Island Retreat

This past weekend Jacqui and I went on a retreat with the Pacific Theatre Staff. It was on a medium sized island just off the Pacific coast called Bowen Island. It was about a twenty minute ferry ride over through these beautiful inlets and bays. Just gorgeous. It ended up being a retreat in the best sense of the word—a time to get away and relax, no major goals, no agendas, just straight chillin’.

Not a lot of people live on Bowen Island to begin with and the house we were staying at was on what felt like a more remote side of the island facing out towards the ocean. The house itself was beautiful, like something out of Martha Stuart Living. Simple, Clean, Oceany. Set about 50 yards back from the shore, it had an incredible view of the water; especially the room that Jacqui and I stayed in. We arrived at night so it was hard to tell how close we were to the water. I though maybe we were in the woods and that if you hiked for awhile you’d eventually get there. But when we woke up in the morning, sunlight streaming through the windows, it became clear that we had one of the best views in the whole house.

The people we went with were great too. There were 7 others besides Jacqui and I and we all ended up having a great time. The whole weekend had just the right mix of action and inaction. There was good coffee in the mornings, a warm fire place, clean air, wood floors, a beautiful, huge kitchen to cook in, a nice set of bocce balls, a comfy hammock, and plenty of other amazing amenities. Just a peaceful time of R&R and hanging out that felt much needed.

It was a nice way to start the week because this one is busy for us. Jacqui started her full time regular shifts in the PT box office today and at 5pm tonight I start full time rehearsals for The Elephant Man. I’m a little nervous, but more excited than anything to finally start the process. I have two smaller characters in the play, but most of the time I’ll be doing live percussion. The play has a circus theme running through it and I’m going to be a one man band character. The music director told me at the read through that she wants to get me a utility belt full of various percussive instruments—on top of this I think I might have and gongs and drums strapped to the rest of me. I’ve never done percussion before so I get a little jittery when I think about the fact that in less than a month I’ll be doing it in front of an audience, but for the most part I think it’ll be fun to learn.

In other exciting news we finally move into our apartment TOMORROW! It has been a long three months living like nomadic sheep herders (minus the sheep…and the herding) and we’re really excited to be moving it. Giddy is more like it. We keep saying things like:

“Hey guess what?”…

“What?”

“We’re moving into our apartment tomorrow!”

Vigorous head nodding “Yep, yep we are!”

Simultaneously “Yay!”

Then we dance the dance of joy.

We’re thinking of turning it into a short play.

Anyway we’re just really excited. Please be praying for us though because although it’s a good transition, it’s still a transition and those can be unsettling.

We’ll keep you posted respectively on the percussion, new home, and shifts as a box office gopher* as they unfold.

*Closely related to the kiosk badger this illusive animal has been known to bite strangers, create intricate tunnels, and offer excellent customer service.

Posted by Ryan 9/27/05