First of what I hope will be a very short series of reminders to send Doc
your Reunion checks (if you're attending the full Reunion weekend in
November):
As Gail noted in her August 17 email,
“Doc strongly prefers to receive payment in the form of paper checks, made
out to him, and sent to the following address:
PO Box 202 Round Top Tx 78954”
Right now, Doc has received 20 checks; my own check, which I sent by
priority mail yesterday, will make 21. The rest of the Nerdy Thirty should
take note--Doc needs to have all the reunion checks in hand by October 15.
I will remind you all again about this in a few days--unless you all send
your checks in at once and save me the trouble!
Love,
Mike
Dear Ancianos:
This email aims to answer some questions a number of our merry band have
asked about the 52ndAnniversary Shakespeare at Winedale Reunion Event set
for Saturday afternoon and evening, November 5, at Winedale. You may ask:
“Just what are those questions?” (And thus add to our total
question-answering!)
But before we get into the questions and answers, we want to share what
this particular “short-form” reunion is about. Specifically, *Doc’s
students who participated in his Shakespeare at Winedale classes between
1970 and 2000 are invited to honor and celebrate Doc and our shared
experiences with Shakespeare and Winedale.* About 30 of these “Ancianos”
(we’d give you an exact count but that requires math!) are meeting for four
days and three nights, leading up to performances of a few selected scenes
on the Saturday night. Think of them as the Nerdy Thirty? *Saturday
evening, our weekend activities will culminate in a PERFORMANCE OF selected
scenes on the theme of Reunion, chosen and cast by Doc. All Ancianos are
invited to attend.*
Now for the 52nd Reunion Q&A!
*Question 1:* “What if I’m not one of the Nerdy Thirty?”
*Answer:* “WE WANT TO SEE YOU AT WINEDALE ANYWAY! COME JOIN US ON SATURDAY!”
Our collective arms are wide open to Ancianos who want to come out on that
Saturday, both to show Doc their love and to see their friends. We are
keeping this intimate, so we respectfully request that spouses, partners,
children, friends who weren’t at Winedale wait for the next landmark
reunion in 2025. This particular off-year gathering centers on remembering
and communing with Doc and with one another—not just the Nerdy Thirty who
are performing, but also the veterans of the First Nerdy Thirty Years of
Shakespeare at Winedale.
*Question 2:* “Okay, if I can make it to Winedale for the festivities on
Saturday, Nov. 5, what are the rules, if any? What are the ‘best practices’
we should follow?”
*Answers:*
• Remember, remember, it’s on the Fifth of November! (Saturday, that is.)
• Please arrive *2pm or later on Saturday*
• We will be working all day Saturday on a handful of scenes for
Saturday evening so we may not be able to visit much before dinner. *But we
know many Ancianos who come on Saturday for the BBQ might want to
participate more directly, so we may welcome you to sit in and offer ideas
and feedback as we work on the scenes!*
• We hope you will come for the BBQ *(@ $25/person—and we will need
payment in advance)* at 6 pm, and that you’ll arrive early enough to be
present for *Roll Call* as we all line up for BBQ.
• *Scenes will be at 8 pm.*
• After the scenes, we’re aimin’ to move the chairs aside and
convene a *Barn
Dance!* Bring instruments or favorite music to dance to! (You probably
have some playlists with something special on them that you want to share!)
Time for joyful exultation! Join Doc and JoAnn in some Texas Two Step! Or
fake it!
*Question(s) 3*: “Okay, there’s performances and a Barn Dance, and also
some food. Plus some Winedale rituals, I’m guessing. But what else is
planned? Should I bring my own stuff to eat or drink or share with others?
What if the Thirty make us Thirsty?”
*Answers: *
• We’re going to send out invitations via Eventbrite or email or some
similar 21st Century tool *so we’ll know how much BBQ and fixins to order. *
• (Yes, we’re repeating this one because we really want your help in this.
*)* Pre-performance, as people line up for the BBQ pit, the Ancianos will
start *the roll call of class years* at Shakespeare at Winedale, *and ask
you to call out your names, ex-student by ex-student.*)
• *After the performances you will be required to participate—or at
least raptly observe—the dance partay and mingling. *
• Prepare to bring instruments and recorded music for the after–BARN
DANCE.
• Bring your phones/cameras (what’s the difference, really?). *We want
to preserve this reunion for the ages!*
• If history is any guide, some attendees will bring potent
potables. *Ancianos
are by definition adults, but please be prudent and plan to allocate your
driving responsibilities safely.* Also, if you plan to avoid the late-night
drive by staying over in one of the nearby B&Bs, identify the place you
plan to stay and make those reservations now. (We can’t put you up or make
stayover plans for you!)
We expect lots of good moments at the 52nd Reunion, both small and large.
Plenty of happy memories and plenty of new memories to create together! We
can’t wait to see you there!
Sincerely and with all love,
Your Faithful Border Collies
*P.S., if you know Ancianos who aren't paying attention to this particular
mailing list--the one dedicated to students from the 1970 class through the
2000 class--please feel free to email this update directly to them. But
don't broadcast it to other lists--we're trying to be somewhat focused on
the Anciano alums and Doc's tenure as director of S-at-W.*
This November will mark the unusually numbered 52nd anniversary reunion for
Shakespeare@Winedale alumni. And of course the central question for so
many of us will be ... what kind of T-shirt designs, quotable coffee cups,
crowns, patches, and other items of "swag" will we be able to bring home
with us?
Well, there are some obvious choices. T-shirts with hand-drawn designs
printed on them have been favorites over the years, for example.
So we should ask ourselves if we want new designs. Or adaptations of old
designs. Or both. Those of us who've gotten a bit balder (yet also bolder!)
in recent decades may want decorative caps. Others may want patches they
can sew on to favorite jackets and vests. Will the swag items be just for
full-reunion attendees, or just for alums, or will anybody who wants some
be able to buy some? How will we order appropriate sizes and colors in
advance, etc.?
Here I'm channeling both my own questions and Emily Ayres's questions,
because we both are interested in things we can buy and take home ....
assuming that others are interested as well.
So this note is meant to spark a discussion of swag we might wish for,
ideally in time to select a few good ideas and start producing items that
capture something of our oddly numbered 52nd-anniversary reunion.
What do you all think? Please feel free to respond to the mailing lists,
but also feel free to send suggestions privately to me and to @Emily Ayres
<emilymarionayres(a)gmail.com>
Em, do you have anything you want to add here?
Mike
That very time I saw, but thou couldst not, <>
Flying between the cold moon and the earth, <>
Cupid all arm'd: a certain aim he took <>
At a fair vestal throned by the west, <>
And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow, <>
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts; <>
But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft <>
Quench'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon, <>
And the imperial votaress passed on, <>
In maiden meditation, fancy-free. <>
\
Dear folks,
I've added Tara Kirkland (tarakkirkland(a)gmail.com) to the two Winedale-alum
lists. I'd thought she was on one or both of the lists already, but
apparently not. I hope I've fixed that omission.
Mike
Some Winedale have committed to attending the "50th Anniversary" Reunion
for four days. (I use quotes because it's technically the 52nd
Anniversary.) Others we expect will come in mainly to attend the Saturday
gathering and Saturday night performances. This note is about anyone who's
in either group who plans to use air travel to get (most of the way) to
Winedale.
Generally, the advice from seasoned travelers who have navigated
pandemic-era travel already this year is this: Try to get to where you're
going a day earlier than the day you plan to show up. We're currently
living in a period of massive air-travel chaos and disruption, mainly
because the airlines have struggled with ramping back up after earlier
pandemic-driven cutbacks. (If you're a retired flight attendant, this may
be a good time to consider coming out of retirement!) So, for example, if
you plan to show up on Saturday at, say, lunchtime, it's best to get the
flying part of your travel finished the day before. Please consider making
your travel plans accordingly. Similarly, if you're one of the four-day
attendees and you plan to congregate with the others in Winedale on
Thursday afternoon/evening, please consider getting the flying part of your
travel done at least by Wednesday.
I'm nostalgic for the occasions when I had to travel during the
pandemic--sometimes an airline like SouthWest would give me the whole
plane. See photo, attached.
Love,
Mike
[image: IMG-1056.jpg]
Dear Teams and Fans and Hangers-On,
Emily Ayres (emilymarionayres(a)gmail.com) has asked me to ask you if you
have photographs--including both (a) old-style photochemical prints and/or
negatives and (b) digital photographs--of S@W people and events and
tableaux, etc., to contribute to the Shakespeare at Winedale archives that
she has been working on. She's also interested in any newspaper or magazine
clippings about S@W that you might be willing to share (or share copies of).
I double-endorse this request, because like so many of the rest of us I
love looking at the old (and not-so-old pics). In some of the ones I
appear in, I have a lot more hair on my head and face. (More recently, that
hair has migrated to my nose and ears.) But I think this Reunion and the
Shakespeare-at-Winedale archives are a good opportunity to expand the
visual records of our experiences, and I urge you to reach out to Emily to
contribute. In addition, feel free to post digital photos, if you have
them, in response to this request!
Love to all,
Mike
Dear Ancianos, Border Collies, other Reunion enthusiasts and motley fool
crew members, et al.:
I’ve suggested to our Reunion planning committee that — as we move closer
to key dates in preparing for our 2022 Reunion meetup on November 3 through
November 6, — I circulate regular email reminders for those planning to
attend, informing them what they need to do in preparation for the
Reunion.
This email is the first of these reminders, which I expect to send out at
least weekly and maybe more often as needed. This reminder centers on
sending money to Doc so that he can make the necessary payments and
arrangements for the Reunion.
You may recall that Doc calculated a while back that everyone who plans to
participate in the full multiple-day Reunion needs to send Doc a check. As
has sometimes been the case in the past, the checks typically take a while
to start rolling in. (I’ve been tardy sending mine in more often than not.)
This year, a couple of people have already sent in checks to Doc (thanks!)
based on an earlier estimate of what the total cost per person would be.
Here’s an update: after further review of the costs and calculations, we’re
now asking everyone who’s attending the Reunion to *send in a check for
$465*—40 dollars more than Doc had originally estimated. (Doc is
inordinately apologetic for having set his estimate too low, but I forgive
him!) If, like me, you haven’t sent your check in yet, please do so now or
as soon as you can. The deadline for having all the money collected is
October 15.
As Gail noted in her August 17 email,
*“Doc strongly prefers to receive payment in the form of paper checks, made
out to him, and sent to the following address:*
*PO Box 202 Round Top Tx 78954”*
(I had to order new paper checks from my bank just for this. The
twenty-something bank clerk snickered. “I need it for our Shakespeare
reunion,” I meekly explained. She snickered again.)
Just to recap some other key details, I’m reposting other sentences from
Gail’s Aug. 17 email:
*‘Doc has solidified housing and food arrangements for our gathering in
November. We'll be staying at Festival Hill in rooms of three beds each and
having breakfasts and dinners at Menke House, with lunches bought from the
Mercantile. We will have a catered barbecue on Saturday evening. The first
meal will be at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, 3 November, and the last will be
breakfast on Sunday morning, 6 November, at 9:00. Check in for the weekend
will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday.’ *
Gail noted in that email that the money we’re sending in covers all
“creature comforts.” So all of us creatures will be comfortable!
There may be no clocks in the forest, but our clocks everywhere else are
ticking away. And I now have new checks I can fill out.
(Oh, wait, where do I keep my pens? Do I even have any pens?)
More notes soon, and feel free to circulate these details to others in our
Company who may miss this particular email.
Doc, Gail, and other planners should feel free to supplement and/or correct
what I've written here.
Love to all,
Mike
Dear Ancianos, Border Collies, other Reunion enthusiasts and motley fool
crew members, et al.:
I’ve suggested to our Reunion planning committee that — as we move closer
to key dates in preparing for our 2022 Reunion meetup on November 3 through
November 6, — I circulate regular email reminders for those planning to
attend regarding what they need to do in preparation for the Reunion.
This email is the first of these reminders, which I expect to send out at
least weekly and maybe more often as needed. This reminder centers on
sending money to Doc so that he can make the necessary payments and
arrangements for the Reunion.
You may recall that Doc calculated a while back that everyone who plans to
participate in the full multiple-day Reunion needs to send Doc a check. As
has sometimes been the case in the past, the checks typically take a while
to start rolling in. (I’ve been tardy sending mine in more often than not.)
This year, a couple of people have already sent in checks to Doc (thanks!)
based on an earlier estimate of what the total cost per person would be.
Here’s an update: after further review of the costs and calculations, we’re
now asking everyone who’s attending the Reunion to *send in a check for
$465*—40 dollars more than Doc had originally estimated. (Doc is
inordinately apologetic for having set his estimate too low, but I forgive
him!) If, like me, you haven’t sent your check in yet, please do so now or
as soon as you can. The deadline for having all the money collected is
October 15.
As Gail noted in her August 17 email,
*“Doc strongly prefers to receive payment in the form of paper checks, made
out to him, and sent to the following address:*
*PO Box 202 Round Top Tx 78954”*
(I had to order new paper checks from my bank just for this. The
twenty-something bank clerk snickered. “I need it for our Shakespeare
reunion,” I meekly explained. She snickered again.)
Just to recap some other key details, I’m reposting other sentences from
Gail’s Aug. 17 email:
*‘Doc has solidified housing and food arrangements for our gathering in
November. We'll be staying at Festival Hill in rooms of three beds each and
having breakfasts and dinners at Menke House, with lunches bought from the
Mercantile. We will have a catered barbecue on Saturday evening. The first
meal will be at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, 3 November, and the last will be
breakfast on Sunday morning, 6 November, at 9:00. Check in for the weekend
will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday.’ Gail noted in that email that the money
we’re sending in covers all “creature comforts.” So all of us creatures
will be comfortable!*
There may be no clocks in the forest, but our clocks everywhere else are
ticking away. And I now have new checks I can fill out.
(Oh, wait, where do I keep my pens? Do I even have any pens?)
More notes soon, and feel free to circulate these details to others in our
Company who may miss this particular email.
Doc, Gail, and other planners should feel free to supplement and/or correct
what I've written here.
Love to all,
Mike