O CANADA

I've not only arrived in Vancouver now, but I've got my first show out of the way. I've also had my first substantial bowel movement, so I'm a lot less stressed than I was this morning.

The drama started early, on a plane that only sat 20. When 9 of those passengers are checking 2 GIGANTIC hockey bags each, the cargo space is tight. We overheard their concerns on the radio, and they even sat the women in a different place than the men to compensate for our luggage. A bit hectic.

So the plane was late after all the shannegans, and we missed our connecting flight from Toronto to Vancouver. We also discovered that they gave up on fitting all the bags and only put on 9. So we caught the next flight to Vancouver and our bags made their way, eventually reaching the hotel the following morning.

Wednesday we brought the other bags to the site, got everything organized, and then headed to a children's hospital for a six-person mini-show. Great fun. The kids seemed to enjoy it almost as much as the adults. Afterwards, a local TV reporter tried to interview us. It's hard to be too professional when a troll is licking your microphone, though. After that we soundchecked and ran the show almost all the way through. Of course, we only had a few hours and there were lots of changes being made still. It's an ever-evolving kind of a thing.

This morning we had a workshop in a nautical museum with about 30 adorable kids. We explain to them how puppets work, and get them up and acting. It's a hoot. Our first show was an hour later, so we were in major scramble mode, of course.

I'm not going to say it was perfect, but I think it went very well. No mistakes, really. The show can be improved though; tightened up, sharpened. I know when I'm more relaxed about all the nitty gritty of entrances and costume changes (my real skill) I'll be able to give it a little more onstage.

I have pics but I can't upload them now, next post. I want to talk more about the city, too.

If you know me well enough to read this, assume I miss you a bunch.