Week #3: Our final week of rehearsal

As life here isn't exactly chock full of excitement, I have a feeling that this blog is probably going to be updated weekly, barring amazing and exciting events...

Sunday, May 27
We begin rehearsals with our newest cast member, Chris, who is playing Mr. Thompson, the newspaper editor, and Dr. Watt's arch nemesis in the Cariboo elections (which historically, is totally inaccurate, as they were never in Barkerville at the same time, but hey, drama always wins over fact, as the media is always so quick to remind us!). Rehearsals, coupled with 2 tours a day leaves s pretty wiped at the end of each afternoon, bu as our time with our director, Matthew, is limited, we plunge boldly on. Sunday night is a relaxing one, spent reading BABES IN TOYLAND, which I'm adapting for a holiday show this fall.

Monday, May 28
More rehearsals and tours- we have more school groups, which are usually fun, provided we have them in the morning! If they're scheduled for the afternoon, it's like giving the tour to a bunch of zombies, as they're all crashing from the sugar highs of lunch and all the candy they've bought in the morning... Otherwise, they're usually pretty good, the only issues arising being traffic control (which we are very quickly figuring out, and if Prancer, the town cat, goes waltzing through- we might as well institute a "feline shut-down" rule. Monday evening is another sword fighting session, with bigger welts and bruises as we all become a bit less hesitant with the swords- nevertheless, it's another great time, although
I can barely walk afterwards because my legs are so sore from 2 hours of lunging! Afterwards, I get together with Jacqueline and Lynnette to run lines, and then it's off for a hard night's sleep!

Tuesday, May 29
Tours and rehearsal, Tours and rehearsal. The big excitement is in the evening. Around 6pm I'm sitting at my computer, working on the program for the Dell'Arte MFA Thesis Projects, and the dogs across the street are barking incessantly. Now this is not an uncommon occurrence, as they are quite psychopathic, so I continue to work. Half an hour later, my neighbor asks me if I saw the GRIZZLY BEAR THAT WAS WANDERING DOWN OUR STREET! I say I didn't. I now pay a bit more attention to the dogs.

Wednesday, May 30
The weather gets consistently hotter each day, and I foresee a summer spent mostly in my vest in shirtsleeves, as just an hour in the heat gets me sweating, and we're expected to be on the street eight hours a day! I feel a bit sorry for the girls, whose costumes aren't quite as layered as ours, and whose apperance is far more dictated by the Victorian standards of dress. Naturally, we gentlemen encourage them to walk around in there bloomers and corsets, but I'm afraid it would cause just too much of a scandal... We enjoy one tour with a school group and one with a group of older folks, and continue to rehearse. Jacqueline and I enjoy a nice bike ride home through the increasingly blooming scenery, and I spend the night putting the finishing touches on the Thesis Program.

Thursday, May 31
It's hot on the street by 9am, and we bake during our rehearsals and tours. In the evening, park administration holds a "get-to-know-you" party at the Long Duck Tong, Barkerville's Chinese restaurant. The food is delicious, and FREE, making it doubly good, and the meeting that follows is pretty standard- everyone stands and introduces themselves, the bigwigs put forth some goals for the summer, talk about bear control, and read off a nice letter from a man whose relatives were very well known in town, singing the praises of the actors and interpreters in town- my boss, Faith, is very pleased, well, as pleased as she can get (she's a bit of a lioness- when she's happy, she's happy, and when she's not, she is NOT.) I bike home, check in with Kate after the opening night of her thesis project, and hit the hay.

Friday, June 1
It's our final day with our director, so after the morning tour, which is a GIGANTIC crowd of about 20 adults and 70 schoolkids, and which we do three-handed, as Lynnette is off for the day, we then rehearse hard in the HOT sun. Our afternoon tour is a skunk, (aka no one shows), so we do a bit more rehearsing, and then go and have ice cream and beer at the newly opened HOUSE HOTEL in town, celebrating our last day of rehearsal! Our director, Matthew, heads out that night, and we are officially on our own! After a great raft ride through the swamp outside of Wells, with Todd and Sasha & Lena (two of the workers at the St. George Hotel, I spend a quiet night at home, talking with the family, catching up on some emails and watching SAW III.

Saturday, June 2
As I have the day off, I wake up late, putz around the apartment for a bit, and then catch a ride into Quesnel with Jacqueline for some errand-running and grocery shopping. Who knows what the evening will hold? It's very strange that three weeks ago I was walking into this place for the first time, as it already feels like home! Great folks, spectacular scenery, and great fun. I'm only sad that more of you can't make it up here to experience it first hand, and that it's so remote that I can't be with folks for the important events that are happening elsewhere!

Special HAPPY GRADUATION to my brother Soren, and a big CONGRATULATIONS to the M2s, for a succesful opening of your thesis projects!

Until next time-
Tyler