First day out on the new lens

Snowy Egret, Palo Alto
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

Well, I took the new lens out for a test drive this morning. I didn't get to the duck pond until nearly 9:40am, by which time the light was already rather harsh. Still. The lens performed perfectly, the weather was delightful, and this little guy posed very patiently. Woo hoo!

Zen and the Art of Organ Maintenance

Inside the Hammond C3
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

We had a swinging rehearsal at our house tonight to officially welcome the Hammond C3. Afterwards, Pat showed me how to perform the required annual maintenance of the organ by putting the prescribed amount of official Hammond Oil into the reservoirs in the back of the instrument.

World's best anniversary present

[So, I walk into my local camera store this morning, armed with the name of the famous naturalist and photographer who knows the owner plus a printout showing the prices available at the large mailorder camera store in New York. I want to make a big purchase, I want to do it locally, but I don't want to pay a premium. I'm expecting a conflict. I hate conflict.]

Me: Hi, is [name of owner] here?
Owner: Hi, what can I do for you?
Me: I was sent here by [name of famous photographer]. I'm interested in a Canon 500mm. And believe it or not, my wife is actually encouraging me to buy it.
Employee: Quick, get his money now!
Owner: Well, what kind of price would make you interested?
Me: If I could match the price from [mail order place], I'd be really happy.
Owner: No problem, we'll order it, i'll be here next week
Me: Great!
Owner: Be sure to take your wife out to dinner before the lens comes in!

Dan and I walk across the street to get some coffee. I'm feeling all tingly. And they even had the Kirk quick release plate in stock.

Woo!

Healdsburg Guitar Festival

Main Exhibit Floor
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

Pat Smith invited me up to Healdsburg for the Healdsburg Guitar Festival this weekend. This festival brings together an impressive collection of high-end luthiers and guitarists from bluegrass to classical to jazz for an intense weekend of concerts, workshops, and exhibits.

We performed for an hour in the Cabaret (a respite for those overwhelmed by the exhibit floor), after which I was Pat's teaching assistant for a workshop entitled "Stuff about the Blues". The next day we were the host band for Tom Ribbecke's legendary festival party, hosted at his nearby workshop. Despite the long drive, we had a great time!

Ashland Day Four

The Belle's Strategem

A delightful 18th century play by a female playwright, this show makes a wonderful counterpoint to Shaw's The Philanderer. Both are concerned with the changing roles of women in a changing society. Strategem offers a less cynical take on marriage, and seems to offer a lot of social commentary on the comparative manners of English versus continental women. Apparently, this play hasn't been performed in nearly a hundred years. I hope it gets another revival soon.

Ashland Day Three

Richard III

Probably the best show of this weekend, perhaps the best show of this OSF season. This sequence of the history plays that began several years ago with Dan Donahue fabulous portrayal of Harry becoming Henry V. James Newcomb hinted at greatness last year with his portrayal of Richard in Henry VI. He commands the stage this year as Richard III, by turns beguiling and terrifying, flitting around the stage with alarming switfness on crutches only to brought to the ground by his deformity. The barren set, punctuated only by two enormous columns, keeps attention riveted on the characters. I also loved the haunting character of Queen Margaret, who haunts the back of the set everytime her name is invoked. Robin Goodrin Nordli's blood-curdling delivery of Margaret's dire insults was outstanding.


Twelfth Night

It's hard for new performances of Twelfth Night to distinguish themselves in my memory, having seen this play quite a few times. OSF can produce just such a performance, as it did last year with an inspired Los Vegas setting of Comedy of Errors. This year's Twelfth Night is particularly noteworthy for Ken Albers's excellent performance as Malvolio. Where most actors make Malvolio into a blustery, overblown character, Albers offers us a quiet, intense figure, still pompous but much more believable. The power struggle between Maria and Malvolio during the late-night kitchen brawl was wonderfully believable and quite different from any other version I've seen.

Ashland Day Two

Napoli Millionaria

A multi-generational family drama about life during wartime. A moving script, brilliantly acted, fabulously costumed, with a set that powerfully evokes the narrow streets and crowded living conditions described in the program notes. Particularly great performances from Linda Alper and Richard Elmore.


Love's Labors Lost

I'm certain this is not Shakespeare's wordiest play, but I think the program notes were right to say it is one of the plays most centrally about language itself. The characters spend most of the play delighting or amusing each other with improvised poems, witty insults, and dopey love sonnets. After having seen this play several times, I still don't understand the emotional flow of the ending. The abrupt appearance of a messenger announcing the death of the King of France and the suddenly serious conversations of the four previously happy-go-lucky young couples feels out of place. It's almost as though Shakespeare didn't quite know how to end the thing. OSF applies its usual high standards to this production, but I can't say this play is a favorite.

Ashland Day One

Gibraltar

This compelling new play was the result of a unusual collaborative process between the playwright and several of the company members. It weaves together a collection of brief stories about love gone wrong. The performance we attended was cursed by an electrical power failure that forced both an unscheduled intermission and the running of the second half of the show with houselights up. Despite the intimate nature of the New Theatre, both cast and audience stayed in the moment and were not distracted by the lighting irregularities, a tribute to both.

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus

I really enjoyed the lavish, macabre staging of this play on the Elizabethan stage. With its heavy candlesticks, occult symbols, and piles of skulls, it evoked Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Far and away my favorite aspect of this production was Ray Porter's portrayal of Mephostophilis -- mysterious and menacing, tightly controlled but prone to frightening bursts of temper or appetite.