My new pit gig for the summer of 2008

[Merlin]

I'm playing Cabaret at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, ON, Canada this summer.

I'll be playing clarinet/bass clarinet/tenor sax/bass sax. The show is using three WW players, and the book is being rewritten to be closer to a Berlin cabaret orchestra of the 20's/30's.

Updates will follow.

 

[Carl H.]

Sounds like fun. Be careful, an original period orchestration may include string parts in the "reed" book.

 

[Merlin]

Sounds like fun. Be careful, an original period orchestration may include string parts in the "reed" book.

Not really a concern here. My contract specifies what instruments I'm booked on. I know that there's a violinist booked for the show too.

Stratford is the pinnacle of summer rep theatre in Canada. I'm hoping this season leads to a few more. It's nice to be getting a living wage for a season of theatre music.

 

[Gandalfe]

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the director and other players. Do you have to do any arranging of parts yourself? Is the pit hard to get to? What solos will you have?

 

[Merlin]

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the director and other players. Do you have to do any arranging of parts yourself? Is the pit hard to get to? What solos will you have?

I don't have to do anything except perform.

Stratford is a well funded professional theatre company, with a long history. This is the first show with the new music director, though I've played under him before when I subbed on the Toronto production of The Producers.

 

[Merlin]

So we crunched numbers here at Chez Williams, and decided that it makes financial and personal sense to move to Stratford for the year.

Details to follow...

 

[Gandalfe]

So we crunched numbers here at Chez Williams, and decided that it makes financial and personal sense to move to Stratford for the year. Details to follow...

Is there a chance this might be a permanent thang?

 

[Merlin]

We just signed a lease for one year on the house we're moving into.

If I get hired for a second season, we'll buy there. Prices are less than a third of what they are in Toronto.

 

[pete]

I've driven through the area and it's pretty. A little cold in the winter. I don't recall if you get lake effect snow ....

 

[Merlin]

I've driven through the area and it's pretty. A little cold in the winter. I don't recall if you get lake effect snow ....

Stratford's a little inland to be getting much lake effect, but it is in an area that's considered to be the snow belt in Ontario.

Nice thing is that I'll only have to work from April to October!

 

[pete]

Remember: summer is August 1st and that's it .

I'd recommend that if you don't already have an AWD car that you get one.

FWIW, I used to live in and around Buffalo, NY. I worked for a company in Niagara Falls (USA), but it was headquartered in Etobicoke, CAN. My late grandmother was from Newfoundland (yes, I've heard all the jokes).

 

[Ed]

Merlin,

I have a lot of respect for those of you north of the border. I'm in Chicago and am thinking thoughts about warm climates all winter long. So far the place that I've liked best in the states besides where I live has been Malibu California. Big Bear California was nice as well. I haven't been there when the ground moved or the Santa Ana winds came in. Best of luck with the new place.

 

[Merlin]

Remember: summer is August 1st and that's it .

I'd recommend that if you don't already have an AWD car that you get one.

FWIW, I used to live in and around Buffalo, NY. I worked for a company in Niagara Falls (USA), but it was headquartered in Etobicoke, CAN. My late grandmother was from Newfoundland (yes, I've heard all the jokes).

I've been driving in deep snow with all manner of vehicles for years. I've never had AWD, and gotten along just fine.

 

[Merlin]

Merlin,

I have a lot of respect for those of you north of the border. I'm in Chicago and am thinking thoughts about warm climates all winter long. So far the place that I've liked best in the states besides where I live has been Malibu California. Big Bear California was nice as well. I haven't been there when the ground moved or the Santa Ana winds came in. Best of luck with the new place.

I've found one or two places in the excited states where I could live. Vermont is very nice. It felt a lot like here.

 

[Gandalfe]

I've found one or two places in the excited states where I could live. Vermont is very nice. It felt a lot like here.

Come visit Seattle. As an ex-Minnesota survivor and world traveler, this place is paradise. And the jazz scene is sublime.

 

[Merlin]

Went there once for about a half hour in 1975.

I think I owe it a try.

 

[pete]

Merlin,

I have a lot of respect for those of you north of the border. I'm in Chicago and am thinking thoughts about warm climates all winter long. So far the place that I've liked best in the states besides where I live has been Malibu California. Big Bear California was nice as well. I haven't been there when the ground moved or the Santa Ana winds came in. Best of luck with the new place.

I've found one or two places in the excited states where I could live. Vermont is very nice. It felt a lot like here.

Colder, actually. I lived in Plattsburgh, NY and that's across the lake (Champlain) from Burlington, VT.

Absolutely beautiful in the fall.

Oh. Ed, have you experienced the earthquakes in CA? That's one thing they don't tell you about in Malibu and they can be ... unsettling ... for visitors (FWIW, I lived in NoCal, but I spent a summer in SoCal -- mostly Hermosa Beach, but Malibu's all of 30 miles from there).

A really fun place in CA is Pacific Grove. It's on the migratory route for the Monarch butterfly. Recommended experience, especially if you have daughters.

 

[Helen]

Congrats Merlin :!: I'm happy for you. A nice stable, relatively long-term, actual musical gig must feel pretty good. Are you going to borrow a bass still, or are you going to buy one again?

Speaking of bass saxes, Paul Coats, who I bought my bass from, sent me a funny email a couple of days ago about being Canadian. It seems to fit quite well into this thread so I thought I'd share. My apologies to anyone who's already seen it:


You May Be From Canada If


You're not offended by the term, "Homo Milk."

You understand the phrase, "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine, on the chesterfield."

You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.

You drink pop, not soda.

You know what a Mickey and 2-4 mean.

You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars.

You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.

You drive on a highway, not a freeway.

You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.

You know that Casey and Finnegan were not part of a Celtic musical group.

You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.

You brag to Americans that: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion and many more are Canadians.

You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian!

You know what a touque is.

You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed" not "Zee".

Your local newspaper covers the national news on two pages, but requires six pages for hockey.

You know that the four seasons mean: almost winter, winter, still winter, and roadwork.

You know that when it's 25 degrees outside, it's a warm day.

You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.

You know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan." (Sas-Kat-chew-wan)

You perk up when you hear the theme song from "Hockey Night in Canada."

You were in grade 12, not the 12th grade.

"Eh?" is a very important part of your vocabulary and more polite than, "Huh?"

You actually understand these jokes and forward them to all of your Canadian friends! Then you send them to your American friends just to confuse them...further.

 

[Gandalfe]

"Eh?"

 

[Merlin]

"Quoi?"