THE PERILS OF PROPS

I think they've had just about enough of me around the opera office this winter. (Aren't we all a little cagey?) So they were happy to send me off with Lisa Kish to oversee the installation of our Turandot set at Opera Jacksonville. (Our Turandot...she gets around.)

This trip got interesting before we even left Cleveland.

While the Turandot set was trucked down to Florida, Kish had to transport a key prop they needed for the production: a severed head. (SPOILER ALERT: TURANDOT HAS A SEVERED HEAD IN IT.)

Like me, said severed head (which I named Marv) traveled carry-on. Now imagine you're a TSA agent, bored to tears looking at x-rays of Bermuda shorts, John Grisham novels and 3 oz. shampoo bottles. Imagine the joy derived from discovering someone is carrying a severed head in her duffel bag.



Opera Cleveland: we bring the joy.


Once in Florida, there was this thing called "sun" and the ground wasn't covered with snow. Weird.


Marv and I shared the bed. Kish slept on the floor.



When they installed the set, I helped out with some lighting. (Such as saying "Direct the spotlight on ME, fool.")



Wow! They have coffee breaks in Florida, too!