I have always loved that song. Whenever I spend a few weeks in Abilene, Kansas with the Great Plains Theatre that song comes to mind for the wind blows freely here.

While in the area I visited with one cousin and explored another’s family farm. We had a beautiful day of sunshine with temperatures in the 70s as we hiked around. By evening “Mariah” had arrived and the temperature had dropped to below 30 degrees. We were lucky to have had such a beautiful day.

Driving Miss Daisy at Great Plains Theatre was a marvelous experience. We were fortunate to have a wonderful venue at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. Fellow cast members Chris Dulay and Horace Smith were great to work with. The staff at GPT continues the tradition of delivering well-received, professional productions even after the devastating fire which destroyed their beautiful old building. Thanks GPT and Abilene.

Horace played the part of Hoke in the GPT Driving Miss Daisy production. Unfortunately, the part did not call for him to sing because he has a marvelous voice. If you are surfing around the web sometime, search on youtube for 11horace to hear him sing. Or CLICK HERE for his youtube page.

So, now it’s back home to prepare for a family Thanksgiving. And I am looking forward to reacquainting myself with flannel and fleece as I get ready for the winter.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

P.S. Here’s one more look at Miss Daisy.

Election, election, election. One of the greatest reasons to stop watching television.

But, I do have some comments and observations that I would like to pass along:

1)     “of the people, by the people and for the people”. A familiar phrase? It seems some politicians in both parties have forgotten.

2)  “Best for my constituency”.  In my humble opinion, that flew out the window years ago and was replaced by: a) best for me, b) best for my bank account, c) best for my party.

3)    “Vote the party line.” Some (not all) voters vote the straight party line. It makes me wonder if those voters did any candidate research or comparison. Maybe it turns out that straight party line is best because the research turned out that way. As long as the voter has made informed decisions.

4)     The saddest of all is the decision not to vote at all. “My one vote won’t count anyway.” That attitude has the threat of severely affecting elections. Of course, if the laws of your state make it difficult to vote, then the votes of others who can change that are vital, encourage them.

So, if election day hasn’t arrived yet – get out there and VOTE.

If election day has already passed when you read this then please make it a priority to support the elected officials whether your preferred candidate or not. Write them, call them, let your voice be heard. It is within your power to make a difference.

WOW, off the soapbox now. Come on back to the blog in a couple of weeks and we will have a lighter discussion.

Really interesting and challenging things recently. The Playwright’s Project that I mentioned earlier was a new experience for me. What a challenge for the playwrights. Three playwrights have 12 hours to prepare a script with the setting, perhaps a prop, and a cast of three assigned to them The actors are handed a 10 minute script at 9 a.m. the following morning and the show goes up at 8:00 p.m. for an audience. I was reminded of a time when I was asked to go on for a cast member who was ill. I got a call on Monday afternoon to go on Tuesday. No, I was not an understudy and hadn’t seen the script. I spent Monday evening and Tuesday morning working on the script in preparation for a 4 o’clock rehearsal in advance of the 7:30 show. It wasn’t a lead role but – remember, there are no small parts. I love live theatre and its challenges.

I recently attended the 40th anniversary celebration of Theatre for Young America. This group has been entertaining kids for 40 years and giving aspiring actors both adults and children an opportunity to perform in a professional venue along with other theatre professionals. Unable to attend in person but sending greetings via video were several professional ‘alums’ currently working in “the biz” in larger venues. The biggest surprise was when the muppets sent their greetings. No, they didn’t make their premiere appearances at TYA but they were co-workers of someone who did. Fun for all. Congratulations, Theatre for Young America.

What is next?

Next on my list is the Great Plains Theatre production of Driving Miss Daisy. Since the beautiful old building burned earlier this year the play will be in a theatre space on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential library. Artistic Director Doug Nuttleman will direct and I will be appearing as Daisy Werthan. The show runs November 7 through 16. Check out their web site: greatplainstheatre.com. I’ll see you in November in Abilene, Kansas.

This past week has presented me with some things which just boggle my mind. They may appear to be logical but somewhat defy my understanding of common sense.

SERVICE FEES.

1)  Seems to me that the cost of something would include the supplier’s operating costs. In other words, “Why should A pay a fee to be allowed to buy something from B.”  Case in point – within the past week I purchased some tickets for which I had a discount coupon. Great, a discount. When the tally was made: the advertised price of the tickets, minus my coupon, plus the “service fee”, the total was still more than the advertised price. To me the underlying message was, “Advertised prices are not always as advertised”.

2) A utility bill, which I must pay of course, shows the usage amounts and cost of the item. The cost is reasonable however the “service fee” which is then added is nearly twice the cost of usage. Wow.  How was that arrived at? Perhaps the board members sat down and said –“ Hey, they can’t get along without this so let’s tack on an exorbitant “service fee” and make even more profit.”  Oh well.

PASSWORDS

While I certainly understand the need for files to be protected in this age of internet hacking, spying and identity theft, my mind is beginning to wobble.

1)  My collection of passwords is now 2 ½ pages long.  Once you pass about ten or twelve passwords the ease of remembering them all disappears. So, okay I’ll just make them logical – – –

Oops, the rules are different for each required use.  e.g. Must have minimum of 6 (or 8 or 10 characters). Cannot include #, $, %, ^, &,*.  Must have at least 1 (or 2 or 3) capital letters. Must contain at least 1 (or 2) non-alpha characters. Etc. etc. etc.

And, of course one is encouraged to make them different, make them unique and change them often.

2) Recently I set up a library e-read account. Of course I needed a password to open my electronic reader, a different password to get into my library account and another unique password to be created for the e-read section of the library. Got the account all set up – don’t remember having to create an e-read password, I thought I had simply used my library card pin. Ahhh!  Sat down later to read the book I thought I had checked out and the program asked for my ‘password’.  After trying my library pin, several versions of some of the passwords I use, my email password(s), and everything else I could come up with as “logical” I gave up and used the device to play Scrabble instead.

3) I could go on and on about passwords but its time for me to get out my 2½  pages of passwords and change them all according to the rules of each one. Should be able to finish that in a couple weeks.  Do you share these frustrations? Let me know by contacting me by email and use the word Frustration as the subject.

(By the way, my passwords are also on my computer in a password protected file. I can’t remember its password for anymore so I had to put them on that old staple we call paper.  

New Works

The third annual Project Playwright is scheduled for the last two weekends in August (23, 24 & 30, 31 to be exact). The playwrights gather on Friday evening to receive their challenge for Saturday. They write a ten minute play about an assigned topic and then on Saturday morning they meet with a director and assigned cast members. The shows are rehearsed all day and put before the audience that evening.

Déjà vu– the same thing happen Saturday/Sunday once again resulting in an evening performance. Who decides which playwrights move on to the next session? You, members of the audience become the ‘critics’.  The last weekend in August will result in a final determination naming one playwright the critic choice for the year.

Sounds like great fun and a challenging experience for all involved. I will be appearing in one or more of the presentations during those two weekends. Sure worth your time to see professional playwrights in action.

All shows are at the Arts Asylum, 1000 East 9^th Street in Kansas City, MO. Tickets are $10 each evening or get all four nights for just $25. I don’t know what my role(s) will be yet but yours can be “critic”.

Check projectplaywright.com to find out more (or to see how I have confused the process).

See you there.

 AND

 It’s What Theatres Do and What Theatre People Believe in – – – THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

I’m sure the news of the fire destroying the beautiful building housing Great Plains Theatre has been heard by the acting community all over the U.S. What a shame to lose such a landmark building and displace the theatre company which has worked so hard to bring professional theatre to the area. The staff is committed to working toward continuing the season. Artistic Director Doug Nuttleman has said the season will continue. Let’s hope the same for next year’s season.

CLICK on their website and see what the season’s productions are. Pick a show or two or three and make a day trip to Abilene to support this enterprise. Be sure that Driving Miss Daisy is one of your choices. It will be my great pleasure to take the role of Daisy Werthan. Don’t know the venue yet but feel sure it will be a wonderful place to see the show.

So, hope to see you in November for the Great Plains Theatre production of Driving Miss Daisy. Show is scheduled to run November 7 through 16. Location to be announced.

Bonita