I've got a 3-phase plan of attack to get this show up on its feet. Phase 1 started last week with the blocking (very easy for the scenes that take place in a car). Phase 2 starts in two weeks and will see the actors completely off book and that's when we can really find out who these people are and why the heck they're doing what they're doing. Phase 3 is where we run the show over and over and over again, working out the kinks and fine-tuning the intricacies, and will play out during the final two weeks of rehearsals. Thank goodness I have such a great cast to work with (it really makes all the difference in the world). There will be a few familiar faces on the stage along with a few fresh ones. All equally insane. Just how I like them.

You can find more information about the new show and crew at our recently updated web site (thanks, Derek!). Tickets go on sale in another three weeks. Three weeks?! Jeez, the actors don't even know their lines yet! I haven't designed the tickets or flyers yet! We haven't thought about the costumes or built the scenery yet! No, it's OK. It'll have to be.

Thank you a million times over, Chris and Fede and Sammy! It was so nice spending time with you and really getting to know your family and your new home. You are amazing hosts.

Here are some photos:
Browse through them here
Or sit back and enjoy a slideshow here

And here are some videos (of Emily dancing):

Here's wishing peace, prosperity, and good health to you and your loved ones.

Gut Yuntiff

Emily and Jan just went out to the park. They went with Emily's friends Tom, Luca, Daniel, and the aforementioned kid's mums. They are all gone. But only after spending the past two hours here in the apartment screaming and and hollering and screeching and shouting and and yelling. Yes, like Eskimos with their 12 words for snow, we can distinguish between varying levels of shouts out of necessity. Why oh why did I decide to work from home today?

The silence is deafening.

Today we held auditions for Jocular Theatre's Fall '08 production of David Lindsay-Abair's high-pitched farce, Fuddy Meers. Funny stuff!

I try to make my auditions as fun as possible. I just imagine the type of audition in which I'd like to participate. Getting-to-know-you stuff, some improv games, and a little cold reading. No preparation necessary. Just quick wits and lots of laughs.

I pillaged Improv Encyclopedia for some games that would help me determine which actors would best fit the insane roles that I needed to cast. In each audition group, we started with brief introductions and a quick 2 Truths And A Lie, then I took their pictures and segued into some Family Photos. While they were on their feet, we played some Group Order and then warmed up our voices with a Sound Circle. Since they were already in a circle, we moved on to Word At A Time Story (everyone chose Little Red Riding Hood!), and then I had them individually retell Little Red in a game of Switch Gibberish - that was my favorite part of the day. Finally, I broke them up into pairs and I saw how they took direction by playing a few rounds of Actor's Nightmare, changing the relationships each time. Very insightful.

I would have liked more people to have attended the auditions but what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality. I want to start rehearsing next week if possible. We open on November 22 so I'm counting on getting about 12-14 rehearsals in - not very many. Now I just have to decide who to cast.

Here are a couple of the Family photos that I took today:

Family of cavemen

Family of orange

Large patch of sand. A plethora of blankets. String of balloons stretched from a lampost to a strategically placed pushchair. Chilled music pumping from the nearby chiringuito. Homemade birthday cake. Juice for the kids, wine and beer for the big kids. Lots of snacks. Lots of chats. Lots of kids. Lots of running around. Lots of presents. Lots of messes. Good times. I'd say there must have been at least 40 people there. Who knew Emily had so many friends?

Let Them Eat Cake

Staying with family is always nice and this was no exception. 24-hour catering and live-in babysitters. Who could ask for more?

Highlights of the trip included Emily's barrage of attention towards Chelsea the cat, amazing summer weather, frolicking in the garden, making the most of cheap yet cheerful paddling pool, our walk through the forest with Jan's mum, meeting up with Garry (and not just to take advantage of his broadband), and my romantic day alone with Emily at a local petting zoo.

Photos were taken.
Browse through them here
Or sit back and enjoy a slideshow here

And here's one of the many videos I took (I'll spare you the petting zoo videos).

Thank you Phil. And than you to everyone else who reads my ramblings, follows my adventures, enjoys my photos, watches my videos, and leaves thoughtful (or sarcastic) comments to let me know that there's still a connection being made, even if we're sometimes thousands of miles away. Thank you.

So Jan carries Emily into our room and lies her down on her pillow. Emily immediately protests, "No no no!", scampers over to my side of the bed, lies her head on my pillow and, with her hands behind her head, explains, "Daddy sleep on couch."

Cheeky little bugger.

I have been very reluctant to upload photos to Facebook, mostly out of stubbornness and laziness. I already upload all of my quality photos to Flick with lo-res versions here on the blog, but I can't help but feel that many people don't actually know that this site exists. Plus there's the fact that I have only recently been reunited with many ghosts from my past and I'd like to catch them up. Rest assured that there will never be any Facebook-exclusive photos. Faithful readers of this blog will continue to receive the latest and greatest photos from the entire Barcelona chapter of the Zamrycki family just as you've enjoyed up till now.

Now, whenever Jan attempts to watch anything on TV not intended for rugrats (it could be the weather report), Emily stands there with her hands on her hips and, making it abundantly clear that she's not amused by the situation, disdainfully asks, "Tennis?!"

But she's gotten past that now.

Emily was actually sitting on the couch watching the Olympic track and field events on her own the other day. Jan and I were in the kitchen preparing dinner. After attentively watching the long jump competition, Emily decided to recreate the event in our living room so we just left her to it. But then, from the other room, we heard her start to repeat the same sentence over and over again. "No running. Walking. No running. Walking. No running. Walking now. No running! Walking!" After a couple of minutes of this, we had to find out what in blue blazes was going on. Sure enough, she was watching the racewalking competition. Jan and I were ROTFLMAO. Then the broadcast switched over to the sprints in the stadium and Emily shot off like a bullet around the house with every starter pistol. "I running! I running!"

Last month, GG cashed in her birthday present from the family and came to visit us here in Barcelona with Aunt Amy as her chaperon. They stayed with us for a week and we had a wonderful time.

We pass this horse on the way to Parc de les Aiguas just up the road. Emily has to ride it every time. She doesn't know that it would actually move and play music if we dropped some money into it. Please don't tell her.

Hi Ho Silver

Emily and Amy had many quality conversations over the course of the week. From world politics and potty training to the effect of bottled water on the environment, no topic was left untouched.

Curb Sitting

Here we see Emily teaching GG how to download from BitTorrent sites and rip Sesame Street DVDs.

Surfing The Net

And here are Emily and GG sharing an intimate cup of tea.

Bath Tea With GG

And then there was the time when I was in the kitchen and Emily came up to me with a concerned look on her face and emphatically said something that blew my mind but, in the end, wasn't what she was actually saying at all. It turns out she was saying, "Oh, sit! Fork!"

Having done the tourist thing in Italy before, this was to be a relaxing, down-home visit with friends, spending quality time with people and not running ourselves ragged between trains, cheap hotels, and crowded tourist attractions. You really have to make an effort to see the nearest neighbors down/up the hill here. I'm listening to the wind tickle the trees while Jan and Emily take their afternoon nap. Our hosts are at the grandparents' house this afternoon so I'm "home alone" with the cats and the dog while I write this from the swing chair in the secluded backyard. The short rainfall this morning was a refreshing change from the sunny week we've enjoyed so far.

Chris and Fede seem very happy here having finally moved out of the "big city" of Parma. The last two times we came to Italy to visit them were first at Chris' rustic home near Brescia and then for their wedding in the heart of Parma. Very different visits, all three, but equally wonderful.

Our days have been filled with tree houses, swimming pools, castle tours, homemade ropes courses, tiny village summer festivals (with the obligatory food, wine, and dancing to accordion music), picnics, visits to the local market, impromptu Italian lessons, grappa sampling, and of course wonderful food. Emily can usually be found either following Sammy or one of the four cats (Pancho, Violet, and the twins Carlos and Carlito). Wide-eyed and barefoot, she's climbing everything she finds and is learning a whole new set of words to add to her ever-increasing vocabulary. It's so nice not having to follow her around while she explores the new world of the great outdoors. The worst thing that can happen to her is that she falls down a hill. I'm sure we'd hear her cry if that happened.

By the way, 547. That's the number of times that Emily has said the word "cat" since we arrived. And every time with the same unbridled enthusiasm and surprise. Now I try to avert her eyes when they enter the room. For everyone's sake. I don't know how many times she has meowed.

I actually fooled myself into thinking I could make the switch and move into the country after being here for just a few days. The same amount of money that would buy you a cramped three-bedroom flat in Barcelona would net you TWO (if not three!) giant HOUSES with acres and acres of land here. I'm certainly not ready to give up what we have back home and the thought of all the bugs confirms my decision. I don't like bugs. The ants I could handle. And the flying ants. And maybe the spiders. But not the tiger mosquitoes. And certainly not the scorpions. That's where I draw the line.

I'll do my best to upload/post some of the photos and videos we've taken while we've been here in Italy. And from when Amy and Nana came to visit last month. And from our trip to England to see Jan's family. I guess I've got some catching up to do.

After a few days of mentally preparing myself, I started with the initial test of seeing how many push ups I could do in a row. I maxed out at 13 and crumbled into a sweaty mess on the floor. Not bad.

I'm currently finishing up week 3 of the 6-week program (which I estimate should take me about 8 weeks to complete), but am already seeing a marked improvement in my strength. After week 2, there is another exhaustion test and I managed to reach 21 before crying. If all goes according to plan, I should be able to knock out 100 push ups in a row by mid September. OK, I just read that last sentence and am now back down on Earth again. I guess I'll be happy if I ever get to 50.