Blood Brothers

Do you remember the movie "Defending Your Life"? Where Albert Brooks dies in the beginning while listening to "Somethings Coming" and goes to a video-and-pasta-filled version of heaven?

One of my favorite lines:

Waiter: You like pie?
Albert Brooks' Character: I love pie.
Waiter: I like you. I'ma gonna bring you nine pies.


My dad reminds me of that scene. Sometimes it's because he's quoting it. Sometimes it's because we have phone conversations like this:

My dad: You need anything for Macbeth?
Me: No, we're good, Dad.
My dad: Nonsense. I'm going to buy you blood. Look! Zesty Mint Flavored!

Oh, I love my dad.

And I have had so much fun this last week or so. I keep getting packages in the mail at school, and I, of course, open them right away and pull out the latest prop. I've got five different types of stage blood on my desk at school right now. And, of course, I immediately open each bottle and test it out on my hands. The other teachers and students are getting used to seeing me head down the hallway towards the bathroom with bloody hands and a big smile on my face.

I might even let my students play with it sometime.

Nah, I kid. This morning I led my class out to the parking lot to try out the new flash paper ignitor. I handed one girl a bucket of water and instructed her to "throw it on anything that catches fire, including me if need be." Then I put a little tuft of flash paper in the metal thimble-sized cup in my palm and flicked the switch.

"Whoosh," went the paper.
"Whoa," went my class.

And then they all stopped complaining about the cold and wanted a turn.

I'm thinking it goes either with the witches or Ghost-Zombie Banquo's disappearance from the banquet. Not sure yet, but it will certainly be used.

We then went back to the room to keep running the show (we're in my room since the theater's filled with stuff for Robin Hood). When we hit the first murder scene, we just had to try out the blood:



(Yup, the dagger's a present, too. It's got a clear blade that fills with blood from the handle when you tilt it.)



I love it. The students do, too. Then, I get this email from my mom:

We are definitely doing puffy shirts over the holidays. And anything else that might help you get ahead of the game.

She's insisting we spend the holidays sewing puffy shirts for the MTHS costume storage. This is not too long after spending the holidays sewing several dozen white skirts for a certain musical.

My parents are awesome. The end.


P.S. Here's the clip of the restaurant scene, if you want to see it: