I missed the Grand Final!

As I have previously recorded....Footy is HUGE in Australia...especially in Melbourne! This year, two footy teams from Victoria made it to the AFL Grand Finals: the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks.
It was a big day for the city. If you were a footy fan and weren't at the MCG watching the game in person...then you were watching the action in a pub with big screen tv's or at a friend's house party with a plasma screen! If you were unlucky enough to work, the game was playing on the radio in the background. This house down the street from me in Elwood are flying the Geelong colours on their fence!
Mom and Dad and I didn't join in the Feral Footy-ness...we had a late lunch and a leisurely day wandering the shops on Brunswick Street. We lived vicariously through the radio commentary in the shops and the cheers emanating from pubs and homes along the way.

27 Wagons Full of Cotton or 72 Tires?

The VCA Directors Season opens on October 8th, and everyone is working full tilt on their shows. This week, I missioned around Melbourne in Chris's ute collecting 72 used tires for the set of my play. "Why tires?" you ask.... Well... bales of cotton would be too obvious.

Dinner on the Tram

Mom and I celebrated our birthday on a Colonial Tram Restaurant. (Of course, Dad was there too!) The waiter was full of the usual cheesy jokes and gags, the wine glasses were always refilled, the food was good and the moving scenery was great. (The Tram Restaurants chug around Greater Melbourne...so you see the landmarks from the road.) It was exceptionally touristy, but very enjoyable! You couldn't ask for better company!

Weather This Week

This week, the parents and I have been touring around Melbourne and surrounds. We have had all types of weather in our travels.
Here's Torquay Surf beach in the wind.
Back in the city, on Lygon St., lightning struck, thunder clapped and then it hailed! No crazy weather ever lasts for long in Melbourne. It's a bit like Calgary that way. You know...wait 5 minutes, and it'll change. No softball-sized hail stones here. They're more like spanish peanut sized.
On Saturday, we drove down to Mt. Martha to visit my friends Sue and Sheila and their son Finn. We spent some time on the beach in the sun and high winds. Here's the view off the pier at Dromana.

Note to Self #13

Feed only the well behaved birds.

When Cockatoos Attack!

Don’t be fooled by the fluffy white feathers and majestic yellow crest…these cockatoos love their seed, and will DO ANYTHING to get it!

On a train to...NorthCote?

Confession: I haven't blogged a great deal about my nocturnal activities here in Australia. I think I'll try sharing a bit more...not a great deal, though. It's better that what happens at night in Australia...STAYS in Australia. On Friday night a number of us VCA types celebrated the end of term at a house party. Here we are en route on the train.Theatre People!

A Day in the City

Mom and Dad arrived in Melbourne for the rest of their visit. We had THE BEST spring weather today as I introduced them to the city! (It was 25 degrees and a bit breezy.) We trammed around enjoying some of the more famous landmarks. We checked out some art, wandered through Federation Square, the shopping arcades and then finished the day with some dinner overlooking Port Phillip Bay.
Looking down a sunny hall at the GPO.

Mom and Dad and a sunset on the St. Kilda Promenade.

On Tours of the Sydney Opera House

Hello Sydney Sunshine!
Beautiful!
Interesting!
Informative!

Survival Tips for Traveling with Parents

* Be optimistic about weather. It will "Fine up" if you're having a good time in bad weather. It's karma.
* Stop frequently for coffees and treats. It's a chance to refuel the jet-lagged, read the paper and people watch.
* Allow plenty of travel time. Then you can arrive 20 minutes early for all engagements.
* Never book a seat to go to the theatre in the first three days after a long-haul flight. You WILL end up elbowing your mother REPEATEDLY to stop her from nodding off during the performance.
* See the major sights... in all weather!
* Patience and a sense of humour are key! Plus, you love them and they came all this way to visit you...so it's fun no matter what!

Mom and Dad!

I met Mom and Dad in Sydney last weekend. It was great to be reunited! The weather was hideous on Saturday!
Me on the stormy beach at Manly. Our brollies were getting blown out so we decided to just go without them on the open beach.
Mom and Dad on the deserted Corso.
...and at the Opera House.
Thank goodness for Max Brenner hot chocolates in "Hug Mugs"!

People make passes...

at post grad directors with moustaches…or at least, one would sure hope they would! Our 8x10’s went up as the 3rd term season opened at the end of August. I, for one, was dreading the unveiling of our professional head shots! Shudder! Others would agree with me. We’ll never tell anyone which one of us had the brain child to deface school property, though. Two things are certain: we do not take ourselves too seriously AND we are a HOT bunch of theatre makers!

The Dream Team:
Nadia and Samara and I worked on Life is a Dream as Assistant Directors together....
I think I look cheeky with the Southern-fried Colonel stache!
Nadia owns the Chopper Reed mo!
Samara works the porn star stache!

Spring in September

September 1 was the first official day of spring here in Australia. This week, Melbourne has been a few degrees warmer and sunnier. This swath of Jasmine grows over a fence on campus and its gorgeous perfume fills my nose as I walk past it.

To Do List:

So, it's September and now officially Spring Down Under! Weird. Tons to blog, and little time to do it...

I will blog the following soon:

* Our show, Life is a Dream opens and closes. My duties as an Assistant Director are done.

* The first day of Spring comes and goes.

* I start directing my own show, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (Tennessee Williams) with a fantastic cast.

* One more sleep and my parents will be in Australia for a visit! I fly to Sydney to see them this weekend, and they join me in Melbourne next week!