Sat. I got up relatively early and start sketching out the garbage bin pen that I had envisioned. I actually had cut a few boards on Friday (after being shut out of Julius Caesar), but there was a fair bit to go. I was worried that I would actually run short, since several of the boards were totally rotted through (why I had replaced them in the first place). It got quite close, but I actually had just enough for all the cuts. There was one unused board in a storage area, and I decided to use that one for the front piece, since it is the one we have to handle the most.
I thought this was interesting -- a spider web full of sawdust after all the cutting was finished.
I ran off to get groceries, taking my daughter along, since she can be kind of picky about school lunch, so I wanted to make sure there was something she would actually eat.
After this, we practiced the route to her new school, since she'll be walking there on her own most of the time. (Over the summer, I practiced the route to the high school with my son, since he'll be biking it much of the time. I finally got around to installing the lock holder on his bike, but I seem to have lost the bike lights. So frustrating. I wish we hadn't run out of time at the bike store, since I would have had them install them. If they don't turn up in the next day or two, I'll just have to stop in at the shop next weekend.)
While my daughter was pretty weary at this point, I convinced her to come over to the mall to do back-to-school shopping. My son came along as well. They went back home together, and I went to Home Depot for a few more things I needed to finish the pen, then I went to the gym.
I got back at about 6:30. I was in a slightly better mood (than Friday) and decided to reserve a chair for Julius Caesar after all. It was an odd concept, where the doings of Brutus and Caesar were largely pushed into the background and Portia (Brutus's wife), Calpurnia (Caesar's wife) and Servilla (Brutus's mother) took center stage. On the whole, I think Shakespeare would approve of the idea of remixing, though he probably wouldn't have appreciated being listed after Kaitlyn Riordan (as he was in the program). They probably did go overboard in moving all the action off-stage. I'll write a bit more on this piece later.
I found that the screwdriver extension wouldn't fit the drill, so Sunday morning, my son and I ran over to Home Depot and returned it. Then we caught the streetcar downtown, since we had to catch the bus to Stratford. We made pretty decent time (on the TTC), and had a few minutes while waiting for the bus to watch the folks headed to FanExpo. I didn't take any photos, but there were a few interesting costumes. The ride out was fairly uneventful, and I got a fair bit of reading done (Russell Smith's How Insensitive). I was a bit disappointed that the Thai place I often go to was closed, but the other one was open. (I think in a couple of weeks on my next and final visit this season, I'll see about Fellini's for lunch and then one of the Thai places for dinner.)
I showed my son a bit of the downtown, and then we walked down to the Festival Theatre. I was absolutely amazed to see that they had completely leveled the old Tom Patterson stage. I knew that there was some reno going on (so there were no shows there this season), but I didn't envision a complete tear down and rebuild. I wonder if it will actually be completed by next season and ready for a brand new opening. (I must say I'm a bit skeptical.)
I did have a chance to show him the swans, though they were across the river. There were a handful of artists out, but not too many (presumably taking advantage of the long weekend to rest and/or produce more work). We got to the theatre in plenty of time.
We were there to see The Tempest. It was another gender-bent version with Martha Henry as Prospero (apparently her debut at Stratford was as Miranda many moons ago). I thought it was a good performance -- definitely some good spectacle throughout (esp. the opening shipwreck scene and then a huge bird later on). In some ways, I actually thought the version I saw at Bard on the Beach in 2014 was more beautiful, but this was solid. Stephen Ouimette and Tom McCamus were quite good as Trinculo and Stephano. I didn't happen to think it, but someone said that Henry was very much in Hillary Clinton mode, totally weary with the ungrateful world, and after I heard that, I couldn't unhear it... The weakest link was Miranda. Granted this is a totally insipid part, but she seemed to be more or less a child of 12 (not that 15 is much better) and her falling for Sebastian felt pretty fake (and icky even). Another thing that was disappointing is that I didn't feel there was any remorse or meaningful conversion on the part of Sebastian (the king's brother) or Antonio (Prospero's brother). Though to be honest, I pretty much go to The Tempest for spectacle only, since the stakes are just so unbelievably low (nothing escapes the attention of Prospero (or Ariel) and Prospero's reign is never in any danger). Dramatically-speaking, it's actually pretty bad, more of a puppet show than a play.
What was unbelievably annoying is that we were supposed to be on the road by 5, but they brought us round to the Studio stage, where a show was going until 3:30 (presumably this was Long Day's Journey into Night). However, our bus was essentially full and it should have just left directly from the Festival Theatre (as promised). I know there were a lot of very unhappy people on the bus, and they may have to rethink this approach (or just give up on plays that break the 3 hour mark!). We didn't actually leave until 5:45, and thus of course we got stuck in even worse traffic than we would have otherwise. About the only positive was that the extra time on the bus gave me the time to wrap up How Insensitive (I'll be reviewing it shortly).
We decided there just wasn't much to eat downtown on a Sunday evening (mostly Chipotle), so we held off until the A & W at Pape. But then they didn't have any of these new veggie burgers that are supposed to be so good. So it was a thoroughly discouraging end to the day.
Monday morning wasn't much better. I discovered that the screwdriver part would have fit the drill after all, but I had already returned it (darn my efficiency) and the store was not open. In the end, I just drilled guide holes where necessary and used a regular screwdriver. The pen came together somewhat slowly over the day (and I ended up flipping one part over, which then meant another part had to be reversed). It didn't end up being quite as precise as I had hoped, but it seems pretty solid, and I just don't think the raccoons will be able to knock down the cans anymore, which was the real motivation. (I'm just trying to convince them that there must be nicer and more welcoming backyards than mine, and it is time to move on...)
Here is the progression over the day:
As one might imagine, I was thoroughly hot and filthy by the end of the day. I ended up throwing away the t-shirt I worked in and then soaked in the tub for a bit.
The weather threatened to rain, but in the end it didn't, so I did a bit of grilling. A couple of neighbours dropped by and we hung out a bit. That was nice. I haven't decided if I am going to try next weekend to have folks from work come by or not. It actually is a fair bit of work to do all the grilling, and I am not sure I am up for it again. I debated going to the gym but decided it had been a busy day, and I can always go Tuesday after work. (Yes, it's already time to start thinking about getting back to work. Sigh.)
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