Day off.

Rehearsing 42nd Street with our fantastic gang has been a pleasure, but the day off can be a really nice thing too. I left my Vista family's place around 11 and ran errands before venturing north to Laguna for my first visit to the Sawdust Festival. I always love the laid-back vibe of this place and enjoy bringing along a sketch book to jot down any inspirations that pop into my head. I then made my way north, hitting up various haunts along the way. One stop was in Hollywood as the sun had just set. This photo shows the Pantages Theatre and Columbia Records building along with the amazing sky. Now I'm chilling at my own place and getting ready to jump into my own bed for the first time in quite a while. Then I'll be heading back to Vista tomorrow for our first dress rehearsal. The adventure continues...

New moon.

Just a quick post as I'm in the midst of tech rehearsals at the new Moonlight Amphitheatre... I am so in awe at how a community can come together to create something like this new facility. The city passed a bond a few years back that included a new fire station, a new city hall building, and a new stage house for Moonlight. The place is beautiful, well-appointed, and just plain inspiring when a Moonlight vet thinks back to where it all began.

Well before I first joined the family, Kathy Brombacher – then a high school drama teacher – started a meager summer season on a slab of concrete in the middle of Brengle Terrace Park in Vista. The seasons and audiences grew, and by the time I had the pleasure of doing my first show with them in 1995 they had established the single-level stage house and lighting grid. We dressed in plywood dressing rooms behind the stage and did our makeup at picnic tables. Trees in the backstage area dropped spiders on us and ants devoured any food left out (including prop food). Scenic drops had to be slid on and off from the side (and paged by a stagehand). Until a full modular trailer was added years later, the one bathroom backstage was a little walk down the driveway in the production office. And I don't think anyone working for Moonlight over the years would trade these years for anything. But...

When I walked up the hill for my first rehearsal at the new facility, I was incredibly moved at 1. how the construction and everything was accomplished in just nine months and 2. how everything thing was done so incredibly right... with amazing forethought. Full fly loft with an automated flying system, state of the art sound system with fill speakers for every crevasse of the amphitheatre, an actual orchestra pit with acoustic flexibility, a costume room with laundry facilities, a roomy shop, a sound-proofed rehearsal room (and costume carousel), dressing rooms with bathrooms and showers, air-conditioning. The seats were all replaced and the lawn areas filled and graded for better seating and comfort. And everything, backstage and front of house, is all ADA compliant. It is a truly breathtaking accomplishment for this community, and I'm really happy and proud to be a part of the first musical produced on the stage. In fact, I'm a little tickled to say that I got to be the first person amplified via wireless body mic through the new system. After a fifteen year association with Moonlight (meager compared to many here), I love that I have the tiniest little personal milestone to put in my "scrapbook."

That's all for now. I've got to dig into my wonderful "day job" and get some drawing done. Take care, all! Peace and love.

Creativity jump started.

Just a quick post from beautiful Vistavision. (That would be Vista, CA, land of the Moonlight Amphitheatre.) I'm still in my first week of rehearsals, but a good majority of the cast has been at it for a month. They rock! Such a nice and talented gang of folks to be playing with. We have our first rehearsal on the beautiful new Moonlight stage tonight which is very exciting.

But as you may know, the past couple weeks has seen a lighter output of artwork from me since I've been busy at rehearsals and performances. I prepared my weekly sketches in advance and deferred my other projects so the only thing I'd have to worry about in Wichita was the Camelot sketch. It's just not the easiest thing to maintain a heavy illustration workload while spending so much intensive time preparing for a show. SO... my high-output rhythm of the past few months took a bit of a breather. I've realized a couple of things: 1. As it is with anything, a little break can be a good thing for rejuvenation. 2. Taking too much of a break from something one is meant to do can cause one to feel rudderless, ill at ease, or even irritable. I'm tackling some projects this morning and I feel great. It's like I've needed to get back to my art and there's a sort of release now that I'm back at it. Anyway... just thought I'd share. Back to work...