♦ This girl always gets a lot of comments on Instagram.
It’s the hair, of course.
I wanted a Ferro Doll with curly hair for a long time. Though I envisioned her having dark hair, I ended up with this light-as-air curly blond hair. I’m happy it turned out that way.
♦ Oh, the weather. After a bit of snow late in the day yesterday, the rain turned to ice, and at some point today, it will turn back to rain. Any time ice is involved, we stay in the house until the issue is naturally resolved (if possible.) Looks like it will be resolved later today, so we’re going to sit tight in our little cottage.
♦ I’m trying to get motivated to start working on the Beacon Hill. For heaven’s sake, I’ve had it for at least 3 years and, except for my initial clean up and removal of unwanted large curlicues, I’ve done nothing. I think about it. I look at photos of other Beacon Hills. And I do nothing. Today, I’m going to look at IG miniatures accounts for inspiration. It’s huge, it’s blocking the light in my little cubicle, so it might as well block it prettily, you know what I mean?
♦ On a totally different subject, I want to address the cheapening of the standing ovation, something Don and I have observed for several years. When both of us were young actors, a standing ovation was rare. On those special occasions when you were on the receiving end of a standing ovation, my goodness, you felt as if you had landed on the moon! Everyone hugged each other backstage, holding that brief moment in time close. Amazing! Indeed, even into our middle age, they were rare.
Now? Every darned performance, the audience pops up immediately and applauds. It’s expected now, though why it is, I don’t know. It should be rare, magical, something to hope for but not count on.
I see a lot of theater, as you know. I can’t remember a time in the past 6 or 7 years – maybe even 10 years – where the audience didn’t stand and applaud. And, quite frankly, most of those performances, though good, did not deserve a standing ovation. They weren’t extraordinary, another word that is thrown around so much that it has lost its meaning. (I’m guilty of this occasionally.) Yes, applaud warmly, acknowledge the work of the actors and everyone involved, but don’t stand unless it’s remarkable.
The audience has made a collective decision that applauding means standing as well.
It doesn’t.
I feel sad for actors nowadays who will not experience the wonder of a true, unexpected, and rare standing ovation. It really was something special back in the day.
When the automatic standing ovation occurs, I stay seated. Occasionally, as when I watched Hamilton, I surge to my feet, as well. But only rarely.
There’s a whole list of things like this that have lost their original meaning and import and are now just another thing you say or do that means far less than it used to.
Don’t get me started on ‘awesome.’
This has been on my mind again since I saw the first preview of Dial M for Murder, which was okay but just okay. Nevertheless, like a collective jack-in-the-box, the entire audience popped up and applauded.
I stayed seated.
My thoughts for the day.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Claudia , I hear what you are saying about the expectation of the audience should stand at the end. I have stood because everyone else did not because of how great the performance was. I think it takes away from striving to give the best of oneself. I think as a society we have forgotten how to lose gracefully and applaud for the other person who really deserved it. I see that when it comes to books too. I read a lot. and I’ll give so many stars but I am amazed at how many books receive 5 stars. Why? And even movies seem to have lost the striving to give one’s best. All about checking the box. Just my opinion. Maybe people aren’t as discerning of what is great or excellent anymore. I realize I am all over the place
Yes, not every performance is great. Nor is every night of the run of a play the same. Some nights go badly. I agree with you, Trina.
Stay safe.
Hi Claudia, I don’t comment often… but I read regularly. I am a dollhouse person… that’s how I found your blog, so I keep coming back looking for the miniature treasures! (And you have pointed me to some good ones!) I know you will find your “entry point” for the Beacon Hill! I am here to encourage you to listen to your own voice in that house (not instagram’s current fads) because something called to you strongly enough about that house that you went out of your way to get it! (I have been paying attention!) I was like that about my Willowcrest kit… just something about the image spoke to me. I know it can be hard to winnow through all the clutter in the airwaves, but you’ve made your pallette a clean white starting point….. and surely there is some image that you first felt or saw about that house that made you want it! I await your development of this project eagerly…. but no rush! These things take time when done right. But just know I am egging you on in the wings…! :) (And sorry, I tend to be one of those people who uses awesome a lot….. :))
I never decorate my dollhouse according to fads! You can rest assured of that! I also don’t want it to look like a miniature version of whatever is in fashion at the moment.
Thanks so much for your encouraging words, Betsy! They are very helpful.
Stay safe.
I’ve also wondered as to when it became okay for an audience member to whoop and shout and holler in approval. I’ve even found myself doing it. But when did we decide that this type of ‘freedom’ around others was acceptable? Just seems audiences once had more decorum. Maybe I’m just picking at it, I dunno. It’s not heckling.
The whooping and hollering drives me a bit crazy – depends on the venue, of course. If it’s a rock concert – okay. Not in the theater, though, Let’s have some decorum!
Stay safe, Vicki.
A total aside but following up some chat between us sometime back: Just got thru reading Susan Branch’s latest blog post; sure does NOT now sound like she is retiring (to me, it’s been a little confusing!). Maybe she’s just ‘regrouping’. Streamlining. Change can be good! I had to think she’d still keep some kind of foothold in Calif on the beautiful Central Coast where she has her studio/store (she apparently has a big group of friends and relatives out here, too; thus, one can imagine the connections are a lure for her, East Coast to West). She looks good in a current photo; maybe our 70s really are the new 50s, or whatever ‘they’ are calling it these days.
You and Don certainly seem younger to me than your actual years … and, before you know it, you’ll be out there with your spring gardening, moving the body, keeping strong. All that walking you two are doing is keeping you in good shape! My own husband is still walking the big dog six miles per day (never, as a rule, missing a beat in nearly two years with the beloved beast; rain or shine). He planted a bunch of wildflower seeds on our hillside yesterday (fitting it in between rains, as more of the ‘wet’ is forecasted for next week). My high school friend in another state painstakingly harvested those seeds for me from his own garden, which he has planted specifically to nurture the monarchs. If I actually get blue aster and blue-purple lupine to match my blue-purple jacaranda tree (if we can only time it out correctly; maybe 90-120 days from now for the bloom?), I’ll be in my own brand of blue heaven! (Now, if I only could grow a blue hydrangea…)
We haven’t been walking much because the weather for the past three weeks has been crazy. Either dangerously cold or snow or rain. We hope to get back to it next week.
Oh, those wildflowers will be beautiful!
xo
I’m glad you wrote about the Standing Ovation. You can’t get away from them. I understand it a bit more with a community-type theatre. The audience is stacked with moms, dads, spouses and best friends who are so rooting for their person that they stand as soon as the lights go down, bringing much of the (already partisan) audience with them and to not stand when the rest are seems churlish. And (unfortunately but understandably) there is a different standard for excellence when you are working with pure amateurs. A very good local show may not be as prime as a pro show but considering what they have to work with — talent-wise, financially, etc. — I get it. Don’t always agree with it. But I get it.
But once you get into a higher level of theatre — and I count college as that, as well as road shows, regionals, etc. — you’re dealing with a different dynamic and I don’t understand the standing O for that. I’m a slow stander. (I didn’t even stand for Hamilton until I couldn’t see the stage because everyone in front of me was standing up). I know we all have different standards for what makes us rise and mine aren’t going to be the same as another patron. But you’re right — will the actors ever know what a real standing ovation “stands” for? I think not.
And then there is the case/argument — is it for the whole of the show or to recognize certain actors? I call that the staggered Standing O. I saw that this weekend with a mostly excellent production of Chicago. Minimal costumes, practically no set. MOST of the people were excellent and surprising for locals. Two or three, perfectly adequate, just too young for their roles. But the two principal women deserved a staggered standing O. Always a tough call.
I hope you find your mojo on the Beacon Hill. It’s definitely beautiful and I suspect once you get in gear, you’ll get on a roll! We’re getting the warmish rain that freezes at night and makes skating rinks on every street in town. Stay cozy!
Yes, I wasn’t talking about local/community theater, which is a different animal.
I’m not always comfortable with specific actors being acknowledged without the ensemble also being acknowledged. For what it’s worth.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Good morning, Claudia. I found your comments on standing Os so interesting, as my husband and I have long struggled with this in classical concert performances. As a former music teacher, of course I understand excited parents who leap to their feet when their child’s band, orchestra, or chorus performs, but oh,my,goodness – there are a lot of truly mediocre music performances that deserve polite clapping, but can we please save our Os for the breathtaking moments? I remember when I saw the Broadway performance of Amadeus – I found myself literally holding my breath, enchanted by the heartfelt and overwhelming beauty of the music. That has become my personal guide – if I’m watching a professional performance and I never held my breath at a particularly beautiful music passage, then I will of course clap but remain seated. Special recognition should equal special performance. Just my two cents’ worth! Have fun with your Beacon Hill! We are icy AND foggy here, not a great combination!
Yes! Let’s save it for ‘breathtaking moments!’ Perfectly said.
Stay safe, Martha.
I guess I’m an amateur. I have always given standing ovations. I’m so impressed that actors are putting themselves out there on stage in front of so many people! Sometimes I don’t like a play but it never occurred to me that the actors were at fault; I always thought the writer wasn’t so great. Thank you, now I know.
I too have a couple unfinished projects and have no idea why I am not starting them. I think once you get the creative spark you’re looking for the house will fall into place. Unless you’re reading a really good book… lol
Thanks, Betsy. Remember that actors do that for a living. That’s their skill.
Stay safe.
maybe some people stand because they were thoroughly drawn into the music and/or acting or because they don’t get to see such things very often, if at all, and so don’t find any flaws that might be there? or perhaps some standing ovations are less a signaling of an incredible performance and more of a way to say “thank you. i enjoyed it, had a good time and i appreciate all your hard work to make this possible”? for me, it’s all of the above. i appreciate your thoughts, though, especially given your work experiences (don’s, too) and will consider them the next time i go see a play or other performance (don’t know when that might be). thanks, claudia.
love that little ella. she reminds me so much of my maternal grandmother (her name’s ella and in older age, her dark straight hair turned solid white and curled, which is how i saw her, one of my wonderful white-haired grandmothers). i like the background, too … ella’s sisters in that clever bookcase, a dollhouse, that lovely rug.
you will find something that leads to work on the beacon hill and i am looking forward to seeing what you do there (no pressure intended).
good luck with the ice. we were to have that awful “winter-y mix” yesterday, but only got a bit of misting rain and no ice. thankful about that. might reach 35 every day this week and even 44 early next week. weird weather, to be sure, and not like the iowa winters of my childhood.
at page 242 in “war and peace” and think i am doing a pretty good job of keeping track of the relationships in it, which prince might like which young lady, which count is the father of this or that prince … haha. could use your vocal coaching on the pronunciation of the russian and french names, however! :)
happy, safe wednesday (and thursday, every day really) to everyone.
kathy
I think I can say that any performer would rather the ovation not be automatic, but well-considered. I’m talking about professional performers, most of whom tune them out now because they have become ubiquitous. You can say ‘thank you’ with applause, which is exactly what applause is meant for.
So happy you’re enjoying War and Peace, Kathy!
Stay safe.
Claudia, I so agree with your feelings on the standing ovation. Applause signals general appreciation, but the standing ovation should be for over the top performances. It has definitely lost it’s power. I look forward to seeing Beacon Hill. It’s hard to work on things until that inspiration really grabs you. Stay warm and safe.
Thanks so much, Barrie. Yes, the ovation should be for the creme de la creme.
Stay safe.
Interesting discussion about standing ovations. I think they should be reserved for really outstanding performances. The same as the word “awesome”. Everything is not awesome. A sunset may be awesome, agreeing to have lunch with a friend is not, lol. I also have a pet peeve when people respond to a thank you with the phrase no problem. Just say you’re welcome. Love sweet Ella and her blond curls. Our snow has melted, what little we had and it is drizzly and foggy out. Stay cozy. Hugs, Elaine
Yes, I completely agree with you.
Stay safe, Elaine.
I agree that sometimes the standing ovation and required 2 or three curtain calls seem strained. I feel the same way about comedy specials when the audience seems to laugh at everything….funny or not. I have been in the audience when the performance and performers have been spectacular and merit the applause. I don’t feel obligated to clap for ten minutes. I do see a difference in Europe and South America….they are more restrained or maybe discerning.
I want to be blown away by the performance….then I give a standing ovation.
On another topic, I just started the book, Prequel, by Rachel Maddow. Fascinating….and timely with what is happening politically.
Stay well.
I think those comedy specials are edited and have some sort of slightly enhanced laugh track.
Thanks so much, Maria.
Stay safe.
I’ve been puzzled myself for several years over the standing ovation thing. Been in many audiences where people immediately jumped up just as the clapping began. Very often Dean and I remain seated and shrugging in amazement over that response to an adequate but certainly not outstanding performance. They truly are meaningless now.
I feel your lack of motivation about the dollhouse. For me particularly at this time of year – stuck indoors with supposedly all the time in the world – it is especially hard to get enthusiastic about starting a project. It’s like my creative impulses all headed south for the winter. Checking IG for inspiration is a good idea.
Take care,
Kay
They are indeed meaningless. And it’s very sad.
Yes, the time in which I think I’ll be very motivated ends up being the time I’m not.
Stay safe, Kay.
Standing ovations are right up there with grade inflation and participation trophies and have become meaningless, a long-held pet peeve of mine. And I never, by which I truly mean never, use the word awesome; it became meaningless about thirty years ago.
I’ll be interested to see what you do with the Beacon Hill. It might even be that you’ll let it go on to a new home.
The participation trophies drive me mad.
I don’t think I’ll let the Beacon Hill go. It wouldn’t be easy to sell to anyone.
Stay safe, Margaret!
A person I recently met for the first time hugged me and said I was awesome. Maybe I am or maybe I’m not but she wasn’t in a position to know. She meant well I’m sure but It was an entirely meaningless gesture.
Exactly!
Thanks, Deborah.
Stay safe.