Lunch And Rehearsal

Picked up Pat L. at 1:00 and we went to Cuisine On The Green.  Now restored to its place as one of my favorites, C.O.T.G. serves excellent lunches, although the beer is still five bucks a pop.  Stuck to water and had their good sesame chicken.
We were served by Evan, a cheerful guy with whom we got chummy right away.  It turns out he's the son of the hostess, Sandi, who actually recognized me, possibly because of my e-mail comments.  It seems he was just filling in for the wait staff; he confided that he's a cosmetology student at Ocean County Vo Tech, which uses the restaurant as a training ground for chefs and related personnel.
It was an enjoyable excursion with Pat, who has some interesting--not to say jaw-dropping--family history.  The topper is the fact that her father cohabited with his own former daughter-in-law after her divorce, designating her his common law wife.  Later, after her lover died, this woman went back to her husband, Pat's brother.  Incredibly, I've met both husband and wife (Jean), a very large woman, who seems about as far from a femme fatale as it's possible to be (see blog entry of 10/3/11). Dropped Pat off and went to the post office and Acme.
I had almost forgotten that Aline and I were asked to represent LETCO for the New Jersey Perry Awards.  What that entails is reviewing and critiquing plays by other theatre companies, then submitting our observations to the organization, which eventually names the best plays, actors, and so on.  Talked to Aline and we made a date for Tuesday; will bring her the submission form then.
Rehearsal last night was at the community center, with just Ellen V. (playing my maid), me, and the first act.  Desi was there, but Tara actually directed, and it was gruelling.
I doubt if many non-performers know the amount of time and effort that go into blocking. Actors don't spontaneously stroll around stage saying their lines and interacting with other players; it just has to look that way.  Practically every move is choreographed and believe me, memorizing a part doesn't hold a candle to the difficulty of remembering when to cross to center and which prop to handle.
We didn't finish until after 9:00, but it was a good session.