Styles: East Park Retirement Community

I love bringing the tour to East Park, it's like putting on a play in someone's living room. We've done that, too, in the past, but in this case it looks like someone's rather large living room, on a stage at the far end of a well-appointed dining hall.

They always take good care of us there, those of us who could arrive a little early were treated to supper (thank you!) and this event is annually part of a larger event for the community, so there are speeches and dinner while we set up and then we get to perform for a large appreciative audience who happen to be well-fed and in great spirits.

The public is welcome, and this evening there was a family which included several teenage girls who were excited to see a live performance and had a lot of questions afterward about how you get into theater. We gave them a tour "behind the scenes" after the Q&A -- I warned them, "You will not be impressed!" But of course, they were, seeing all the tricks we use to keep this set together, the big pile of costumes and how simple the sound system is. And so on.

This venue provided the biggest backstage area we have had to-date, which made everything, especially the quick costumes changes, run much more smoothly. In addition, we were all much more aware of diction and taking our time with the lines. We knew there may be folks in the audience who might require careful delivery, and the room was wide and deep and quite full. It added a few minutes to the performance, but seriously, no one minded.

Tomorrow ... a day off! An honest-to-goodness day off! I do not mind saying I am exhausted, and I am not even the guy who does much of the heavy lifting. Michael and James have a very good system going, loading the large wall pieces (seven large wall pieces) into the van without scratching of damaging any of them, I would hate to get in their way. You know?

Sunday is 2 PM at Clague Playhouse in Westlake. We will entirely fill up, I have no doubt about that at all, and the space affords no standing room. So if you are planning to attend, it would be wise to arrive early.