Tortugapalooza!
It�s 12 a.m. late Thursday night, but we�ll call it "Friday" for our purposes here. This means that this beast of a show that we have been working towards for around three years and seriously slaving over for the past two months is now only one week away.
Thank God there�s nothing else going on in our lives.
I met my birth mother for the first time last night. I mean, it wasn�t as if I�d never seen her before. There was that other time, but that was more:�darkness-light-there she is-spank-cry, and then I was rushed out of the room without even a proper introduction - "Mum, Riki; Riki, Mum."
I had her flown in from Australia to Florida. She was living in Glossodia, New South Wales, which is near Sydney. I say "was" because she�s moving from Australia to the south of Spain in Malaga. I�m supposed to visit her there sometime soon, but I don�t know if I�ll be able to endure the beautiful, sunny beaches and the gorgeous coco-butter women. That�s sarcasm, by the way. If every dog has his day, I believe I should start barking any minute now. Anywho, my birth mother, she�ll be in town for twelve glorious days and craving my company every minute.
Mum & Me 1 Mum & Me 2 Mum & Me 3
Thank God, there�s nothing else going on in our lives.
Okay, so now it�s "officially" Friday. Late in the afternoon, to be exact. Jef and I spent the day working Kids� Day for the Bay Area Renaissance Festival-formally of Largo, but now relocated to Tampa. If you notice by my last statement, Ronn was not mentioned. Not to worry, he�s not dead, and we haven�t fired him for "bad behavior." He�s not in jail either, so wipe that grin off your faces and turn down the mental gears on trying to figure out what he�s done. It�s not that we�re not quite capable of impropriety; it�s just that none of us have the time lately for that kind of "fun."
No, Ronn took a personal day, so Jef and I were forced to figure out a two-man show. We began the day running lines to the "Robin Hood" show before the festival opened. We quickly realized that particular show wasn�t clicking for us, and we decided to try our hand at pulling together a two-man "Sword" show instead. It�s an idea that the two of us have been playing with for a while, and suddenly here was the opportunity, dropped smack in the middle of our laps.
So there we went. Backstage, improv-swordfighting and figuring out who says what lines and who does who�s sword moves. A couple of performances later mixing the laughter of children with nary a flubbed line and barely a train wreck to be found when it came to the swordplay, and we were happily through our first two-man sword show. It went pretty well, too. Who�d-a thunk it!
with Johnny Pheonix in Tampa my Mum and her crazy son with Bunnies in Peril in Tampa
Time flies when you�re having fun. It�s now Wednesday afternoon. I know, I jumped a couple of days. To play catch-up, let�s just say that we had a�grrreeaaaat�final weekend at the new MOSI site.
People had been asking what we thought of the festival now that it had moved and of the site itself. As far as the site goes, I�m reserving my judgment until next year when they break out the permanent structures as opposed to the tent city that they had this one. The show itself was wonderful for a first-year festival.... But I�ll tell ya, it was no Largo. I�m not worried, though-the festival shows great promise. And, although I�do�miss all the good times that we had on the other side of Tampa Bay, I�m sure that there�ll be plenty more enjoyed on this side in the years to come. And, believe me, we had some crazy-fun on this last weekend. Let�s just say there was much laughing, drinking, boobie flashing, Twin groping (drunk rednecks, too much beer, and Tortugas are not always a good mix), and even some hot girl-on-girl smooching during the last�Beer Show. (Not that I�m partial to that kind of thing. But, what the hell, I hear some people like it.)�Yeah, right!�We all needed some R & R after all the commotion of this last weekend.
An old flame-er! D'Angelo creeped out by Tortuga Kisses Tech Questions A-Kimbo!
Thank God there�s nothing else going on in our lives.
We�re sitting at Ronn�s house-Jef just got here. Hang on; I gotta go. Ronn has asked me for help in adjusting his bra straps. Don�t worry; it will all make sense in a little while. We�re going to rehearse a couple of our sketches now-something that we should have been doing all along, but, what the hell, it�s us. I�ll try to write something over the next couple of days before the show, but we�ll see. I know I need to get this out to you, and I�d really like to have it done�before�Tortugapalooza�hits. Again: we�ll see.
Thank God there�s nothing else going on in our lives.
Friday now: day of show.�My�tag-line for today, when somebody asks how I�m doing, is "I�m a seizure of calm." I�ve felt like puking for two days straight now. I have hopes that this feeling will go away once the show is said and done, but they�re low hopes.
John of Hack & Slash takes a break Panty Raid! in rehearsal Spencer of Hack & Slash and his Hypnotic Gaze
Kevin McDermott-a great friend and our�lead stagehand-and I are running around trying to tie up the loose ends of this bucking bronco we�ve roped. There are still props and t-shirts to collect, not to mention a couple of things that we Tortugas should rehearse a few more times. We�re keeping our cool for the most part, but on the inside, it�s not a pretty sight.
Well, I don�t have much time left. It�s been a long, strange trip, but the time, as they say, hath draweth nigh. Okay, so I�m the only one who says that anymore, but I�m the one who�s writing this, so it�s okay. Alright, kiddies, time for Uncle Riki to say bye-bye and get his tired, stressed little ass back to this sea of madness that we calls "work." You have a great day, a better time tonight, and I�ll see you on the other side of�Tortugapalooza. Ciao, bellos!
Midnight after-rehearsal dinner
