To reply to Scott's reply would be like putting a fish on a bicycle, so I'll
try-
Italian opera (and any other - French[?], German, Spanish [yes], or
American) not only requires "highly trained specialists with very, very
fussy personal requirements -- " but also a great deal of work behind the
scenes. The amount of stagehands needed for a single performance of "Tosca"
would make the business rep of any I.A.T.S.E local outside of NYC blush with
fear. It gets worse if you're doing German (Let's leave "Aida" out of this).
Next week we start "Die Fledermaus" and there's a 20 hand crew call for
performances and twice that to load it in. (German Light Opera. huh) The
sets for Grand Opera are quite expensive, built to travel offstage and no
further, and require a vast amount of effort to do that. And the effect can
take your breath away if it is done right. I've never had the opportunity,
but I can only imagine that pushing a Testarossa up the Alps or screaming
down the autobahn in an M3 would be about analagous.
In a Noh play, as has been said, the stagehands dress in black and are
ignored by the audience. This is quite easy for the audience as there isn't
that much for them (the stagehands) to do. You generally don't have 20 of
them coming out and swarming the stage for a scene shift. One or two will
suffice. The content is in the play itself so there's no need for much scenery.
The art form for Britcars could well turn out Willie after all. While the
theater has come up to the 90's in it's ability to hire women for women's
roles it IS still traditional, and at times even written into the script,
that the actors themselves move the sets around and do a lot of the work
normally handled by the backstage craftsmen. How fitting.
I would love to be able to afford a Ferarri. I'd love to be able to afford a
BMW M3. For that matter I'd love to be able to afford a Supra. But I can't.
And if I could afford any of them, I wouldn't have the expertise or
equipment to work on them myself, which I enjoy doing. Right now I can
afford a B that gets me to work. As far as it's being a hot car, it isn't.
Jette's '88 Civic DX will put you back in the seat while the B just kind of
lazes along, top down, being fun, and requiring some strength but not much
effort to drive.
If you still have that much problem with the Miata, just keep in mind that
you have the success of the MX5 to thank for the reintroduction of the MG.
Glenn "I'm a stagehand. I have to think that way" Schnittke
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"Yeah, but why a duck?"
Glenn Schnittke Recovering Musician
Nashville TN 615-385-2800
glenns@edge.ercnet.com 72147.3635@compuserve.com
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