About these titles, one of my absolutely favorite movies is "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" That is why you keep seeing that phrase in my posts.
I don't love it just because it stars George Clooney. He certainly is eye candy enough to make it worth staying awake through. The iconic sight gags, and the tradiitional "roots" music is worth a listen and a watch. I wrote a whole academic unit that I've used for both elementary school and college based on the music found in this movie. It is really an excellent movie, if you haven't seen it, comb through Netflix's index and see if you can find it.
When my brother and I went on our trip last summer, we found quite a nice collection of music of this genre while we were in Nashville. We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, it was a wonderful place full of mementos giving tribute to American Roots Music.
Look into it--you'll enjoy it on many levels.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Spring, Where art thou?
The one thing we middle-westerners know about is weather. We have a huge variety of weather situtions that we can be dealing with on a daily basis, and sometimes on an hourly basis. Rain, hail, tornadoes, extreme cold, snow, heat, extreme heat...the list goes on. Even though we are hundreds of miles from the ocean, we even endured a hurricane last fall, or at least the rain-out portion of the hurricane, which flooded our town pretty quickly in a matter of an hour or two.
Now, ideally, spring is the time when you can gently feel the bones warming and you know summer will be here soon enough. You can enjoy days when the windows are thrown open to catch the gentle spring breezes, and they sweep out the stale air of winter from the home, and it is delightful inside without mechanical assistance!
This winter seemed to go on and on and on. We endured a lot of very unpleasant days in the past few months, including snow, threat of snow, ice, cold rain and some stiff wind. When will it be spring, I found myself asking, when will I be able to put away the winter coats, and just go out in a jacket? That wasn't a happening thing until this past week.
We didn't get spring this year. We went from winter to summer in a day. One day it was 48, cold, windy, rainy, and the furnace was still churing out hot air. The next day it was 88, beastly hot, and eventually when the house heated up to 83, I wimped out and threw on the AC. No break in the utility bills this year! From gas consumption one day to electrical consumption the next day--my usual spring lull will not be happening this year.
One thing nice about the warm weather, I own a convertible. A beautiful "absolute red" Solara convertible--a real head turner! So, now it is time to throw the top down and ride in style! Love those summer days, even if they came a little early this year!
Now, ideally, spring is the time when you can gently feel the bones warming and you know summer will be here soon enough. You can enjoy days when the windows are thrown open to catch the gentle spring breezes, and they sweep out the stale air of winter from the home, and it is delightful inside without mechanical assistance!
This winter seemed to go on and on and on. We endured a lot of very unpleasant days in the past few months, including snow, threat of snow, ice, cold rain and some stiff wind. When will it be spring, I found myself asking, when will I be able to put away the winter coats, and just go out in a jacket? That wasn't a happening thing until this past week.
We didn't get spring this year. We went from winter to summer in a day. One day it was 48, cold, windy, rainy, and the furnace was still churing out hot air. The next day it was 88, beastly hot, and eventually when the house heated up to 83, I wimped out and threw on the AC. No break in the utility bills this year! From gas consumption one day to electrical consumption the next day--my usual spring lull will not be happening this year.
One thing nice about the warm weather, I own a convertible. A beautiful "absolute red" Solara convertible--a real head turner! So, now it is time to throw the top down and ride in style! Love those summer days, even if they came a little early this year!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
In memorium
You don't realize the impact people and events from the past have on your life until you have a chance to think back and reflect. A full-page article in our latest Catholic paper caused me to do that.
The article was an obituary chronicaling the life of a School Sister of Notre Dame, who died last Saturday at age 78. We knew her as Sister Eugene, or "Eugene" as we disrespectfully called her behind her back. Then in the 70's many of the sisters took back their given baptismal names, so she was known as Sr. Mary Ann Eckoff.
Now, Eugene was my English teacher. She taught upper classmen English, and she was really good at giving us a chance to write, as well as to read English Literature. I think I still have my textbook downstairs that we used in her class.
The other thing Eugene did for me was to give me a chance as a SOPHOMORE to be the art director for the stage production the school did each year. This was somewhat unprecidented, as these jobs usually went to upperclassmen. So, I got to do my job as art director for the plays for 3 years, and the experiences taught me much about stage production, which I used many times as an adult.
Upon reflection I find it coincidental that I am an English teacher, and my other love is theatre.....Eugene, if you are looking down on this lowly person now, down from Cloud 9 right up there next to our God, see me as one of many people who your life's work has touched and made more meaningful as a result of us knowing you and learning from you.
God Bless you Sister Mary Ann Eckoff, may you rest in peace, God's good and faithful servant. I cried the day I found out you died, you no longer can physically touch the students who you taught here on earth, but your spirit lives on in each of us.
Article in St. Louis Review, April 24, 2009 edition.
The article was an obituary chronicaling the life of a School Sister of Notre Dame, who died last Saturday at age 78. We knew her as Sister Eugene, or "Eugene" as we disrespectfully called her behind her back. Then in the 70's many of the sisters took back their given baptismal names, so she was known as Sr. Mary Ann Eckoff.
Now, Eugene was my English teacher. She taught upper classmen English, and she was really good at giving us a chance to write, as well as to read English Literature. I think I still have my textbook downstairs that we used in her class.
The other thing Eugene did for me was to give me a chance as a SOPHOMORE to be the art director for the stage production the school did each year. This was somewhat unprecidented, as these jobs usually went to upperclassmen. So, I got to do my job as art director for the plays for 3 years, and the experiences taught me much about stage production, which I used many times as an adult.
Upon reflection I find it coincidental that I am an English teacher, and my other love is theatre.....Eugene, if you are looking down on this lowly person now, down from Cloud 9 right up there next to our God, see me as one of many people who your life's work has touched and made more meaningful as a result of us knowing you and learning from you.
God Bless you Sister Mary Ann Eckoff, may you rest in peace, God's good and faithful servant. I cried the day I found out you died, you no longer can physically touch the students who you taught here on earth, but your spirit lives on in each of us.
Article in St. Louis Review, April 24, 2009 edition.
Friday, April 24, 2009
January, February, March, and now April. where art thou?
MonkeyGirl in her latest blog welcomed SewWhat? back into blogsphere. Yes, the posts have been few and far between in the past 4 months. So, I'll bore you and let you know why.
January--three shows that started in back to back weeks that I costumed. A little one, a medium sized one and a big one. Luckily the big one only required me to make 14 outfits for the VonTrapp kids for Sound of Music. But that was enough.
A new group of students at my college from SE Asia came for an 8 week whirlwind English Language Institute. They were wonderful, but enrolling them and getting them going in our classes about gave me a heart attack. It was so stressful. I had to hire a new teacher on Saturday to start the following Tuesday!
February--went to a new doctor this month. Now that I'm on Medicare, I made the change to someone other than the doctor I had been going to for a couple of years. Found out when I went to fill the prescriptions he gave me that I did NOT have Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage because of a clerical error. This could be very costly, because the next open enrollment period would be Nov 2009, to start Jan, 2010. A lot can happen in a year, so I started with my daily onslaught of calling to Medicare, insurance companies to try to get this problem solved. Very frustrating!
Also got into a tangle with SS over a pension I receive from the teacher's retirement fund. SS wanted to know how much the teacher's pension gave as a cost of living benefit, so SS could take it away from my SS pension I receive as a spouse of a deceased man who paid into SS for 40+ years. AND they wanted me to pay back what they overpaid me because I should have intuitively known that each year I needed to report this, and I should have known intuitively who to report it to. This generated another daily "put on hold for 45 minutes" call to try to get this solved.
Started with the most recent play, Stepping Out. I am the assistant director, which means go to every blooming practice (the ones with lines and stage movements at least) plus, as the costumer, I needed to sew these 9 x 2 costumes for the dance numbers.
Got a pneumonia shot because all people over 65 need to get one. Maybe that was why I got three 2 week viruses in a row, coughing, sneezing, raspy voice, feeling crappy. I'm not a fan of vaccines, and this is why I don't like them.
Oh, on Feb. 1, in a weak moment, I agreed to host a Korean girl who is attending our college for the rest of the semester. She is lovely, but having a houseguest for 3 months does put somewhat of a strain on a person who is used to living alone. Besides, I never cook for myself, and she doesn't like to eat out. So, we had to resolve that issue, besides some other issues. She came at the busiest most stressful time for me, it is just one more thing to consider each day. How is she going to get to and from school, and what is she going to eat? Daily connundrums, which need adjusting on a daily basis.
March--after all my frantic phone calls to Medicare and SS, I took my spring break to finally resolve the issues and get to the bottom of things. I spend 2 half days at the SS office, one day preparing a long, long 10 page document to tell them why I shouldn't have to pay them back the money they said I owed them (they wanted $750 back because I got $600 more in my pension--how does that figure? Must be that faulty calculator they use to figure out how much money they should take away each year because I receive a government pension). I'm not double-dipping, I legitimately earned my government pension, and my husband legitimately earned his SS through 40 years of paying in to it, and receiving 15 months of benefits before he passed away. I couldn't live for very long on either of them alone. So, shut up, SS and give me a break.
The prescription drug thing got resolved after I got so upset on the phone by being shoved from one entity to another, I was crying, shaking, and telling them, "you made a mistake, and you can give authorization to correct this mistake, so correct it and enroll me right now!" I guess that is what it took, because now I have Medicare Part D coverage. Hooray. Take another blood pressure pill, SewWhat, and calm down!
Practices for the play went on, in freezing cold church basements, with actresses who couldn't remember their lines, costumes that were too tight at first fitting, and other frustrations. On one weekend when it was prime time to sew, I got hit by another virus, laid me low for 5 days before I felt decent. I'd sew for an hour, sleep for 2, sew for another hour, sleep for 2. I got things done, but it was miserable!
Ah, April--hope of spring, then dumped on by snow. The play loomed ever so close and the costumes were still unfinished. Holy Week approached, with hours and hours spent in church singing my heart out. Did you know I play guitar also? Somehow, we moved in to the theatre, and after a tearful Good Friday, when I about left town in frustration because I was sure the tux coats would look like bathrobes, I got all the costumes finished (except for Vera's "bold" costume). Luckily, they all fit except one, I had Monday to fix that, plus make up the missing costumes.
If anyone has ever done a play, you know tech week can be exhausting. We got through it OK, and I was sewing my last costume detail on Wednesday night, in anticipation of Thursday's dress rehearsal and picture taking night. Two inches from the end of this sewing gig, my serger quit cold on me. It was on electrically, but the gears and mechanism would not move. I took it as a sign from heaven that I was indeed done with these costumes, and that was it!
Our show started Friday, and this weekend is our second and last weekend. Hope all goes well. We got great reviews from our local theatre reviewers, that really made things feel good.
So, that is the synopsis of the last 4 months, and why blogging hasn't been on my list of things that I could accomplish in a day.
Oh, and SS send me a letter saying, "you do not have to pay us back"--HOORAY, chalk one up for the old lady, let's give her a cheer!
January--three shows that started in back to back weeks that I costumed. A little one, a medium sized one and a big one. Luckily the big one only required me to make 14 outfits for the VonTrapp kids for Sound of Music. But that was enough.
A new group of students at my college from SE Asia came for an 8 week whirlwind English Language Institute. They were wonderful, but enrolling them and getting them going in our classes about gave me a heart attack. It was so stressful. I had to hire a new teacher on Saturday to start the following Tuesday!
February--went to a new doctor this month. Now that I'm on Medicare, I made the change to someone other than the doctor I had been going to for a couple of years. Found out when I went to fill the prescriptions he gave me that I did NOT have Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage because of a clerical error. This could be very costly, because the next open enrollment period would be Nov 2009, to start Jan, 2010. A lot can happen in a year, so I started with my daily onslaught of calling to Medicare, insurance companies to try to get this problem solved. Very frustrating!
Also got into a tangle with SS over a pension I receive from the teacher's retirement fund. SS wanted to know how much the teacher's pension gave as a cost of living benefit, so SS could take it away from my SS pension I receive as a spouse of a deceased man who paid into SS for 40+ years. AND they wanted me to pay back what they overpaid me because I should have intuitively known that each year I needed to report this, and I should have known intuitively who to report it to. This generated another daily "put on hold for 45 minutes" call to try to get this solved.
Started with the most recent play, Stepping Out. I am the assistant director, which means go to every blooming practice (the ones with lines and stage movements at least) plus, as the costumer, I needed to sew these 9 x 2 costumes for the dance numbers.
Got a pneumonia shot because all people over 65 need to get one. Maybe that was why I got three 2 week viruses in a row, coughing, sneezing, raspy voice, feeling crappy. I'm not a fan of vaccines, and this is why I don't like them.
Oh, on Feb. 1, in a weak moment, I agreed to host a Korean girl who is attending our college for the rest of the semester. She is lovely, but having a houseguest for 3 months does put somewhat of a strain on a person who is used to living alone. Besides, I never cook for myself, and she doesn't like to eat out. So, we had to resolve that issue, besides some other issues. She came at the busiest most stressful time for me, it is just one more thing to consider each day. How is she going to get to and from school, and what is she going to eat? Daily connundrums, which need adjusting on a daily basis.
March--after all my frantic phone calls to Medicare and SS, I took my spring break to finally resolve the issues and get to the bottom of things. I spend 2 half days at the SS office, one day preparing a long, long 10 page document to tell them why I shouldn't have to pay them back the money they said I owed them (they wanted $750 back because I got $600 more in my pension--how does that figure? Must be that faulty calculator they use to figure out how much money they should take away each year because I receive a government pension). I'm not double-dipping, I legitimately earned my government pension, and my husband legitimately earned his SS through 40 years of paying in to it, and receiving 15 months of benefits before he passed away. I couldn't live for very long on either of them alone. So, shut up, SS and give me a break.
The prescription drug thing got resolved after I got so upset on the phone by being shoved from one entity to another, I was crying, shaking, and telling them, "you made a mistake, and you can give authorization to correct this mistake, so correct it and enroll me right now!" I guess that is what it took, because now I have Medicare Part D coverage. Hooray. Take another blood pressure pill, SewWhat, and calm down!
Practices for the play went on, in freezing cold church basements, with actresses who couldn't remember their lines, costumes that were too tight at first fitting, and other frustrations. On one weekend when it was prime time to sew, I got hit by another virus, laid me low for 5 days before I felt decent. I'd sew for an hour, sleep for 2, sew for another hour, sleep for 2. I got things done, but it was miserable!
Ah, April--hope of spring, then dumped on by snow. The play loomed ever so close and the costumes were still unfinished. Holy Week approached, with hours and hours spent in church singing my heart out. Did you know I play guitar also? Somehow, we moved in to the theatre, and after a tearful Good Friday, when I about left town in frustration because I was sure the tux coats would look like bathrobes, I got all the costumes finished (except for Vera's "bold" costume). Luckily, they all fit except one, I had Monday to fix that, plus make up the missing costumes.
If anyone has ever done a play, you know tech week can be exhausting. We got through it OK, and I was sewing my last costume detail on Wednesday night, in anticipation of Thursday's dress rehearsal and picture taking night. Two inches from the end of this sewing gig, my serger quit cold on me. It was on electrically, but the gears and mechanism would not move. I took it as a sign from heaven that I was indeed done with these costumes, and that was it!
Our show started Friday, and this weekend is our second and last weekend. Hope all goes well. We got great reviews from our local theatre reviewers, that really made things feel good.
So, that is the synopsis of the last 4 months, and why blogging hasn't been on my list of things that I could accomplish in a day.
Oh, and SS send me a letter saying, "you do not have to pay us back"--HOORAY, chalk one up for the old lady, let's give her a cheer!
Trash Talking
In our neck of the woods (suburban north St. Louis County), there are many trash services (waste haulers in proper terminology) that come around each week to pick up our stuff that we cast off. That was true until March 30, when in the wisdom known only to a few, the city fathers decided to go with one trash hauler for the entire city. The rationale was that they could get a better price, trash cans would only be out in a neighborhood on one day, not five days because everyone chose their own trash service, and they came around on different days. And those heavy trucks would only be on our fragile suburban streets once a week, instead of every day. Our little neighborhood of 15 houses developed the idea that we would have only 1 trash service come on our street, it's a covenant in our homeowner's association policy. It worked for me.
This idea of one trash service per neighborhood or city has been floating around for a few years, and many of the larger incorporated suburban cities have glommed onto the idea, and have put it into place. The president of the entire county council lives on our street, so no wonder we had no choice of services, because the ideas of "trash zones" have been implemented by that governmental body, with outcry from citizenry over having no choice who takes away their cast-offs. After all, this is America, where we all have freedom of choice. Hm-m-m-m-m.
Our city council and the mayor of our fair city (population about 50000, so it's no tiny burg) decided to find one waste hauler (trashmen--NO WAY--HOW POLITICALLY INCORRECT!) to serve us all. It was differrent from the one our street had been using so it meant a change.
Now, some people embrace change, but I'm into routine, and I don't like change unless there is a compelling reason. First of all, they were right, the cost is less, I think from my last bill, it is about $2 less per month. However, they do have a great senior citizen rate, in that you get your service for half-price, and the city subsidizes this, so since I'm so old, I don't have to pay as much for my service. Change may be looking better.
Service????? Well, the first week went smoothly, except that I had my trash cans out for 3 days straight to get the day right when they picked up. You see, our illustrious and quite long-winded mayor had made a recorded call to every house in our city to tell us that we would be getting new trash service, and to look for the mailings from the city AND the company they had chosen to serve us as to the details of this change. I got the first letter from the city, with no details, but never did get the second letter.
My darling daughters, who also live in this fair city, got their letters, and my dear MonkeyGirl shared hers with me, looking out for her mother who can be forgetful at times. The letter gave me the cost breakdown, and gave the day of trash pickup. But that was why my trash cans were out for 3 days. Here's how that went down -Monday--oh, I forgot, this week we are changing trash service--that's the day the OLD service picked up--no trash pickup; Tuesday--that's what the letter said, why didn't they pick up my trash? I noticed I was the only one who had put the trash can out that day, then it finally dawned on me,oh, because the letter that said Tuesday was going to another part of the city, and MonkeyGirl got hers picked up today--so no trash pickup for me; Wednesday, well all my neighbors have their cans out, so I guess today is the day. And finally I got rid of my trash.
Now, yard waste is another issue. Since I only generated my first batch of yard waste by ignoring the tall weedy grass for weeks, this was the first week I tried to use that service. Put it out Wednesday, no yard waste pickup for me. After asking a few neighbors, I found out that yard waste gets picked up on Tuesday, or Monday, or....I'll just have to look for other yard waste cans and put mine out then.
We also have curbside recycling--I'll never figure that one out, so I'll just continue to use the city recycling center and my church for recyclables.
The last issue to be discussed here is billing. I've gotten 3 bills so far, each for a higher amount. The last one said it was due on 4/25/09--and as my calendar tells me, that's tomorrow. I sent my money on Monday 4/20/09. Then could someone tell me why I got a dunning bill from them yesterday, disclaiming my dignity as a proper bill paying citizen and demanding payment immediately or they would cut off my service?
Now for a resolution to the whole month of confusion. I've tried 7 times to call them. They must have one line and one operator, because you either get a busy signal, or it rings and rings, or you are put on hold for 8 people to finish talking to this one person before you can discuss your situation with a real live person.
Why would our fair city decide this small time operation would be able to handle the service to a large city like ours? Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? Why? Why? Why?
In defense of the waste haulers (aka trashmen!!!! there, I've said it again!), they do a neat job, and push your can away from the curb when they are finished. They don't come at the crack of dawn and make you get up to put out the can you forgot about the night before. Their trucks are nice and white, looking all professional for our surburban fair city.
If only someone would answer the phone, I'd be happy.
This idea of one trash service per neighborhood or city has been floating around for a few years, and many of the larger incorporated suburban cities have glommed onto the idea, and have put it into place. The president of the entire county council lives on our street, so no wonder we had no choice of services, because the ideas of "trash zones" have been implemented by that governmental body, with outcry from citizenry over having no choice who takes away their cast-offs. After all, this is America, where we all have freedom of choice. Hm-m-m-m-m.
Our city council and the mayor of our fair city (population about 50000, so it's no tiny burg) decided to find one waste hauler (trashmen--NO WAY--HOW POLITICALLY INCORRECT!) to serve us all. It was differrent from the one our street had been using so it meant a change.
Now, some people embrace change, but I'm into routine, and I don't like change unless there is a compelling reason. First of all, they were right, the cost is less, I think from my last bill, it is about $2 less per month. However, they do have a great senior citizen rate, in that you get your service for half-price, and the city subsidizes this, so since I'm so old, I don't have to pay as much for my service. Change may be looking better.
Service????? Well, the first week went smoothly, except that I had my trash cans out for 3 days straight to get the day right when they picked up. You see, our illustrious and quite long-winded mayor had made a recorded call to every house in our city to tell us that we would be getting new trash service, and to look for the mailings from the city AND the company they had chosen to serve us as to the details of this change. I got the first letter from the city, with no details, but never did get the second letter.
My darling daughters, who also live in this fair city, got their letters, and my dear MonkeyGirl shared hers with me, looking out for her mother who can be forgetful at times. The letter gave me the cost breakdown, and gave the day of trash pickup. But that was why my trash cans were out for 3 days. Here's how that went down -Monday--oh, I forgot, this week we are changing trash service--that's the day the OLD service picked up--no trash pickup; Tuesday--that's what the letter said, why didn't they pick up my trash? I noticed I was the only one who had put the trash can out that day, then it finally dawned on me,oh, because the letter that said Tuesday was going to another part of the city, and MonkeyGirl got hers picked up today--so no trash pickup for me; Wednesday, well all my neighbors have their cans out, so I guess today is the day. And finally I got rid of my trash.
Now, yard waste is another issue. Since I only generated my first batch of yard waste by ignoring the tall weedy grass for weeks, this was the first week I tried to use that service. Put it out Wednesday, no yard waste pickup for me. After asking a few neighbors, I found out that yard waste gets picked up on Tuesday, or Monday, or....I'll just have to look for other yard waste cans and put mine out then.
We also have curbside recycling--I'll never figure that one out, so I'll just continue to use the city recycling center and my church for recyclables.
The last issue to be discussed here is billing. I've gotten 3 bills so far, each for a higher amount. The last one said it was due on 4/25/09--and as my calendar tells me, that's tomorrow. I sent my money on Monday 4/20/09. Then could someone tell me why I got a dunning bill from them yesterday, disclaiming my dignity as a proper bill paying citizen and demanding payment immediately or they would cut off my service?
Now for a resolution to the whole month of confusion. I've tried 7 times to call them. They must have one line and one operator, because you either get a busy signal, or it rings and rings, or you are put on hold for 8 people to finish talking to this one person before you can discuss your situation with a real live person.
Why would our fair city decide this small time operation would be able to handle the service to a large city like ours? Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? Why? Why? Why?
In defense of the waste haulers (aka trashmen!!!! there, I've said it again!), they do a neat job, and push your can away from the curb when they are finished. They don't come at the crack of dawn and make you get up to put out the can you forgot about the night before. Their trucks are nice and white, looking all professional for our surburban fair city.
If only someone would answer the phone, I'd be happy.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
One more costume to share
This costume is worn by one of the main characters in Stepping Out. She wears more costumes in this show than anyone, and each is rather distinctive!
In this scene, she comes in and changes into this outfit. She uses the line, "I just popped into Fredrick's of Hollywood and just had to have it, it was so expensive!" Then she opens to coat to reveal a rather low cut slinky outfit, made of black and red sparkle knit, bosoms ready to pop out, and says the line "It isn't too bold, is it?" while cradling her bosoms and lifting them! Then they ask the lone bumbling male for his opinion, which consists of "Well, I, er...it's .... You know... It's rather..." And the ladies pounce on him saying, "Well, you can't be fairer than that..." amid roars of laughter.
One of our theatre friends knits, and she made the beautiful boa for around the neck and sleeves. We didn't want feathers because they shed, so this worked out great. The style is so cute, I WANT ONE! Don't know where I'd wear it, but it did turn out cute.
The actress who plays Vera is really cute, she embraced her role and did a great job and everyone loved her antics. She was a great asset to our show, and a really teriffic tap dancer! Way to go, Vera!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The end results
These are the costumes I made for the stage show "Stepping Out" on stage April 17-18, 24, 25 and 26, 2009. Florissant Civic Center Theatre, Florissant, MO. 314-921-5678 for tickets!
American Patrol--this was their "rehearsal piece", the dance number they worked on learning throughout the entire show. Women wore royal blue lycra wrap skirts, man wore royal blue pants, all wore red/white/blue lame striped vests, with black leotards/shirts underneath, and royal blue bowlers trimmed with red/white/blue ribbons.
The Grand Finale number--one year later, they've gone "pro"! Silver grey tail coats, trimmed with black satin collars and back belts, crimson red vests (attached to the coats for the women), black slinky skirts (women), Tux pants (man) and silver lame and black top hats.
I think it all turned out rather nice myself. The challenge was to make the cast look trim and neat, because we had all sizes of dancers, from tiny to "used to be tiny". Plus they had to dance a pretty vigourous couple of dance numbers in these costumes, and the dances were back to back, with about a 2 minute change of costume window. I attached the vests to the coats for many reasons, to keep them from flapping open while they danced, and to make the change easy, put on one top garment and button it up instead of trying to wrestle with two. Both skirts were easy to slip on for the women, the man had to deal with tap shoes on and off for his change!
I'm trying to get some sleep this week, but my body is still in the adrenaline rush stage, so I've actually been able to accomplish a lot of house cleaning, with my "got to be busy every waking moment" mind set. I'll get really lazy next week!
American Patrol--this was their "rehearsal piece", the dance number they worked on learning throughout the entire show. Women wore royal blue lycra wrap skirts, man wore royal blue pants, all wore red/white/blue lame striped vests, with black leotards/shirts underneath, and royal blue bowlers trimmed with red/white/blue ribbons.
The Grand Finale number--one year later, they've gone "pro"! Silver grey tail coats, trimmed with black satin collars and back belts, crimson red vests (attached to the coats for the women), black slinky skirts (women), Tux pants (man) and silver lame and black top hats.
I think it all turned out rather nice myself. The challenge was to make the cast look trim and neat, because we had all sizes of dancers, from tiny to "used to be tiny". Plus they had to dance a pretty vigourous couple of dance numbers in these costumes, and the dances were back to back, with about a 2 minute change of costume window. I attached the vests to the coats for many reasons, to keep them from flapping open while they danced, and to make the change easy, put on one top garment and button it up instead of trying to wrestle with two. Both skirts were easy to slip on for the women, the man had to deal with tap shoes on and off for his change!
I'm trying to get some sleep this week, but my body is still in the adrenaline rush stage, so I've actually been able to accomplish a lot of house cleaning, with my "got to be busy every waking moment" mind set. I'll get really lazy next week!
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