A Good Weekend . . . without Theatre

It was a good weekend filled with fun although it seemed a little strange. It was the first weekend following the close of Culver City Public Theatre's (CCPT) 6-week 2007 season. It was sort of nice not having to head to the park for the 10:00 a.m. call or to think about remembering lines. However, I really did miss those young audience members who made King Midas such a memorable performance experience every weekend of the run.

I do offer just one last theatre photo (provided by Laura Boccaletti) and then on to other things. It shows Heidi Dotson (in the center) who wrote the script and directed King Midas receiving a bouquet of roses during the curtain call from The Ancient One and Sharon Savene. Heidi, who also is a CCPT board member, is one of those special people who work enormously hard and for whom it was a pleasure to be a cast member. She was brave enough to offer me the title role and she brought some acting talent out of me that I was not aware I possessed. And so, a public thank you to Heidi.

As for this past weekend, it was wonderful. On Saturday evening we attended the wedding of Nicole Schiff and Daniel Brozost. We have been friends of the Schiff's since we moved to Palos Verdes in 1982. We watched Nicole and her sisters Shanti and Arielle grow up. The wedding was held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The ceremony was framed by "the breathtaking three-story Blue Cavern aquatic exhibit." It was truly a magnificent evening.

Yesterday provided another special and exciting event. Donna's voice teacher, Bradley Baker, occasionally has his students perform at an "open mike" night he sponsors at the M Bar in Hollywood. This time Donna led offer the entertainment with Unchained Melody. What can I say; my unbiased opinion is that she was truly outstanding. And thanks to friend Jim Shneer, I offer the below photo which is pretty good considering the lighting (or lack thereof).

A number of friends were there to cheer Donna on in her 2^nd M Bar appearance and to support the other performers as well. If I'm not mistaken, based on their comments at dinner after the show, they shared my assessment of her performance. Bradley and pianist Byron Smith rounded out the evening, with performances that add a seasoned-professional touch.

So the first weekend following CCPT came to an end. It was great. . . I survived the "weekend after" with flying colors. And now for more of the same with, as will become evident in later posts, a bit of travel added in.