Saturday, May 31, 2008

ImprovAcadia is open!

Hello!

Well, we're open for season five. We opened just over a week ago and we've had a pretty good first week. The shows have been great and the crowds friendly.

It's raining today so we're unsure if this will help our house tonight or if everyone will flee the island. I don't think we've had a Saturday that hasn't been cold and rainy. Well, maybe last Saturday but that was the ONLY one.

I feel like we're settling into our summer groove. Remembering all the tasks and duties that we have when ImprovAcadia is open. It's funny the things you forget - like printing out the staff schedules. I just forgot to do it. It's been tough finding staff this year. I guess the whole island is experiencing a staff shortage. Part of this is due to the fact that the majority of work visas were denied so many businesses that rely on foreign workers were brought up short. We finally found our part time bartender and another waitress but it looked real hinky for a while.
We've been trying some new improv games this year. That's been fun to try out new stuff. I hope to add some more new games as the season progresses based on the casts' particular talents.

We add our fourth actor (with me, it's a cast o' five) next week and I'm looking forward to it. The addition of the fourth actor means we add more shows to our schedule. Next week, marks our slowly mounting climb to the height of the season. By the fourth of July, we'll be doing 2 shows a night Monday through Saturday with one show on Sunday.

So far it doesn't seem that the gas prices have affected us (knock on wood) and we're hoping that trend continues. We've been having some odd audiences though. I think people are in pretty good moods considering EVERYTHING. However, you can always tell when we're stressed as a country and we are. Still I think people are grateful to have a chance to get away and to laugh a bit. We are finding that lots of our audiences are from Maine so....we could finally get access to that elusive Maine audience. They can't get away from us so we'll just suck them in like a blackhole of comedy. Or some other more friendly image...uh, we're draw them in like a moth to a flame. No. How about? We'll attract them like teenage girls to the mall. Perfect.

I'm still knitting on that rug. I'm half way down which means I've knit 30 ft of rug. That's right, I have another 30 to go. Then I have to put in cotton cording, sew it shut, coil it and then sew it into a circular shape. I'm thinking about knitting some socks or a sweater but first I have to finish this rug.

Okay, I'm off to do laundry and go to the grocery store. EXCITING!

More later...

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Two Weeks

We're a little over two weeks from opening. Things have gone crazy here....it's like we woke up and said, "Oh, right. We have stuff to do. Let's do it!" So we are...

I'm kniting a rug with all my odd's and end's o' yarn. The completed length is 60 feet and then you coil it into a circular rug. Bam!

It's hot, sunny and springy here.

This is short but so am I.

~Jen

P.S. Rance's favorite color is Hot Blue.