A Hard Week

This week Chris, Victoria, and I were on tour as team awesome while team brilliant stayed in the flat and taught long workshops in Milan. We set off Sunday night and after a three hour drive found our hotel. It was raining, and after about five minuets of knocking and buzzing we were greeted by a VERY talkative and well meaning but overly helpful hotel manager. After about half an hour of going though EVERYTHING about the hotel, where the school was, are you sure you don’t need another key, this is how the lights work, are we sure we don’t want breakfast, this is the soap, its vegetable soap very good soap, this is the fridge, here are the beds, here is where to park the car, no not there, there. We FINALLY got to unpack. The weather was rotten so we stayed in and I drifted off pretty early for me, around 11pm, listening to “The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Woa” which I’m quite enjoying. Now, usually, I sleep straight though the night. Not this night. First Vic had a coughing fit. Back to sleep. Got too cold. Woke up to get more blankets. Then at about 4:30am/04:30 we hear an alarm going off and all our electricity went out. It stayed that way until for about two hours. Had to use our work phone to find the bathroom, and tripped over every possible thing on the way, waking up Vic and Chris, if the alarm hadn’t already woken them up. Monday, morning we groggily made our way to the school, where we were greeted by another very chatty, but in a nice way, teacher. We did the Addams family twice that day and did two workshops. My second group was really good. Had an adoriable little boy named Ronny who said he was very happy to meet me but could I please tell Victoria hello and that he was in love with her. His name was Ronnie, I think he was nine, but he English was very good and because he was so indearing I didn’t mind his excellent grasp of English curse words. We finished up and drove another several hours to Oderzo. Stayed at a really nice hotel, Al Gallo. I think it mean s rooster. We walked into town and Vic and I caught up in a café after we failed at finding an internet point or a wireless signal. We had amazing hot chocolate and had a good giggle. Bought some fruit and cheese for dinner and walked home when it started to get dark. The town in beautiful and I think must have some tradition of painting as both the hotel and many of the buildings were painted exquisitely. Inside the church in the central piatza there were huge AMAZING renesants style paintings. We had wireless at the hotel it turned out and had Sky TV so we got to catch up on e-mails and watch the news. Got to hear all about Obama appointed Hillary and the situation in Africa. Chris and Vic, who use to be quite close, don’t exactly get on these days and although they both assured me that they would be fine touring with one another, the hotel room was starting to feel a little stifling with it’s aquard vibes. Took myself for a little workout in the lobby and felt much better after. Tuseday morning we woke up and eat lovely home made bread for breakfast and drove the one minuet to the school. We did Indiana Jones, which unlike when Laura, Chris, and I did it, went really well. We totally hammed it up, very panto style and it really worked. I spent all my free time on stage, as Mutt, hitting on girls in the audience and my Mayan was crossed and just constantly over the top. The kids really seemed to like it and after we got the sound system sorted out the show was good. But, as the Brits say, I was nackered after and then had to go teach two workshops. The first set of workshops was AWEFUL. They put two classes in one class room and the teachers just got lost. We were told three different times to end and all the kids were hyper from the show. There was no room to play the normal games, I finished and felt like I had been run over by a stampeed of buffalo. The second workshop was much much better, the kids were awesome and then the school fed us. Polenta, peas, cheese, salad, beef, and white pasta cafeteria style. The day was feeling quite long, and it was only half past noon. Just as we were leaving one teachers said, “See you in March”. Joy, hope I’m not in the lucky group who gets to go back, actually it really wasn’t SO SO bad. We got in the car and drove to Iseo. We stayed at a really interesting Co Op/ Cabootz like hotel, which also had a farm and restaurant. At Cascina Clarabella, most of the work done both in the hotel and on the farm was done by people with mental disabilities. They do these jobs and live on the property with a full time staff of administrators and care givers. It was a very very nice place and aside from loosing power again, and some team awesome squabbling, it was really nice. They had breakfast ready for us early because we had to begin at the school at 8:30am/08:30. We did two Addams Family shows. The kids were really well prepaired and the first show went well. Our broom for Aunt Zenna broke so we were ready to omit the broom but then a kid yelled, “THE BROOM”. The best I could find in their backstage was an old umbrella and so we made a gag of it. For the next show we barrowed the schools broom, which was a four foot HUGE old style whitches broom, it was awesome, just HUGE. Vic and I got to teach a workshop together which was fun. I really really enjoy working with her. She is very professional and so much fun and we are also quite complementary partners. We drove back to Milan, to the flat, and got to stay at home for the next two days. On the ride over we were singing along to something on my iPod when all of a sudden I hear Chris cursing and look behind us to see two of our bags of costumes and a flock of worksheets and papers flying behind us. Chris had forgotten to lock the hood rack. It was nice to see everyone, but our bookings on Thursday and Friday were 40 min away. With Milan morning traffic we had to get up and leave the apartment before 7am/07:00, and with my tremendous morning skills one can only imagine how helpful a navigator I was. Thursday we also had shows at two different schools. The first set of shows and workshops were fine. However, when we arrived, five minuets before we were suppose to start the first show at the second school the teacher informs us that we are not doing three brothers first but the Gift. So we get undressed and get the gift stuff out of the car. We started a little late and I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to review the lines for Manolito (the Mexican Mariachi, Marc meets at the end of the show). We began the show and when Chris asked the kids “What do you think this is” we hear in perfect, un accented English, “A Gift”. Then to “What do you think is inside the bag” “Hats”. Vic and I nearly died laughing. This little boy answered EVERY question. I think everyone, even the kid who already spoke English, liked the show. Vic and I had a good workshop after. We eat lunch at school. Vic and I went into town to try to get a top up card for the phone but there was a terrible motorcycle accident and we were afraid of getting stuck in traffic so went back to school. 'We did the three brothers for the younger kids, and aside from them leaving us with about two inches of stage left, as they moved closer and closer (they were sitting on the floor) with each appearance of the big bad wolf. These kids spoke much less English and I struggled to get them to understand me in the second workshop. The day before we had come home and put fifty euro in a gas station pay machine, only to get a receipt and to be told to come back after the lunch break. Italians take their lunch time very seriously, usually it’s a two hour break in the day. Often times teachers will go home for lunch and some kids go home as well for lunch. So we drove back to the gas station, and got the gas that we bought the day before and then took our tired asses home. It was nice to have full full day of work. We have had so much idle time. Bought some groceries for the week and had an easy evening at home. The next morning woke up early again, braved the cold and the traffic. This morning we had rain instead of fog on the drive up. We arrived at the school and again found that the teacher wanted us to swap the order of the shows. Chris was exhausted and yelled a Vic. Things have been tense in the apartment all weekend. Went out for drinks in the center of Milan with Katie, Helen and Vic. Didn’t feel like going home so I wrote in a pub near the flat and some old Italian men showed me how to play Italian billiards. Saturday, I went for a jog with Helen then did some holiday shopping at the X-Mas markets in Milan. It was nice until about 3pm/15:00 and then Milan turned into Madison Ave meats Oxford Cirucs, SO CROWDED! I also realized on the train that at some point the night before I lost a 100euro note, which I still have not found. And though my remedy of going shopping to deal with my feelings about losing more about half of a weeks wages was to shop I did find some lovely goodies to send back home. I will not be coming home for the holidays and have been invited to stay with my friend Tanya and her family. I know Tanya from Lab School in DC and her mom Jerry actually went to Lab school with my Mom in Chicago. It’s a SMALL world sometimes. Satuday night after Katie, Vic, and I returned from Milan we went out for a drink. Went to the Irish Pub and attempted to find a place to go dancing but to no avail. Sunday I spent the better part of the day catching up with online stuff and e-mailing. Went out for a drink after with Jake, Laura, Helen, and Vic. We met some of Helen and Laura’s Italian friends at Bar Centrale. A tiny bar across the street from the Church in Palatzolo. After we decided we still wanted to go dancing but as nothing is open on Sunday night we drove the car to the parking lot near the flat and had our own. Toady, Monday, is the festival of the Madonna, so we had no work. Didn’t do too much. Went for a jog and finished my book “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” and might meet some of the Italians out later. Jack, who thought he was going to leave to do his physical theropy in England, is now staying until X-Mas. He spent the week in San Remo, I think and now team brilliant, back to it’s original, well almost original, line up. Helen, Vic, and Katie have gone to pick him up at the train station. Chris, Laura, and I are in the flat and only have two working days in the upcoming week. Not sure what I will do with all my free time. Going to start another book “Middlesex”, try to get some good workouts in, maybe go to the boxing gym Chris and I tried to go to the week before last, and just try to see what life brings. The other group only has two days of work as well, I would honestly prefer to be working, I’m not that great at sitting around idly. Although it was indeed a HARD week, I’m well and other then a little stir-craziness can’t complain, touring is HARD, and I knew these days would come. Now I’m just trying to ride them out and hopefully have a laugh or two along the way.

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