I haven't posted a blog in a while, mainly because I've been battling various viruses and diseases, and it's sometimes hard to load the blogging page, but now -- I've got it loaded, and I'm back!
You may have heard on some other blog that our tour is closing early. We've been adrift with rumors about the future of the tour, post-China, and we finally had a company meeting and were informed that Broadway Asia has no bookings for us after Macau in late August, and we will be sent home on that date. So sad for us! Only a few cast members welcomed this unfortunate news. While it is possible that the tour will be re-booked this fall, I think we all expect the worst: the show is closing for good. It's terrible because it really is a good show with such a strong cast, not only onstage but off, and we all get along quite well! Things had been going so smoothly, and we actually had some expectations for an extension, and now this.
Please excuse my lack of wit and banter in this blog. It's not because I'm sad about the tour ending (although I am, I've had time to get used to the idea), but because I'm sick -- again! I had the coughing disease for two weeks, and couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting better, and then it turned into a full-blown cold about two days ago! I've still been able to perform, but my voice is doing funny things. I'm just glad this isn't an opera, and I keep reminding myself that it's much easier to sing Louisa von Trapp with a cold, than to sing any operatic role! Thank heavens for that.
Everyone is frantically trying to make plans for their future after the tour. Most of us have apartments in New York that we sublet until November, so we can't move back in September when we return to the USA. I'm probably going to end up subletting a friend's apartment until I can move back into my own place, although my subletter also might move out early, with no guarantees.
On a show-oriented note, we spent a wonderful week in Shenzhen, really getting accustomed to using the subways (NYC could learn something from China there), enjoying the various shopping and food areas in that city, especially Amigos mexican restaurant! I went there three or four times in the course of our stay in Shenzhen, and it was delicious every time. The backstage area of the theatre was so nice, we could go an hour early (if we were already around there from dinner) and just hang out. I can't say the same for our backstage here in Guangzhou!
The hotel here is quite nice, a non-chain Chinese hotel as far as I can tell. The rooms are VERY small for two people plus luggage, but otherwise it's all nice. I haven't been down to breakfast even once, thanks to this cold virus that makes me want to sleep in every day. The theatre is just on the next block, so we don't have to deal with bus calls in this town - very simple!
The theatre is sort of a colosseum, in my mind. The house (audience) is absolutely enormous, and I don't think we could ever hope to sell out. It seats five or six thousand, I'm told, and is in the formation of a half-circle. The stage and backstage area, however, is tiny! We've actually had to remove parts of our set in order to fit. We have no von Trapp house staircase, no mountain to climb, no Abbey outside, no altar for the wedding scene .... it's really the lack of staircases that changes things, including our impressive exit up the mountain at the end of the show. But these changes add excitement to the show, every time something is slightly different for us! If I weren't performing with this annoying cold, I think it would be even more fun to try to do the show this way. Of course I feel bad that the audience isn't getting the full experience, mountain and all, but nobody can help that. At last we have eight performances here!
I haven't really gotten to see much of Guangzhou, partly because of my all-encompassing illness, and partly because it is EXTREMELY, unbelievably hot here. We walk home from the theatre at 11 pm and it's still roasting hot, just a warm, dead heat that sits in the air. Quite unpleasant! I really wish we could experience this tour in cold weather, the way it was in the beginning of Chengdu last March.
Next stop is Fuzhou, after our two performances on Thursday, then ten performances in Macau, and then back to the USA for us!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Opening Night in Shenzhen
We have arrived in Shenzhen, and opened last night. It's a very special run in this city, because the opening and closing shows are to benefit survivors of the huge earthquake.
Before the show, the actors were invited to sign a huge poster in the lobby sending thoughts and wishes to the earthquake victims. The Shenzhen Grand Theatre is just gorgeous, and the backstage area is by far my favorite that we've seen. There are so many small dressing rooms, most of us only have to share with one or two other people, and there is a beautiful, clean, western toilet in every room! I share with Maddy (Liesl), which is a perfect situation for both of us.
We had our own unfortunate drama backstage during the show last night. I was changing from my nightgown (Lonely Goatherd scene) into the "curtains" outfit, when I heard a strange cry that sounded like an animal being kicked. I kid you not - it did not sound human. Then I heard sobbing, and looked over, and saw that little CJ, our Marta, was crying. As soon as I was dressed, I went over to her to find out what was wrong. It turned out that her dresser had accidentally zipped her skin into the zipper of her costume! Ouch! That would make anyone cry! But she's a tough kid, and with the comfort of the wrangler and other adults around, she was able to pull it together and finish the show perfectly. Poor girl!
At the end of the curtain call, a number of children who survived the earthquake came onstage for a flower presentation, and sang part of Do Re Mi with us. It was really amazing to see these young kids who have been through so much, yet were able to smile and laugh with us onstage. Maddy (Liesl), Christine (Maria), Michael (Captain), and I were taken out to the lobby afterwards to take some photos with more of these kids, which was really nice. One little girl came up to me to get a photo taken with me, then gave me a huge hug! I wish that we had had more time to talk to them (with an interpreter, for those who didn't speak English) and hear about their stories, but it was the middle of the night and everyone had to go home. It was a really amazing thing to happen for our show, though.
Today we have an understudy rehearsal all afternoon, because our two child swings will go on twice this weekend: once as their younger roles (Gretl and Kurt), then once as their older roles (Marta and Friedrich). Poor Brigitta doesn't get anyone swung in for her! We also have two new adult understudies who are learning their parts, so the rehearsal will benefit them as well. I really enjoy understudy rehearsals because, for one thing, it's a lot of fun to see how the understudy principals interpret their roles in their own way! It's also funny to try to put the show together without the principals there, and without our director. Wonderful Donavan, the stage manager, runs the rehearsals, but even he is not all-knowing and all-seeing, and there are sometimes small staging questions that we have to solve for ourselves. By the end of rehearsal, the adults often get quite slap-happy, which makes for a good time overall! Also, we'll be in the theatre area for dinner between the rehearsal and the show, and there is a lot of good food there, and ... a Starbucks! I find that coffee improves my performance a lot. :)
I've been struggling with a strange cough for the past few days, but the shows have still been fine for me. I was worried that I might lose my voice, but apparently the powers that be decided that I would turn out okay! I can't figure out what was wrong with me, because I never actually felt sick, but have just been battling a cough -- and I'm not a big cougher, in general! I get sore throats and colds, not coughs. But it's not a problem for the show, thank goodness.
We have a big weekend coming up, starting with a press event early tomorrow morning (ouch!), then two shows all in one day. Two more shows on Sunday, then a day off Monday! I might go into Hong Kong with Maddy that day, before our last two shows next week. It's going to be a fun run in Shenzhen!
Before the show, the actors were invited to sign a huge poster in the lobby sending thoughts and wishes to the earthquake victims. The Shenzhen Grand Theatre is just gorgeous, and the backstage area is by far my favorite that we've seen. There are so many small dressing rooms, most of us only have to share with one or two other people, and there is a beautiful, clean, western toilet in every room! I share with Maddy (Liesl), which is a perfect situation for both of us.
We had our own unfortunate drama backstage during the show last night. I was changing from my nightgown (Lonely Goatherd scene) into the "curtains" outfit, when I heard a strange cry that sounded like an animal being kicked. I kid you not - it did not sound human. Then I heard sobbing, and looked over, and saw that little CJ, our Marta, was crying. As soon as I was dressed, I went over to her to find out what was wrong. It turned out that her dresser had accidentally zipped her skin into the zipper of her costume! Ouch! That would make anyone cry! But she's a tough kid, and with the comfort of the wrangler and other adults around, she was able to pull it together and finish the show perfectly. Poor girl!
At the end of the curtain call, a number of children who survived the earthquake came onstage for a flower presentation, and sang part of Do Re Mi with us. It was really amazing to see these young kids who have been through so much, yet were able to smile and laugh with us onstage. Maddy (Liesl), Christine (Maria), Michael (Captain), and I were taken out to the lobby afterwards to take some photos with more of these kids, which was really nice. One little girl came up to me to get a photo taken with me, then gave me a huge hug! I wish that we had had more time to talk to them (with an interpreter, for those who didn't speak English) and hear about their stories, but it was the middle of the night and everyone had to go home. It was a really amazing thing to happen for our show, though.
Today we have an understudy rehearsal all afternoon, because our two child swings will go on twice this weekend: once as their younger roles (Gretl and Kurt), then once as their older roles (Marta and Friedrich). Poor Brigitta doesn't get anyone swung in for her! We also have two new adult understudies who are learning their parts, so the rehearsal will benefit them as well. I really enjoy understudy rehearsals because, for one thing, it's a lot of fun to see how the understudy principals interpret their roles in their own way! It's also funny to try to put the show together without the principals there, and without our director. Wonderful Donavan, the stage manager, runs the rehearsals, but even he is not all-knowing and all-seeing, and there are sometimes small staging questions that we have to solve for ourselves. By the end of rehearsal, the adults often get quite slap-happy, which makes for a good time overall! Also, we'll be in the theatre area for dinner between the rehearsal and the show, and there is a lot of good food there, and ... a Starbucks! I find that coffee improves my performance a lot. :)
I've been struggling with a strange cough for the past few days, but the shows have still been fine for me. I was worried that I might lose my voice, but apparently the powers that be decided that I would turn out okay! I can't figure out what was wrong with me, because I never actually felt sick, but have just been battling a cough -- and I'm not a big cougher, in general! I get sore throats and colds, not coughs. But it's not a problem for the show, thank goodness.
We have a big weekend coming up, starting with a press event early tomorrow morning (ouch!), then two shows all in one day. Two more shows on Sunday, then a day off Monday! I might go into Hong Kong with Maddy that day, before our last two shows next week. It's going to be a fun run in Shenzhen!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Adventures in Nanning, China
This is our 4th day off! We had Monday off in Harbin, Tuesday was our long long long travel day, flying here for about 6 hrs. Our bus leaving the hotel that morning had a flat tire and we thought we'd miss the flight, but the company sent out another bus, so we waited on our bus for an hour for the other one to come, while the other half of the company (on a different bus) waited for us at the airport! But we all made the flight since we WERE the majority of the flight.
Now we're in Nanning, in the Best Western hotel which is my favorite so far, evennicer than the Marriott, in my opinion. It's really pretty and roomy in the double rooms, with comfortable beds and puffy, enormous duvet comforters.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we had our first press event since the hiatus. Before that, many of us walked to the nearby Walmart in the morning, and it's a NEAT store here in Nanning! It has food, a Chinese "deli" where you could eat lunch, everything! (We were at a Walmart in Wuhan that wasn't nearly as nice as this one, which is why I am excited.) We had to buy bathing suits because our hotel has a pool, but we didn't know that before, so most of us packed our suits in the luggage truck, which doesn't arrive until tomorrow. I also bought some powdered milk tea, which I'm drinking now, laundry detergent, which is silly because I keep forgetting I have it and I wash my clothes with shampoo or body wash ... and bottled water.
After Walmart, we got dressed up for the press event. I am blending in with the kids better and better, since they are growing so much! Brigitta is just about my height now, although she still looks much younger and more innocent. :) And our boy swing is nearly my height, which is really good ... all the kids are growing, but they are growing at different rates!
Back to the press event: we went to a school where we were greeted with speeches by the headmaster, then we had a Chinese lesson with the Chinese students, who were about 8-9 years old. We read a little fable about a snipe (bird) and a mussel who got in a fight, and while they were fighting, a fisherman came by and caught them both. Then we watched the kids learn to say it in Chinese with the teacher demonstrating, and watched them learn to write the characters with the help of a video that showed the order of the strokes. Then we watched another animated video explaining the fable and showing its political background (all in Chinese). We SOM "kids" were sitting interspersed with the real students, but we had translators near us to help us understand what was going on.
Next we had a music lesson, and we sang a folk tune from this Guangxi region (of which Nanning is the capital). It was written on the screen with numbers indicating the pitches, and Chinese characters beneath, which of course we couldn't read, so we sang it on an "oooo," trying to go by the numbers for pitch. Suddenly, one of the women shoved a microphone at me and said to me and Caitlin (Brigitta), who was sitting beside me, "Try to sing it!" They videotaped us "ooo"-ing the tune into the microphone with the music teacher accompanying. It was very funny, but I think they were impressed because we got most of the notes right! Even I was impressed by us. :) Then we Americans all got up onstage and sang the folk tune together with the Chinese kids. After that, we sang (poorly, because we didn't plan it) a verse of Do Re Mi -- twice! We had a gift exchange, and got some neat woven shoulder bags, a booklet about the school, and some other random gifts. One of mine was a big, heavy sculpture of a woman carrying bananas -- it was apparently one of the ethnic minorities (there are a lot) of this region. It was huge, and I didn't think I could carry it around with me, but then we found out that CJ (Marta) had been pulled outside for an interview during the gift exchange, and didn't get a "big" gift, so I gave her my giant woman! I told her I can't take it home, which is true, and asked if she would do me a favor and take it instead. I pulled it out of the box and showed her, and she LOVED it, so she accepted it and was suddenly happy again.
Before we left, we were bombarded with autograph requests from the kids. At one point, Michael (Captain) and Christine (Maria)'s little desk where they were sitting was so covered with kids, I couldn't see THEM at all! The kids would come up and hand us a torn scrap of paper (from the fable lesson) and a tiny pencil, and we'd write our names down. So cute! Then we were herded outside for some photos and short group interviews, and then we took the bus home. It was one of the most interesting and fun press events so far! This is the kind of thing that would have been called a "field trip" during the school year, to accrue school hours for the kids, and we adults wouldn't have come. I'm glad we were told to come this time, since there is no school!
Shortly after we got back, Matt, our Friedrich, was having a 13th-birthday party at the hotel pool. What fun for him! We all (kids and most of the adults) put on suits and spent ages in the pool, playing with water guns and throwing floating balls that some of the parents had gotten at Walmart. Then we had pizza, soda, and fruit, ordered from the hotel (and really good!) outside on the patio, which was so nice! And then, of course, we had cake. The party started at about 6 and I didn't go to bed until midnight (although mot of the kids did, so it was just adults chatting late).
At one point Gretl's mom asked me if I would braid Gretl's hair, because they were going on all day trip to a waterfall the next day, and she wanted it up. She offered to pay me, and asked if I could braid HER hair too, and I said of course, with no pay. First I did two French braids on the mom. Then 8-yr-old Gretl came over and patiently sat contorted in a chair, with her neck bent at all weird angles, and let me braid a CROWN into her hair! It was so neat, and she was so good about it! I was shocked that she was able to sit still so patiently for so long, let along all bent over so I could braid upside down. THEN Marta came over and saw what I was doing, and asked if I could braid HER hair specially. She is the one with wild curls, so I said I couldn't do a crown, but I could try to do something creative for her, if she brushed our her hair completely. She went to her room (it was about 10:45 pm by now) and came back later with brushed out hair, bobby pins, brush, combs, everything I could possibly need. Then she patiently sat in the chair while I braided 6 French braids down the back of her head, kind of like corn rows but prettier. Her mom LOVED it and asked our theatre hair person to hire me to do CJ's hair for the show (because in the show she just gets 2 plain braids, because her hair is so curly and hard to deal with). The mom even offered to pay me! So funny. Perhaps I should have a second career braiding hair ...
Then all the kids went to bed, and I sat with a few of the Ukrainians and cast members for a while chatting, until i went up to bed. All in all, a fun day! This is only Thursday, and we're still free until the show on Saturday night!
Now we're in Nanning, in the Best Western hotel which is my favorite so far, evennicer than the Marriott, in my opinion. It's really pretty and roomy in the double rooms, with comfortable beds and puffy, enormous duvet comforters.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we had our first press event since the hiatus. Before that, many of us walked to the nearby Walmart in the morning, and it's a NEAT store here in Nanning! It has food, a Chinese "deli" where you could eat lunch, everything! (We were at a Walmart in Wuhan that wasn't nearly as nice as this one, which is why I am excited.) We had to buy bathing suits because our hotel has a pool, but we didn't know that before, so most of us packed our suits in the luggage truck, which doesn't arrive until tomorrow. I also bought some powdered milk tea, which I'm drinking now, laundry detergent, which is silly because I keep forgetting I have it and I wash my clothes with shampoo or body wash ... and bottled water.
After Walmart, we got dressed up for the press event. I am blending in with the kids better and better, since they are growing so much! Brigitta is just about my height now, although she still looks much younger and more innocent. :) And our boy swing is nearly my height, which is really good ... all the kids are growing, but they are growing at different rates!
Back to the press event: we went to a school where we were greeted with speeches by the headmaster, then we had a Chinese lesson with the Chinese students, who were about 8-9 years old. We read a little fable about a snipe (bird) and a mussel who got in a fight, and while they were fighting, a fisherman came by and caught them both. Then we watched the kids learn to say it in Chinese with the teacher demonstrating, and watched them learn to write the characters with the help of a video that showed the order of the strokes. Then we watched another animated video explaining the fable and showing its political background (all in Chinese). We SOM "kids" were sitting interspersed with the real students, but we had translators near us to help us understand what was going on.
Next we had a music lesson, and we sang a folk tune from this Guangxi region (of which Nanning is the capital). It was written on the screen with numbers indicating the pitches, and Chinese characters beneath, which of course we couldn't read, so we sang it on an "oooo," trying to go by the numbers for pitch. Suddenly, one of the women shoved a microphone at me and said to me and Caitlin (Brigitta), who was sitting beside me, "Try to sing it!" They videotaped us "ooo"-ing the tune into the microphone with the music teacher accompanying. It was very funny, but I think they were impressed because we got most of the notes right! Even I was impressed by us. :) Then we Americans all got up onstage and sang the folk tune together with the Chinese kids. After that, we sang (poorly, because we didn't plan it) a verse of Do Re Mi -- twice! We had a gift exchange, and got some neat woven shoulder bags, a booklet about the school, and some other random gifts. One of mine was a big, heavy sculpture of a woman carrying bananas -- it was apparently one of the ethnic minorities (there are a lot) of this region. It was huge, and I didn't think I could carry it around with me, but then we found out that CJ (Marta) had been pulled outside for an interview during the gift exchange, and didn't get a "big" gift, so I gave her my giant woman! I told her I can't take it home, which is true, and asked if she would do me a favor and take it instead. I pulled it out of the box and showed her, and she LOVED it, so she accepted it and was suddenly happy again.
Before we left, we were bombarded with autograph requests from the kids. At one point, Michael (Captain) and Christine (Maria)'s little desk where they were sitting was so covered with kids, I couldn't see THEM at all! The kids would come up and hand us a torn scrap of paper (from the fable lesson) and a tiny pencil, and we'd write our names down. So cute! Then we were herded outside for some photos and short group interviews, and then we took the bus home. It was one of the most interesting and fun press events so far! This is the kind of thing that would have been called a "field trip" during the school year, to accrue school hours for the kids, and we adults wouldn't have come. I'm glad we were told to come this time, since there is no school!
Shortly after we got back, Matt, our Friedrich, was having a 13th-birthday party at the hotel pool. What fun for him! We all (kids and most of the adults) put on suits and spent ages in the pool, playing with water guns and throwing floating balls that some of the parents had gotten at Walmart. Then we had pizza, soda, and fruit, ordered from the hotel (and really good!) outside on the patio, which was so nice! And then, of course, we had cake. The party started at about 6 and I didn't go to bed until midnight (although mot of the kids did, so it was just adults chatting late).
At one point Gretl's mom asked me if I would braid Gretl's hair, because they were going on all day trip to a waterfall the next day, and she wanted it up. She offered to pay me, and asked if I could braid HER hair too, and I said of course, with no pay. First I did two French braids on the mom. Then 8-yr-old Gretl came over and patiently sat contorted in a chair, with her neck bent at all weird angles, and let me braid a CROWN into her hair! It was so neat, and she was so good about it! I was shocked that she was able to sit still so patiently for so long, let along all bent over so I could braid upside down. THEN Marta came over and saw what I was doing, and asked if I could braid HER hair specially. She is the one with wild curls, so I said I couldn't do a crown, but I could try to do something creative for her, if she brushed our her hair completely. She went to her room (it was about 10:45 pm by now) and came back later with brushed out hair, bobby pins, brush, combs, everything I could possibly need. Then she patiently sat in the chair while I braided 6 French braids down the back of her head, kind of like corn rows but prettier. Her mom LOVED it and asked our theatre hair person to hire me to do CJ's hair for the show (because in the show she just gets 2 plain braids, because her hair is so curly and hard to deal with). The mom even offered to pay me! So funny. Perhaps I should have a second career braiding hair ...
Then all the kids went to bed, and I sat with a few of the Ukrainians and cast members for a while chatting, until i went up to bed. All in all, a fun day! This is only Thursday, and we're still free until the show on Saturday night!
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Story of an Amazing Day in Harbin
Today was possibly the best day I've had in China so far! It actually started last night during the show, when someone had the brilliant proposal of a Game Night after the (rather early) show. We all got together in Uncle Max's room and played Celebrity, Mafia, and Encore, until the cows came home. It was great fun! We slept late this morning, which was necessary after last night, then I met Uncle Max (John), Mother Abbess (Anissa), Liesl (Maddy), Frau Schmidt (Emily), and Sister Margaretta (Rebecca) to eat lunch and go out for the day.
We ate at a delicious Russian face -- non-Asian food at last! I had some beef and cabbage red Russian soup, which tasted like a really good minestrone ... I could have eaten that for days! I also had mashed potatoes with herb sauce, and a piroshiki, which was a ball of bread filled with spiced, minced meat. We all shared some Russian bread and pickles, as well. All very good, and way too much food for us! I left feeling so satisfied, and without that slightly sick feeling that I sometimes get from questionably-hygienic Chinese food.
After that, we wandered down the walking/shopping street and peered into some neat little Russian stores selling Kachina (sp?) dolls, watches, jewelry, porcelain dolls, lighters, flasks, and USA military gear. We purchased a few things, including an awesome pocket watch for Greg, who lost his watch in Shanghai. This one has a picture of a horse warrior on the cover (the horse is the warrior -- not a warrior ON a horse), and looks sort of old-fashioned and rustic. When you open it up, the inside is fluorescent green! A brilliant find. We haven't given it to him yet, so keep this to yourself.
We kept walking until we came to the river, and there we bought tickets for a riverboat that circles the water and stops on the other side. It was a really nice day way up north here, not nearly as hot as the rest of Asia, so it was the perfect weather for a river cruise. We got off on the other side, and I believe our ticket was for a round trip, but we had other plans for our return. There was a neat park at the other side of the river, so we wandered around and looked at different options, until we came across tandem bicycles and three-person bicycles. Clearly, as there were six of us, we needed to rent two of these bikes and go for a ride, so we did! Let me tell you something: three-person bikes are scary! I rode with Rebecca and Maddy, and I was sitting in the middle, being the most awful backseat driver (biker), because I really just did not trust Maddy (steering) not to crash and kill us. It was a wobbly and loud ride. Toward the end of our allotted half hour, something happened to the front chain, so Maddy could no longer pedal, and suddenly the ride got better! I don't know why, really. Rebecca and I pedaled from the back, and Maddy steered, and it was an excellent balance of power. We took the bike back and got off before we were at the rental place, so they wouldn't see Maddy not pedaling, and wouldn't keep our deposit. We didn't break it, I tell you! They were fooled.
After that, three Chinese men approached us and signaled that they wanted to take photos with us. This happens pretty often here in China, but it's not often that they have enormous Chinese flags and Olympic flags, which they give us to hold for the photo! We were really representing China, and they took many photos -- and then we started taking photos as well! Great times were had by all.
Later we had some downtime, waiting for another group of our people to come across the water and meet us, because they wanted to take the cable cars back with us. A note: cable cars in China are not the cable cars (like trolleys, but electric, which ride on the ground) you see in San Francisco. A cable car in China is a little box that rises high on a cable into the sky and then travels along the cable, in the manner of a ski lift. We took one of those to cross back over the river! I thought it would be scary, looking at it from below, but it actually wasn't scary at all, and was really fun to be so high and to see Harbin from above. It's a really great city, possibly my favorite city so far (except for the lack of a Starbucks anywhere! How strange).
On the other side, we split up because some people wanted to go right home, some wanted to do more exciting things like ride a ferris wheel, and Maddy and I wanted to wander along the shopping street until it got dark. And we did! We went into every Russian store we found, until we discovered that they all sell the same things: Kachina (sp?) dolls, watches, jewelry, porcelain dolls, lighters, flasks, and USA military gear. All of them. Finally, after a bit more wandering, we caught a cab and returned to our hotel.
Tomorrow we fly to Nanning, down in the south, so this was a perfect day to end our stay in lovely Harbin, China!
We ate at a delicious Russian face -- non-Asian food at last! I had some beef and cabbage red Russian soup, which tasted like a really good minestrone ... I could have eaten that for days! I also had mashed potatoes with herb sauce, and a piroshiki, which was a ball of bread filled with spiced, minced meat. We all shared some Russian bread and pickles, as well. All very good, and way too much food for us! I left feeling so satisfied, and without that slightly sick feeling that I sometimes get from questionably-hygienic Chinese food.
After that, we wandered down the walking/shopping street and peered into some neat little Russian stores selling Kachina (sp?) dolls, watches, jewelry, porcelain dolls, lighters, flasks, and USA military gear. We purchased a few things, including an awesome pocket watch for Greg, who lost his watch in Shanghai. This one has a picture of a horse warrior on the cover (the horse is the warrior -- not a warrior ON a horse), and looks sort of old-fashioned and rustic. When you open it up, the inside is fluorescent green! A brilliant find. We haven't given it to him yet, so keep this to yourself.
We kept walking until we came to the river, and there we bought tickets for a riverboat that circles the water and stops on the other side. It was a really nice day way up north here, not nearly as hot as the rest of Asia, so it was the perfect weather for a river cruise. We got off on the other side, and I believe our ticket was for a round trip, but we had other plans for our return. There was a neat park at the other side of the river, so we wandered around and looked at different options, until we came across tandem bicycles and three-person bicycles. Clearly, as there were six of us, we needed to rent two of these bikes and go for a ride, so we did! Let me tell you something: three-person bikes are scary! I rode with Rebecca and Maddy, and I was sitting in the middle, being the most awful backseat driver (biker), because I really just did not trust Maddy (steering) not to crash and kill us. It was a wobbly and loud ride. Toward the end of our allotted half hour, something happened to the front chain, so Maddy could no longer pedal, and suddenly the ride got better! I don't know why, really. Rebecca and I pedaled from the back, and Maddy steered, and it was an excellent balance of power. We took the bike back and got off before we were at the rental place, so they wouldn't see Maddy not pedaling, and wouldn't keep our deposit. We didn't break it, I tell you! They were fooled.
After that, three Chinese men approached us and signaled that they wanted to take photos with us. This happens pretty often here in China, but it's not often that they have enormous Chinese flags and Olympic flags, which they give us to hold for the photo! We were really representing China, and they took many photos -- and then we started taking photos as well! Great times were had by all.
Later we had some downtime, waiting for another group of our people to come across the water and meet us, because they wanted to take the cable cars back with us. A note: cable cars in China are not the cable cars (like trolleys, but electric, which ride on the ground) you see in San Francisco. A cable car in China is a little box that rises high on a cable into the sky and then travels along the cable, in the manner of a ski lift. We took one of those to cross back over the river! I thought it would be scary, looking at it from below, but it actually wasn't scary at all, and was really fun to be so high and to see Harbin from above. It's a really great city, possibly my favorite city so far (except for the lack of a Starbucks anywhere! How strange).
On the other side, we split up because some people wanted to go right home, some wanted to do more exciting things like ride a ferris wheel, and Maddy and I wanted to wander along the shopping street until it got dark. And we did! We went into every Russian store we found, until we discovered that they all sell the same things: Kachina (sp?) dolls, watches, jewelry, porcelain dolls, lighters, flasks, and USA military gear. All of them. Finally, after a bit more wandering, we caught a cab and returned to our hotel.
Tomorrow we fly to Nanning, down in the south, so this was a perfect day to end our stay in lovely Harbin, China!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Nearly done in Harbin!
Our run in Harbin has been wonderful! Packed audiences every night, two successful shows in a row yesterday, and our closing show is tonight. Yesterday in the opening, there was some strange feedback coming from the mikes, as if we had a pedal tone (music theory nerds, you know what I mean!) drone going on under the voices! Then when the keyboard came in to play chimes, they had accidentally forgotten to reset the "chimes" voice on the keyboard, so it came in sounding like a piano! It was very amusing, and the nuns all walked offstage and started laughing, which put is in high spirits for the rest of the show.
Yesterday morning I walked next door to the Carrefour to buy some snacks and breakfast food so I don't have to wake up early to get to breakfast in the hotel (it ends at 10). I picked up some batteries that I also needed, dried fruit, muesli, mangos, and soymilk. When I took them to the register, the cashier rang up everything except the soymilk (which had been troublesome to find, anyway!), which she just set aside. She showed me the total cost, without soymilk. I tried to indicate the soymilk, and my money, to show that I wanted to purchase it as well, but the woman simply wouldn't let me! I gave in and paid for everything else, then went back into the store to the soymilk area. By the way, soymilk is NOT big in China - I had forgotten that I saw it regularly in Malaysia, not China, so I expected to find it more easily!
I picked up another soymilk and showed an employee with a questioning face. She came around the counter, put my soymilk back, and picked out another one, that -- voila! -- had a special barcode label on it! Apparently you have to get your soymilk labeled before you can buy it, like fruits and vegetables! But I got in line again, bought my soymilk, and finally found success. Then I came home and had some cereal, and discovered that Chinese soymilk tastes like liquified tofu ... but the cereal was good enough that I could still drink it.
Two days ago a large group of us went on a trip to see the Siberian Tigers. The first part, which was a bus ride, was not very fun because you really had to have a window seat in order to see the tigers well (and I didn't!). Then we got off the bus and went on the walking part, which was really neat! Some people watched the tigers being fed chickens and other fowl, but I couldn't see from where I was on the walking paths, and I was glad of that. We saw regular tigers, lions, ligers (you can guess what those are even if you haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite), a jaguar, and a leopard! It was amazing! The best part was the very end, when we came to a place where you could pay to take your picture with a baby tiger, so we did! I got to hold it and pet it and it was so cute, about the size of a small-to-medium dog!
Unfortunately, after a long day out, it was hard to get the energy to do the show tonight, and I think the kids felt the same way! But of course, they pulled it together, and it went well!
Tonight is our last show in Harbin, and tomorrow we have the entire day off before we fly to Nanning the next day. Nanning is close to Vietnam, and I'd like to visit that country, but it requires a visa, which makes things complicated! We'll have three days off in Nanning while we wait for our sets and costumes to reach us there (it's really far), then three performances before we reach our next destination.
By the way, one of the moms uploaded some videos of the show from before the hiatus. They are a bit slow to load, but here they are:
http://gallery.mac.com/kyanro#101324
Yesterday morning I walked next door to the Carrefour to buy some snacks and breakfast food so I don't have to wake up early to get to breakfast in the hotel (it ends at 10). I picked up some batteries that I also needed, dried fruit, muesli, mangos, and soymilk. When I took them to the register, the cashier rang up everything except the soymilk (which had been troublesome to find, anyway!), which she just set aside. She showed me the total cost, without soymilk. I tried to indicate the soymilk, and my money, to show that I wanted to purchase it as well, but the woman simply wouldn't let me! I gave in and paid for everything else, then went back into the store to the soymilk area. By the way, soymilk is NOT big in China - I had forgotten that I saw it regularly in Malaysia, not China, so I expected to find it more easily!
I picked up another soymilk and showed an employee with a questioning face. She came around the counter, put my soymilk back, and picked out another one, that -- voila! -- had a special barcode label on it! Apparently you have to get your soymilk labeled before you can buy it, like fruits and vegetables! But I got in line again, bought my soymilk, and finally found success. Then I came home and had some cereal, and discovered that Chinese soymilk tastes like liquified tofu ... but the cereal was good enough that I could still drink it.
Two days ago a large group of us went on a trip to see the Siberian Tigers. The first part, which was a bus ride, was not very fun because you really had to have a window seat in order to see the tigers well (and I didn't!). Then we got off the bus and went on the walking part, which was really neat! Some people watched the tigers being fed chickens and other fowl, but I couldn't see from where I was on the walking paths, and I was glad of that. We saw regular tigers, lions, ligers (you can guess what those are even if you haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite), a jaguar, and a leopard! It was amazing! The best part was the very end, when we came to a place where you could pay to take your picture with a baby tiger, so we did! I got to hold it and pet it and it was so cute, about the size of a small-to-medium dog!
Unfortunately, after a long day out, it was hard to get the energy to do the show tonight, and I think the kids felt the same way! But of course, they pulled it together, and it went well!
Tonight is our last show in Harbin, and tomorrow we have the entire day off before we fly to Nanning the next day. Nanning is close to Vietnam, and I'd like to visit that country, but it requires a visa, which makes things complicated! We'll have three days off in Nanning while we wait for our sets and costumes to reach us there (it's really far), then three performances before we reach our next destination.
By the way, one of the moms uploaded some videos of the show from before the hiatus. They are a bit slow to load, but here they are:
http://gallery.mac.com/kyanro#101324
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Opening Evening!
Yesterday was opening evening, and the show was great! The audience actually applauded the entrance of the von Trapp children, which was really neat, and all of the kids went offstage exclaiming, "Did you hear that? They clapped when we came onstage!!!" It was a nearly full audience, something we have not always had because, I believe, ticket prices are quite high for the best seats.
It is still quite hot backstage, and even hotter downstairs in the dressing room area. I pity my poor dresser, who has to pull costumes off my sweaty body. It makes it pretty difficult to change when everything is sticking to you! But I have a feeling this is something that we're going to see a lot in Asia this summer, since the heat is pretty crazy.
We still have not seen much of Harbin, but this will change now that rehearsals are over. We discovered a nice little dumpling restaurant near our rehearsal space, and then found out that there was another one near our hotel, so a group of us went yesterday. They didn't have an English menu at our local branch, but the menu looked exactly the same as at the other location, so we ordered based on where we remembered items being located on the menu --- and ended up getting quite different food from what we expected! It was still good, though. Nice to get back to Chinese food and not eat just McDonald's or KFC (!!!).
Today we have a matinee at the odd time of 3:20 p.m. Tomorrow is another early evening show, but in the daytime we're taking a field trip to see tigers and visit a park with paddle boats and other entertainment.
This blog is not very exciting, but it's my only update for now!
It is still quite hot backstage, and even hotter downstairs in the dressing room area. I pity my poor dresser, who has to pull costumes off my sweaty body. It makes it pretty difficult to change when everything is sticking to you! But I have a feeling this is something that we're going to see a lot in Asia this summer, since the heat is pretty crazy.
We still have not seen much of Harbin, but this will change now that rehearsals are over. We discovered a nice little dumpling restaurant near our rehearsal space, and then found out that there was another one near our hotel, so a group of us went yesterday. They didn't have an English menu at our local branch, but the menu looked exactly the same as at the other location, so we ordered based on where we remembered items being located on the menu --- and ended up getting quite different food from what we expected! It was still good, though. Nice to get back to Chinese food and not eat just McDonald's or KFC (!!!).
Today we have a matinee at the odd time of 3:20 p.m. Tomorrow is another early evening show, but in the daytime we're taking a field trip to see tigers and visit a park with paddle boats and other entertainment.
This blog is not very exciting, but it's my only update for now!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Opening night in Harbin!
We are back on track in Harbin, China, opening this evening. I have to call it opening evening, not opening night, because our shows are at 6:30 in this city! Why is that? Perhaps because the city seems to shut down in the evening? Harbin seems nice, although we've been rehearsing, so we haven't had much time to explore the city at all. It's quite nice that our theatre is attached to our hotel, with a big shopping center right beside it, for all our sundry needs.
We've had three days of rehearsal before today. The kids retained a LOT during the weeks we were away -- in fact, the only things that really needed polishing were some staging details (which steps of the staircase we stand on, etc) that had been forgotten. By the dress rehearsal last night things were pretty much in place except for some funny and uncontrollable details, like the guitar not being tuned properly and setting us up in completely the wrong key for some songs!
The heat has been a bit of a problem, as well. My conjecture is that Harbin is considered a "cold" city, so air-conditioning isn't needed as often, and when it does exist, it doesn't need to work very well or get very cold! Unfortunately, when we're sitting backstage in layers of costumes, and the temperature outside is in the uppers 80s not counting humidity, we wish the air-conditioning worked a lot better! After spending a week in Shanghai with beautiful 70-degree weather (but rainy), it's hard to deal with weather hotter than that, especially in costumes! But don't let me complain - it's wonderful to be doing the show again. Everything is falling into place, the new people are being incorporated (new child wrangler, production manager, conductor, and more) quite well, and the show has come together again! Now we all hope for a nice, long run through next fall!
More later - time to get ready for rehearsal.
We've had three days of rehearsal before today. The kids retained a LOT during the weeks we were away -- in fact, the only things that really needed polishing were some staging details (which steps of the staircase we stand on, etc) that had been forgotten. By the dress rehearsal last night things were pretty much in place except for some funny and uncontrollable details, like the guitar not being tuned properly and setting us up in completely the wrong key for some songs!
The heat has been a bit of a problem, as well. My conjecture is that Harbin is considered a "cold" city, so air-conditioning isn't needed as often, and when it does exist, it doesn't need to work very well or get very cold! Unfortunately, when we're sitting backstage in layers of costumes, and the temperature outside is in the uppers 80s not counting humidity, we wish the air-conditioning worked a lot better! After spending a week in Shanghai with beautiful 70-degree weather (but rainy), it's hard to deal with weather hotter than that, especially in costumes! But don't let me complain - it's wonderful to be doing the show again. Everything is falling into place, the new people are being incorporated (new child wrangler, production manager, conductor, and more) quite well, and the show has come together again! Now we all hope for a nice, long run through next fall!
More later - time to get ready for rehearsal.
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