. . .We Will Dance The Hoochie Coochie . . .

The title of this post is an obscure reference (though locationally evident if one pays attention). Anyone who can tells me where it's from gets brownie points in my book..

I'm here in Webster Groves, not yet dancing the hoochie coochie, but I certainly think it could come to that if everyone parties here as much as they say they do. It's a far cry from Miami. I'm staying in a great location and may actually get to don a bathing suit and swim some laps in my backyard if the weather warms up at all. The people are all quite nice and I'm not feeling any sense of impending doom. I might just like it here.

It's strange to be in and around Webster University again. I spent two summers here at the State Ballet of Missouri School when I was 13 and 14. We stayed at Loretto Hall and performed at the Loretto-Hilton Center, which is also the home of Opera Theatre St. Louis. I stopped at a McDonalds on Big Bend Road last night on my way home and it suddenly dawned on me that this was the place where I used to go with girl friends to "pick up" especially cute members of the basketball camp. I remember throwing pennies at one of them and hiding in a booth laughing hysterically. Mating rituals have not quite matured when you're 13.

And so I'm in the familiar which helps while trying to figure out protocol with every other little thing at this place. I've got a little rent-a-car to tool around in, and all of the buildings are pretty close together. The bad thing is that OTSL is in the middle of a massive move from an office and separate rehearsal space to an all-in-one. There've been some snafus along the way (as there often are when big companies shift around), and so they haven't gotten into the facilities as soon as they would have liked. That being said, the season is starting off in a bit of logistical dissarray. Everyone here seems to have a head on their shoulders though, so I feel good about rolling with the punches. It will all work out in the end.

This show seems to be pretty colorful. The production team walked over to the scene shop this afternoon and got the first view of the giant, mechanical moving house and oven that the witch will be operating and falling into. All sorts of things will be flying and puffs will be exploding and colors will be whirling and I think it should all be a pretty great time. This is a small show and a big show all at the same time. The cast is quite tiny and most of the opera involves only four of them, but the concepts are big and the set will take some maneuvering and getting used to. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

As I told the assistant artistic admin. yesterday, "I've put up John Conklin's "Fanciulla Del West" in the aftermath of a major hurricane. Nothing will ever phase me ever again."

Onward and upward . . . the train is a' smokin.' Here we go!!!