August 27th Dance Night Canceled

A quick last-minute programming note: due to pesky RL conflicts, Dance Night with DJ Meghamora is canceled this week. We'll be back next Wednesday with Back To School night - and, of course, don't forget to come out tomorrow evening to see Thaylon Singh!

Another steamin' cup o' Latte

This blog is beginning to look like the PR page for Debi Latte, but she was back performing for us at the Muse again. And this was a bit touch and go, as logins were disabled just before the show. So she started out with just a few people but the crowd grew to the usual size, with listeners and dancers enjoying her vocal stylings. In the photos you see a post-show talk with Debi and venue owners Phorkyad and Megh, and a quick shot of a couple dancing on air...or at least that's how it looked in my viewer.

Something came up during this show. Another musician came by and laid a notecard on us, I guess soliciting a gig at our venue. The musician's fee? A "negotiable" 5K. Well, at the moment, we are still in our starting phase; our friends are kind enough to play for tips only, and since we are doing this for the art and culture of SL and not to make money, we are doing well enough to make the monthly stream rental fee. I am not saying this to "make a poormouth," as my elders said to me when I was growing up, but just to make people aware of our situation. We don't have the ready cash at the moment to hire anyone at that rate. But folks, if you are going to ask for that kind of amount, be sure you are worth it.

This touched off a great discussion among Megh, Thaylon and me. We are all on the same page. I hope you open the book and enjoy what you see at the Muse.

Debi Latte Returns

A great crowd listened and danced to Debi Latte again on Aug 19,
and we are already making her check her schedule to get her back. She has developed quite a devoted following and it is always a pleasure to see them follow her to the Muse!

August 15...Rezz Day

Yesterday was my Rezz Day, the SL equivalent of a birthday. I turned 2--which in SL is close to a lifetime in RL. Megh and I spent the evening at the Act Up performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, in a pleasant woodland setting, each of us dressed in very itchy vine leaf outfits (yet none for our hair, Hedda?), supplied by the producers of the event.

This moment seems an appropriate time to thank Megh for all she had done for me in SL. When my original graphic artist for The Absence of Shadows cover vanished from the face of the virtual world, Megh volunteered to take over the project. She did such an excellent job it has never occurred to me to ask anyone else to do graphics for my subsequent projects.

For a long time, I was a transient in SL, and then Megh decided to buy me a quarter-year membership to the world, I think for my RL birthday? That allowed me to buy land, and did. And there I also never looked back.

And when it came time to upgrade the land option and perhaps create a new venue, Megh furiously researched land prices and locations. Now we are at Runtrop, on a 4096, with a floating venue, again all due to her building and determination.

So, at the two-year mark, I publicly thank Megh for all she has done for me in SL and beyond. (See you in Tampa!)

We counted Debi's appearance at Muse Of Fire a great success. Besides the fact that she sounded wonderful, she drew a great crowd, including people she had never seen before. Right after she was finished (and she was quite welcome to go overtime!) we pounced on her and scheduled her next appearance on 8/19. Check out the calendar for specifics, along with Thaylon's World Music DJ nights and regular performances of his original songs and covers.

We're back!

We're Back

On Sunday, our old friend Debi Latte performs, bringing her sultry voice to the MUSE. From her bio:

"Debi is new to singing in SL... but not to singing! From choruses and choirs to solos at concerts and weddings, to beach bonfire nights, garage band gigs and karaoke parties, Debi has been singing for years. She'll be bringing us a mix of covers from artists such as Dan Hill, DIDO, Madonna, Lionel Richie, Lee Ann Womack, Paul McCartney, and Sarah McLachlan. Please join us for an eclectic mix of songs to dance to or sing along with."

We also continue to plan events, such as Thaylon Singh performances and a World Music DJing gig.

For September, we have also scheduled Zayante Hegel's Orphan Train, a cycle of poems following a group of children into adulthood, children who had been relocated during the period from 1854 and 1929. The orphan trains were thought a charitable way of relocating abdndones, orphaned and homeless children from the east to the Midwest.

With performers Zay Hegel, Meghamora Woodward, Paggles Whitman and Phorkyad Acropolis, and featuring new music from Thaylon Singh, the performance will illuminate some of the children's lives, finding friends, falling to violence, and feeling the joys and pains of love. An emotional roller-coaster, the reading will entertain you and tug at your heartstrings. Check the Muse Of Fire calendar for dates and times!

Returning from the theatre conference

The Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference was excellent. While it seemed to be one day too long (I had to attend my friends' panel on Thursday and stay for my second presentation Sunday) and I didn't d everything I thought I might (spa massage or visit the fitness center), I did hear some very interesting things at most of the sessions I attended. My two sessions went very well, especially the one featuring The Bacchae--partially because the only likely candidate to tell me that virtual theatre isn't really theatre left before I started. (By the way, teaching also can only take place if the student and teacher are in the same room at the same time. Synchronous video conferencing? Nope! Not teaching!)

I received some great suggestions for an acting class project using new media, and some ideas on how to use facebook in production, to link all of the actors and crew in one place. While we may not be doing an online digital theatre journal anytime soon, it occurs to me that creating a wiki for discussions toward next year's conference might work well. I also want to look at using google as a place for all of our RL theatre archives (photos, videos, blogs, etc.) The only question is, how many blogs, facebook groups/events, and wikis can I juggle?

Meanwhile, getting some Mexican food at a restaurant, I started notes for a short one act play. I am thinking SL debut.

I can ponder these ideas further here in the Denver Airport, where WIFI is free and I still have 2.5 hours before my plane is to depart...