Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for On The Road

Settling In

December 20, 2016 at 8:40 am by Claudia

The only time I have to take photos is in the early morning and this apartment does not get a lot of light – it faces another building – so, though I tweak as best I can, this is the best I can do. At some point, I will be home during the afternoon and then I’ll take some more photos.

I hung the quilt I made horizontally this time – to cover up three random mirror squares that were spread out along this wall. I wish I could reposition them. It’s a neat idea to have mirror squares on the wall because they reflect light, but they would be much more striking if they were positioned much closer together.

Perhaps I could hire myself out as decorator for these apartments?

Same thing on the other wall, three 12-inch square canvases placed much too far apart. They’d be quite effective if they were in a row with about an inch or two of space between them. And, I might add, they’d be a lot easier to cover if a visiting actor or designer wanted to hang something temporarily. And a lot of actors do that. They spend a long time here, so they want to make their apartments as homey as possible.

The little tinsel tree is on a table next to my desk. But I may move it elsewhere.

I brought my Roseville window box planter along with me – it’s a great place to stash note pads and scotch tape.

For some reason, two decorative hooks were placed with on the wall above the desk. Since my original idea of hanging wreaths on the windows was thwarted when I realized there was nothing to hang them from, I welcomed the gosh-darned hooks.

It’s as if they knew I was coming with these wreaths.

I can’t wait until I can get better photos! These are driving me a bit crazy.

Yesterday was a busy day, with a meet and greet starting off the day. That’s when the cast and staff and designers get a chance to meet each other. Then we had a read-through of the script, a break for lunch, and then we began what is called table work. That’s when we go through the text, scene by scene, with the director, the actors in that particular scene, the dramaturg, stage manager and me. Questions are asked, pronunciations are clarified, the director explains what he envisions in that scene  – it’s a chance to generate some initial dialogue and it’s always valuable.

We’ll continue with that today as we we work our way through the play. I love table work. I learn a lot and I get a chance to listen to the actors and get a sense of their speech and rhythms and the way they approach the text. I take notes and refer to those notes when I start to coach the actors one-on-one.

I slept much better last night. My cough, by the way, was not due to a cold, just sinus/post nasal drip from all the rather drastic changes in the weather this past week. The bed is very different from our bed at home. It’s very firm – not hard – just nicely firm, so it takes a night or so for my body to adjust to it. I slept right through the night, so I’m feeling much more rested.

Happy Tuesday.

 

 

Filed Under: Christmas, Hartford, On The Road, Shakespeare 26 Comments

On the Road

December 19, 2016 at 7:24 am by Claudia

Hi, everyone. Just a quick post today. Yesterday was long and tiring and I didn’t sleep well last night. A cough kept me from falling asleep – very frustrating – so I’m going on fumes today.

It rained a lot yesterday, especially when I was loading the car. The trip across New York and Connecticut was very foggy and there were several backups along the way. But I made it. The apartment is taking shape, though there have been some changes that, let’s just say, I’m not thrilled about. A big old faux-leather sofa that has no support, so my back is complaining loudly, and lots of black tables.

There is a much nicer television, however, and some more shelves on which I can store things, and the dining room table and chairs have been updated. I’ll try to take some photos later today, but I have a full day ahead of me and some prep work to do before I leave.

I managed to decorate my little tinsel tree (from Target) with some vintage Shiny Brites and battery operated lights that I found on Amazon. It’s awfully pretty!

And despite being in the apartment with a tiny tree, some bokeh for you!

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Christmas, Hartford, On The Road 26 Comments

Snow. A Lot of It.

December 17, 2016 at 9:35 am by Claudia

Taken around 7:30 am this morning. It’s still coming down.

Well, I have been taken by surprise. Don informed me last night that snow was on the way. For some reason I hadn’t checked the weather for Saturday. I was more concerned about Sunday, the day I travel to Hartford. I could kick myself because there is some shopping that needs to be done and I could have done it yesterday.

Yesterday was a day that saw me lose it – finally – over the whole election and a feeling of hopelessness came over me that I couldn’t shake. I won’t go into it here except to say what I’ve just said. It hit Don, as well.

Today I have to pack and do some last minute work on some foreign language sections of the text of The Comedy of Errors. I had planned to grocery shop, but depending on when this now-going-on-6-inches of snow ends and on how long it takes us to dig out, I may end up doing that on my way to Hartford.

I took these photos when I went out in my flannel pajamas (and a coat and boots, of course) to see if the New York Times had been delivered. I’m not at all surprised that it wasn’t there – the roads hadn’t been plowed. Don came out to join me and take some pictures of his own.

We’re both getting sad that I’m leaving. We really do love being together. We like our life here in the cottage, our routines, the comfort that this place provides. But we also know we need to shake it up a bit and, as always, once I get to Hartford and get settled, I’ll adjust. And so will Don.

We’ll have to deal with this again in the spring. This time, not only will I be working at the theater again, Don will be journeying out to the LaJolla Playhouse in LaJolla, California (just up the road from San Diego) at the same time to work on a new musical. It features the music of Jimmy Buffett and it’s called Escape to Margaritaville. He auditioned last week, had a callback the next day, then another callback on this past Monday so that Jimmy Buffett could see and hear him. He thought he most likely wouldn’t be cast as they’d also auditioned actors in Los Angeles, but he got the job! It will be a lot of fun for him. And bonus for me – his run extends well beyond my time in Hartford, so I’ll be able to fly out and visit him. Huzzah!

Dear friends, tomorrow will be too crazy for me to post. So I will take the day off from posting and be back again on Monday morning. Okay?

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Don, Hartford, On The Road, snow 76 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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