Last Thursday, I watched my schedule spontaneously combust. The gentlemen from my group were kind enough to go to the Villa without me. I appreciate this, and I quickly recovered. In any case, I was not present at our meeting with the Villa last week. Thus, I did not get to meet Mr. Deandre or speak to any of the other promising actors. I was not there, and it is not my place to speak of what they did. However, I am happy to share my thoughts on the planning end of the production.

Putting together the prop-list has not been a hassle. Obviously, we had not placed any of our ideas on the document until the work time in class today (Wednesday, November the first). From the third week we spent at the Villa, the prop-list has been an ongoing discussion. Among the suggestions from our actors, we have had a range of ideas. For example, one actor voiced the opinion that Banquo’s ghost should be dressed “like Danny Phantom”. Our coordinator, organizer, and living legend Timone Brown has asked us to provide him with a prop-list. He knows that we are operating within a budget and has decided that the Villa would be willing to pay to provide props for its own students.

In the same vein, Jimmy and I were speaking with Professor Bezio today regarding the topic of dry ice. Dry ice is the safest smoke-producing substance that could be used for the production. The use of dry ice would add to the visual effects of the eerie witches and the frothing, boiling cauldron in our section of the play. However, touching dry ice can lead to near-instant second degree freezing burns due to the sublimation of the carbon dioxide. We worry that not only could the dry ice set off the smoke detectors, it could horribly injure our actors if handled improperly. The actor who is most enthusiastic about being a witch (or warlock) is Kurntz. Kurntz is inquisitive and deeply interested in science, I worry that he would try to handle the dry ice if allowed to. Another danger is the smoke detectors. Dry ice smoke falls to the floor, so particulate or heat sensitive detectors on the ceiling will not sound an alarm. However, low-to-the-ground particulate detectors will sound the alarm. We will have to speak with Timone at our next meeting about the specifics of the use of dry ice within the chapel, as the chapel will host the final production.

We will likely continue the prop-list discussion with our actors in tomorrow’s meeting. I look forward to hearing their ideas!