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Dickens Christmas Fair 2008 December Missive #4
(sent December 18th, 2008)

Thank you everyone, for a great and successful run! One more weekend, and all indicators say it will be a big one!  We have broken attendance records every day so far, no reason to think it will stop now.

Important Notice:
With the rain come decreased visibility for both drivers and pedestrians scurrying to get inside or to their cars, so please...

Drivers - slow down in the parking lot and be vigilant.
Pedestrians - watch out for cars which might not be able to stop quickly on slick pavement
Parents - watch out for your children and warn them not to run out in front of traffic

and please be nice to the security and parking folks who have to work out in the cold and wet while we're inside our much warmer and cheerier London

Oh - and do I need to remind parents not to let their kids play chicken with the forklift? Really?

That said, I know this will be a wonderful closing weekend, so take care of yourselves and those around you and have a great theatrical time!


In This Missive:
Last Day Pranks
Dress Rehearsal Day Photo
Sad News: Tony Guzman & Carl "Bud" Moody
Returning Items to the Costume Department
Tear Down Dates
Adorn Thy Hair for the Gaskell Ball
Ideas and Suggestions For A Supplemental Orientation Workshop Needed
Mid-Year Music Hall
Martin's Christmas Readings
Help Save Shakespeare Santa Cruz
PEERS: A Victorian Twelfth Night Ball
A Note from The Victorian Ladies Lavatory Beautification Society


Last Day Pranks
Please, if you "conscientiously feel it is your duty" (a line from Pirates) to do some sort of last day prank, keep it period appropriate and theatrically valid.  Our audience has paid for the sandbox in which we play – we owe it to them to give them a show worth their hard-earned quatloos. (Thanks to Therese for that last line)

If you can't do a prank that
#1 Is in period and doesn't break the illusion of Victorian England
#2 Is in proper costume and appropriate for your character
#3 Is not disruptive to the participants around you
#4 Adds to customer enjoyment, does not detract from it

Don't do it.


Dress Rehearsal Day Photo
Yes boys and girls, it exists and it's fab! Kevin will be posting it on the Ops trailer this weekend and we hope to have an online version up soon.


Sad News
Two pieces of sad news this week.

Tony Guzman
Longtime faire actor, swordsman and Albion member Tony Guzman was killed in a car accident Monday night in Elk Grove. Tony portrayed the Spanish Ambassador and later Sir Walter Raleigh in the early 90's at both Southern and Northern Fair.  He went on to appear in films, including Lethal Weapon 4.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450840/

Carl "Bud" Moody
Bud Moody, head of the carpentry crew at Blackpoint and San Bernardino and owner of Shepherds Pie/Bangers at Southern Faire lost his battle with pancreatic cancer Wednesday.
(no picture available)

Farewell friends.


Returning Items to the Costume Department
For those of you that borrowed items for the run, please make sure we get them back on Sunday night or that you have made arrangements with the costume department for their return. If not, I'll be taking your check to the office for them to deposit on Wed!  (Note Costume Shop hours on Saturday may be slightly erratic as the crew will be out admiring the fair)

I also have a favor to ask: Please check you closets and costume boxes. You may find that you have tucked away items that you borrowed costume from our stock or pieces of your own that you no longer use (or fit!). It would be highly appreciated if you might find it in your hearts, this being the Christmas season and all, to donate these items to our costume stock.

Thank you all for looking so great!

Liz


Tear Down Dates
(please contact the office if you need further information)

December 22 & 23       Venue open from 8:00am - 8:00pm
December 24th            CP Open limited hours for Christmas Eve - TBD
December 25th            VENUE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
December 26 - 30th      Venue open from 8:00am - 8:00pm
December 30th             TAKE DOWN/CLEAN UP DEADLINE!


Adorn Thy Hair for the Gaskell Ball
Adorn thy Hair (the hair braiding booth) will open to participants at 8:30 am on Saturday 20 December to accommodate those needing hair-dos for the Gaskells Ball. Please get there early.
Thank you,

Lynn, Brenda and the Ladies


Ideas and Suggestions For A Supplemental Orientation Workshop Needed
(from Paul Sinasohn)
A team is putting together a new workshop focusing on the realities of participating in the Dickens Fair. This workshop will give new people the knowledge that old-timers have and pass along in conversations, but which everyone should know from the start. Tips and tricks to surviving the Cow Palace, how to find your place at Fair, what types of shoe cushion inserts really work, etc.

The team is made up of: Bob Collier(Other Books), Christophe Taylor (Fezziwig's/NFP), Paul Sinasohn (Imperial Music Hall, G&S) and Ben Wilson (Brass Farthing/Fezziwig's).

If you have ideas or secrets that you want to share with new people - or things that you wish you'd known the first year you came to London, contact one of us on Tribe or via email (regfoghorn@yahoo.com) and we'll make sure to record it for inclusion in the workshop materials!!

There are threads on Tribe in Dickens Fair Folk and Dickens Fair Workers related to this effort, you can post there too.


Mid-Year Music Hall
(also from Paul Sinasohn)
Want to practice that new song or dance or comedy routine before Dickens Auditions? Need to try out your juggling, ventriloquism, or magic skills?

Sign up to participate in the mid-year Imperial Music Hall,  which will take place one or two nights early next summer. (Place and time TBD). Contact Paul Sinasohn at regfoghorn@yahoo.com with details of what you'd like to perform. You don't have to be in a Music Hall show now to get in on this, you just have to be interested.


Martin's Christmas Readings
(from Martin Harris)
I'll be giving my dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol at the Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant in Berkeley on Friday night Dec 19th at 7.30 before last weekend in their Grand Hall by a crackling fire.
 
Then for the big finish, on Monday Dec 22nd at the Freight and Salvage 1111 Addison Street Berkeley 94702 at 7.30 with Shay Black leading a large group of carolers as an opening warm up before the reading.  I fly out the next morning so it's my own farewell to Dickens.  It would be wonderful if a group of Dickens participants could come in costume and help add to the atmosphere.
 
Also, my CD of the reading for $20 makes a unique gift especially if signed by Scrooge himself! 
 
God Bless Us, Everyone!
 
Martin


Help Save Shakespeare Santa Cruz
(forwarded by  Jeffrey Schoenberg)
SSC Must Raise $300,000 by noon on Monday, December 22, 2008
SSC Supporters - we have been HEARTENED and ENCOURAGED by the amazing response and outpouring of support and we need to keep the donations coming. As of 11:45 AM (PST) today, we have raised $127,602 - 42% of our goal!
Gifts of ALL SIZES make a difference!

Please visit our website for updates and to watch a video of SSC Artistic DirectorMarco Barricelli make the case for supporting live theatre and the arts.

Let Live Theatre Live!


PEERS: A Victorian Twelfth Night Ball
(Dickens Reunion Ball)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Masonic Lodge of San Mateo Ballroom
100 N. Ellsworth Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401
Doors Open: 6:45 pm
Dance Lesson: 7:00 pm
Formal Dancing Begins: 8:00 pm
Tickets: $15.00 in advance (by December 30)
Tickets at the door: $20.00
Band: Bangers & Mash
PEERS’ Website: http://www.peers.org
Ball Website: http://www.peers.org/12th09.html

Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig request the pleasure of your company at a Twelfth Night Ball.  After a dance lesson at 7pm, Bangers & Mash plays an evening of Victorian ballroom dance music. The event also features performances by the Peerless Music Hall and by Mr. Charles Dickens himself; a scandalous game of Wink; opportunities for the more intellectual game of Whist; and a sing-a-long Hallelujah Chorus.

Victorian costume (day or evening, any class) or modern evening dress is admired, not required. Punch and a light snack buffet will be served (Your potluck contributions to Mrs. Fezziwig’s kitchen are appreciated!).

For information please call (510) 522-1731, email peers@peers.org or see our website at http://www.peers.org. To order advance bargain tickets, please send a check for $15.00 each to PEERS at 2144 B Buena Vista Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501. To order tickets via PayPal, please go to the ball website at http://www.peers.org/12th09.html for instructions.


A Note from The Victorian Ladies Lavatory Beautification Society
Good day to you all!   We trust that today finds you all in good health and excellent spirits.

The Victorian Ladies Lavatory Beautification Society would like to extend an apology to all and sundry.  

As you may or may not know, for several years we have taken it upon ourselves to adorn the Ladies Necessary next to Mad Sal’s Dockside Alehouse, transforming the cold porcelain atmosphere into something a little more palatable for ladies’ delicate sensibilities.   This year, we decided to add a bit of color, and placed a poinsettia in a place of prominence, hoping that it would become the focal point of our modest little “garden.”  We are more than chagrinned to admit that we did not consider that poinsettias might be offensive to some people, as well as causing possible allergic reactions!   Please, do accept our deepest and sincerest apologies for this gross oversight!

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the brave soul who removed the distasteful botanical, thereby protecting the health and sensitivities of the entire city.   We are eternally grateful for your thoughtfulness, and trust that you will be rewarded with much more than coal in your stocking!

The Victorian Ladies Lavatory Beautification Society has removed the remaining shrubbery for the nonce, and would like to extend an invitation to all our dear friends:    what blossoms would most delight your senses, during your time of inconvenience?   We are dedicated, as always, to making your “walk through the garden” as graceful and relaxing as possible, so we welcome your input, and will strive to accommodate any and all gracious requests.

One last apology for the vulgarity of email, but it is a distasteful necessity in these modern times, so please, email your thoughts to vllbs@hotmail.com.   All suggestions will be delightfully considered! 

With warmest thanks,

The Victorian Ladies Lavatory Beautification Society








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