The Black Plague is upon us!
Lisa in happier days.
This one was for LISA. I received a truly pathetic phone call on Sunday morning from our fearless director, and she sounded miserable. We have worked together for almost ten years, I know what Lisa sounds like when she is ill, but she was even more upset than that, and for good reason. Her advisor from Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Directing, was flying in that morning to catch the 2 PM at CH-UH on Lee, and out again the same day, to see this show.
What’s the big deal? Maybe you hadn’t heard, but Decameron is Lisa O’s thesis production. She has been working overtime on this production for a year. It is the culmination of all her effort and good will. It’s important, dammit.
And she had a stomach bug. She still has it. Feel better, Lisa!
Rest assured, the show went on without her. I was able to introduce the proceedings in the character (ostensibly) of Giovanni Boccaccio, which actually gave the show context it doesn’t usually have. ”Hi, my name is Boccaccio. This is my story.” That doesn’t mean I want to do it again, I have a lot to think about before the show begins without having to deal with programs and calling places, etc.
Nice house, filled with all those brainy Cleveland Heights ex-beatnik types. Like, you know, my wife. And Lisa’s mentor from Roosevelt. He introduced himself after the show with a big smile on his face, I said how sorry I was she couldn’t be here and he said it was no matter, he knows the work she has done on it and was just there to see the show in its finished form. I think we gave him a very good, no-b.s. performance, which is more than I can say about the last couple of gigs. (*cough*)
In The Heights
Speaking of which, tonight we appear at Lakewood Public Library, which features the shallowest stage of the tour. A lot of blocking is going right out the window tonight. Come experience the madness!
