Tons of people helped out--a crew of awesome fairy women came over in the morning to transform the house--ivy and flowers everywhere, billowing fabric and candles. sky and trout made pies. as people started to arrive, i had the supreme delight of playing music w/trout and ez.
it was nice to be present and offer my energy to the party in that way--i love playing with trout so much. as it grew dark and the room slowly filled with people, fruit, and flowers, we faded out and began corralling folks for the play-within-the-play.
some chaotic madness ensued, as we tried to cover all the parts and fill in gaps. the quartet of Wall rehearsed their segment in one corner as thea and i attempted to coordinate the other characters. "do we have a theseus?" "no, i'll go find one" "oh wait, we have theseus, we need demetrius!" "whose bottom?" "jon. but he doesn't want to be in it. but elsa will. oh wait, she's already oberon." etc. beautiful chaos.
After one false start, the actors launched into the dramatic and absurd play. it was utterly hilarious and spectacular, i couldn't help howling with laughter throughout. vince's dramatic, touching and prolonged death scene (in striped tights) was particularly moving.
After the play, everyone started singing the birthday songs--traditional, plus the usual twin oaks bevy. my favorite:
its your birthday/grunt/its your birthday, grunt/people dying everywhere/vultures flying in the air/its your birthday/grunt/may the candles on your cake/burn like cities in your wake/its your birthday/grunt
...and then a wild dance party. there was lots of fruit: peaches, mangos, bluberries, ground cherries, plums; as well as the apple and peach/wineberry pie, ice tea, wine, and dates. it was a truly decadent and magical evening.
and jon's chaps brought it to the next level.
