LION KING LOOMS CLOSER

I received word from the management offices in Australia that my Singapore work visa has been approved. The official email from the Ministry of Manpower of Singapore includes an endless list of documents that I'm required to bring, appointments I'm required to keep, and other very official instructions. By the end of the email, however, I felt like I owned a hair salon as they kept referring to me as "Mr. Patrick".


1. Mr.Patrick is to inform us of his available date at ...

2. Mr.Patrick is also to bring the following documents to MOM when
collecting his Employment Pass:

3. Before proceeding to MOM for his appointment, Mr.Patrick is required
to bring his Original Passport/Travel Document and Tourist Arrival Card ...

...Wash & Set with Mr. Patrick at 10:00

(Interesting that Ministry Of Manpower becomes the abbreviation MOM, no?)

IN OTHER NEWS

The official Lion King Singapore website has launched.
And tickets are now on sale.

The launch of the website and the beginning of ticket sales to the general public all coincided with the splashy press conference held in the future home of the show in Singapore.

Anyone who really wants to see the opening night performance might be interested to know that Marina Bay Sands has also launched a contest, the winner getting two VIP red carpet tickets for opening night, which seems to be locked in for March 10.

(Sadly, airfare not included. But, hey, what's $2000 and 30 hours of travelling to attend a "Landmark Event"!)

JELL-O SUPREEZE

I pulled off a great prank the other night, one that I'm rather proud of. Not an on-stage prank, but it did involve the theatre. Before I can show you the photographic evidence, however, I need to give you the background so that you can fully appreciate the punchline.

Years ago, when I shared a house with Roberta, on the first day we were moving in, we were standing in the bathroom and she lamented, "Oy mine gott, there's not place to hide tampons in here". I assured her that I was in no way frightened or offended by tampons and that they didn't need to be hidden. None-the-less, she squirreled them away in a corner of the linen closet. To make my point, that night after she was in bed, I grabbed a fistful of tampons and laid a trail of them on the floor leading from her bedroom door to the bathroom door. From that day on, the war was on. She would put them in my pillow, I would put them in her shoes. She would hide them in my desk drawers, I would put them in the candlestick holders. You get the idea. It went on for months.

So, last week, after I was finished work (watching "Tuesday's with Morrie" for the 4th time) a group of people gathered at a pub to share a drink and some gossip to celebrate my birthday. Roberta presented me with a lively coloured gift bag, stuffed with oodles of purple tissue paper. When I'd worked my way through all the tissue paper, I discovered....a tampon. And, just for good measure, a panty-liner. I believe my exact words were, "OK, game on!".

For the next few days, I waited for an inspiration and than remembered that Roberta would be at the Tuesday performance, my first performance, of "Tuesdays...". In a flash, it came to me. Since it is dinner theatre, I prepared a special dessert for her, which I had served to her by my long time friend and Assistant Stage Manager, Darcy.

May I present something I call, JELL-O SUPREEZE.

Yes, it IS a tampon in jello. The two accompanying tampons are drizzled with chocolate.

It had the desired effect. She did, however, take it home with her. I'm afraid that sometime in the future, it may be served back to me.

TUESDAYS WITH JAMIE FARR

It has been an informative journey arriving at my first performance of "Tuesdays With Morrie" after one week of "rehearsal". To clarify, my rehearsal consisted of:

-Two weeks of learning lines and blocking at home with the dvd recording of the show

Then, once I arrived in Calgary my rehearsal schedule was:

-Monday, line run with Kathi at The Auburn.

-Tuesday, line work with Kira playing Morrie. Discuss blocking details on stage with Rejean. Watch the evening show.

-Wednesday, watch the matinee. Watch the evening show.

-Thursday, run-thru on stage with Rejean playing Morrie. Watch the evening show.

-Friday, line work on stage with Kira.(at right)

-Saturday morning, my only rehearsal with Morrie actually being played by Jamie Farr. Watch the evening show.

-Sunday, watch the matinee, watch the evening show.

-Tuesday (the day of my first actual performance) a quick, pre-show line-run with Kira.

After watching the show 8 times, I felt like calling it "Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday with Morrie"!

I don't mind admitting that I was a bit of a wreck before my Saturday run-thru with Jamie. Not because I didn't know my stuff, but because I am coming in as a replacement for the final two weeks of a show that Jamie and Rejean have been playing together for months. The pressure is on me to try and keep the show as similar as possible for Jamie's sake. The challenge being, trying to mimic Rejean without doing an impersonation of him and still allowing enough of myself to come through so that the performance is honest. I didn't sleep well on Friday night. In the end, it went well and I went back to breathing normally.

I have to say that, throughout the entire process, Jamie has been very generous to me. He's been on the road for six months. He's tired and he's ready to go home. (I've been on the road that long and it tired me out. And I'm 25 years younger than he is.) When you add in the extra Saturday runthru with me, he had a 9-show week. That said, once he's on stage there is no hint of tiredness, only focus, energy, generosity and extraordinary commitment.

Our first performance together (for an audience) on Tuesday night went very, very well. I could hear plenty of sniffling and saw many hankies dabbing moist eyes in the first few rows. During our curtain call at the end of the show, because he's a bit of an old-fashioned gentleman, he turned and applauded me as I took my bow.

I'm really looking forward to the short time we will share together on the stage before the run finishes.

Old Mitch (Rejean)

Morrie (Jamie)

New Mitch (me)

AND JUST FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE

This website was created to bring awareness to the number of kids, heterosexual kids, who have been bullied to the point of suicide by homosexual kids.

IT'S CALLED AN INDICATOR

I'd just like to clarify something since there seems to be a great deal of confusion out there. That stick, poking out on the left hand side of the steering column in your car? Depending on the make and model of your car, it probably does a variety of things, but it's PRIMARY purpose is to serve as your 'turn indicator', also called your 'signal light'.

Now, I think the confusion lies in a lack of understanding of the definition of the terms 'indicate' or 'signal'.

INDICATE - To show the way to or the direction of. To point out.
...as in, "I'm using this little stick to indicate my intention to turn.

SIGNAL - A non-verbal action that sends a message. A coloured light as a means of communication.
...as in, "Because I have used my signal light, you are now aware of the fact that I will be turning left."

Let's be clear on the meaning of these terms. The little stick is meant to 'indicate' or 'signal' some action that has NOT occurred yet, your intention to turn. If you use the little stick AS YOU ARE COMPLETING THE TURN, then you have mis-understood the meaning of the words. If it is your habit to brake, and then, in mid-turn, flash your turn signal once or twice, you have created a Turn Confirmation and are not using the little stick to it's intended purpose. I do not need to see the flash of light as you are turning because I can see that you are turning. I would prefer to know that the reason you had been gradually slowing down to a crawl during the last kilometer was because you were intending to turn.

Let's make a pact. You will indicate, in advance of braking or slowing down, your intention to turn, and I will swear not to force you into the ditch, drag you from your car by the hair, and slam my hatch-back down your head a few times.

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

There have been a few significant events in the past week or two that have forced me to face the fact that the countdown to departure, whether I'm ready for it or not, has begun. When people have asked me if I'm starting to get excited yet about leaving, I've answered, quite honestly, that I've been intentionally NOT getting excited because my departure is still a few months away. That being said, pages are being turned and everything seems to have picked up a tiny bit of speed, a momentum that, though subtle, is definitely noticeable.

Here, in order, are the events that, collectively, have pulled me toward the centrifugal core of un-stoppable forward motion...

1) I got some bonus money.

Multitudes of people on several continents know by now that the production was significantly delayed. A contract that was initially going to open in October, is now opening in March. In a gesture that speaks volumes about generosity, confidence and commitment, the production company offered some money to help ease the financial burden of such a long delay. A way of partially compensating for income that might have been lost if one turned down work before the delay was announced.

2) I worked my last shift as a server

Yes, another season of flinging high-priced poutine at the ignorant and the indolent is over. How I'll miss growing a beard whilst the Mensa candidates try to decipher the menu. I'll yearn for the sound of ingrates and hillbillys mispronouncing 'tagliatelle', and 'Riesling'. My life will be a little more empty because I'm not running bread and water to a table of people who are so cheap that they're sharing a bowl of soup.

3) The tickets have gone on sale

Not general sale yet, just priority booking special offers, but still, money is changing hands so an opening night curtain is imminent.

For better or for worse, I have other work that will keep my focus (mostly) away from South East Asia for the next few weeks. That doesn't mean that I'm not still compiling a gigantic list of restaurants that I want to eat at in Singapore.