coming up for air...

[chelidon]

I'm just now starting to get my feet back under me from tech week followed by the production run of the Winter Revels. Much like coming out of teaching a Witchcamp, I'm still part-way between the worlds, with one foot in the intensity, exhaustion, joy and general craziness that formed much of the last several weeks, and while I'm very glad to be getting back to a more normal routine, there's still a part of me back in the show, and I really miss those folks. That incredible, powerful Appalachian music is still ringing in my ears and echoing in my mind when I wake up in the morning.

The Revels show was wonderful, a true joy to participate in. I'm generally satisfied with the work I did musically, and I'm very happy with the work we did as a troupe. Even the opening night was good, and by the end of the run we really, really nailed it. Last week's schedule was full-on exhausting, but, mostly, it's a good sore. We sold out the last four shows Saturday and Sunday, and Friday night was darn close to sold, and Thursday night's opening did better than usual, at least 3/4 full. So I'm guessing well over 5000 seats sold over the four day/six-show run, whee! Revels takes roughly $100K to produce, so full houses are a Very Good Thing. The quilt auction (gorgeous underground railroad quilts) raised over $3000, and I'm just bitter that I didn't win one ;>

lylythe_strega, Angelica and I basically lived in the theatre over the weekend (and my partner, an experienced theatre hand, worked backstage Friday night), from 10am call on Saturday until strike on Sunday night, followed by a rockin' cast party Sunday night, lusciously MC'ed by Lovely Housemate lylythe_strega. Sticking around to help clean up after the cast party meant that I didn't get to sleep until 3am, but lylythe_strega and I did score several unopened 12-packs of beer, which will come in handy for New Year's...

In January some of us will be going into the studio to record a CD of Appalachian music, including some of the show songs, along with Pete Sutherland, Suzannah Park and other folk-luminaries. It looks like the 5 of us rowdy fellows who sang the Arkansas Sheik will be recording it, and we'll definitely be doing some of the shape note pieces. Fun! I think this is only the second recording that RevelsNorth has done over 30+ years, so it's particularly nifty to be involved.

It also looks like I may have a creative hand in the creation of the next Winter Revels, in theme and story creation/playwriting, and I may also help out with set design and creation, time allowing. It's going to be some variety of Nordic/Northern European theme (Norse, Scandinavian, Finnish, Icelandic, Orkneys, etc). which will be a real hoot.

More later when I can set aside the time, including thoughts about being immersed in a sea of very beautiful and deeply powerful Christian music for several months (this particular show, given the theme, was significantly more, as the former Artistic Director put it, "Christ-y" than previous shows), and also a very magickal experience of re/connection with my late grandfather, who back in the 1930s used to go from town to town with his brothers and perform much the same kinds of music we were singing, in northern Appalachia (east-central Pennsylvania).

Comments

[snakey.livejournal.com]

It's alive! :D And we wants photossss.....

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Alive, perhaps, still quite groggy tho' ;>

We should get the official cast photos on CD sometime in January, along with the show DVD, which I can get screen-grabs from. I took a few shots along the way, but they didn't come out very well -- I'll throw a few of them online somewhere when I can clean them up a little...

[ravenedgewalker.livejournal.com]

once again - i wish I could have seen it! next year sounds like it will be fabulous.

what btw is an underground railroad quilt?

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, much Nordic fun to be had! ;> I just can't wait to get the chance to do fun braids. In the Appalachian show the women got all the fun hair stuff. Well, maybe not fun -- the young girls got to do elaboarate braids, but presumably married women, like Kelly, had a bun that I swear was shellacked in place and could had sufficed in states with motorcycle helmet laws. They looked cute, but talk about semi-permanent...

Here's a link to pics of the quilts: http://www.revelsnorth.org/quiltraffle.html

The Underground Railroad refers to the period of time when slaves were legal in the South, but there were anti-slavery activists who smuggled slaves to freedom in the North. Certain symbols were used to mark safe houses, send hidden messages, etc, and some of those symbols were used in at least one of the quilts. There is apparently some debate about the accuracy of specific symbols, but the concept is valid.

[ravenedgewalker.livejournal.com]

thanks! and yes - I feel your destress at not winning one.

[morrigandaughtr.livejournal.com]

Welcome back to the land of the LJ. :-) And, what snakey said about photosssss.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :> I hope your move is going along well and utterly without adventure, and a very joyous new solar year to you!