Category Archives: News & Reviews

Last Friday, John and Paul and I flew to Washington D.C.
to hear Jessica sing as one of the three genii (or

three boys) in Mozart’s opera

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote), at

Saltnote Stageworks.

For a variety of complex reasons, the music festival was held in
Indian Head, Maryland, which is an hour by car from Washington D.C.
The town has many derelict buildings and almost no place to eat,
so we ended up driving to Waldorf for dinner, 8 miles away. Jessica’s
hotel was in La Plata, another 8 mile drive from the stage (she mostly
had to beg rides from other cast members). Each of the three nights we
went, the performance moved at the last minute (or mid-show) from the
outdoor stage to a small community center because of poor weather. I am
sure the whole thing could have been made less convenient for
the audience but I am not sure how… however, some of the music was very
good, the shows were fun, we enjoyed ourselves, and Jessi learned a great deal.

Here are two reviews of the overly-ambitious and remote festival:

• 
  Let the playtime begin: 17 nights of Stageworks Friday, June 13, 2008,
  By DICKSON MERCER, SoMdNews.Com – Southern Maryland Newspapers Online
• 
  Fledgling Stageworks Festival Full of Ambition But Not Yet Ready to Soar
  By Anne Midgette, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, June 20, 2008

Driving to and from the stage and dinner and Jessica’s hotel and our hotel
took up much of our vacation time. On the road to Waldorf, we saw a sign that
seemed to sum up the entire area. On an undeveloped old farm is
a new advertisement for Greensward Technology Campus Sales & Leasing.
So far as we could tell, the entire campus consisted of this sign:

Jessica was in five festival shows, including a role in

Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica) by Giacomo Puccini. She was also
in the chorus for
Carmina Burana,

Porgy & Bess (Concert Version), Mozart/Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, plus playing a Genii in The Magic Flute. Jessica was lucky in
her hotel roommate assignment of
Donna Gallagher (who sang The Queen of the
Night wonderfully and was a generous coach). My favorite prop was the
rhinestone-studded cell phone which stood in for Papageno’s glockenspiel
or magic bells.
See Jessi’s
FeelingElephants’s Weblog for more.

One unexpected treat was a family of of
ospreys (large fish eagles)
which had a nest on top of a light pole in the festival parking lot.
They made loud osprey comments in the background when Papageno
(the hunter / birdman) came onstage with his rifle.
Music festival photos follow…

Festival Sign

Festival Sign

Festival Program

Conductor’s Music

Osprey Audience

Before the Show

Three Geniis Before Show

Jessica in Dragon Head

Three Geniis

Three Geniis and Papageno

Three Geniis and Papageno

Three Geniis and Papageno

Donna Gallagher and Jessica

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

My son just finished his Sophomore year final exams at
Palo Alto High School or “Paly”. This
was a tough year for Paul academically and we are all glad he is done and
has the summer to recover. Paul has done homework and studied 4 to 6 hours a
day after school (more on weekends) since September. He is one tired boy.

Paly is a large school (over 1,600 students) originally built in 1898.
Here are some of the pictures I have taken there this year:

Paly Front Door

Main hallway

Oak outside window

Stained glass

100 Years of Graduates

Paly Alley Sign

Columned walkway

Reluctant Photo Subject (Paul)

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

When I was very little,
my mother bought a fainting couch. This is a 19th
century backless couch with one raised end, suitable for a woman in full Victorian
skirts to rest on when she felt faint (probably because she was wearing a
corset). Sigmund Freud used something like a fainting couch for his
patients. My mother initially used it in her living room but it eventually
moved into her art studio as a model’s stand. Last weekend, she gave it
to me (and thus begins yet another project in my life).

The fainting couch is solidly built but shows its age. It needs repair and
a new covering. It is Egyptian Eastlake in style, probably walnut over 125 years
old. So far, we have taken it to the antique furniture workshop (for a preliminary
review) and then to an upholsterer (to have the current covering removed before
more work starts). By the end of the summer at the soonest, the fainting couch
will be ready to move into our backyard caboose.

Look at the photos below to see why this couch is worth the trouble –
note the greek key, papyrus flowers, and toes with claws carved and stamped into
its legs and feet. This is an interesting and useful piece of furniture!

Studio couch (under a red sheet)

Couch carving

Couch carving

View from the foot

Side view

Into the workshop

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

A few days ago, I wrote about our first big cactus bloom of
the season. Here are some of its current competitors, big and small,
for loveliest flower this week in my garden:

Crown of thorns Euphorbia

Pink Comb Cactus

White Climbing Rose

Scarlet trumpet vine

Prickly Pears and Flowers

Pleiospilos nelli

Cactus and Caboose

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

I have several cactus in bloom in my backyard now. One of them has been working up
to opening all day. I have been watching that first huge bud swell and almost
grow visibly every time I walked by. The new bloom is 9″ across – bigger than
my hand at full spread. There are many more buds – this will be the best
year for flowers yet!

2 weeks ago

4 days ago

4 days ago

This morning

This morning

This afternoon

Before dinner

After dinner

After dinner

After dinner

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher