World Enough and Time

Wha'?

Are they props, or natural, or grown?

Or am I very very lost in what you mean?! ;)

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The mushrooms belong to the set of Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe. No, we aren't doing Iolanthe, but the set designer works in the same office as I do, and she didn't want to leave her 3' mushrooms in her car all day. They're made of foam, cheesecloth, and fibreglass, Jennifer tells me, though they sure look real. Insofar as mushrooms 3' high in a business office can look real.

I took a photo, which I might be able to post some time, if you're curious.

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So I had it in my first guess (props, or at least a general category of that, right?)

Um... have I ever asked what your job is?

And yes, I am curious.

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Yes, it's actually set dressing - 'props' are movable items that go on and off the stage, set dressing consists of things that go onto the stage and stay there immobile.

My job? I'm the 'office administrator'. Which means I keep up the website, write letters, order supplies, open mail, bank money, take registration for our drama school, put ads in the paper, and so on. Clerical stuff associated with a theatre. Not the ticket-stuff, though. Jenn does subscriptions and Raven does the box office.

So what is your job?

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Thank you. Was both too tired to think of the right term ('set dressing') and thought that using the word "props" could generalise for that too ;)
I do technically know the stuff, I've lived my whole life around theaters, and that includes my first time to the USA. But I've not been known for thinking too well these days. Fuzzy and all.

Wow! *admires job* That actually sounds nice! I love mine, but if I ever look for another field of work, it would have to be around the theatre - I know there must be a reason for growing up in one (well, three, considering how we moved twice - when I was five and when I was ten; but that's beside the point). Theatres aren't perfect, but the whole process of creating a show - I'm so in love with that.

Me? I'm a software tester. Yeah, boring in comparison. But with my default habit of finding and pointing out people's mistakes, it works a treat.
If I had thought about it sooner, engineering failure analysis would have been even better. Especially if I had an idea where to study for that - besides with Professor Vorthys, that is.

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I've not been known for thinking too well these days. Fuzzy and all.

Aww. (Gentle comforting hug.) Feel better soon.

Theatres aren't perfect, but the whole process of creating a show - I'm so in love with that.

Me too. And I don't really even participate in that - I could if I wanted to, but my leisure-of-choice is reading and writing and hanging around venus like livejournal - and I don't want to spend my personal time as well as my working time at the theatre. But I love the process, and I love the results. I'm going to see our current play on Sunday.

I'm a software tester. Yeah, boring in comparison.

Not really. It doesn't sound dull from this side of the fence!

Especially if I had an idea where to study for that - besides with Professor Vorthys, that is.

Ooh, don't you wish!

I'm very anti-military but if I'd ever had a chance to train under Aral Vorkosigan I'd love to be a soldier. Obviously I have no real convictions at all...!

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Thank you. I think sleeping until 2 p.m. and ... um, other things that came up obvious today should take care of it. Until I fall behind on sleep again, I guess :)

How large is the theatre where you are working? Here theaters are rather large (artistic group of 20+, and possibly double that tech and administrative stuff, here in Ruse, and the Sofia theatres tend to be much larger), and that gives rise to competitions, enmities and such... which is my only problem with theatres. Luckily, they are low-key. And best all forgotten when a performance is going on, which may end up beautifully.
Ah, theatres. Well.
One of the pet peeves of my ex-bf about me, actually. I think he couldn't get over the idea that there was an area where my knowledge was much greater than his. Should have rung a bell for me.

Re software testing - spending all my days doing almost the same thing, over and over again (with slight modifications to make sure all is covered), or planning the actions, or writing documentation... Most people go running in the opposite direction. Horrified ;)

I would wish to study with Vorthys indeed. Oh yes. :)

Study under Aral. Hmm. Especially if the army would open up for women too...
No. Not even for him could I release myself to somebody else's consciousness. That's my trouble with the military, that somebody else makes the moral choices instead of me. *sighs* I'd love to be in his civil staff, though. :)

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Sleep is good. I need more of it. Planning to nap this afternoon... Don't know why, but I feel exhausted today.

The size of my theatre: 510 seats in the auditorium, which by Canadian standards is sort of middle-sized. Nine full-time employees, an average of about a hundred active volunteers at any given time - it's the volunteers who put on the shows and do the artistic stuff. Twelve volunteers elected to the Board of Directors run the place, under the directrion of the theatre's President.

We-the-employees get along very well. We don't have a lot of contact with other local theatres, which tend to be either fully professional, or much smaller than we are. There is, sadly, not very much theatre in Ottawa. I wish there was much more.

No, I don't suppose I could really stand being in the army even for Aral Vorkosigan's sake. Might be fun to work with him in another capacity, though. Or in a civilian position on his ship.

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jadesfire2808.livejournal.com

I occasionally half-expect to find the skeleton of a long-lost reader somewhere in the deeper stacks, but they get tetchy about fungus in the library ;)

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When the Technical Director, Gord, came into the office this afternoon and saw the mushrooms, Jennifer said to him, "You're keeping the office too humid." He laughed.

I once had to get rid of a lot of my own books at home, because they got mildewed in my basement apartment. That was traumatic.

So - keep that fungus out!

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cupati.livejournal.com

*smiles*

You've just stopped me panicing. Thank you.

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Oh, there's always a reason to panic, if you look for one.

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cupati.livejournal.com

I was panicing for no reason, panicing that I was panicing.

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Self-referential panic! That's an art form.

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cupati.livejournal.com

Nah, it's just something I keep practicing.

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In which case you'll really get it right one of these days.

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graycastle.livejournal.com

freaky!

hey, which theatre do you work at? I'm in town between the 17th and 22nd...anything good on?

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freaky!

All in a day's, er, work.

which theatre do you work at?

The Ottawa Little Theatre (http://www.ottawalittletheatre.com/)

I'm in town between the 17th and 22nd...

Cool! Want to meet for coffee or lunch or something?

...anything good on?

The current play, The Drawer Boy, runs to March 17. I'll be seeing it on Sunday, so I can't comment yet - reviews have been good. The next play starts on April. 3.

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femme-slash-fan.livejournal.com

... *ROFL*

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During construction, mushrooms might pop up in my office, but those would be REAL.

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Makes me cough just to think of it. This doesn't happen to often, I hope?

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No, never has happened, but in the current conditions I can not help but kid that it possibly COULD.

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Scary thought!

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Haha yes! Luckily we move temporarily in June.

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For how long? And when you go back, will it all be over?

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We are in our temp space (still on the construction site but not in the OLD part of the building where we are now) until (I think... it might change) August 2008.

Then we move into our final offices. By then, the library will pretty much be finished.

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So you have about a year and a half still to go? If things are on schedule? That isn't too bad.

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Yes, a year and a half. It has already been a year and a half. It's a three year project.

It seems to be on schedule. But I would never recommend a library do this in the future. I think it was a very poor decision on the part of admin.

Yes, it's good for the patrons because the library stays open the entire time, but it's been awful for staff and had they moved us off site the project would've been over by now and everyone would have been happier.

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It must be almost impossible to do your job in such a fluid state. Not entirely impossible, but inconvenient and difficult. (Even if you ignore the health and environment issues.)

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It is. My productivity isn't nearly the same under these conditions, and now we have to manage a way to keep a circulation desk operational while we move the entire department. I also have to keep interlibrary loan operational during the move because our director does not want to 'inconvenience the patron.'

The other day we left our department offices and stayed at the circ desk because of paint fume smells. When we asked the assistant director (already in their new offices, naturally) to spend a few hours in OUR offices instead, we were told this was the perfect time to take our construction relief benefits (three hours a year). So... the entire circulation department leaves the library for three hours? And who checks out the patrons? I can promise you, no librarian at that library would lift a finger to do so.

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Three hours in a year because of major construction? Is that as absurd as it sounds?

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PS, I have done really well not to rant about this every day in my lj, so I guess I'm doing it instead in YOUR'S, LOL!

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Hey, feel free! Enjoy the ranting!

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wijsgeer.livejournal.com

what kind of mushrooms?

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Big ones.

Gilbert and Sullivan mushrooms.

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rosiespark.livejournal.com

Sprang up overnight, it did...

Magic mushrooms!

You know, a mushroom that size would feed an awful lot of hobbits...

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Various people around me were talking about getting a steak that would proportionately make a meal with the mushrooms, or a really, really big pizza, or enough mushroom soup for the whole province.

They were making me hungry, which is totally unfair.

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a mushroom that size would feed an awful lot of hobbits...

But for a single meal.

If one had to take care of it... with the frequency at which they get hungry, I don't think it will last all that long. ;)

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With Hobbits? Third breakfast and that's it, end of giant mushroom.

Hmm. that reminds me that I haven't even had my first breakfast yet. (Second breakfast is going to be a lovely brunch with my local slash-fan friends.) Excuse me, time to go eat some salad.

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angevin2.livejournal.com

It isn't time to worry until the giant badgers and snakes show up...

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