In Boston, at the airport. Waiting for our connecting flight to JFK.
Maine was beautiful. It started snowing the night we got there, and didn’t stop the whole time… I’ve never spent an extended amount of time in far-below-freezing weather (the wind chill today when we left was –6 Fahrenheit) except for maybe in Aspen… but I absolutely sure Maine was far colder. This deduction comes to me not necessarily from having a good memory, but because this trip to Maine was my first encounter with powder snow, which I’m assuming is necessitated by colder weather… Aspen had snow like the sort we see in Seattle, (we were there in March, I think).
I’ve always understood what power snow would be like intuitively, but being able to “get it” by frolicing in it was just plain fun. Snowballs disintegrate mid-air and I learned what a white-wash was… (from Jones…it basically is when he bends over with his butt facing you and dog paddles an uninterrupted snow flurry at your face… apparently it only works well in powder.)
Enough about the snow though, I guess. The show went really well, we added another piece, D2R B, which is a in and then out again piece we’re putting up for Italy for cases when the theater won’t fit our bigger sets. Italy is going to have 2 to 3 degree raked stages… something else new I’ve never experienced, and frankly it makes me a little nervous, even though I logically understand the ramifications of having a sloped stage and that it will be fine…
For D2R B I have to run the projector and the slides that go along with the piece… a new and anxiety-causing aspect to being in the show for me. Of course it’s not terribly hard, and I’m very capable of handling it, but the uncertainty of having technology possibly foil my best laid plans and (ahem) flawless execution is annoying. But it went as perfect as I could have hoped for.
As for the rest of the show, it went really well – minus a brain fart in Traj and a scary neck injury which has left me so sore today I can barely turn my head. Yikes: neck stuff.
Leaving the airport today in Maine, we walked in to the terminal hearing applause – and for a split second had no idea what was going on – and then we saw a huge group of troops that had just arrived from Iraq. They were all still wearing their desert fatigues and, I think, came from a plane marked ‘North American Airlines’, which I had seen from the window of my hotel room a bit earlier (our hotel was literally connected to the airport via a sky-bridge) and had noted that I had never heard of it…
The troops were met by, from what I could tell, random patriotic citizens, as well as teary-eyed Korean and WWII veterans. It was such a touching sight, and they were so obviously happy to be home, it melted my usually cynical heart. Once they had settled in, the bank of ten pay phones were all in use and had lines of troops – all calling home, I assume – and the vets and people who had welcomed them back to the states all hung around to talk to them a bit. There was even a therapy dog, a gorgeous and ridiculously friendly German Shepard that was being bathed in all kinds of attention. I read somewhere troops aren’t allowed pets on duty, and I can only imagine how happy I would be to see a puppy…
Randomly, I feel the need to mention that Boston is beautiful. Even though it was a mere 16 degrees F there wasn’t a cloud in the sky on our approach into the airport. From the window of the plane I got to get my one glimpse of the city (aside from being in the airport.) The skyline was beautiful, the coastline was beautiful and the sky itself was that really amazing crispy blue that only comes from very cold, early morning weather. It makes me want to come back a stay awhile. Maybe next year we’ll get to come here on tour.
Off to Brooklyn to a hugely important show, and to see Steph and NYC friends… I’m crazy excited to go see the city again… thankfully I’m wearing long underwear (thanks mom and dad) and my huuuge winter coat I bought for Korea last year – and didn’t need.)