Hello Everyone,

 Folks I have a horrible confession to make. Since the first rehearsal held a a few weeks ago, I have infected everyone with a dreadfully serious disease. It is known as literis non sunt subiecti. The symptoms of this dreadful disease are as follows: forgetfulness, procrastination, misplaced optimism regarding not having to perform a specific required task and eventually heavy sweats and quickened heartbeat as you are confronted by someone of importance.

 Fortunately at the same time as the infection I have also provided the cure. The cure is a simple task. Turn in the paperwork required by Scarlett Rat Entertainment to be a performer in the Skaneateles Dickens Festival. Thankfully most of you have taken advantage of this cure and at least for one year are immune to its terrible symptoms. However, tragically a few of you remain infected and potentially contagious. For the safety of all involved, here is a list of those who have not taken the cure:

 ·         Kristin Baskewicz

      ·         Erika Clement
      ·         Ian Cook
      ·         Karley Davis
      ·         Jason Manning
      ·         Kevin Pelletier
      ·         Regina Perry
      ·         Joe Petrolawicz

(Translation…please turn in your paperwork this weekend)

 Now onto other subjects of interest.

1.    The Figgins fund raising pie sale. If anyone is interested in receiving a super delicious pie this weekend from the Goodie Goddess, Anita Figgins, Please let her, Fran or myself know ASAP. She is offering Apple Pies for $18 and Pumpkin Pies for $15. She will bake them this weekend and bring them to rehearsal. These can be refrigerated or frozen and re-warmed if desired for Thanksgiving. Sounds like a great way to put a big completed check mark next to something on your holiday to-do list. I can personally vouch for how great these are! All proceeds go towards Mikaela’s People to People trip to study Celtic cultures.

2.    Warm, Dry and Cozy Feet. Being someone who used to be a brick layer that worked all year round, I cannot stress enough the importance of dry and warm feet while working outdoors. I have seen how quickly a performers mood and demeanor can deteriorate when their feet get wet and then cold. So obviously start with good waterproof shoes. Then good warm socks. This brings me to ALPACA products. These warm, cozy moisture wicking products should go a long way in keeping your feet toasty. I believe the socks are $18 and boot inserts are $8. The grandparents of a guy I work with own an Alpaca and Christmas tree farm out this way. I am simply the go between on these products and do not make anything on the sale. I just know they were popular in the past so I thought I would make sure they were still available to our cast. Some of you have let me know your desire on these. If anyone wants Alpaca products, let me know!

3.    The cast party already? Yes the cast party already. For those that do not know, we have learned in the past to plan the food out publicly and in advance or we will end up with meatballs, beans and 37 hundred pans of brownies. So, starting this weekend I will have a sign-up sheet at rehearsals and later on in the green room. Please sign up with what you will be bringing to the Cast Pot Luck Party. Please take into account what others before you are planning to bring. With the amount of people in our cast we should have a very wide variety of delicacies this year. You may also email or message me what you plan to bring. I will keep an updated list posted on the blog and maybe on the FB page as well. REMEMBER YOUR ALLERGENS. If a dish contains nuts or any of its ingredients are subjected to nuts during processing in any way, the dish MUST be labeled as such. Gluten is a concern for a few of our cast members as well, so gluten-free dishes are always welcome. The cast Party will be at the Skaneateles United Methodist Church located between Johnny Angels and Joe’s Pasta Garage on Jordan Street on Sunday December 22 following the show. Keep an eye out for more details. In the meantime, a million thanks to Ray and his wife Vivian for all they do for us to have the cast party.

4.  WHAT?!!? 2 Parades on the 30^th?? Yup you got it. First on Saturday November 30^th we open the day with the World’s Smallest Christmas Parade. We are only big enough to shut down half the road. We will go over details on this parade during rehearsals this weekend. Later that night, (Line up is 5:30) you have the option of joining your Dickens family in the Auburn Holiday Parade. This parade is something I personally look forward to every year. If you don’t have fun you at this then you are trying to hard not to have fun. This parade is optional but all the cool kids do it. I wanted to get this note out there so that our non-driving cast members can begin the process of looking for carpools to and from Auburn or maybe fall to your knees and beg mom or dad for a ride whichever the case may be. To our non-adult cast, please have your parents let me know if you are riding to or from the Auburn parade with someone that is not on your current permissions list. If I don’t have you listed to be allowed to ride with someone, you and I are going to be standing in the Wegman’s parking lot calling your parents for a ride home or confirmation of permission.

5.  This weekend. Everyone please remember to dress accordingly this weekend. It looks to be the closest thing we have seen to winter weather coming this weekend. We will all be out to the Sherwood and the Gazebo this weekend blocking for opening and Revels respectively. The length of this process depends on how well we focus. This is a great chance to practice “throwing focus” to the current speaker.

6.  CD’s  I still have CD’s available of our carols. Just ask me for one.

7.  Sign in Please be sure to sign in each and every day. This is important especially on show days. Things get busy and the green room gets crowded. This sign in list will be an important tool for directors to know who is present each day. It only takes a second. Some of you have neglected to sign in so far and we need to change this and get everyone on board.

 

A long day at work is finally catching up to me. I know there was something else I was going to include but simply cannot remember what it was.

 

I have to say to everyone that this cast sounds great musically! This is the first time I have stood back to work on something while music rehearsals are going on. Especially considering there are quite a few new songs this year, and lots of new cast members, you sound fantastic. Keep up the great effort!!

 

Brett Norsworthy

Stage Manager / Managing Secretary

Skaneateles Dickens Festival

As performed by

Scarlett Rat Entertainment

585-278-0371