Doc Savage and Guys and Dolls

Not one.  Not a single deck of cards.  I knew it!
When I created the Guys and Dolls deck of cards for the Snowline Players production of the play I knew the key to selling them was to have them available for purchase right from the start and right in the lobby.  But because of events surrounding decision making (read: not my fault) the decision as to whether to place an order for the decks didn't come until much to late.  Typically, I'll be lucky if an order gets shipped within two weeks of being placed.  Considering all that is involved in the manufacturing of these things, that doesn't surprise me.  If anything, I'm happy that they can complete the order in the time frame specified anyway.
But I knew that if I told people during the play that if they wanted a deck they could order it online and then wait two weeks for it to arrive, that proposition would be a nonstarter.   I mean, the whole point of a souvenier deck of cards is that it's bought the way you normally buy impulse items.  You buy them right then and there without any planning.
So while lots of people did come to the play and expressed interest in ordering a deck for themselves, no one actually did it.  And that's ok.  But it is still a missed opportunity that makes me feel bad.  We could have raised additional funds for the little production company.  Guess I'll have to hope I can get them onboard more quickly next time.
Doc Savage on the other hand is something that I don't have to go through anyone's approval process.  This is something that I'm doing for my own enjoyment and that's the sort of project that I love the most.  If you haven't had a chance to read any Doc Savage before, I encourage you to do so.  They are great, if brief, stories of high adventure and daring.  However, the author really needed to have a good editor go over the work before publishing.  Yes, the author was under constant demands from a grueling publication schedule but the stories would have been greatly improved with a little more polish.  I'm going to apply the polish to a few random stories over the next few days, and I'll post the results here.

Guys and Dolls Poker Deck, Published!

Snowline Players Guys and Dolls poker deck!

This deck of cards was created for the Snowline Players 2014 production of Guys and Dolls!  My original idea was to publish about 30 decks of cards so that I could give them out as gifts for the show.  But something cropped up that I just couldn't get around.  Cost.  Printing these cards doesn't cost a fortune, but 30 decks add up quickly.  So I scaled back the idea and just made 3 decks.  One for our director (of course.  I want to be in future Snowline plays after all), one for my babe and one to use as gift tags for my other idea...
The Big Jule Dice Bag.

 

Big Jule's "Lucky" Dice

Now I'm not going to be modest here.  The dice bag idea worked out fantastically and I thought the idea was pretty awesome.  Blank dice!  I mean, that's hard to top!  But still, it would have been so cool to have been able to give full card decks to the crew.  Especially when they worked so hard.  With that in mind, I've gone ahead and flagged the deck for sale at the Game Crafter.  This means that if you would like to purchase a deck of cards for yourself, you can visit this page and get as many as you want.  I will donate all profits to the Snowline Players because I want to be sure they make more plays in the future as well!
One tip.  I recommend that if there is any chance at all that you will want more than one deck that you buy them all at once.  For example, if you think that you might want to give out three decks for family members, than buy them all at once.  I've noticed that shipping takes a bite, but only for the first deck.  If you buy multiple decks then you save a lot on shipping charges.
When did shipping costs suddenly go through the roof?  OK, I'll save that complaining for another post.

Guys and Dolls tech week

This is going to be a very busy weekend!

First things first.  Guys and Dolls is getting ready to hit the stage.  When I say get ready, I mean it is about 99% of the way there.  All we're waiting for at the moment is the keys to the auditorium an directions to the green room.  The singing, dancing, blocking and costumes are all in place and now we just need an audience.  Of course there are many details that go into a produciton, and some of them just can't be done until the last minute.  Stagecraft and lighting are two critical things that come to mind.  We know who is playing what role, and the story is something that we can recite in our sleep.  But the stage director still needs to know where we're standing on their stage, and decide how to light us.
So in about two minutes, I'm jumping in the car and heading over to put on the costume and go through the ritual which is known as "Tech Week".  This is going to be a concensed version of that activity in that it is only comprising 3 days before opening night.
Yeah.  This production has been a bit more interesting than most.  The leading man quit three weeks before opening night, we've gone through three people for one of the named roles before settling on a nice woman who is doing to do it in drag, and other assorted dramas.  Still, it's a great adventure and I enjoy it immensely!

Guys and Dolls in the High Desert

     I'd heard awhile back that Cheryl was going to be putting on a production of Guys and Dolls for the Snowline Players, and so was semi-prepared when the auditions were announced.  I'm specifically saying that I was semi-prepared because as has been happening, I'm auditioning for plays that I'd never heard of before.  I'm really beginning to realize what an advantage people have when trying out for roles they're familiar with.  It just makes sense.  If you are the sort of person who really enjoys theater and musicals there's a good chance that you'll have grown up in their influence.  When a play comes along, chances are you've already got the soundtrack on your iPod and have posters of the Broadway production tacked to your wall at home.
     Not the case with me.  Not by a long shot.  Sure, I'm mostly familiar with the NAMES of the plays that we're doing, but that's about as far as it goes.  As for actually knowing the plot and storyline, that's another thing altogether.  Recognizing the major characters?  No.  Hasn't happened once.  Sure, Pirates of Penzance was something that I could have done in my sleep.  But that's going to be the exception for me I'm afraid.  Unless there is a sudden great call for Shakespeare to be performed in the High Desert, I'm going to have to content myself with doing research online with YouTube to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.
    Not a great solution, but so far it's been working pretty well.
     Getting back to Guys and Dolls, I saw the movie online and was ready to go.  Yeah, I'd known the showstopping number "Luck Be A Lady", but only enough to hate it.  It knew it was Sinatra, which alone should have banished it to the depths of musak.  Sinatra doesn't do it for me.  Ever.  Happily, it appears that Sinatra's rendition of the song came out after the Broadway production so his insipid voice isn't singing the song.  I suddenly got more interested in the play than I'd planned.
     Lots of singing and dancing later, and I landed the role of Harry the Horse.  Hey, I'm happy.  This means that I get some stage time and will probably be back stage moving set pieces around during the numbers.  It keeps me busy, and that's what I like most of all.

Guys and Dolls Deck of Cards

Guys and Dolls Playing Cards

9 of Clubs

King of Clubs

Eight of Diamonds

Ace of Diamonds

Seven of Hearts

Joker for Guys and Dolls deck

Ten of Spades

Jack of Spades