Our Vacation 2010

SATURDAY: The Road Trip Begins

This year we took our fourth trip to Ashland, OR to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I never thought I would be the type of person that vacationed in the same spot year after year. But we really love it there, and every year there is new theatre to see of course. And this is some of the best theatre in the country. Especially for a classics lover like myself. It's been exciting following the festival in a new direction under the leadership of their new Artistic Director, Bill Rauch. His perspective on classics and his vision for the future is astounding, and he has been doing some really exciting work at OSF. This year, since we couldn't afford to fly, we road-tripped it up the entire way. This is something I've been dreading, since I hate road trips, and since we now have a toddler. (Preschooler?)

Part of our plan included a very detailed listing of local parks to stop at along the way. This was to give Peer a chance to play, and give us a small break as well. Plus, being 7 1/2 months pregnant and with a tendency to motion sickness and pregnancy nausea, I didn't expect to do so well either. We packed some sandwiches to make our lunch quick on that first day.

Our first park was a big hit. The others were not as good as this one. And actually, we made very good time the first day, traveling much farther north than Sacramento, which was our original goal. We made it to Red Bluff by dinnertime and while Peer and I waited for our table and waiter, Andy took his laptop to a nearby Starbucks to mooch off their free wifi and book us a hotel on priceline. Andy is a wiz with priceline. We really debated about whether or not to book a hotel room ahead of time in Sacramento. We eventually decided not to, in order to give us the freedom to keep driving if we felt like it. We did, and also ended up with a fabulous hotel room in Redding, at which we arrived just in time to put PJ to bed a tad late.

SUNDAY: Redding, CA to Ashland, OR


Attempting to snatch a quick shot in front of our awesome hotel in Redding. Andy booked it the night before on priceline less than an hour before we arrived. Ended up being a gorgeous Hilton with a king-size bed that we got for dirt cheap. Excellent work, hon!

Peer is afraid of public restrooms. Especially if they have a hand dryer, automatically flushing toilet, or if you attempt to take him into a handicap stall.

We couldn't resist the beauty of Mt. Shasta!

Hmmmm. Smells like summer church camp or the show I did in the mountains once.

being this happy on a road trip is beyond me...

Yay! We finally made it to Ashland! First stop: Grilla Bites for a healthy, organic lunch. I had a delicious veggie burger on a focaccia bun. There are vegetarian options at EVERY restaurant in Ashland. Ahhhhhhh. Ironically, this is also the one place I could probably find grass-fed meat as well. But after being veggie for well over a year now, I pretty much prefer it.

Peer liked the cottage! He made himself at home right away with his trains.

I'm just realizing that I didn't finish telling you all about the rest of our first day in Ashland. After a yummy lunch at Grilla Bites, and before I even saw the cottage, I rushed off to the theatre to see Throne of Blood, a new play adapted from the Kurosawa film based on Macbeth. I never looked at the ticket that I rushed hastily right before lunch, and hurried off to the theatre to make what I thought was a 2pm curtain. Well, I was perplexed to arrive to an empty courtyard and a locked theatre door. Confused, I glanced at the marquee and realized that the show started at 1:30! I swear, in all my years as a theatregoer, I have NEVER done that before. The ushers and house manager were wonderful, seating me at the back (instead of the front-and-center seat I had bought. sniff) and I still thoroughly enjoyed the show. If you like Shakespeare's play and/or like Japanese film or Japanese noh theatre, I highly recommend this beautiful adaptation, directed by the adapter himself. Lovely piece of work.

That night Andy saw Merchant of Venice and later convinced me to see it too. A great way to start off a week of great theatre!

MONDAY: Day off from theatre to do other stuff
(there are no plays on Monday. We wouldn't take a day off from theatre on purpose!)


It actually was a rainy day today, so perfect for making a trip to the Children's Museum in nearby Medford.

Peer looooooved the grocery store play area. He had fun checking things out with Daddy. Oh, and I'd also like to add that Mommy loved how they had all the organic and healthy stuff that I usually buy. So not only did Peer recognize it, but I felt like my choices were reinforced! (this is a reoccurring feeling while in southern OR)

The truck area was the last. We were all sad to go. =( Peer would have stayed all day!

RECORDING DAY!

This is the real reason we came up to Ashland this year-- to record THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY with actor Peter Macon. This is evidence that my husband is amazing. We saw Peter last year at the festival playing The Scottish King in you-know-what-play. He actually ended up being in almost every production we saw that year due to understudying, etc. And we all fell in love with him (in our own way). Time passed... and as Andy felt the dilemma of finding the perfect voice to play Sunday, he one day just said, "Peter Macon. I have to have him. I'm going to contact him." And he did. And Peter said yes. What the heck?! Let me remind you that this is an unpaid project. And we have several other actors on level with Macon as well. That is just a testament to the quality of talent we have working on this production and the draw of doing Chesterton, and (I like to think) the talent of my dear husband as well.

Peter and Peer got along quite well, actually. Must be their shared namesake. =)

Having dinner at one of our favorite Ashland spots, Standing Stone Brewery.

The beauties of Ashland! Where else can you have world-class theatre, a hippie-natural living culture, and frickin' deer?!


seen on a walk down the street...

TUESDAY: A little shopping, and a little theatre


We found a fun toy store for Peer to play around in


Enjoying the view of beautiful Ashland Creek

Running through the creekside dining area in search of a restroom

Checking out the children's section at this really cool bookstore. I got a Hypnobirthing book to explore and Peer got a new Thomas the Train book with flaps (that I'm sure will be ripped off shortly).

Then we went home in time for Andy to take the car back to OSF for his matinee. He saw Hamlet in the Bowmer, which you can read more about below. I did not have my ticket yet for that night, as I had planned to use the super-secret rush system. I was going to see Pride and Prejudice, but at the last minute changed my mind and went for Merchant of Venice. It was the only show I could see in the Elizabethan theatre, which is always a really great experience. The production was very solid and the performances were excellent. I ended up with front-row seats on the stage right (house left) side, right next to the tunnel where the actors made their exits and entrances. I had never seen this show on stage, so it was wonderful to be so close. It's such a difficult piece and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see this production. It seemed that the director was trying to embrace the contradictions and ambiguities within the text, which is a very interesting choice in this play which is famed to be Shakespeare's most racist piece, yet also deeply humanistic. I appreciated the production not taking a side, but rather revealing to us yet another of the many paradoxes that existed within Elizabethan culture. On a lighter note, I also really enjoyed the costume design. It was cool. The characters wore present-day clothing with a layering of something Elizabethan over it. Either a cloak or a ruff, etc. The Elizabethan attire seemed to represent wealth in some of the scenes. Nice job.

And might I also add, seeing theatre by yourself is fun. Especially on vacation. And especially in a really cool outdoor theatre such as the Elizabethan.

WEDNESDAY: Scienceworks Children's Museum, Hamlet at OSF for Lana and American Night at OSF for Andy

Peer spent quite a while playing in the Ball Factory at Scienceworks. He cooperated so nicely with the other children. He would send a bucket of tennis balls one by one down a pipe like the one you see here, then another child would go down below to retrieve them, bring them up to Peer, and it continued on and on... We discovered that when he is using the right side of his brain and engaging in creative play, he is a total chatterbox. But when it's the left side and he's discovered and exploring how things work--like here-- he is totally silent.

The bubble room was lots of fun. Maybe more for Mommy and Daddy.

Playing with water in the toddler area.

More fun with balls, pipes, and suction in the toddler area.

After a delicious stop at Pita Pit for a quick lunch, we dropped Andy off at OSF for his matinee. He saw American Night, a new commissioned play by the popular LA-based comedy group Culture Clash. The play is part of an American Heritage series of commissions that Artistic Director Bill Rauch envisioned when he took the post. I imagine Rauch must have begun his relationship with CC with the play I auditioned for a while back, Peace, at the Getty Villa. (the audition went great, but I was disappointed that Rauch was not in the room... and that I didn't get called back. oh well) You'll have to ask Andy for details about the play, since I took Peer home for naptime. He seemed to really like it and be impressed with CC.

Before the show that night, we went to dinner at the home of a new contact that Andy made while trying to book a space to record. A local author and owner of a small publishing company recommended an employee at OSF who could book a room for them. This employee also happened to be the Hip Hop Dramaturg for Hamlet. (did you know that hip hop had dramaturgs? you do now!) Anyway, the author and her family were there, along with the dramaturg. It was a really wonderful evening with amazing people. I wish we could have stayed longer. We were so glad to make some new friends in Ashland!

That evening I saw an incredible production of Hamlet in the Bowmer Theatre, directed by Rauch himself. Like I said, Rauch is the Artistic Director of the whole theatre and an accomplished production director himself. Aside from that, the Shakespeare that is done in Bowmer is always fantastic and innovative, so this production was a must-see for both of us. It did not disappoint. The production was set in the present-day and-- believe it or not-- the scene of the play-within-a-play was actually staged as a hip hop number. Don't cringe. It was amazing. Now I'm not a hip hop girl, so I understand your skepticism. But this scene was staged with such an intentional bent toward story-telling that it made the hip hop very appealing. Not just your lame wannabe rap. The text was altered a bit to fit the form, but the iambic pentameter was preserved and the scene was quite incredible. The rest of the show was equally as enthralling, with a very thoughtful Hamlet and an Ophelia that reminded me of a younger, even-more-talented Maggie Gyllenhaal. Here's another cool thing-- the actor playing the Ghost was hearing impaired. So interactions with him and references to late king were all done with ASL incorporated into the text. I thought this was a really nice touch to a play that is first all about words and language. Also, it added a nice touch to the whole plot device of the king having been poisoned in the ear. Very excellent use of the present-day attractiveness of using actors of differing abilities.

Here are some shots of our cottage in Ashland. We started doing the cottage thing last year when we brought some friends up with us. This year we were by ourselves, but opted for a cottage again, only smaller. It was perfect! A cottage beats a B&B or hotel when you have a young child and your family needs space, privacy, and some level of noise tolerance. This one was a one-bedroom duplex and was the perfect size for the three of us. I cooked a couple of nice breakfasts at home, but the rest of the trip we mostly ate out.

Peer enjoyed setting up his trains and other toys to keep him occupied while at home.

Here's a shot from the outside. Isn't it cute? Peer and Andy enjoyed playing frisbee on the little lawn. And it wasn't on a busy street, either, so that makes a mommy feel good.

(this is not the end. click "older posts" to keep reading)