fbhjr

In a few weeks we’re going to be doing the Pensacola Pirate Panoply (well,
that’s what I’m calling it) and I have to admit I’ve got a few qualms.

Not in any way with the folks going. There are only four of us going, but
it is a good four.
We’ve done 40 shows down south in the last 10 years and of the four going
the one with the least of those shows has still done 28 of them.

It is a purely quantity issue. The lowest number of people we’ve ever
brought to one of these shows before is nine, more than double what we’ll
have.

We’ve worked out what we’re going to do. It includes our core shows that
always go over well as well as some new things we’ve been talking about for
a while.
So, I’m sure we can give good shows and make folks happy with them.

It is more that if something goes wrong, there is no safety net. If one of
those four folks can’t make it, it would be very hard to recover and keep
doing the shows, especially the fire show.
I’m not saying we can’t. My wife and I have done the historical show with
just the two of us. And, she even did some fire under those conditions.
But, it would be a lot harder.
(I know there are a few folks who we could probably call upon if needed as
well. But, the organizer is only paying for 4, so I don’t want to reward
him with extra people for paying us the smallest amount in those 40 shows.)

How do I know this worries me?
Gilbert & Sullivan.

The first time I acted on stage was in the HMS Pinafore when I was 11.
(I’m not counting the class plays I was in before, or the 3 ½ years of
violin performances at that point. Only actual acting in front of folks
who paid money for tickets.)

There are times I find myself listening to Gilbert and Sullivan and feeling
better about such things.
Granted it is the Pirates of Penzance I’m listening to now, not Pinafore.
But, that hardly matters.
I re-watched some of the 1983 movie version with Kevin Kline as the pirate
king. I hadn’t realized it was on Netflix, but it is.

So, I’ll sing along with the pirate king, remember the fiasco of that show
with 30 6th graders on stage at once, and feel much better about the show
we’re about to do.