The land of song and story

It's Saturday, a little after noon - and all the boys are in rehearsal now...so I thought I'd pop up to Casey's Hotel and Pub to use their internet. £2 a half hour, but it's ridiculously faster than the internet connection at our house...so worth it to catch up for a moment. I tried yesterday to upload some pictures at the house, but the connection's too slow...so it may be upon our return before there are pics. Sorry about that :(

At any rate - the version of The Zoo Story that I directed went up last night. Crazy day. We had a really great rehearsal in the morning, except that about 5 pp from the end, it began raining. It rained, and rained, and rained...for the rest of the day. Finally, Kenny and I decided there was no way to perform in the open air ampitheatre, so we made the official call - the performance space would change to the courtyard at the cafe...there's a tarp that covers it (mostly) from the rain. B. and L. came up to check out the space at 6pm...they walked through some of the blocking, then went back to the house to get ready. By this time, it was a wild storm - gale winds blowing, torrential rain, the whole deal. The tarp keeps you mostly dry, but there's nothing to cut down the sounds (amplified by the plastic tarp) or the biting winds. PLUS, we''d never rehearsed in that space. With the storms, we had an intimate house of 9 people. And they LOVED IT! One group stayed for dinner afterwards and spent their entire meal discussing the play. They're coming back tonight to see the other version. Another pair of people stopped B. and L. after the performance and talked to them about it for a good 20 minutes. They loved it. And it was so gratifying to see a performance - with so many challenges built into the atmosphere, that was so well received and spurred so much discussion. I was exceptionally proud of both the actors. They adapted quite well to the space, and the noise...they connected beautifully with one another, and truly told the story.

A little strangely anticlimactic...my show is over. Wow. But it was good - and it reached people. It truly reached people. I'm excited to see how things go this evening. AND...from here on out, for another 8 days - we're on vacation!

We'll stick around in Baltimore until Monday morning (amongst much protest. Jo, one of the Perry sisters, has mounted a campaign to keep us here for the duration of the trip. It's tempting too...on Monday, here at Casey's they have a jam session with musicians from around the area. Jo pulls out her fiddle, Liz and Tessa will play and sing...and who knows what else. THEN, a midnight kayaking trip at Loch Hiyne...a lake that has phospherents (sp?) in it, making it glow at night...yeah, tempting) and then we'll head off to London. I hate to leave it here, but I have to admit, I'm excited for the Globe - we'll get to see AT LEAST a production of Midsummer there, and since I've been reading "The Story of England" I really want to explore The Tower and some of the more historical places that I skipped over the last time I was there. B's going to Stonehenge - WOW - ...THEN, back to Dublin for a couple of days in an Irish city. There are parts of this trip that are a little whirlwind, but I'm loving it.

Last night, after the performance, B., L., Kenny and I hung out with Jo and Tess (we're living at the house with Tess, she came here 11 years ago, planning to stay for the summer, and never left). First we ate at a.mazing dinner at the cafe, hung out, drank some wine, laughed...then up to Casey's pub for a rousing game of Switch. A card game - it's very complicated, but pretty raucous and terrific.

Oh, and the night before - to celebrate L''s birthday (as if dancing on a cliff in the middle of the night wasn't enough), we went to Skibereen to Paragon's pub. Live music (an Irish guy covering American bands) and a game of Cricket on the tv. B. and I were hungry and by the time we got there no one was serving food except for an Indian take out place. It turned out to be an amazing deal - £21 and we got great Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, and a pizza for B. (they served Indian, Irish, and American food :). The best food deal so far I think...I'm tempted to go back there now!

Every minute is packed with amazing moments. I think that there's something especially magical in the air here. The food at Glebe Gardens is terrific. Jean Petty (mom) gets up at 5am to bake fresh Rosemary rolls with rosemary from the gardens. Last night we had a ravioli, the pasta was made fresh, and Jo had prepared the filling...ricotta, parmesan, mint, thyme...some other things, I don't remember...but all perfect. It's quite simple to imagine coming here for holiday and deciding never to leave.

OH! and the wishing tree...on Thursday, we went to Loch Hiyne, a lake with a forest around it. Kenny walked us all back through the forest where the trees stretch up so high and the like breaks through in quivering squares. It was magical. Then, you come upon this delightful little mark. The Wishing Tree. It's a small tree, with a root system that has created a small pool. And to it, people have attached...anything. Pieces of ribbon, a waterford crystal clock, lighters, rocks, beads, and coins of every nation in the pool. We left a Zoo Story/Pure High flyer and an American coin. I wished for two things.

So that covers the highlights. There's been a lot more tea, wonderful chocolate, some napping, more walking, listening, drinking it in, drinking it up...just basically, the most perfect time you could imagine. I'm off to enjoy some more of it!