Earthquakes in Kentucky?

We're well into tech rehearsals at the Actors Theatre now -- it's great to be in the new space with lights and sound and the musicians who just flew in. Amazing how a drum kicks up every song and the energy of every drooping actor.

One big change is that we've moved from a proscenium stage to a three-quarter thrust. So now we have the audience on three sides. Intimate and elemental; we'll be able to better feel the energy of the crowd, breathe it in. Plus since my character is a flirty, rather clumsy chick who's not too bright, I just may have to stumble dangerously near an audience lap during the pregnant aerobics scene.

(Happy to have a director who lets us break the fourth wall in this show...)

Yesterday the theater's operations manager gave us a safety lecture, which, interestingly, included an earthquake warning. The other big announcement is that we are nearly sold out.

Apparently when one is telling an obscure story about acts of civil disobedience in the Bible, it pays to have a huge church convention nearby.

Pictured: Rehearsal in the Actors Theatre. Photo by Rebecca Wallace.

Off to the Actors Theatre

Most days I write about other people having arts adventures. Now my show is going on the road. Hey, I hear Kentucky is the new Broadway.

I've been performing in a new Portola Valley musical, "Puah's Midwife Crisis," and next week we'll have the great privilege of doing the show at Actors Theatre of Louisville, a hot spot for new works. We'll also be taking the stage at a huge church gathering, which is fitting because the musical is based on an Old Testament story.

Our sets, costumes and props have already taken a road trip to Louisville, with the actors following by plane. Friday and Saturday should be a flurry of dress and tech rehearsals as we get used to our new spaces. And the heat. Later in the week, it'll be thunderstorms.

Puah (played by the magnificent Emily Greco, above) is a novice midwife trying to make her way in an Egypt ruled by a Pharaoh with untenable edicts. Her story is uplifting and dramatic, with book and music by Cheryl Goodman-Morris and Karen C. Russell. I can't imagine there are too many midwife musicals out there, so maybe we'll find an extra niche market.

My character, Neferdotti (yep, she's dotty), is part of the comic relief. Whenever the plot gets really heavy, we, the Egyptian ladies-in-waiting, come in and sing. There's a girl-group tune, a blues song, an aerobics number. We wear giant pregnant bellies, and I sing while being pushed around on a rolling chaise longue. Sometimes we fall down.

More later from the road...



Pictured: Top: Emily Greco as Puah. Above: The ladies in waiting (I'm in the center) do a girl-group number. Photos from www.puahthemusical.org.

Doctor Noize Beats Truman

I've finally forgiven Doctor Noize, that big meanie, for making me believe a fake press release. News does break on April 1st, y'know. Anyone could have fallen for it.

Fortunately, we stopped the presses before reporting that kids' musician Doctor Noize (a.k.a. Cory Cullinan, who lives in Colorado but hails from Los Altos) was going to have one of his songs in "High School Musical 4." Man. I could've written a heck of a headline.

Cory swears his latest Noizeletter is true. Lots of good news. I've always found it interesting that he's a classically trained Stanford musician who has woven his expertise into groovy shows and CDs for kids. This fall he's heading back to the concert hall to solo with the North State Symphony at youth performances in Chico and Redding. Nice.

"Herr Maestro and I promise these events will be very solemn and absolutely no fun at all, especially the rockin' tuba solo," Cory says in the Noizeletter.

Another big announcement is that Doctor Noize will be guest-hosting this summer on XM Kids Radio. I am addicted to the ahmaaazing Seth Rudetsky, but perhaps I can be persuaded to change the station every now and then. Hey, how about doing a duet with Seth? Don't all you big important DJs know each other?

Satellite radio isn't exactly raking in the forints lately, but maybe Doctor Noize can help. Or not. As Cory writes in the Noizeletter: "I once wrote a song for the long-running network soap 'Another World,' which had been on air for 35 years. My song was played on the show, and just months later...the show was cancelled. That's power, baby."

Pictured: Doctor Noize and friend; photo from www.doctornoize.com.

Beauty and the Bath

Call me a bath girl.... always have been... always will be. Beautifully designed with the latest in tiles and fixtures... Soaking or jetted tubs. I've not seen a tub I can't appreciate. A beautiful bathroom is a place to experience quiet time, pamper yourself, unwind and rejuvenate. I do my best thinking in the tub. Here are some of my favorites from my style files. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...Which is your favorite?

For the glamour girl... this is the bathroom for you. This is where I'd love to spend my bath time every night. Glass cabinets and vanity hint of old Hollywood glamour.

OK... I'm not a fan of the quickie shower but this contemporary beauty speaks for itself.

Elegance and old world charm make this bathroom a great escape.... it's rather First Ladyish to me.

Who can resist the fun in this copper soaking tub.... great use of materials to add the WOW factor.... candle light and a glass of Merlot always help one relax after a hectic week.

Slate tiles, river rock mat and warm wood counters add an organic feel that embraces nature.

This is a sophisticated and classic design by Michael S. Smith. As designer of the White House residence I wonder what he's done with the First Lady's bath.

The White House staff guest quarters bathroom received this 1952 renovation.

Where's our downtown theater festival?

You can't complain about an evening of Balkan-Yiddish-gospel-postmodern music, really. World Music Day sounds pretty cool (except that you can't call it WMD without thinking of our last president).

But where's the free outdoor theater festival in Palo Alto? The one-acts on the corner? Pinter in the park? That would be my little dream. Music gets center stage in the summer, due to some long-held tradition involving amps over asphalt. But there are days when you want art that's more narrative, telling stories by sunset, highlighting the up-close emotion between two people, talking out that which cannot be sung.

If I ran the circus, there'd be more following in the alfresco footsteps of PACT's Hot Dog Suppertime Shows, or PYT's Theater in the Park, but for big kids. Yes, the Shakespeare is lovely, too. More of that, please. Can we have this also, in an inflatable auditorium, or is that pushing it?

Theater on the corners and in the plazas of downtown Palo Alto would be vibrant, surprising and immediate. As tantalizing as overhearing a conversation in a crowd. You don't need much room to tell a story, just a compelling narrative and people who know they're inside it. Maybe a few set pieces and props, or just a pair of actors, or a whole set constructed in a piazza. Whatever way you make it, I'd go.

Some of the stages in my theater vision:

• King Plaza in front of Palo Alto City Hall. A political setting for pieces that tackle thorny issues and times, or scripts sassy with satire. Kushner. "Tomfoolery."
• The circle lawn at Gamble Garden, intimate and rustic. I can imagine a collection of one-acts with two or three actors each, the audience sitting all around.
• Heritage Park on Homer Avenue. Big enough for some splashy musical theater. Despite the judicious tree-planting that has occurred, the big grassy expanse could still easily accommodate even the gym scene in "West Side Story," assuming you don't mind dancing on the lawn.
• Lytton Plaza on University Ave. A busy spot, good for anything fast-paced and urban. The college kids might like that sprightly talker Mamet.

I still haven't figured out a good place for the inflatable auditorium.

Pictured: The circular lawn at Gamble Garden. Photo by Rebecca Wallace.

Being outside inside at CSMA

Yesterday a.m.: a morning for growing ant strength and carrying my desk into an open field. In June it can be physically painful to be stuck inside.

Since desk wouldn't balance on head, I went to an art gallery. You can pretend to be outside in drawings by Robert C. Schick, but you're an arts editor doing work. Schick is a Midpeninsula lifer with pen-and-ink visions of both landscapes that remain and those that have been plowed under.

Farms and orchards recall life before strip malls, while houses with luxurious porches hark back to times with a lot less street traffic, when people actually talked to their neighbors just outside the front door.

Some watercolor, too, which has a wispy nostalgia but lacks the precision of the drawings. The black-and-white gives the ink landscapes a confidence -- and patience -- that you need if you're going to fight in City Hall. (Schick is a veteran of anti-development wars.)

Eventually I had to go back to the office, but for a while it was good to feel like a kid with the entire day and yard ahead of me, when a hillock of soft grass under a spreading oak was the whole world.

BTW, Schick will be at an opening reception at the gallery, Mohr Gallery at CSMA, this Friday evening from 6 to 8.

BBTW, after I wrote this I found a terrific Judith H. Dobrzynski post on ArtsJournal about cell phones in art galleries. Yep, a Fall Out Boy ringtone would've dropped a giant ant on my dreamy gallery mood. Tell me again why cell-phone dampeners are illegal here?

Pictured: "Proposed Mountain View Heritage Park for the Cuesta Annex," a 2006 watercolor by Robert Schick.

Dura Lee Collections

Dura Lee Fabrics is one of my favorite fabric vendors and I was so excited to receive the latest fabric sample books at my front door last week. I couldn't wait to break open the box. I caught myself oohing and awing as I flipped through the samples. These fabrics are beautiful... The patters are amazing and I can't wait to use them. The colors are vibrant, fresh, lovely...I'm imaging drapes, roman shades and covered benches.... The paint colors I want to use with these fabrics are innumerable... Hope to have a new project soon so I can post shots using them....
If you have an upcoming project and want a quote go to: Red River Fabrics... All fabrics are discounted.

The Thomas Paul Prints Collection
Book 2542

This collection is perfect for summer the fabric content is linen, cotton or a blend. We can fabricate beautiful window treatments for you in the collections featured... We discount all fabrics.

Thomas Paul Prints - Blue
Pattern 2542

Thomas Paul Prints - Turquoise
Pattern 20873

Thomas Paul Prints - Chocolate
Pattern 20877

Thomas Paul Prints -Berry
Pattern 20872

Bryant Prints Collection
Book 2672

Bryant Prints Collection - Cobalt
Pattern 42013

Bryant Prints Collection - Camel
Pattern 42025

Bryant Prints Collection - Camel
Pattern 42026

Seville - Ottoman
Cover a bench or ottoman