland, I invariably put the peas and lettuce in too late and the former would fry, the latter would bolt.  Moving to Baltimore from Southern Maryland was not too drastic, but still the difference of a frost zone colder.   Now we are up north and it has been nearly five years and I think I have finally gotten it right.
      The first two years we were in upstate NY, my neighbor, who is a life long native to this region, would gently tell me that I really couldn't put tomatoes in before Memorial Day.  I would be standing in shorts in warm sunshine and be certain he was wrong.  Lo and behold!  We would get a last hard frost or snow and  half of the tomatoes would turn to withered mush!  So after doing a lot of research and reading, I have gone back to the old ways.  (My brother-in-law thinks I have become  a "crunchy granola" - but I can live with that!)
     The idea of watching nature for cues about planting is ages old. The Native Americans are said to have told the Pilgrims not to plant corn until the leaves of the oaks were the size of a mouse's ear. The science is called phenology and it is basically the study of plant and animal activities and when they occur each year.  The forsythia do not bloom on the same dates every year, nor do the bees start breaking cluster.  Watch Nature - She knows.
     Some traditional cues:

• Plant cool weather vegetables  like peas, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, spinach and lettuces when lilacs begin to show their leaves or daffodils bloom
• When the oak leaves are the size of a mouse's ear, or elm leaves are the size of a squirrels ear you can plant corn. (Glad there are two choices as I wouldn't know an elm if I ran into it!)
• Broccoli - sow when lilac is in leaf
• Plant peppers when the irises bloom
• Beans, squash and cucumbers may be planted when the lilacs are at the end of their bloom.
• Tomatoes should be planted when the peonies bloom.  Another source mentioned when the lily of the valley are in full bloom. 

    As always, some of this is just gut instinct.  Right now we have been hitting ridiculous (but luscious) high temperatures, (it was 89 yesterday in my backyard) and this weekend we may have snow showers!

   There are simple rules that I have learned:

• Rule one - forget the calender.

• Rule two - trust the natives.

• Rule three - do not plant all of your tomato seedlings as soon as it gets warm. Save some to replace the ones that will get hit by frost because you were over-eager. 

• Rule four - plant some of those tomatoes a little earlier than the predicted frost date - you never know - and let's face it - we always plant too many in the little peat pots anyway!

• Rule five - a little mulch, some old sheets and a bit of vigilance can stretch the season just a bit, so try it!

Never let a set back discourage your desire to garden.  Seeds are cheap and easily replaced.  Keep a journal from season to season until you have it down without thinking, and refer back to it as needed.
    May all your garden experiments be joyful!