Actors are not Plastic Penguins

Last month my post focused on school and learning. Embracing each opportunity for learning, especially if it takes you out of your comfort zone, is an opportunity for growth. Around the time of September's post, I began learning how to direct a short play by watching YouTube videos.

I thought you might enjoy a sample of my first three weeks as director of LEON.

I will begin by saying I’ve never directed a play or assisted in directing a play and I’ve never acted, so volunteering to direct LEON was a bit cocky, even for me. Sure, I wrote it and knew it, but could I direct it?

I dove into online research on “how to direct a play” and then filtered my searches for reader’s theater plays. The research included several dozen YouTube videos.

LEON is a humorous and bittersweet story of three sisters reminiscing about Christmases of the past and how a holiday knick-knack set of four angels bonded the sisters through the years. The 'catch' is that one of the sisters has recently passed and appears as a spirit.

Auditions were held and I chose three ladies to portray the sisters. The first rehearsal was the read-through. At the table, we read each line to determine if the sentences flowed easily. The cast of three were comfortable with the structure.

Next, we dove into the rehearsals.

Readers Theaters vary in the way rehearsals are held. Some allow for theater group members (and guests) to sit in as audience during rehearsals, while others keep the door closed until a few rehearsals have passed. I opted to keep the door to the rehearsal room closed, at least for the first few rehearsals, as it was my first shot at directing and I needed to find my footing with the cast.

During the first rehearsal, we worked on blocking.

I had been working on blocking in the quiet of my kitchen during the prior weeks. Two small plastic penguins, a plastic widget, and a square of cardboard were my cast and set. I read through each scene while moving the pieces around the square cardboard that represented the table. Actually, that was quite fun. Plastic pieces are easy to rearrange. The YouTube hint for blocking by using toys proved quite helpful.

But my cast are not plastic, they are live human beings. We fumbled through the first blocking rehearsal. A humbling moment was when Tina asked, “Should I be on this side of the chair or that side?” I realized this cast of seasoned reader theater actresses were LOOKING TO ME for direction.

I wanted to say, "Whatever works for you." But then I realized this instant was defining the entire idea of directing. Where does she have to be, so she's not in the way, so she doesn't bump into something or someone in the next scene? What did I do with the plastic penguins? Details matter!

I felt clumsy and I'm sure the cast felt a bit clumsy, but we all agreed it was the first rehearsal and things would get better.

The next week I was better prepared. We added props and continued working on the blocking. From start to finish -- with a couple of bumps -- it ran 30 minutes. Not bad, at all! We were excited! We did another run-through and cheered each other at the end. This was a productive hour; the movements were smoother, and we were gaining confidence. I suppose there will continue to be blocking adjustments during the next couple of rehearsals as we continue with what works and omit what’s not needed.

We have nine more rehearsals (one per week) until the dress rehearsal.

Jane, Beth, and Tina (the names of the characters) moved easily and followed my notes. They handled the props like professionals! I am also enjoying watching them give their characters personalities. I'm lucky to have such a great cast!

I recruited my wife for sound effects and prop control. And, Gio has offered to assist and step in as director when I travel East for two weeks.

Soon we will have a handful of rehearsals under our belts and as the cast becomes more comfortable in their characters and movements, I will hopefully become more comfortable with this new challenge!

We can't predict what may happen once the lights dim, some stuff can not be controlled. That's the fun of live theater!

For now, be assured, that the actors for LEON are NOT anything like plastic penguins!

Keep Learning!

Judy

Learning...

...the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.

From the time we are born, we learn. We learn the names of familiar faces: mommy, daddy...and from that moment on...our curiosity takes hold and learning becomes equivalent to breathing.

The month of September brings school to mind. I loved attending school. I looked forward to selecting composition books and lined notebook paper at the department store. New shoes made me smile. The smell of chalk dust and pencil shavings, and then the fresh air on the playground during recess are still with me. Excitedly I joined friends I hadn't seen in months and shared summer adventures in whispers and giggles. I anticipated meeting new teachers and diving into the next level of reading and writing (math? well, not so much).

(Photo of the K-6th grade Lakeland elementary school I attended in Jermyn.)

And now, decades later, in my mind's eye, I watch Dad carefully cut paper grocery bags to size for wrapping textbooks to protect them from sticky fingers. He would fold the paper so that the grocer's logo would not show, allowing me plenty of unmarked brown paper for doodling. I watch Mom prepare my favorite lunch: a tuna fish sandwich with mayo on toasted wonder bread wrapped in waxed paper and tucked into my lunchbox.

And then there was Junior - Senior High School and following that, Junior College. A secretarial career and the challenges of married life and child-raising followed. In my mid-thirties, I began night classes (at the time, I didn't realize I would be attending college on the ten-year plan while raising a son, keeping house, and working full time) and, at 43 years old, received a Bachelor's degree.

After two decades of marriage, I adjusted and learned how to live independently and painfully learned how to 'start over.' After that, it was courses and training for residential appraiser licensing and certification.

And as retirement rolled on, my plan to write a book came to fruition. Then I learned how to independently publish. This learning came from participating in writing groups, webinars, and online courses during COVID lockdown when ZOOM was the safest, and only, way to socialize.

What was the most challenging learning experience for you? As a teen, was it how to drive a stick shift? As a young adult did balancing a checkbook come easily? Maybe it was surviving your child's 'terrible twos' or their Goth phase in Junior High? Or was it re-entering the job market after years of raising children? For many of us nowadays, we are learning how to be caregivers for parents.

If you could write a letter to your younger self about learning, what would it say?

Life is full of opportunities for learning.

Right now I am watching YouTube videos to learn how to direct a short play I have written. YouTube has millions of viral videos...while these are fun and informative, I'm not suggesting we sit in front of the TV or computer for long periods of time, but it's another way to learn.

What I'm suggesting is, as September unfolds, look for opportunities to learn. Libraries, colleges, and senior centers offer a wide variety of free or mostly free classes. If you enjoy reading, join (or start) a book club. Start a game night and learn new games --- I recently learned Rummikub and it's a whole lot of fun! Organized walks like 'mushroom excursion walks' and 'bird watching' can be great social events. Rather have alone time? Go for a solo hike with the Merlin app and learn to identify those feathered creatures on your favorite trail or in your backyard. And don't discount volunteer work. By volunteering for an organization like Habitat for Humanity, you'll learn how to use tools.

I suppose the gist of this month's post is my challenge to Embrace Learning!

Judy

Click here for prior posts: www.judykiehart.com/postings

In case you haven't heard, the ebook version of Calico Lane is now on sale for 99 cents and it's also available on Kindle Unlimited. Calico Lane has 79 reviews on Amazon. If you haven't posted a comment or star rating, please, please do so! Reaching 100 reviews works magic with Amazon's algorithms in getting Calico Lane to more readers!

www.amazon.com/dp/0578340836

When in Rome...continued

Thank you for continuing with me on my Amsterdam vacay. Here are the last five bullet points, as promised. In case you missed July's post, click here: www.judykiehart.com/post/when-in-rome

6. Keukenhof Gardens

We planned the trip so that we'd be in Amsterdam during the tulip blooming period (March through May) and purchased tickets to the Keukenhof Gardens long before boarding the flight from the Pacific Northwest. Our timing was great! During the first week in April, about 95% of the tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths were in bloom. Did you know there are over 800 tulip varieties?

In the course of about five hours, we leisurely walked the park -- about the size of 80 football fields (using the map to guide us through the seven miles of intersecting paths). Attempts to capture the meticulously landscaped and manicured flower beds with my little camera did not do justice to the approximate seven million flowers surrounding us for as far as the eye could see. The park's lakes, fountains, and streams as well as various flower shows in specialty buildings added to the perfect-weather day's enjoyment.

7. Holocaust Monuments and Memorials

I don't think there are many places in Eastern Europe that don't have some reminders of the horrors of World War II. Tours of monuments and memorials are offered with knowledgeable guides in Amsterdam. We took advantage of one detailed advertised walking tour, combined with a good city map purchased online, to spend a day on a DIY walking tour. We eliminated most of the museums because time was limited.

We spent quite a bit of time at the Nationaal (sic) Holocaust Name Monument, completed in 2021. It commemorates the approximately 102,000 Jewish victims from the Netherlands who were arrested by the Nazi regime during the German occupation of the country (1940-1945), deported and mostly murdered in the Auschwitz and Sobibor death camps, as well as 220 Roma and Sinti victims. If one were to look down onto this monument from above, a bird's eye view would be similar to this photo. The monument's brick walls spell, in Hebrew letters, "In Memorium." Chills traveled up and down my spine as a light rain drizzled and footsteps on the concrete pavement, the only sound.

Thousands of bricks -- imprinted with a name, birth date, and death date -- are stacked alphabetically, by family name.

One of the youngest souls, Anna Steinbach. Bricks honoring families were mounted together.

Other more subtle memorials were the brass plates embedded into the concrete at the front entrances of structures. These were at the entrance to our VRBO,

displaying the names of the family who lived in that building during WWII with their birth years and date of death in Auschwitz. A solemn daily reminder of the atrocities during that time in history.

8. Walking the neighborhoods, Shopping at The Albert Cuyp Market

There's a lot of activity in the Amsterdam neighborhoods. Eateries and specialty shops galore. But to get into the Dutch Way of Mall shopping, one must explore the neighborhood outdoor flea markets. Vendors arrange clothing on top of bedspreads spread across the streets for shoppers to sort through. Some set up tables for easy access to shoulder bags, hats, and shoes. More elaborate booths contain jackets and coats on hangers and scarves on eye-level racks. Bicycles, books, vinyl records, jewelry, household items, and of course, tulips! Probably anything one needs, with some searching, can be found at one of the neighborhood outdoor markets in a country where no Walmarts exist.

Hand-crafted woodwork, lambs wool scarves, leather gloves, or used books and second-hand furniture, can be found at one of the neighborhood markets.

The Albert Cuyp Market is one of the more popular tourist destinations. At Albert Cuyp we purchased a bag of assorted Gouda cheeses, a wool scarf, and two souvenir magnets. We sampled sweets and purchased a small rotisserie chicken to enjoy later. We were able to walk to this market from our VRBO apartment; although I will admit the walk back seemed much, much longer! It was fun shopping and we were glad we included it on our 'DIY walking tour' of the neighborhoods.

9. Coffee Shop or Cafe and Dining

We discovered there is a difference between coffee shops and cafes in Amsterdam.

If you'd like to smoke marijuana, it's to a coffee shop you go (note the red neon sign). However, if you're looking for coffee and a croissant, a cafe is for you!

It is said that people in the Netherlands aren’t all that fussy when it comes to food. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear Dutch people state ‘it all goes into one stomach’ when presented with a selection of apparently, interchangeable dishes (from Wikipedia and personal observations and yes, my dad often said it).

The Dutch use both a knife and fork at mealtime; they eat with purpose and with speed, shoveling food into their mouths without lapses in conversation.

If someone in the group can't finish his meal, another will reach across the table and clean the plate. Leftover food, sure to be wasted, is an infrequent sight in Amsterdam.

As a youngster and even now, I separate the food on my plate so meat juices don't touch the vegetables and a stray pea or corn kernel won't be sucked into the mashed potatoes. Doesn't matter which meal.... pickle juice is not allowed to run into the sandwich on my plate and my runny egg yolks better not touch that piece of sausage (however, it is acceptable to sop the yolk with buttered toast).

While dining in Amsterdam, I did my best to 'adult' even when presented with what I thought would be a simple chicken sandwich. And, following the pattern of other diners, I used both knife and fork for one of the best chicken sandwiches ever (pictured above).

10. Houses that Float and Dance

Residences, office buildings, and multipurpose structures line the Amsterdam canals. This former appraiser enjoyed learning about the houseboats which are tethered to city sewer and power lines and occupied year 'round. Some are available as VRBOs. The houseboats remain stationary; unlike the motorboats.

The structures along the canals and in most parts of the city are built on wooden pilings that are pounded into the sand and can withstand the weight of a structure. Over time, the changing water level causes the piers to shift and the buildings to slowly slant.

A particular group of residences is known as the Dancing Houses. Note especially the house in the center (5th from each side). Now when you see drawings of structures in Amsterdam, and if the buildings seem wonky, you'll know the whys and hows.

I hope you've enjoyed my Amsterdam vacation vicariously through today's and last month's post. Check out my Facebook page (scroll back to April 2023 postings) where more photos can be viewed. Most of my posts are 'public' so, enjoy!

Safe vacays to you and yours as we enjoy the final month of summer. See you in September!

Judy

In case you haven't heard, the ebook version of Calico Lane is now on sale for 99 cents. Calico Lane is also available on Kindle Unlimited. Calico Lane has 79 reviews on Amazon. If you haven't posted a comment or star rating, please, please do so! Reaching 100 reviews works magic with Amazon's algorithms in getting Calico Lane to more readers!