Yesterday (Saturday September 17, 2011), Richard and I enjoyed an open house at Hartford Stage. As you may recall, Richard volunteered earlier this summer for their production of Break Dancing Shakespeare - The Tempest. Lynn noticed a listing for the open house and recalled that Richard and me had attended last year's event.
We had a nice chat with the summer student program coordinator, Kirstin.
An interesting lecture about the background of the play was presented in the theater by the Senior Dramaturg (that is actually a titled position!).
Fortunately, our tour was conducted by the Associate Production Manager, Andy. He was able to give a lot of technical information, especially about the lighting (a keen interest of Richard); afterwards, he shared his educational background and gave tips about college.
Richard and I slipped out for a bit of lunch just around the corner at Pietro's Pizza. We enjoyed a slice and a soda while chatting and glancing at the big screen TV which was broadcasting a German Day Heritage Parade in NYC. The we strolled around downtown Hartford for a bit.
For desert, we each got a cupcake from a food truck, The Cupcake Brake. Richard had "Plain Twain" with vanilla frosting; I had "Vernon Velvet" (a soft, red chocolate) with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
After checking out the parking garage adjacent to the theater to see how last year's renovation had changed the space, we returned for a short light and sound demonstration of the opening scene of the current play, The Crucible. You may remember that Richard read the play in school last year. Therefore, he is not very interested in sitting through the 3-hour play.
When we got back to Lynn's apartment, we were able to catch (on TV), the ending of the Indians 10-4 win over the Twins.