Category Archives: Theatre

2023, Family, Theatre, Uncategorized, work

December

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December. Wow. That was fast, wasn’t it?

Hasn’t been a lot happening on the farm this past week. Since I finished all the tillage last week and it was cold, too cold to work in the shop, I had to go back to work work, or at least, pretend I was while I did other things.

I had a straw delivery, more HVAC work at the Rochester Repertory Theatre, a lot of work on the final essay for my English class (turned in by the time you read this) and a couple hours spent trying to teach my mom how to use her new talking watch. She’s had a talking watch and would use that before she got the Alexa. But she’s out of practice now. I tried to encourage her that the watch would give her something to occupy her time. We’ll see.

A group of theatre students from the drama club at the college came and helped haul out the demolition detritus from the HVAC project at the Rep. Some years you get a really good group of kids, and this is one of them. A couple students are new and some I’ve known from previous years, including the ringleader, and I say that with the best of intentions. She’s the cheerleader, she’s the one that inspires them, and influences them to be so friendly and so willing and to make them all feel so included. And that extends not only to other student members, but to me as well. And I’ve told her, she’s the reason this bunch has coalesced as they have. When I asked if the drama club would help with some demolition, she sent a chat message to the group, simply saying, from what I heard, “Ben needs help”. And nine students showed up. Or maybe it was the fact I promised them food.  Some days we sure get lucky. To me, camaraderie has always been the best part. See the header photo of the group.

Still waiting to hear from Crop Insurance. The other day, on the back of an envelope, I spent some time on the computer finding the current balances due on various loans from this year. Machinery part loans through John Deere, crop loans for fertilizer and spraying, loans for seed, plus rent that I owe, estimate an amount for combining, an operating line of credit that I’ve made a lot of use of this year with the shop project, plus a credit card balance, all written on the back of the envelope. Then I would look at my checkbook balance. It was a larger gap than I would hope. Wild card being what to expect from Crop Insurance. I know it won’t be tens of thousands, it will probably be a few thousand dollars, and if we strictly focus on this year‘s crop loans , it will come out pretty even. Again, we are so lucky, and so fortunate: we own our home, we don’t have a mortgage on any of the land, Kelly continues to support me in the fashion to which I have become accustomed, and we have a warm home and warm clothes, and even with my shriveled-up eyeballs, we are healthy. I have nothing to complain about.

I saw a survey recently, asking if you would rather have a job you loved but that didn’t pay much, or a job you hated but it paid a lot. And most people said the job they hated because money gives you options. I have to agree, money does give you options, but I feel like I’d rather take the job I love. Maybe that’s because we are already in a comfortable spot, and we have a few options.

This weekend I think we really need to get snow fence up, it’s not gonna get much warmer. I have that old disc that needs to be cut up and loaded on the trailer for scrap iron, I would like to get that done this weekend. I bought some tarps that I intend to hang in the machine shed to create a bit of a fourth wall so I can try to contain some heat in the shop end and work in there a little more. There are a few things on my summer 2023 ‘to do’ list that I’m beginning to think I may have to move to my 2024 list.  Again, if I finish the list, I didn’t have high enough goals.

LOVE OR MONEY?

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, Kids, Theatre

See My House

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

I can see my house from here! *

Not much happening on the crop front this week, other than it was 17° one morning, and the weeds are finally dead. Still a few Boxelder bugs around.

I got everything put away that shouldn’t be frozen. Except for one hose that was kind of in an out-of-the-way location, and when I pulled it down the hill to let it drain,  I had a flashback to how many times I did that when I was feeding and watering calves. Depending how much water they needed, sometimes I would just use 5-gallon buckets, and sometimes I would use the hose. When finished, I would pull the hose down this hill so it could drain as I coiled it back up and hung it on the inside door of the feed room. The door closed into the dairy barn and it was always warm in there in the winter time. In fact, we needed exhaust fans because it would get too humid from the cow’s breath. But we didn’t need heaters. I have mentioned before what a cozy place the barn could be on a winter night.

All that from draining a hose.

The college kids put on 12 performances of our play this week, two per day for elementary school kids plus two Saturday shows. 

It was fun to have that energy back in the theater, fun to see the kids and hear their reactions: everything from being impressed with the stairway up to the second floor, the candy machines in the hallway, to the art departments drawings of bodies.

Wasn’t anything lewd, but they sure did gawk. I took to standing right there just ahead of the drawings, talking to the kids, and trying to keep them moving. As long as the line ahead of them didn’t get bogged down, it wasn’t a problem. Thursday morning, I noticed the art teacher changing the display. Just a routine change, not complaints or anything. 😊

I finally got back to working on my shed. I got some of the steel on the east wall, 10-foot-tall pieces below a beam. I hope to have a balcony on that end so there will be more steel above the beam. I cut a bunch of sheets at 5 foot and them on the north wall, Then I put a 2 x 6 on the wall above them so I have a place to hang tools if want, and then will have more steel above that. I also need the outside of my windows trimmed. I thought I had a guy that was going to do it,  but he stopped returning my phone calls, so I’m doing it myself. I have a plan for some of it, and the rest I’m making it up as I go.

The other day, as I took daughter into town, we heard the song “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas. I mentioned the band Boston, and wondered how many other band names there are based on places. Other than the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Chicago, I didn’t come up with any. The next day she mentioned a song called “The Final Countdown” by the band Europe. I was impressed with her! She’s perfecting her sense of sarcasm too. We couldn’t be more proud.  

The dogs are doing really well together. Luna doesn’t seem to like the snow or cold. Kelly sent me this picture with the caption, “Luna watching and waiting for the snow to melt”.

*Header photo from Gonda 14 at Mayo Clinic. On the horizon are two towers. They’re along our driveway.

BANDS  NAMED FOR PLACES?
Whatta ya got?

2023, Art, Farming Update, home, Theatre, Uncategorized, work

Don’t Forget Your Jacket

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

This week has all been about the theater. Well, Covid and Theatre, I guess. Wait, Covid was last week. It’s all a blur. I’m over the symptoms, but still testing positive. Good thing I work alone most of the time. And by now I shouldn’t be contagious anymore.

It’s rained a lot lately. And now it’s getting cold. We’ve had more than six inches of rain since the end of September. Oh well.

We open a show Saturday, and then next week will be two shows a day for all five days. Kids are bused in from the local area elementary schools. This kid show has always been a big hit for us, and of course we haven’t been able to do one since 2019. We were afraid we had lost a lot of the contacts at the schools and weren’t really sure what kind of reception we’d get this year. We feel really lucky to have an audience for all 10 shows, including three that are sold out. The play is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth night’ called “Lions in Illyria” by Robert Kauzlaric. Very cartoony and big and goofy and the kids should enjoy it. And short at 65 minutes. The three days I missed with Covid would have been helpful about now. I’m sure the paint will be dry by Saturday afternoon. Things will be ‘good enough’. I did take a few shortcuts, I called in some favors. The show must go on. As long as we can keep cast healthy.

I have a can full of stir sticks at the college. I’m pretty sure some of them were here when I started the job 17 years ago. I do know that I threw out a bunch a few years ago and for this show I decided to put all the ones that I’ve used a different container, because I feel like the sticks at the back of the first can were being neglected. Kelly was in to help paint one day and her goal was to use up all the stir sticks. She made a good dent in it. The can on the left is the unused sticks for the show, and the can on the right are the ones that I have used.


I learned how to paint marble for the show. The white and pink one I painted using a ripped T-shirt. My friend Paul came in and painted the green one. He makes it look so easy. And he enjoyed having an easy project like this.


I’ve talked with Crop Insurance about my soybeans. We started some preliminary claims just so the paperwork is out there. I’ve got until December 10 to get them harvested. After that we just write it off and let them go to insurance. This week of 20° temps at night will certainly freeze everything, but honestly, I’m not sure if the beans will ever dry down enough to harvest. We would need a good week of clear sunny, warmish temperatures and that’s really pushing it this time of the year. But with these weather patterns, who knows. I get home about 10:00 PM these nights (after rehearsal) and I was out picking up hoses and taking the outside faucet off the wellhouse. I need to pick up the pressure washer and hand sprayer yet.

Luna has moved right in and made herself at home. Our bed is her favorite place to be now. She loves to play catch and Tug-O-War. She’s shredded a few toys. And we’ve left her home alone and she’s just fine. Doesn’t like it, but at least she’s not chewing up the furniture.

THINGS THAT NEVER WEAR OUT?

2023, Music, Theatre, Uncategorized

Major Dilemmas

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Besides NDSU in Fargo and UND in Grand Forks, there are five other smaller, State-funded four year colleges in ND. That is in addition to the State-funded technical college in Wahpeton and two smaller State-funded two year colleges in Bottineau and Williston. That is a lot of State colleges for a place as sparsely populated as ND.

The five smaller four year colleges are enshrined in the ND State Constitution. That means they must continue to exist unless the Constitution is amended. The colleges are expected to be financially self supporting with tuition and not with tax dollars. What is a college to do, though, if, as national trends tell us, there will be fewer and fewer students attending college due to declining birth rates?

The college in our town is facing this very issue, and has made the very unpopular and draconian decision to eliminate the Music and Theatre Departments. They even are firing the guy who is the main tech person who is the only one who knows how the electronics in the auditorium work. It is traditionally a Teacher’s College and has strong Nursing, Agriculture, and Business Departments. I am sure they didn’t even consider eliminating the sports teams. They have told the Music and Theatre majors they need to find somewhere else to go next year.

What is a college without a band? It is hard enough to find elementary and secondary music teachers out here, and now it will be doubly difficult. State law requires that State property like the band instruments, band and choir music, and pianos, can’t be sold and must be given away. Our church is going to try to snag the timpani and big percussion instruments. I might try for a bass clarinet, as that is my instrument. It is all very sad.

If you went to college or technical school, what were your most memorable experiences? What makes a college a good place?

2023, animals, Farming Update, gardening, Nature, pets, Theatre, Uncategorized

Nice Things

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

We finally had a hard freeze, 27° at our house Tuesday night. It finally killed off that wild tomato plant that was taking over the driveway. There was still a ton of green tomatoes on there. That was some plant.

The soybeans had pretty much reached maturity; they had lost about 50% of their leaves, so there will at least be a crop there. They’re short and the beans will probably be small, but it won’t be a total loss. The people who do my harvesting said they’re just about done with their beans, which is pretty impressive. It’s just the way this year will be: lower yields mean the combine can drive faster in the fields, lower yields mean fewer truckloads, which means it doesn’t take as long. 

I’ve been delivering some straw lately for mulch, or some to put around trailer homes, or to cover their garlic. Even some for ‘pumpkin bowling’ at a church.

The 40th anniversary for the Repertory Theatre went real well. A lot of good compliments and it was fun to see some people from when the theater first started, including one gentleman that I didn’t think would even remember me just because I didn’t have much to do with him. But he had some pretty good stories and once again, you never know the impact of your actions. I didn’t know Jeff had moved into Dave‘s apartment because Dave had moved in with Skip. I didn’t realize Kim, who was filling a sabbatical at WSU, had brought in Kris and Jeff because they were students.  Dare I say a nice time was had by all. There was a champagne reception and showing my age again, some of the people didn’t know how to open a champagne bottle. I knew. I was in a cast one that won a cast party battle of drinking more champagne / person than any other cast. 2+ bottles / person one night. I haven’t liked champagne since. Ah, to be young.

I talked about naming calves after people at the theater. The header photo is Michael, Thom, and Kim in the theater office about 1985.

The puppy. I guess we have a new dog. She does need to pass a few tests yet, Humphrey hasn’t totally accepted her and she needs to not eat chickens.

But she and Humphrey are getting acquainted, and I think Humphrey has relaxed a little. He’ll stress out again if she comes in the house. He’s the biggest dog, and he’s also the most sensitive.

This puppy, which we think looks like a German Shorthair Pointer Pitbull mix, (sometimes called Pointerbulls), has a lot of attitude. She’s only half Humphrey’s weight and size, but the attitude coupled with her puppy eagerness will be a lot for Humphrey to put up with. The vet discovered she does actually have a chip, but they said it was not registered. Then they talked to a place in Oklahoma that tracked her to someone in Oklahoma. That woman gave the puppy to her cousin, who moved to Rochester, and into an apartment building where she couldn’t keep the dog, and that woman gave puppy to someone else. The veterinarian’s office gave us this man’s name and phone number, and when we called there, a woman answered the phone who knew nothing about a dog and no person of that name. The cruelty of people dumping animals is just abhorrent. This puppy is so smart! She’s potty trained, she’s very good on a leash, she knows basic commands, she loves to fetch, and does she have a lot of energy! We’re still looking for a suitable name.

We got a truckload of dirt / mulch on Wednesday afternoon and filled in a space Kelly has been working on all summer. Wanted to get that in place before it rained. Any fresh laid dirt we have to cover with plastic snow fence to keep the chickens from rooting it up, and even the dogs from digging.

Chickens.

And this is why we can’t have nice things…

DID YOU HAVE A NICKNAME GROWING UP?

(Of course, we want to know what it was!)

2023, Theatre, Travel, Uncategorized, Words

Wicked in Swedish

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Last year our church choir director and her husband sponsored a foreign exchange student from Sweden. She was a lovely girl named Hedwig who fit in very well with the host family and the community. The family has stayed in contact with the girl and her family in Sweden.

Hedwig’s mother is a costumer for a Swedish opera company. Recently, the opera company put on a production of Wicked translated into Swedish. Our director heard a brief recording of the production, and said it was very odd to hear Defying Gravity sung in Swedish. I guess Stephen Schwartz, the composer, even came over make necessary changes in the production.

I can’t imagine how a person could translate lyrics from one language to another if the lyrics had to rhyme. I don’t know if I like hearing productions in their original languages with subtitles. I don’t know if I like translations from the original language. Such a dilemma.

What English theatre or opera production would you like to see translated into a different language? What non-English production would you like to see translated into English? Where would you have wanted to be a foreign exchange student?

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, Nature, pets, Theatre, Uncategorized

Crisis

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben

“Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s day-to-day living that wears you out.” – Anton Chekhov

Sometimes near the end of the day, Kelly and I hug, and sigh, and comment on the plain, old, day to day living. And then we go do something else that needs to be done for the day.

This weekend the Rochester Repertory Theater opens their 40th Season. There’s a celebration planned. Preparations for that have kept us busy for a while. Of course, there’s a committee and some people handled food, some set up lobby displays, Kelly found and organized old photos of shows and people. I mounted a TV in the lobby and some other misc things. It’s been really fun to go back through these old photos. I started at the Rep when I was 20. It was 1984. Of the four founders: Thom, Kim, and Michael had gone to college together. They brought in Jeanne, whom Michael knew, and the Rep was off and running. I came along shortly after that when I worked a show with Michael at another theater, and he invited me to help out at the Rep. Thom was one of my mentors. I learned a lot from him. Kim is the philosophical one. I learned a lot from him too.

Especially at that age! Do you remember all the stuff you did then? With the whole wide world open in front of you?? We did some crazy stuff. From the banner over Broadway, to the all night cast parties, to the floats in parades, and the acquisition of lumber. They are great memories.

We’ve all been there; young and broke and you did what you had to do to survive. It’s where I ‘courted’ Kelly. I had met her at the Rochester Civic Theater, but I got her to work on a show at the Rep. That way I knew where she’d be every night. (Another fun fact; the Rep was performing at the college that summer, in Hill Theater, where I now work. We joke we courted in the parking lot.)

But that fact we made it forty years. Wow. It wasn’t always easy, and there was talk of closing the doors a few times. Our Treasurer, Mark, had more than a few sleepless nights. It will be fun to catch up with people and visit with people we haven’t seen in 30 years. I was in some shows, as well as working backstage. When the guys gave me a key to the building, little did they know what they were getting in me. But I thought I was pretty hot stuff to get a key! I named calves after everyone. In those days before photoshop, I would make two copies and would cut out the calf photo and stick it on a photo of their theater office.

This was me in the show “Loot!”

Some of the neighbor’s cows came to visit one day. Our regular rental cows are about ready to go back home, so the guys are letting them come into the barn yard and will haul them out one of these days. So, when I saw a cow there, I wasn’t too surprised. But Kelly said it was an unusual coloring. It was an Oreo cow and I know we don’t have one of them in the pasture. Been a while since I had to chase a cow. At least it wasn’t midnight in a cornfield and chasing cows by sound. Been there done that and it’s a miserable experience. These two cows were already in the yard, so we just had to lock them in the pole barn, and call the neighbor, and he showed up with his trailer and one went in easy while the other one had to make 3 trips around the pen and scatter us a few times before she went in. I told them I didn’t miss chasing cows.

One morning as I made a sandwich for work, the bread drawer became too much even for me. I keep a supply of twist ties in there; never know when you might need one. But the crumbs, the excessive supply of twist ties (seriously, when’s the last time I used one??) and the package of tortilla shells that expired in June. Sigh. Cleaned it all out, vacuumed it, And, it made me happy. Sometimes we just hit our limit. Sometimes it’s the little things.

Picked up a stray dog for the township. She’s a sweetheart. I don’t know if we’re keeping her yet. Our existing dogs aren’t sure yet. Especially the chickens aren’t sure. No collar and haven’t found any missing dogs matching her description. I’ve told the deputies we have her. We’ll see. You’ll know if she’s still here next week.

Oh. The Farm update. A lot of neighbors are going on soybeans. Mine are still turning color and starting to lose some leaves. The rye is growing, along with the oats left in the field, (header photo) but at least it looks pretty good. The corn. It’s odd how there will be green plants right next to dried out plants. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Different maturity seed in the bag?

Fall is here. We’ll be completing the circle soon.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM YOUR YOUTH?

2023, Media, Movies, Theatre

Arsenic & Old Lace

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On Friday night my BFF, Sara, and I went to see Arsenic & Old Lace at Theatre in the Round over on the West Bank.  This was Sara’s birthday present from me….we decided a few years back to give each other experiences instead of things for our birthdays.  She chose Arsenic from a list of plays showing this fall.  I was looking forward to it; I’ve seen the 1944 A&O starring Cary Grant and Boris Karloff several times and was interested in how the play would measure up.

I haven’t been to Theatre in the Round for many years.  Actually except for theatre that has been gifted to me, I’ve hardly been to any theatre in years. (Single parenthood kind of whoops the-evening-entertainment-that-costs-money craving out of you.)  When I first moved to the Twin Cities, I did volunteer ushering there for a couple of plays but full-time work while my wasband was searching for a job wore me down and I needed my nights back.

The production on Friday was quite nice.  The entire play takes places in the living/dining room of the Brewster sisters; no-nonsense set and props (like the sisters) without too much bric-a-brac to pull your attention away.  Lighting was pretty straight forward (nothing fancy like I see in Ben’s photos) and the sound was very good.  If the actors were mic’ed, I couldn’t tell; we were in the third row and didn’t have any trouble hearing all the dialogue.

Casting was superb!  Not that easy when one of the actors needs to resemble Teddy Roosevelt and another absolutely has to look like Boris Karloff (there are repeated mentions of this in the script).  I was a little worried that that these two would be weak links, hired for their looks, but they were both great.  Jonathan (the Boris look-alike) was particularly good.  Both Brewster sisters were excellent; Abby had a great way of waving her arms to punctuate her lines that was very effectives.  And a shout-out to the young woman who played Officer Brophy; she really sparkled in her role.

I was easily able to put aside my Cary Grant memories and enjoy the play on its merits.  It was very funny and a couple of times I laughed enough to cry.  The woman behind me snorted a few times! 

If you’re in the Twin Cities and up for a great night of theatre and comedy, I highly recommend it.  I think it’s running for a few more weeks.

Tell me about a favorite theatre experience you’ve had!

2023, Fantasy, Gatherings, History, Theatre, Uncategorized

Being Teddy

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Medora, ND is a tourist town about 40 miles west of us that capitalizes on its connection to Theodore Roosevelt, who lived on a ranch near there in his younger days. It is on the border of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The town has an Old West feel, with a homespun outdoor musical every night in the summer, stores that sell Western memorabilia, and trail rides. They also have people dressed as important figures from the town’s history, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores, a French beef packing scoundrel. Every night at the musical, a local cowboy on an actual horse reenacts Teddy’s charge up San Juan Hill. The commercialization of Medora was the brain child of a wealthy North Dakota businessman, Harald Schafer, who owned the company that manufactured Mr. Bubble bath soap. He wasn’t that well liked in town, though, for some reason. His son became governor.

I read recently that there are about 60 people in the US who are Teddy Roosevelt reenactors. This summer, three of them were in Medora. One lives there all year long. They all work simultaneously in the summer. At least one is a young Teddy. The other two portray him when he is older. They walk around town and talk to people and get their pictures taken and seem to have a great time.

If you were to be a reenactor, who would you want to portray? What is your favorite bubble bath?

2023, home, Mysteries, Nature, Theatre, Uncategorized

When Jupiter Aligns With Mars

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Things are happening here this week in an alarming way. Yesterday the downspout guy came and cleared out the final downspout his brother couldn’t get cleared out last week. Today the flood fixer people are coming to remove the large dehumidifier and two remaining fans in the basement. Tomorrow the roofers arrive to replace the hail damaged shingles from last year.

I am somewhat alarmed by what is happening at the end of our street. Our whole neighborhood is receiving upgraded gas lines, which means large holes in the sidewalks, driveways, and streets as the old lines are removed and new ones are replaced. They are even putting a new gas line in the backyards. The streets on either side of ours are done, and now it looks like it is our turn. I saw the utility construction trucks just a block down from us yesterday.

When the roofers are here we can’t park in the driveway. When the utility people are digging up things in front of our house we can’t park on the street. I do hope they aren’t here at the same time, or things could get difficult.

When have too many things happened at the same time for you? Did you like Hair, either the musical or the movie? Ever been follower of astrology?