Drama in the drama

The palms at Long Beach.

Owner Chuck and waitress Kelly at his Long Beach breakfast joint. It's been there forever.

 I bring my script to breakfast.

It's been a busy couple of weeks and not without drama. Eliza Gale's play, "The Little Nebbish," is developing, we actors are getting to know one another and our individual strengths. Various crew and actors have had transportation difficulties, not everyone has a car, and we rarely start or leave on time, but we have managed to get through the entire script, and blocking has been mapped. Last week we were all having trouble with our lines...it's a talky play, after all, and we were rushed to be off book too soon to accommodate a tight production schedule. But, methinks it's a natural for a bit of ad lib, and no one will be the wiser if we establish a good pace and go for the laughs. 

To cap off the week, we found out Friday that our leading man had broken his leg on a film set during a fight scene! Maybe we need to stop bestowing that "break a leg" wish upon one another so frequently.

Exhaustion set in on my drive back from Long Beach, so I hovered around Pismo Beach and finally crashed there, facing the waves. Walked on the beach Friday morning and, as always, was amazed at the amount of people with leisure time in this world. It was about 80 degrees at noon. And, many had the Veteran's Day weekend off.

Majestic rock at low tide, Pismo Beach. See the wee person on top?

My cousin took me to her favorite thrift shops and we bought three bright, wacky outfits for my character, Heather, for only nine bucks. I've got at least eight costume changes, so this job is still not done. What I would give for a wardrobe mistress like Lisa Danz, who dressed my pal Sukanya Sarkar in "Lost in Yonkers," which I caught last night in Danville.

Waiting to hear if our leading man will work with his leg in a cast, or if he will be replaced by our handsome young director.

The cool promo card for "Lost in Yonkers," which closed last night at the RPE in Danville. That's Sukanya in the coat.

  
Photos above by Lisa Carlson. Promo card produced by the RPE, Danville, CA.