New place, old friend, new adventure, old stuff

Hiya. Llysa here. Here we are in Stone Mountain, Georgia, just outside the perimeter of Atlanta... we are halfway through the last leg of our 2007 Monster Tour, (over 90 days on the road since January) and boy are we ready to come home!
One of the bonuses, though, was getting to see an prior touring pal of mine. Long ago and far away, I traveled for a year with Up With People, cast C, 1983-84. The tallest guitarist in the organization was in my cast - and is currently living here in the Atlanta area- Blaise Fitzpatrick. Who, much to my chagrin, looks great and pretty much the same as when we travelled in one of several buses through any of -what... 7 countries? He and his wife and daughters live nearby, and Blaise came out to see 52 PICK UP at Art Station.

It is an interesting perspective, to consider that I have been taking acts on the road(as it were) since 1977. As Blaise pointed out, my cast should be having its 25th anniversary, and since I actually toured in high school, with my jazz choir... oof.
Let's just leave it at "There are many miles behind me." And I'll add - I expect there will be many miles before I stop.

What is it that keeps me on the road, yet still anchored to a few certain places? (Seattle, the West Coast of the US, Charleston, Adelaide, Australia) We even own an Airstream, to facilitate that wanderlust, should we be so inclined. Is it the desire to see new places, new faces, meet those strangers who are merely friends yet unmet? Or for that feeling, when one gets home and sees familiar faces, that there is 'no place like home'? Or the inevitable comparison, of one place to another... one community to another? Or is it the friends in many places that happen to be geographically removed, although emotionally close?

And, as a parallel, perhaps that is one of the reasons we've done 52 PICK UP so long... the scenes themselves are familiar, but it's always the transitions that are different, and fascinating, or ironic, or painful, honest and funny. And always surprising. It's the juxtaposition of the familiar with the current moment/situation.

Another not-so-old friend has popped up again, as well. Our second podcast of PARK BENCH in Adelaide has been posted to GCast! Monique rocked it out, as well as editing and uploading a video version onto YouTube! (And don't go too far - a third podcast is coming soon.)
The links are:
podcast: http://www.gcast.com/u/theater_simple/main
(you can subscribe thru iTunes, too)
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=thsimple

So, home soon........ and still transition. We move at the end of the month from Ballard to Magnolia here in Seattle. We'll be home, but between homes, exchanging one house for another, transitioning how we live, tour, and seeing if I can't shed stuff that isn't serving me, us, the company, etc... (hello, packrat Holland).

Wish me luck, and stop by... we'll be home, soon.

home and away

Hey there - it's May 1!!! How did that happen??!

OK - Llysa here - in Phoenix. Lots of transition going on in my family - with my mom, with my theater, with ME in my living circumstances - and here I am - away from theater and home, but with family. Soon to be with more family (in California) but still not home, or theater. Then - off to Orlando - because we are returning to the Orlando Fringe after 10 years with 52 PICK UP! (See new pic! Nancy Santos in Charleston is responsible - she is an amazing photog - has given us some of the best show shots we have.)
Didn't we just return from Australia and New Zealand? Also - to Walla Walla, back to Seattle, to Phoenix, back on Thursday - to the Bay Area - back three days later, then a week later - to Florida. And did I mention we're also working the parallel life? Have I been home 72 hours in a row? (No, actually.)

Here's the glamour tip from the road - take your pillow. And know there are times you get to coast... and other trips that are uphill in every direction.

If you are on the East Coast - we hope we'll see you. (If not - you get a second chance when we are in Atlanta in early June.) Oh yeah - we're going to be performing in Stone Mountain in June. (YAAAAAY!)
Then - King County all the way for the summer.

more later - off to watch a lightning storm. And wonder at my current life. Whew. Is the moon full?

(PS - we're taking a collection of boxes for moving. No joke. If you have some in the Seattle-area to share - let us know. thsimple@gmail.com.)

A whole new year! (plus/minus a few weeks) - Looking forward, peering back

Hey!
"Get out your calendar, Marge. theater simple is on the road!"
~ for much of 2007…
Maybe we’ll find ourselves in your neck of the woods, bend in the river or side of the road...

Roughly: (more info forthcoming)
FEBRUARY:
52 PICK UP
Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham Washington
http://www.mountbakertheatre.com/calendar.php#February
February 2, 9 and 16, 2007 at 8pm.

MARCH:
52 PICK UP
Vernon and District Performing Arts Center, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.ticketseller.ca/
March 10, 2007

March 11 – we fly to Australia to meet up with Monique, for
CARAVAN CHRONICLES
our Australian variation and expansion of TRAILER TALES: Weekend Safari (keep checking back – lots of cool info about performances and classes upcoming)
At the
Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide, South Australia
www.Adelaidefringe.com.au
March 18 – March 31, 2007

Glenelg Jetty, Glenelg, Australia
March 24-25, 2007

APRIL
CARAVAN CHRONICLES
Marion Cultural Centre, Marion, Australia
April 1, 2007

MAY
52 PICK UP
Orlando Fringe Festival, Orlando, Florida
May 18-29, 2007

JUNE
52 PICK UP
ArtsStation Theatre, Stone Mountain, Georgia
www.artstation.org
June 6-10, 2007

JULY AND AUGUST
Myth Understandings at various King County Libraries, from Federal Way up to Shoreline

Whew! And we’re still working on the rest of the year into 2008! Yippee!


Catching up on the simpletons adventures of the last few months...
Since the last major update, around June 2005, theater simple has done a thing or two… (OK – maybe one or two dozen, actually)
LET’S SEE… since June 2005…

~ theater simple made their SEATTLE SYMPHONY debut with My Musically Colored Days, adapted from Dr Seuss, conducted by Christian Knapp

~ King County Performance Network TRAILER TALES: WEEKEND SAFARI
4 communities in 5 weeks - Kent, Redmond, Burien and Duvall

~ Tennessee Williams’ CAMINO REAL had a four week run at Freehold Theatre

~ Returned to Australia for the seventh fringe in a row… AND
Taught for URBAN MYTH THEATRE OF YOUTH as the beginning of a three-year collaboration with youth in Seattle, Adelaide, and a few other places around the world.
Taught a masterclass with professional peers at the Festival Centre
Performed 52 PICK UP as a fundraiser for URBAN MYTH THEATRE OF YOUTH
Juggled performances of THREE PLAYS for the Adelaide Fringe

52 PICK UP (in 8 different theaters)
THE FEVER (in living rooms and theaters)
And created and premiered a new theater simple youth and family show –
MYTH UNDERSTANDINGS – which played schools and theaters

~ Taught and performed for the Adelaide Fringe’s Youth And Education program, our 7th time as part of that program.

~ theater simple and TRAILER TALES is asked by the Washington State Arts Alliance to be the Artists in Residence at the Washington State Cultural Congress at Sleeping Lady Resort, Leavenworth, Washington ~ a three-day marathon of stories, art, and fanTAStic haiku

~ 52 PICK UP had many performances, in Seattle, in the San Juans, in Adelaide, and in Charleston, SC, where theater simple made sixth appearance at the Spoleto Festival, part of the Piccolo Fringe, produced by the HAVE NOTS.

~ THE BIG TIME! had gigs all over the Seattle area

~ Myth Understandings makes it US PREMIERE at BUMBERSHOOT with performances on the Theatre Puget Sound Stage.

~ theater simple was part of an extraordinary year/marathon of plays – 365 Days/ 365 Plays by Suzanne Lori-Parks in December, presenting world premieres on the streets of Ballard..
365Seattle.com

No wonder I have less heair, and what is left is grey...
By the way - there are a few more things in the hopper, and yes - we are planning into 2008 already. Oooooohhhhhh yesss.

Llys