xiphias | More stuff I intended to write about last week -- the Iolanthe strike party (Reply)

Last performance of Iolanthe was last Sunday. Afterwards, some people wanted photos of us in makeup and costumes, so we went out on stage (before the audience left) to do that. We normally don't do that -- we're either in character and on stage, or out of costuime and makeup, but it was the last performance and all. I explained to some kids that you could tell the difference between baritones and tenors, because tenors wore PURPLE vests and RED cloaks, and baritones wore ORANGE vests and GREEN cloaks, but I don't know if they believed me. After photos were taken, we removed makeup and changed into work clothes and began taking the set apart, at around five o'clock or so.

Lis helped out in the Green room, and the whole set was down in like five hours, which is pretty quick. But Lis got tired and cranky, so I took her home and put her to bed at nine PM, which meant that, since I was home, I could actually change into party clothes. I wore my corset-vest, because I'd threatened to show people that guys can wear corsets, too, and they look damn good. I also brought Tracey, since Lis wasn't coming. (Tracey is my guitar, and is the "other woman" in my life. Except, as people have pointed out, I had Tracey before I had Lis, so maybe Lis is the other woman. . . )

I timed things well, and showed up after strike was over. :) People pulled out copies of Yeoman of the Guard, and began singing through it, but the Makeup Mistress had brought her mountain dulcimer and wanted to play it, so we went out into the hall and started playing guitar and dulcimer stuff. A group of us hung out singing folkey-type songs. Baritone Mike sang his song "Purim" to the tune of "La Bamba" which I'm definitely going to sing to my class next Purim.

I showed off my corset-vest, and it was generally admired. I mentioned that, when I put it on, Lis said, "You look good. You look Lyman good."

(See, the person who played the Lord Chancelor is Lyman Opie, which is a name which always gets me, because, well, if you remember, in the comic strip Garfield, Opie's owner used to be Lyman. I wonder if Jim Davis knew Lyman. Anyway, Lyman is cute. Really cute.)

Lis didn't want me to mention to Lyman that I said that, but I mentioned it to the Makeup Mistress who passed the comment along. 'Cause, c'mon. People NEED to be told that sort of thing. Lis is not insensible to the effects of manly beauty.

I asked if anyone wanted to hear the song I'd auditioned for the show with, and people were ameniable, so I started playing "Angus and the Kilt".

People laughed, but then asked me if I hadn't been embarrased to sing a risque Scottish song as an audition song. I said no, because, well, I knew perfectly well that one of the people I would be auditioning for used to sing it in public, on stage, with me.

"Who?" they asked.

I told them that

greenlily and I used to perform that one as part of our set.

"What?" they asked in disbelief. "Jess sang that?"

I confirmed it was so.

"In public?"

"On stage, even, yes."

"Without turning magenta?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far -- but that's one of the reasons it was popular."

I'm not sure they all entirely believed me, but we went on and sang other stuff, and I tried to remember "Ball of Kerrymuir", but couldn't. I said that I bet that Jess would remember more verses. Everyone around me was certain that she'd NEVER come out and sing that song.

I went back in, and Jess was singing Yeoman of the Guard stuff, and I said, "Hey, Jess, I can't remember the verses to Ball of Kerrymuir. Wanna come out and sing it?" She said, "Sure!" and we went back out and sang it. Everyone goggled.

Erisa, who played Iolanthe, came out of the room to head homejust about at that point, just as we were starting, and I said, "Hey, want to hang out for a minute and sing dirty songs with us?"

Jess said, "She's not going to want to -- she's a church-going innocent person; she's not going to want to sing dirty songs."

So she sang a couple verses with us.

I don't know just WHY my experience of people is so different from other people's. I apparently bring out something in people. I mean, when I started dating her,

browngirl was a religious Baptist who tried to witness to me.

Anyway, it was a fun party. I went home at like one or two in the morning.