Bath, End of the Drill Hall, and The Comedy Store

We it has been over a week since the last blog, and there is a lot to cover in this one. First of all, a week ago Friday we had our final day trip to Bath. Bath is the site of the ancient Roman Baths. Again we had good weather and a beautiful view of the countryside during the long bus ride. After going through the Roman Baths, we had a good portion of the day to explore the town of Bath.

Last Sunday was our last rehearsal in The Drill Hall. We usually had Room 3 which was a perfect size for rehearsing Vanities. On Sundays we rehearsed in Room 7 which was a lot smaller, in the basement and had a moldy smell to it, but we all survived....see pictures below. We moved into Tara Studio on Monday and with the help of all of the guys on the trip we put together the furniture, hung lights, and painted some of the set. We appreciated all the help. Rehearsals have been going well and we are ready to open on Tuesday!!!! I will post another blog tomorrow with production photos....in the meantime if you go to my Facebook page you can see the production photos posted there.

After Sunday's rehearsal, some of us went to The Comedy Store to see the improv group, The Comedy Store Players who are the original group who did Who's Line is it Anyway? Three of the originals, Paul Merton, Neil Malarkey, and Richard Vranch performed that night along with Andy Smart and Lee Simpson. The Comedy Store is celebrating their 30th year!!! We met Anna Ebbesen and her boyfriend Jared at The Comedy Store. Jared surprised Anna with a trip to London. Anna was in London with us the year we performed The Diviners and was the music director for the cabaret revue we also did that year. A fun time was had by all and we will be definately going back for more improv shows.

Some of the baths.

Taryn and Sam using the audio guide which was a fantastic way of touring the baths.

Matt trying to figure out how to use the device!!!! He eventually got it.

Andy engrossed!

Lindsay learning about who all the statues are.

Julius Caesar

A view of the bath from above.

A model of what the baths looked like. Only 1/4 of the area has be dug up and exposed.

Parts of the facade of the roof,

Snakes are in the beard. A Medusa figure.

Steve viewing a waterfall of the hot springs water.

Bob, Andy, Taryn, and Matt posing in front of the bath.

To jump in or not to jump in? That is the question!

Ben posing with his new outfit!

A bath....

Steve, Matt, Taryn, Rachel, and Ben sitting in one of the meeting places in the baths.

Andy and Matt pick up another strange friend!!!!

Bob enjoying the experience.

The Abbey in Bath

The main altar and stained glass window.

Fanned ceiling.

Close up of the window.

Pig sculpture outside the Abbey.

A park near the Avon River. Notice the red bushes....all sculpted.

One of the sculptures in the park.

Avon River

River basin and one of two bridges with stores on either side of it. The other is in Florence, Italy.

Close-up of the bridge.

The Drill Hall

The Drill Hall is near the Goodge Street tube station. It has several rehearsal spaces and a 50 seat theatre.

Sam, Lindsay, Jo, and Krista in Room 7

Last day at Drill Hall.

Being silly or artistic????

The girls posing with the boy with ginger hair (as Jo described him) who worked the desk at Drill Hall. They kept thinking he looked like Ron from Harry Potter films.

Sam's last pose outside Drill Hall before we went to The Comedy Store. We would also go for pizza at our favorite, cheap pizza place down the street.

The Comedy Store

Logo on the stage.

Anna Ebbesen and I at The Comedy Store.

We waited in line beginning a 6 pm for an 8 pm show. Best to get there early and save a seat. Then go to the bar for food and drink before the show starts. Great time for conversation and reading about the history of the Comedy Store, the performers, and comedians who performed there like Robin Williams and Mike Myers.

Lindsay, Sam, and Krista in line!

Anna, Lindsay, Krista, Sam, and Jared waiting to buy a ticket. Old photo of Robin Williams in the background.

At the end of the night I went home and rode in an empty underground car....strange!

The next blog will feature pictures of us moving into Tara and productions shots of Vanities.