Camp- Day 2

Dear Drama Camp Campers,

Why?
Why are you all insane?
I hate to be the one to inform you, but I'm pretty sure that some of you are rabid- please see a doctor immediately.
I don't know if you all understand- the people with the shirts that say "Camp Staff" are in charge. Beating them with giant plush tootsie rolls is not acceptable. As for this friday's Faux-Ditions...listening to all of you practice your songs today was fun, but I will share a secret of the business with you. If while you were singing, the piano player had to stop playing to cover her ears...it's not because she had an itch. As for the Monologues that we are presenting tomorrow- please read them. If you do not read them, you will not know what you are talking about. If this is the case, and we have campers laughing through monologues about thier pet dying, I will not be a happy counselor.

I'll be seeing you way sooner than I would ever like to
-Mike

Camp Time!

So, I'm back on LI for the week - teaching Drama Camp at my old High School. It's one of the highlights of my summer because I work with 3 other people running this camp, all of whom are fantastic...this year's kids are different though. We have this one girl who flipped on me today. We were all singing around the piano and she turns to me and screams "this is NOT drama!! I thought we were gnna be doing Shakespeare!" I was completely floored. At least she'll like the monologue work tomorrow (hopefully). Speaking of tomorrow, tomorrow we are also doing alot of improv, so we told everyone to bring something random in. I was rummaging through the basement, and I think I found what I am bringing...a pink padded toilet seat (not used ;-) ) I just dont know what I am going to do with it...i guess that's why it's called improv.

Bad Blogger

OK, so I'm a bad blogger who hasn't blogged in a while.
Well, in my defense, i am in rehearsal every day noon-11pm...so it makes it hard
BUT, starting today, we get internet at rehearsal!

Everything up here is great...the show is moving along right on schedule, my friends are all around...
Of course, there was this one issue last night- Nunsense, which performs in the theatre next to us had a show last night, and there were alot of older people there. Well, right before the show, someone realizes that one of the audience members has pooped in the lobby, and left a trail from the front dor of the building to the door of the theatre...yummy. It turns out that one of the old women just couldn't hold it, and forgot that she can't do that in public.

...they were cleaning the carpet for a long time :(

I'm back!

So I woke up this morning, DJ'd a party from 1-3, hopped in my car and drove down to PA- I'm officially back on campus for the summer!! It was great, I got here in time to go to evening rehearsal for Fiddler, a party or two, AND to go grocery shopping at 1am!

Looking foward to an amazing summer with some amazing people!...let the good times roll!

Nunsense is Habit forming...

This weekend was- interesting. I drove down to school on saturday night to see "Nunsense" It was actually really well done. There is a part at the end of act I when Mother Superior gets high, and it was absolutely hysterical. Sunday was the real purpose of my trip though. Early sunday morning, Pam and I got in the car and headed for HersheyPark! I hadn't been there since I was 12 so it was really exciting- and- since I only started riding rollercoasters last year (yeah, i know) it was the first time that i was up for riding most of the rides at the park. I think my favorite part though was the water section. We rode the "Canyon River Rapids," a 6 person ride where you all get into a raft and go through a water course-thing. Well, the other two girls in the raft with Pam and I were from Hanover, or something like that and one of them gets into this raft with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Eventually, she realized that this was a "water" ride so she takes the cigarettes and lighter and wraps them in her shoes (a creatve idea) and puts them in the little bin in the middle of the raft. She proceeded to spend the entire ride yelling about how she didn't want to go backwards or get too wet and that if her cigarettes got wet she would execute someone. Well, The cigarettes stayed dry (we were all relieved.) Anyway, Lie I said- I only started riding rollercoasters last year, so i wasn't quite ready for "Great Bear"- the big twirly crazty one, so while pam rode that one, I went to the zoo-thing at the park. Now I don't have crazy expectations, but i wasn't exactly thrilled by the amazing wildlife: including a raccoon, some geese, and a frog. Our day in the park ended with a performacne from the "Gin Blossoms" - some band from Tempe, AZ. They were pretty good- google it!

I was supposed to drive back home that night, but I ended up staying another night so that I could do some work for Fiddler today...So this morning the stage mamagement team got together and spent 4 hours taping out a set in the rehearsal space! woot woot.

that's the extremely abridged version...i can't really post the full version online ;-)

Well, i haven't slept well in 3 days, so im heading to bed...goodnight!

Blog? What Blog?

Ok, so I've never had a desire to blog before, but after spending the last hour and 14 minutes of my life reading the blog of my friend Kerry, I figure- eh, why not...let's try this blogging thing!

So three months ago, I get a phone call-
"I'd like to book a party for June 15th 5-8pm"
"Ok, sounds good"
No big deal right?

So 3 days ago I'm sitting at the dinner table-
"Oh, Mike before I forget- you'r doing a party for me this friday night, no big deal- we have to make an 8 minute slide show for my girl scout troop, and then all I need is for you to come, show the movie and play some music for the girls"
...thanks Mom, for the advance notice?

Anyway, I get to the party today and the house is HUGE- I mean, I could get lost in this house and not find my way out untill hell freezes over. The woman comes out and walks me to the back yard (which, naturally- is HUGE) "I want you out here"
me "Ok, all we're gonna need is an outlet"
her "Oh, well- do you see one?"
now i'm thinking "we're in the middle of a field bigger then the one my elementary school had- where would i find an outlet? is she hiding one in the dog??" but I move on, find an outlet and the party begins.

The kids get there, and before i know it there are 40 kids jumping into the pool. Now, i'm no expert, but Let's see if anyone else can spot the hazards in this next situation. One pool, 40 eleven year old kids, one float thing (which everyone wants) and a diving board. Well, needless to say, the kids started coming up with some creative ways to sieze this float and soon enough I see kids leaping off the diving board and trying the "aerial attack" approach. 2 bloody noses later, the kids are now sharing the float and just floating around on it, but the mom is still worried someone will fall off too close to the side and split thier skull, so the mom tells the housekeeper to stand by the edge of the pool, and when the float gets too close...kick it. I think watching this little woman spend the next hour running around the pool kicking this thing in all possible directions was the most entertaining part of my day.

The party ends and we speed over to the country club to show this slideshow thing for my mom. We rush in, and one of the mother's has set up the entire girl scout troop playing BLINKO- some dice game. Then someone yells- "oh good, mike's here now we have an even number". So there I sat for the next hour, playing blinko, with 14 twelve year old girls....and thier moms.