Category: Creativity

Creating something every day for 365 days

Nothing, really (Day 234/365)

Posted on by Dale

Other than clean house and cook for a lovely dinner party, I didn’t get a lot done.

I did explore a to-do list kind of website, stikkit.com, which has some interesting features, but again, I don’t want to have to open a website just to keep track of all my stuff. It might be good for short term collaborative kinds of things, like getting people’s input on what restaurant to go to after the Louvre exhibit. But daily basis, I don’t think so.

I also ditched my old recipe software for a new one that is much more Mac-like and easier to use. I used to use MasterCook, but they stopped making a Mac version, fools, and it’s hard to find something that well-designed. But I think MacGourmet is going to do it for me.

I did not get to the two simple things I wanted to do this weekend, i.e., listen to the next two pieces in William Blake and polish them a bit.

A concert (Day 233/365)

Posted on by Dale

Spent most of the day in spring cleaning, not my idea, but sometimes someone else will veer off on an unplanned agenda. Then all one can do is to obey.

Still, not a totally uncreative day: Masterworks Chorale had a concert up at Southwest Christian Church in East Point. We had been invited by the Southern Crescent Chorale to join them in a benefit for the Southwest Christian Care Hope House, a respite care facility for medically fragile children. Good cause, not a lot of prep, so off we went.

Beside the two adult groups, we had the Newnan High Singers and the Union Grove High School Concert Choir. Both very good in their very different ways.

Union Grove “won” (not that I regard it as a competition, but I do award points based on interesting music choices) with “Flanders Fields,” a modern, complex piece based on the poem by John McCrae. No one else even attempted to stretch the audience’s ears. We did classical church anthems, and Southern Crescent did choral chestnuts. (“Va pensiero,” anyone? Although if I were going on a concert tour of Italy, I’d think twice before doing that nation’s unofficial anthem.)

Small accomplishments (Day 231/365)

Posted on by Dale

I didn’t have a lot of time to work on anything today. More messing around with the 100 Book Club business at school, but mostly I had promised to emcee the school’s talent show tonight. It was not an ordeal by any means, but it sucked up most of the evening.

So I settled for taking a second look at William Blake’s Inn for Innocent & Experienced Travelers. I figure now that I have a computer that can handle most of what I can think of, it’s time to revisit each of the pieces and see what I left out in each one. It’s mostly going to be percussion, which always used to (and sometimes still does) throw the sound for a loop.

For instance, in William Blake’s Inn, I’ve added a gong to the proceedings. If I get adventurous, I’m thinking about some rolled cymbals and some windchimes as well.

Anyway, it’s posted over at the William Blake page.

Bits & pieces (Day 230/365)

Posted on by Dale

Nothing truly creative today; just a lot of craftsmanship.

Continued blog training for the kids at school. I am increasingly un-fond of Drupal, the software we’re using to run this multi-blog site.

I’ve begun shooting a video for the kindergarten department, showing how a kindergartener would go about taking an Accelerated Reader™ quiz. The kid we’re using is quite the natural, generally getting it in one take. He was a bit stiff in his first shot, struggling to remember his lines. I explained that instead of trying to remember the words, remember what he wanted: “I need an AR™ book. Can you help me find one?” His very next reading was dead-on. He’s already talking the lingo: shots, angles, and today, after I shot three scenes with him wearing different clothes from yesterday (doh!), continuity.

I’ve updated the Unexpurgated Guide to GHP, and the GHP Wiki for Newbies.

I even pulled up the script to A Christmas Carol, I was amazed that InDesign CS2 could even open a PageMaker file that old, updated the fonts and layout, exported to PDF, and sent it off to Mike Funt, who for some reason wants me to spend my time modernizing all my archives (Green Eggs & Ham, anyone?) and sending them to him for his archives. But then he’s always been a selfish bastard.

Now I’m off to peruse my two new books on theatre business, both by Charles Grippo. Very clearly explained, and very scary. I did not know before, but now I do, that there is a contract for actors who have to do nude scenes.

Workshop, 3/20 (Day 229/365)

Posted on by Dale

Another productive evening: Marc, Dale, Carol Lee, Laura, and Melissa in attendance.

Carol Lee brought in the latest approximation of the sunflower (no picture yet). More leaves, longer stem. Very nice. Much discussion of how to dye the elastic. Later, Carol Lee had several brain attacks on how to solve the whole stem/leaves/elastic situation. She left early to put those into practice.

Laura had her approximation of the hedgehog costume. We coerced a young dancer into trying it on.

Laura's hedgehogMaggie wearing the hedgehog suit

Laura worked on improving the headpiece into a hood. The texture of the eggshell foam is perfect.

We then worked on visual images, and here are the results:

First, a visual of Marc’s periaktos on steroids:

Marc's periaktos

You’ll notice the extra flaps on every side.

If you calculate carefully, you’ll see that each unit can give us nine different settings, i.e., closed position 1, open position, closed position 2, all times three.

Dale discussed going simpler for the May 3 performance, using single panels, painted on either side, used as puppet-walls. Lots of interesting choreography possibilities with the character/puppeteers manipulating the walls in space as the MMH “bustles through all the rooms.”

For Sun & Moon Circus, we had some beautiful images.

Tiger & Rabbit in jammies

Marc continues his motif of bedtime attire.

Moon on a swing

Marc’s entrance of the Moon: a giant swing-thing, ridden by an angel.

Dale's rabbit

Dale’s rather frightening Rabbit, peering through the window and reassuring whichever character. This painting is unfinished, so perhaps Dale can cuten up the bunny a bit.

Planet Clowns

Dale has the clowns as Pierrot, silver-faced and silver-gloved, playing with the planets, while above an angel walks a tightrope. (Her umbrella is out of the frame, of course.) This clown is turning back to look at us in a bit of choreography Dale says is inspired by the orchestration of the new circus music.

Marc’s idea (from comments on the Lacuna blog) about putting the Tiger, King of Cats, etc., on a circular bed in the middle of the circus gathered steam. They would be projecting sun/moon images from their magic lantern while the circus careened around them. The Rabbit could rotate the bed as ringmaster.

Moving on the Man in the Marmalade Hat, we got a couple of Toastheads:

Marc's Toastheads

Marc’s Toastheads, bearing banners and marching forth.

Melissa's Toastheads

Melissa’s Toasthead, all starched flat and bearing a banner. It’s interesting that both Marc and Melissa have given them ties.

Dale had brought in some trash from Multec, foam of varying dimensions and densities. We considered that if we were able to get some whole pieces of the thinner foam, we might build the Toastheads’ costumes out of that: flat but flexible. Are their movements starched as well?

Next week: more painting/drawing/sketching. Let’s focus on Sun & Moon Circus, since that’s one we need a fairly complete storyboard projection.

Hedgehogs (Day 228/265)

Posted on by Dale

Met with our horde of hedgehogs again today and began teaching them their portion of the Man in the Marmalade Hat choreography. Oh my. This is going to be quite hysterical. They sniffed and slid with gusto, they marched, they did their little jumping tours with complete adorability. Ms. McDonough, their music teacher, could not keep a straight face.

I’ve been thinking, too, that perhaps we could use them in Marmalade Man Makes a Dance as well. I’ll try playing Follow the Leader in the next session. If they can do it, then we just let Galen lead them.

Next step: get the letter prepared to go home to their parents.

Bonus: I played with our “successive approximation” idea.

Successive Approximation

Sunflower waltz (Day 226/365)

Posted on by Dale

Finally.

Either I have finished the sunflower waltz, or I have given up. In any case, I have reached a stopping point and I think I can leave it alone until I have to actually consider giving it to a cast to rehearse in the fall of 2008.

I backed off the first “big” moment and kept the second one. We’ll see how it works. And no, I’m not going to put it online yet. I want to hear it a couple more hundred times first.

Lost early weekend (Day 224 & 225/365)

Posted on by Dale

I had to go to Valdosta yesterday and just got back today, so I’m claiming travel as an excuse for not having done anything.

I got back this afternoon and had email from the Coweta Arts Tidbits that said Andy Denney was playing at the coffee shop, so I decided to have a couple of martinis and head on over. So here I am sitting with Michelle Morgan and Enrique Lopez, of all people, catching up on everyone’s lives.

But creative? Other than nailing down some issues to make sure that we won’t have the same problems this summer that we had last summer, i.e., we’ll have brand new ones, I’ve not really done anything. Bought some lime-infested vodka, which I mixed with gin to see if would make a palatable martini, and it does, I’ve done nothing productive.