Guys night

Last night was a guy’s night with Sean and Luis.  It marked the first time since October of last year that we had all been in the same place at the same.  Of course sitting around shooting the breeze the subject of festival came up and what the thoughts were for the year.  Generally when you’re in a theatre production of some kind you’ll get the script, spend a few weeks memorizing the lines and learning your blocking and cues. It’s a pretty straightforward process come opening night there may be a few jitters because you’ll have people.  The lights come up you do the show and the lights go down you repeat.  Our show is similar to that yet oh so very very different.  Luis and I will meet about this time each year after a few months of keeping in general touch and basically recovering from the 7 weekends a year when we beat the living snot out of our bodies and sometimes each other. We’ll meet up, figure out what we’re doing, dropping, keeping and then take turns at swinging long sticks and sharp pointy things at each other.  Generally this is called “Choreography” and it’s written down on paper and you learn this and perfect it.  Luis and I are good enough to get by without writing down anything and trust each other to remember it.  Until the next time we meet and we spend the first hour trying to remember it with lots of “You go here” and “No that’s not right” and my favorite “how did we get here?”  The thing that’s great is after 4 years of this we have a pretty good connection for when we forget what we’re supposed to do.

Best back scratcher ever!

People will tell us through the run that they find it amusing that while we have the same show we never have the same show.  If I were to show you the script that I wrote a couple years ago when it became just Luis and I doing the show, you’ll see a rough skeleton of the current show we do. About 80% of the show has changed on some level since then and continues to evolve.  The process that I’m most familiar with is In the middle of a show I’ll have this idea pop into my head and before my brain can stop my mouth because it’s generally tired and I’m trying to make Luis crack up on stage.  Something will come out of my mouth that wasn’t written. 

Case in point….at the end of our sword and axe fight Robin says “Now I think these people want to see one thing”…for some reason one day the thought popped into my head “Men in tights???”…..”DONE!!”  (and struck a pose) and this generated a roaring laugh from the audience and I swear that if Luis tights hadn’t been wet from going into the pond the last fight they may have been from how hard he laughed the first time I said that. Sometimes we’ll say things and get backstage to dry off and talk about what worked and what didn’t and neither of us can remember what was said. “You said something right before I said this”; “yeah I have no clue.”  We’ll then finish the weekend and drive home and then we’ll be thinking and talking about the weekend and come up with great ideas to try and use the next weekend.  Sean will fit right in.

I’ve never realized just how difficult it is to get a slow carb option if you’re on the run.  Last night was a prime example; I knew time was going to be short with stopping to get Luis and heading over to meet Sean.  I stopped and got food at Chipotle; which when you exclude rice, cheese, and sour cream it fits the slow carb diet perfectly.  Outside of Chipotle there isn’t a single place I can think of where you can get something that covers the whole aspect of the slow carb….meat, beans and veggies.  I mean if something comes up where I’m rushed to get out the door and forget to grab my breakfast what am I going to do? Stop at McDonalds and order three “Beef” patties and six egg patties without any buns and carry a can of beans around in my trunk….egg, layer of beans, “beef”, egg, beans, “beef” etc….sounds like something that would stop the Juggernaut.  Luckily I’ve done well with ensuring everything has been prepared this week.  Tomorrow is my cheat and measurement day and I have no clue what that will bring.