Today's drive through the Tahoe National forest was without a doubt the most beautiful and painful I've ever experienced. 7,300 feet is quite a challenge for a kid who's lived his entire life on the East Coast and never been higher than the upper deck of the George Washington Bridge. By the time we reached the Donner summit my sinuses were frozen and my blood was bubbling. I think I would have driven off the mountain if the scenery weren't so unreal. Parts of it felt like we were driving through a 500 sq. mile amusement park. Uncle Zeke's Thunder Gulch, featuring lazy river:
...and mine shaft ride:
Once upon a time the Nevadan countryside was dotted with ranches and alfalfa farms. That all changed in 1973, when the entire state realized simultaneously that they could make more money by using all that floor space for slot machines. There are times when it seems like not one square inch of this state does not have a Suger and Spice video slot sitting on it. This is where the bed that I am sleeping on tonight is:
There are two festivals going on in Fallon this weekend -- the Spring Wings International Migratory Bird Festival and the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival. We performed at the bird festival, though we were encouraged to scout out the cantaloupe. To my (likely) eternal regret, we didn't.
The theater that hosted us was once again brand new and gorgeous and had, what my lifelong New York State-livin' brain decided was a "Western" feel. It had something to do with a series of wooden banisters in the house that were made of wood, like lots of things in the west are.
Ultimately, performing at the bird festival didn't have much to do with actual birds. We weren't specifically encouraged to make a thing out of it in the show, and it seemed like the audience was grateful to unwind from a long day of looking at waterfowl with two hours of non-bird-related entertainment.
Because we'd had three reps as a group in the last two days, the show went off like clockwork. Fewest bumps, best response. We did wind up with some pretty familiar Rewind suggestions:
Show #4: Fallon, NV
Playwright 1: Shakespeare
Playwright 2: Tennessee Williams
Movie Director 1: Quentin Tarantino
Movie Director 2: Alfred Hitchcock
Musical Style: Rap
...but kept it on the funny side of familiar.
After the show we met some honest-to-God cowboys. I would have a hard time describing to you just how actual of cowboys these cowboys were, but they were serious. Their job was, literally, to ride horses and move cows places. They also wore cowboy hats and had big bushy mustaches.
One day I will go to their ranch and we will ride. They don't know about this plan, but they will.
Tomorrow: I fly home and stop staying up past my bedtime to do this. I hope that these posts were some fun to read, despite not actually saying any of the things about regional theater that I thought I was going to be able to say. I enjoy writing more about lime-flavored potato chips and cantaloupe anyway. I think that came through.
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