I have spent the last few days working on a show dealing with the delicate details of each aspect to make certain that it is as perfect as I am capable. As you know I am the first to admit that I am one of the least "perfect" people in the world, and furthermore find myself incapable of perfection. Even the thing that I most pride myself on - being a great teacher - I am incapable of teaching the "perfect" lesson (if such a thing exists). Yet this weekend I tried so hard to get it all right. Here's the story.
Ric Hirst, my friend, role model, and fellow Italophile, agreed to a project that I wanted to do for some time; that is to tell the story of his and his wife Sharon's amazing experience of buying a house in Italy and living there for five months of every year. Now that I am doing shows at home, it seemed easier than ever, requiring him to simply sit in one of our really comfortable living room chairs and answer a few questions, letting that lead to wherever it went. We did that last week. His part, three
10 - 15 minute segments, form the basis of the biographical sketch, that, I believe, is a wonderful recounting of an incredible story. I then did the introduction and conclusion on my own, and putting it all together, I formed a 40 minute show that, I think, is one of my best.
The problem has been to put photos in place which appropriately convey the message Ric is trying to impart on the audience. It is not as if we conceived the idea and then took the photos. On the contrary we did the videotaping and then tried to find the images available to us, and subsequently the really hard part was putting them in a place that made sense. I spent four hours yesterday trying to do this, becoming so frustrated at times with just about everything. I re-taped the intro and outro several times continually running downstairs to the living room. My level of intensity is clearly documented on the camera's memory card in which there are 18 different segments, subtracting the three that Ric did, I worked through 15 different versions of my solo performances!
I think I am finished. What the viewer will see and hear is a passion for Italy and life that may motivate some people to actually purchase property in Italy. What is remarkable is that Ric's descriptions of the overall experience so eloquently expressed, almost poetically at times, beautifully captures a devotion to a project that occupied Sharon and Ric for a over a decade. Some of his stories about his neighbors and friends parallel my own experiences with our friends to a slightly lesser degree. Each reference to someone in his town of Roccalvecce reminded me of our own friends. The town of Roccalveeece comes to life with the excitement and love he generates is his discourse. What made my work so complicated and difficult was that I felt compelled to portray the story as close to the actual experience as possible. Throughout my experience of putting this together, I kept seeing Sharon's and Ric's faces and felt their passion. If nothing else, that provided my motivation. One of the advantages I did have was the fact that Laura and I had spent some time with them at their home in Roccalvecce, and travelled around that region of Italy. We saw up close the pure excitement they experienced.
Here is the link to the show. I hope you enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/ur8nEuApLf0
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