Adelaide addenda - community

Llysa here. This is a wordy, thoughtful one. fair warning.

Easter. Travelling ADL - SYD - Wellington, NZ. Choccies in bag (Haighs bunny and a Humpty Dumpty egg filled with smaller eggs)
So - we are sipping Cooper's Sparkling (ahhh!) at the Adelaide airport, online FREE, thanks to Internode. How incredibly civilized... and I am thinking about the last conversation we just had - with a customer service rep for Qantas as we were checking in. She had seen a few things at the Fringe, not as much as she wanted, but she had heard about us, and Caravan Chronicles in Glenelg. (She lives there, I guess).

It is thrilling and humbling, actually, to think that people note us, for any reason, yet I suppose we strive in all our paths for such recognition. Yesterday, we went to a SANFL footy match - West Adelaide against Sturt. The Bloods vs the Double Blues. It seems as if Sturt has prevailed the last 13 years or so.... and yesterday it looked like that record was to be upended. 3000+ people were howling, thrashing and yelling encouragement or epithets at various players. (And referees - that seems to be universal). After a lopsided first half, Westies began to win, eking out points after grisly single point, instead of running off with 6's. Final score - 76-67. Double Blues. (That one's for you, Pete.) Actually, the stats for Bloods scoring with high marks was better, but you could see them struggling just to run down the field at the end of the match.
But still game, and still running. Aggressively matching and still leaping to the last horn.

I know the feeling. After this incredible effort to be here in Adelaide, running after venues, audiences and (insert need here), then running after friends to catch up, I feel the exhaustion catch up with me. And the emotional cost - nearly all this time my mom has been in and out of the hospital, plus all the producer-y stuff theater simple IS, but I am still running, toward whatever the future holds. And while, due to fatigue, I may be a little slower, I am aiming better, I think. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the Pacifica tour holds, in terms of discovery. And then we tour the South (Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia.)

Right now, I am looking at cruising and thinking. Travels with good friends, to new places. Life is pretty good, and my spirits are rising on Easter.

Tip for a big sip. And a look toward the goals before I start running again.

muchas smoochas - thanks Adelaide. (And my family - both of blood and of love. You know you overlap.)

sorry for the goo - sometimes sweets melt on Easter...

Fond Farewells

In a mere matter of hours we leave Australia. This is usually quite a sad moment. In years past it would have been two years since we last saw friends, and saying goodbye would mean another two years before seeing them again. But with the Fringe Festival having gone annual, everything feels a bit more "normal". Heck, there are many friends in Seattle that I don't see every year!

Still, it has been a week of lovely goodbyes (or hello's in some cases). We are so very grateful for the friends that we have here in Adelaide, for, truly, without our friends we would not be able to do the work that we do in Australia.

So to Graham, Bernadette, Christie, Corinna, Mirella, Scott, Andrew, Yvonne, Lisa, Lisa, Jo, Glenn, Joel, Rod, Rod, Pete, Peter, Leslie, Elizabeth, Phil, Jenny, David, Kim, Adrian, Jodi, Julie, Carolyn, Sa, Bruce, Louise, Tim, Jane, Gary, Janine, Marissa, Hannah, Hannah, Sophie, Ruby, Molly, Ailsa, Anna, Skye, Christie, Guy, Rosemary, Rosie, Caitlin & Steve........

THANK YOU, much love, good health, and we will see you next year.

oxoxoxox

the simpletons

Adelaide Fringe 2007 Is Now Done!!!!

Our performing for this trip has ended!

We had our last performances for the Fringe out in the middle of Light Square on Saturday, and then moved everything down to Marion for their Sunday community festival. We had hundreds of people come through our set up, see the artwork that had been created here in Australia, along with the funny, sad, and down-right touching family stories and memories that people took the time to write down our our paper plates during our run here.

During the day we encouraged everyone to write down their stories to add to the boards, and we even had the chance to interview a number of people on our Park Bench. It was a great way for us to end our shows here in Australia. And the best part was we were parked right in front of a WONDERFUL old gum tree.

This week is our last week in Adelaide. We're busy taking apart all the bits and pieces of our set that we worked so hard to create, as well as make sure that we catch up with those who are near and dear to us...as we've not had much time to do so until now!

On Sunday we fly to New Zealand to catch up with some more friends, and try and make some future contacts (and new friends) so that we might possibly start performing there as well. If any of you know someone in New Zealand we should say hi to, let us know!!!

For now...we're going to take our HUGE box of plates, and start logging each and every one. Reading the stories offered by those who came to see our show is nothing short of humbling. It's good to be reminded that we are all family, and home can be anywhere you go in life.

Cheers,

Monique