Diplomatic differences

Today I got my first invite to something at the Canadian Embassy. Granted it was a group invite likely sent out to 20,000 people, but I'll take it. The event even sounds fun - it's to mark the start of the 100 day countdown before the Vancouver Olympics. Cool, right? Not so much. It's at 8am on a Wednesday. ???? That can't even coincide with anything happening in Vancouver since that would be 5am there. So actually this event screams lame. So I sent it to my FFF and said, "lame". She sent me back her most recent invite from the French Embassy. A champagne tasting next Saturday night.

Yes, this accurately illustrates the differences between our nations.

The only plus side for the Canadians, at least our event was free - champagne tasting $125.

A Knight in Harman Hall

Let me tell you how this came about. Yesterday I was supposed to have back to back meetings all afternoon. One by one they were canceled (this happens with great regularity in DEVO for whatever reason). I was crabby, crabby, crabby already and having my time wasted made me crabbier. So I decided to surf the internet and not do anything else productive. But of course I didn't want to mindlessly surf the net, this is the Kennedy Center after all, so I was reading the Washington Post (radical I know). What does the Post have, but an interview with Ian McKellen. Why? Because he's in town and doing a one night benefit for the Shakespeare Theatre Company - tonight. Wow.

Okay, google the event and discover that tickets are going for upwards of $500. That's a bit steep on a fellow's salary, but they were still available...and good seats in the centre orchestra were still available so I think to myself hmmmm this event isn't selling. Next I do what any good theatre practitioner would do in my position when in a city with no connections - you flirt with the box office staff. I'm not ashamed, you would have done the same thing.

I am offered, after being put on hold a couple of times and talking about Church Street in Toronto for awhile - this was a pretty lengthy conversation but I was on a mission- $40 standing room tickets. Done, I say, I'll take two. (a fellow fellow came along). We get to the theatre not knowing exactly what their version of standing room would be - I did ask and was told I'd be fine. I figured as long as there was something to lean on. He also said my last name should be awesome (I said it was my middle name) (seriously, this was our conversation...) So what's standing room? Front row of the balcony on the centre aisle. Seriously - AWESOME.

So Joe in the box office of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, thank you.

Okay, so Ian basically chatted and performed monologues and read his favorite poems for 90 minutes (he too was awesome - awesomeness all round!). Favourite moments - he did his preacher speech from Cold Comfort Farm "there is no butter in Hell!" - he did a soliloquy from Hamlet and dried in the middle and asked if anyone remembered the next bit and someone did. It wasn't an unknown passage certainly, but I didn't remember the next line - Michael and my mother would have but it was none the less impressive for dude in the balcony to call it out so clearly. He told how he and other actors saved the original site of the Rose Theatre in London from being bulldozed by developers (Dames Judi and Peggy sat on lawn chairs and told them to "go away" - awesome). To prove he could make anything sound amazing he recited Help by the Beatles so it sounded like the most beautiful thing you've ever heard, and the Beaufort Wind Scale - my favourites 7 through 9:

7 Near Gale        Whole trees in motion;                    inconvenience felt when walking against the wind.

8  Gale             Breaks twigs off trees; 

          
generally impedes progress.

9 Severe Gale      Slight structural damage occurs                   (chimney-pots and slates removed).

Tee hee - generally impedes progress :-)  

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more to reflect on him in the coming days, but for now once more into the breach. 

Just an artsy shot of Fellows in the rain leaving the Drag Queens. I don't know, I just like it...

I learned today that I have an international readership. Thank you for checking in, I will try to be entertaining... (so much pressure!)

The event du jour was a reception at the residence of the Indian Ambassador. A gorgeous "home" as you can imagine. It was about the size of the Canadian Governor General's house so not exactly cramped for space. In 2011, the KC will be doing a festival focused on India (currently being called the Festival of India. Not the most catchy title but descriptive) and so today was the second event where we dipped our toe into the world of Indian corporations and business people to put out feelers for financing. Lots and lots of small talk. I sometimes think that they bring a Fellow to an event like this so that the staff don't have to do so much talking. I did a lot of talking.

There is the old saying about how Canada is a mosaic and the US a melting pot, and this is very, very true. Having worked with Indian dance companies in Canada, and loving Bollywood movies, (and just being generally aware of the rest of the world) I have a decent idea of Indian culture - certainly the Westernized versions of it anyway - and I am finding that some of my co-workers are just less aware of how other cultures work. I do think when people immigrate to the States they really feel they need to blend in and everyone else feels they should too.

Oh, the food at this reception was amazing. I would have eaten much more if I hadn't been working. I wish they'd given us doggie bags...

Drag Racing Queens

A DC tradition. Those drag queens can move pretty fast!! It was dark and pouring with rain so I apologize for the video quality, but I think you'll find it entertaining none the less :-)

17th Street was absolutely packed and there were Queens from the Washington Monument (I took a picture but it came out looking like she was a member of the KKK, which is really not the right affect at all), to all sorts of Broadway tributes to various evil Disney Queens. Amazing.

Mark Twain deets

Okay as much as I just want to write about the Drag Queen High Heel Race that I went to tonight, I will finish my recap of last night's Mark Twain Prize night. We actually had to work for our supper this time, and manned the registration table for guests attending the preshow dinner. I had the Rs and the Ss - which meant I handed Jean Kennedy Smith her ticket for the evening. Yes, my first brush with an actual Kennedy. Crazy.

Secret Service were all over the place and yet not at all in your face. Mrs Obama was there (which I didn't know until after the fact) but there wasn't any special pomp for her - the focus was kept on Bill. There was an amazing transition in the two hours of the show where the dining room was completely converted and redesigned for the after-party into a jazz club sort of feel. More amazing still was watching the crew set up an entire band with microphones and monitors on stage in four minutes during a clip of Bill Cosby's work. Though it was a crew of 12, but still really smooth and clean set-up. (and I know that kind of makes me a production geek for pointing that out before much of anything else)

The event was great. Now I have to admit I've never watched the TV broadcast so I have nothing to compare this evening to but the KC folk seemed to think it was the best one ever (remember next Wednesday on PBS - if you want to try and spot me, I was sitting in a box on the orchestra level across the hall from the Cosby box - so essentially I will never be on camera!)

It did remind me how very funny Bill Cosby is. It was also good to remember the groundbreaking work he did over many, many decades, slowly chipping away and securing rights for black people in America (from black comedians being able to perform in nightclubs to having his own tv series). He strikes me as quite an amazing man.

I did not get to meet him sadly. At the after party I had brushes with Malcolm Jamal Warner (his son on the Cosby Show), Dick Gregory and Steven Wright, but I think most of the other performers from the evening slipped out pretty quickly.

Anyway, good gala! Honors (Honours) is next December 6...

Another week, another gala

I know you were getting worried that I would cease attending galas on a regular basis, but fret not! Tonight was the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. (ahem humour) This year it was awarded to Bill Cosby. Apparently we tried to give it to him 3 times previously, but he kept refusing. I'm not sure why he decided to accept it this year but he did.

I'm bagged so I'll write more about the event tomorrow. As there is no photographic evidence (from me anyway - we were told that any staff taking pictures would be fired. Which actually I approve of really) I will post this video to remind you of just how funny Mr. Bill Cosby is. Watch it, it will make you feel good. Trust me.

The awards will be aired on PBS next Wednesday, November 4 I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSvGdfOfLFw