Boxes update

My family is indeed awesome. After a morning email, the older of my two uncles contacted me and said he'd be happy to help and bring some boxes. Said uncle also brought a bonus in the form of my young cousin willing to help out. He was an utter trooper taking loads of boxes down to storage. Uncle is coming back tomorrow to continue helping out. Now there is still a ton of work to get done in time, but I'm a lot more confident than I was last night. The big shelves are mostly empty. The desktop has even been packed up. Thank god for wireless, so I can have my Internet connection. I may have to rough it for a day with my aunt and uncle if we have to pile all the rest of boxes in the kitchen and bathroom. I'm prepared for that to be honest.

Anyway, I was grateful for the help I received. Sometimes despite my differences with them (and lord knows we're on opposite sides of the political fence), they do come through. Sometimes they don't, but I'm trying to remain in a positive mood here.

Remember WENN: Armchair Detectives -- the audio edition

Last year, the International Mystery Writer's Festival produced "Remember WENN: Armchair Detectives". I so wanted to attend, but finances and location really hampered my chances. Now I've got the next best thing, since they've released audio cds of the performance. My order arrived in only a few days but I'm only now having a chance to listen to it.

It's rather jarring to hear new voices performing favorite characters. I was reminded of the WENN actors hearing the student actors in "Don't Act Like That" playing their roles. It's strange to hear something so familiar performed so differently, like hearing a quirky rendition of an old standard. The timing and the beats you're used to aren't there and the notes are hit in different ways. I think it's a real credit to all the WENN actors, even the secondary characters, that to this day I can hear each of their voices and personalities so clearly. Also that despite how broadly their characters were written initially, they grew into those roles and gave them depth and feeling and humor. I'm trying not to picture this cast in later sequences, but it's difficult, knowing what comes next.

The other thing that takes some getting used to is the audience. WENN never had a laugh track, so hearing audience reactions besides my reactions was quite strange. A little thrilling, too, knowing some of these people were hearing and appreciating WENN for the first time.

The play combined "On the Air" and "Armchair Detective" with some added bits from other episodes. The "Ghost of WENN" material was not used, which was a shame. It might have given the play a spookier edge. The mystery section was a bit thin for a supposed mystery play festival.

( Remember me, remember you... )