One more for the road

After our grand adventure in Scotland, it's time to put Father Joy to bed here in the States. Come check us out:

http://news.washcoll.edu/events/2006/09/fatherjoy/

and

http://news.washcoll.edu/press_releases/2006/09/07_fatherjoy.php

Good Idea/Bad Idea: Flier-ing

So, I have decided that I am not a particularly good Flier-er. The main reason for this is that I'm not particularly fond of approaching strangers, especially when I am trying to get them to take a flier from me, ESPECIALLY when my face is plastered over the entire back side of said flier.

However, upon waking up this morning and realizing that we have over 2500 fliers still to give out and only 3 more performances left over here, we NEEDED to get rid of them. Bobby and I chicken out frequently... and we get discouraged when people say no or flat-out ignore us. Not exactly good for the self-esteem.

Upon walking through the Meadows to get to the Royal Mile today, we managed to give out a few fliers, than Molly saw a group of rather "chill-looking," approachable hippies. "Let's go up to them together and give out some fliers!" she said. Well, upon approaching, I asked if they would like to come see a show. And I was approached by a friendly, albeit somewhat strange hippie with dredlocks and piercings. Which doesn't bother me. Until now.

"I'll see your show, if I can show you something really weird." Well, we all look at each other and figure, why not... He pulls out a long nail. I back away. He takes the nail and sticks it about halfway inside his nose. Not UP his nose, but IN his nose. Straight inside. I freak out and hide behind Bobby for protection. Then, he takes my hand, and puts in on the end of the nail. I turn my head, and the guy pushes the nail ALL THE WAY INSIDE HIS FREAKING NOSE WITH MY FINGER.

Oh. My. God.

He holds his hat out, hoping for a few pence. I stick a flier inside.

He'd better come see the damn show.

I'm still in shock.

We also ended up plastering some fliers on these huge concrete poles that are already probably about 30 or so layers of poster thick with other show posters. They're actually pretty cushy now. It's weird to see your face plastered up and passed out all over a large festival city.

It's also kind of weird to realize that in a week, thousands of copies of your face will be thrown in the trash. Ouch.

I hope they recycle.

Sc0tland the GrEat!

So, I wrote this amazing blog the other day and it had lots of information about what I've been up to and how sexy Scotland is, but then I hit PUBLISH and it disappeared...literally. It faded. Like a Ghost. Into thin air! (Can't stop quoting the show!!!)

So, yeah, about this whole trip across the globe and stuff:

Scotland is spectacular. That's really the only word that I can think of to describe it. I mean, what else do you call a place that has castles on every corner and designer boutiques with a historic charm and theater creds that NYC would envy? It's 60 degrees in August!

Living in your own flat has its perks, too. Like a really huge tub to swim in, and having lots of fun with your super-cool roomies (I have to say that, they read this). And then, of course, there's the whole pub/bar/danceclub scene. Let's just say that there are more than a few sketch places, where guys will use those really tacky pick-up lines, but they sound somehow better with a Scottish accent. Avoiding those, and the incredibly overpriced touristy bars, it's quite a lot of fun. Of course, there's also the matter of finding your limits and being a 'professional actor' and stuff. But hey, would you expect anything less than professional from WACers?

Doing the show is fun, and we're definitely prepared for our WAC debut, but it can be a bit monotonous doing it every day for a week. After all, it's a job, even though it's one of the most fabulous jobs you could hope to acquire...and believe it or not, people actually pay to come see us. I couldn't tell you if they're getting their money's worth, but I'd like to think so.

Well, that's my update! Maybe there'll be enough time for one more post before we return to that country I have to call home...you know, where you're reading this from. Stay safe, stay cool (and envy our sweater weather).

The littlest audience member...

Two days ago, we had our biggest audience to date, which was really exciting, especially since they weren't afraid to laugh. We love laughter here. My favorite part of that particular audience, though, was the first child that we've had see our show. He was a small tow-headed blond boy around 6 or 7 or 8, judging from the look of him.

Even though he's just a little kid, he has to be one of the most satisfying people to play for. When Harry first came onstage, he turned to his mother and said, "But he's still there," at which point his mother explained to him that he had to use his imagination to pretend that Harry was transparent. He rose to the challenge immediately and got really into it, explaining the plot in an excited whisper to his family throughout the rest of the play. He even caught on that Harry was turning into sand before it's revealed in the script, and he gleefully pointed it out to us, hissing, "He has sand in his office! I know it! There's sand in there!" And he was right.

Oh, and you can't beat him covering his eyes and going "Ewww" whenever people kissed onstage. Gotta love little kids.

Father Joy in a tree

Hello there, all. I post once more, a year older and entirely legal in the States, how cool is that? Only slightly less cool 'cause I'm in Scotland...except, birthday in Scotland? Never mind. The coolness is back.

Also, HUUUUGE shout-out to the WAC flat for throwing the best damn surprise party of my life, which included curry in heroic proportions and Uno abnd cupcakes with fire on them. You all rock my socks. Individually and in pairs.

I would like to share with whoever is reading this my new (and sadly short-lived) advertising technique. The difficulty (well, one of the difficulties) of promoting at the Fringe is that for some reason, those people up on the Royal Mile don't always seem willing to take the hundreds of flyers thrust at them. And even if they do, they nearly always just throw them away. And this makes us sad indeed, for our flyers are quite pretty, doncha know. How then, do we get folks to sit up and take notice of our particular flyers?

Why, it's elementary, my friends. We shall flyer where we are noticed. We shall flyer where we shall be remembered. We shall flyer from trees.

Yes, trees. The Meadows, which we cross in order to get to the city, are lined with trees of great beauty, height, and --most significantly-- climbability. And if you hand out flyers from there, people not only notice you and remember you, but they will willingly take the flyers and even READ them, which is awesome.

I've pursued this means of promotion of three days, and have met with great success. You'd be surprised at how many people respond to my aerial cry of "Would you like a flyer?" with "Oh go on. Just because you're in a tree." I've been photographed and videoed and pointed at by small children, but the point, my friends, is that they've taken the damn flyers. I'm doing my job. In a tree. It's surprisingly comfortable.

Unfortunately, today I was caught at it by some sort of official person who had a badge, who asked me to "remove myself from that tree." I complied, and didn't ask the reason why he'd made the request, although I likely should have. Well, tomorrow and the next day are days off anyway, so maybe we'll give it a go again on Wednesday, who knows? After all, it did take the law three whole days to catch on. Silly law. Ruining our fun.

That's right. We're WAC drama. We flyer from trees. We attract the attention of people with badges. And we're having a lovely time.

Just what we need... snakes on crack.

I only have one thing to say... I've had enough of these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!

Last night we saw Snakes on a Plane. Yes, we came all the way to Scotland to see an American movie, one called Snakes on a Plane no less. I haven't laughed for that long in a long, long time. Hopefully we can convince Dorothy that it's okay to fly home now. Forget terrorists, keep your eyes open for Samuel L. Jackson. If he's on your plane you know shit's going down.

In more relevant news we have five performances left. The audiences have been great so far (in quality more than quantity, which is better in my opinion). Yesterday we had Dot as Abigail and today she's playing Ruth, so we're mixing it up a little.

And today is Val's 21st birthday. We love her and last night we declared her "the least motherfuckerest of us all," whatever that means. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!

And it's photo time

As promised, a group picture of our whole motley crew in front of Castle Doune, best known as the castle from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:



And just for fun, a (mostly) group picture of us in front of the movie poster for Snakes on a Plane, which we saw on opening day:



I only yelped and "OHMYGOD"ed a few times during the movie, so we'll consider it an accomplishment, even if I did have to hold Dorothy's hand the entire film (more for her sake than mine, I swear). It's a fun movie. Go check it out.

And Tess has already written about this, but I have to reiterate how amazing the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is. If you are ever in Edinburgh in August, go see it. I almost cried when the bagpipes came in at the end. And Dad bought me the CD when he and Grandma and my sister came to the city yesterday to see our show, which they enjoyed very much. So, cast and crew, you have the world-travelling-Weeks seal of approval.

Wet, but happy.

We only have one week left here and that is sad, sad news. And it's really raining today for the first time, which is also sad news. But we're in Scotland so who cares! There's always my good friend the deep fried Mars bar to get me through.

I got an email today and was informed that one of the new deans was talking about us and our Fringe adventure quite favorably. I don't have much else to say about that, I wish I knew more specifics, but I just wanted to share. :)

I really wish I had more to say about the show, but it's going along very well. We have six performances left including today.

Oh Scotland, why are you so wet?

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Larry asked for more posts, so here's another post to satisfy his blog-reading needs.

Last night, we were lucky enough to be walking up the Royal Mile searching for a ghost tour, when we stumbled upon people who were selling extra tickets to the Military Tattoo (which has been sold out since, oh, February...) Bobby, Molly, and I pounced on that chance and wound up with seats to what is arguable one of the best "shows" we have seen since arriving here in Scotland. The sheer quantity of people was staggering... grandstands full of people, and an entire football field (probably) full of bagpipers, drummers, what I would describe (for lack of a better term) as "marching bands", all set in front of the spectacular Edinburgh Castle... It was brilliant.

There was music, intricate marching patterns, fabulous drumming, tricks, a children's choir from South Africa, Martial Artists from China, Highland Dancers, many countries represented, classical Scottish music, pop music, a lively performance from a marching band from New Zealand, (they were really funny!) cannons, fireworks, military tanks... It was AWESOME.

Maybe someone else can describe the experience better than I... but I'm really finding it hard to express in words how truly spectacular the whole experience was.

I must say, though... at the end, when all the bands joined together to play in front of the castle... and then "the lone piper" played from atop the ramparts... a truly unforgettable, moving experience.

Haggis Ahoy!

This is a completely non-theatrical blog. Unless you count my (more than likely) over-dramatized re-telling of my first taste of Haggis.

That's right, ladies and gents. I tried Haggis.

I had kind of set my mind on trying Haggis while I was here. I mean, I'm in Scotland. It's part of the Scottish experience. I've tried the whiskey, I've visited the highlands, I shared a deep fried Mars bar (as Bobby so aptly predicted, a simultaneous orgasm & heart attack)... The only thing left was Haggis.

Molly, Bobby and I woke up early and went out for breakfast this morning, and what should be a part of the "Traditional Scottish Breakfast" but Haggis. I had tried to avoid trying the Haggis BEFORE a performance, in case it was the most disgusting thing ever to be eaten... but there it was, on my Traditional Scottish Breakfast. I had to order it. I mean... We're in Scotland. I have to have at least ONE Traditional Scottish Breakfast.

I was brave. I was daring. It was even the first thing I tried off my breakfast plate.

We took video (in case I died or something).

It was good! Spicy, but not too spicy. Overall good taste. Kind of weird texture, but not totally unappealing. Better when you mix it with something. Or have it with ketchup. I even finished it! (The rest of the breakfast was good, too!)

So, a note to all... Haggis is pretty damn good (if you don't think about what it's made of).

What WAC kids do on their time off...

So in slightly non-theatre-related news, we had our first days off this past Monday and Tuesday. Now what did we do with our time off, you ask? That's an excellent question! All nine company members packed their backpacks, coughed up some money, and took to the Highlands on Monday. Among other things, we saw Hamish the Hairy Coo (because why have a cow when you can have a coo?), Castle Doune (the castle prominently featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), the Famous Grouse Whisky Distillery at Glenturret, Loch Tay, and a whole lot of lochs and glens and mountains and waterfalls whose names I can no longer remember or spell properly. Once someone loads pictures onto a computer with internet, group picture at Castle Doune to follow.

Aside from that, we've been seeing a TON of shows. This whole festival is like every theatre geek's dream come true. I personally have seen 22 different shows now, not including the performances of our show that I catch every day. And in my backpack, I have tickets for at least 6 more shows, and Tess just booked our much sought-after tickets to Samuel L. Jackson's new masterpiece, Snakes on a Plane. Yes, we're seeing Snakes on a Plane while we're here. Cindy and Val at least have some sense and will be sitting that one out, but the rest of us are geared up for what is sure to be a liberal dose of Sammy J, cheesy plotlines, and of course snakes.

On a final note, Tess and Bobby and I finally gave into our temptations and tried the last thing we needed to complete our mandatory Scottish food consumption. This list includes whiskey, haggis, chips and brown sauce, and...deep fried Mars Bar. Yeah. We bought a Mars Bar that had been dunked in a deep frier. And OH MY GOD. I'm lucky I didn't die of heart attack, but even if I had it would have been worth it. On that unhealthy note, it's time to go see another show, and then do our own. Yesterday we had our biggest audience yet, so here's hoping today gives us even more.