A panoramic view of (only part of!) Stan's percussion setup. 

Some of the pedals in Stan's drum setup. Note the drawing of the cat. 

Key 2 and 3 for Aida. For the first time, we're setting up instruments in the part of the pit underneath the ramp (sometimes used for special effects like the Witchmelt in Wizard of Oz.) Cozy! 

The roof for Fiddler on the Roof. 

This customer turned a vintage television into an aquarium.

This customer has a ping pong table set up in their front hall (that's the front door behind the table.) She played a game with me... what fun! She promises that next time she'll make sure that her high-school-age sons are home so they can thrash me. 

Need a truck? Here it is. 

I got this wonderful LED light at a hardware store. Perfect for where the sun don't shine. 

Are you a soccer addict?

FIFAworldcup.com - The Official Site of FIFA World Cup
The official FIFA site has clear, fast-loading Flash clips of all the World Cup matches as well as the best goals of the tournament. This is like heroin to me. I can't stop watching it.

Aida keyboards 2 and 3 set up in the vocal booth (sometimes called "the bunker") for testing. Everything works! David Dwelle, the music intern, helped me by checking the patches on Key 3. 

In thanks for my being in-house contractor while he was in New York, Stan gave me a bag of H & H bagels and a nice note with my self-caricature on the cover. 

The button came off these shorts and I sewed this green one on as a replacement. Jennifer was aghast, saying it was a "girl button. It's not even gay... it's a girl button."  

This truck was parked outside the garage where I park for shows at the Community Center Theatre. 

A photo on the bulletin board backstage during Dr. Dolittle.  

The score for Elton John's Aida calls for samples of a riq (ethnic tambourine) to be played on electronic drums. But Stan found an actual one in New York that he's going to use in the show. Here he is showing it to Tom Rance, who played percussion in Dr. Dolittle.

This is a note (with flowers) that conductor Michael Biaggi got closing night from the "child actor-wrangler". In case you can't read it, it says, "Orchestra — you are fabulous!"
Michael was a stern task-master but you can't argue with the results. Also, he put out twice as much energy as any of his players. 

Today was the last performance of Dolittle in Sacramento. Here I am with Tommy Tune. Can you believe the guy is sixty-seven? 

Stan came back from New York today, so my tenure as in-house contractor came to an end. Here Stan is talking to Richard Lewis, the chief financial officer of California Musical Theatre. Behind them is Bob Sereno in the red shirt. He is afraid (with good reason) that I'm going to make a caricature of him. 

The Dolittle conductor kept nagging me to play a particular glissando louder so finally I decided to use a felt pick. Finally he smiled after that cue instead of grimacing!

This picture of a pig diving into a pond is in a customer's house. 

Chorus members from Doctor Dolittle performing in the lobby after the show to promote their musical review on 6/21 to benefit the Actor's Fund. We're going! 

As I was driving away from the gym, I noticed this truck with a midway ride on its trailer. 

How hot was it in Sacramento today? Hot enough to melt a crayon on the sidewalk. 

Rachel and Jennifer came to see Dr. Dolittle tonight. Here is Tommy Tune signing lithographs after the show. 

Worst job in show business: pig cleaner.

For Father's Day, Rachel made this amazing collage in which she took characters from my cartoons and made them into Hamlet, Polonius, and the Player from Hamlet, saying one of my favorite scenes. 

Hal Stemmler will be singing at Ireland's 32 on 3920 Geary Boulevard in San Francisco on Thursday, June 22. Video clip