I'm trying to find some sort of theatre-related baby things for my actress friend whose baby girl is due mid-May.

For some reason I am now imagining a line of babyware with black and white images of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Sandford Meisner, etc on them. But unfortunately I have no suggestions, other than I think most theatre people I have met, including myself, hate the comedy tragedy masks!

For some reason I am now imagining a line of babyware with black and white images of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Sandford Meisner, etc on them.

See! That would be awesome!!!

The thing is her husband is a rollerderby ref whose derby name is Johnny Zebra so they are going to be getting a ton of zebra-related baby things. (Including from me! SUPER cute things from Crazy 8.) So, I wanted there to be some non derby-related presents for the baby.

Who would win in a fight, Iron Man or Doc Savage, Man of Bronze?

Or even more epic - the fight between the British and the Americans over how to pronounce Aluminum Man.

Whatcha need?

Who the letter is to, what the tone should be. I'm going to give it a shot with:

Hi! I am writing regarding the building at ____. I'm sure that you're tired of seeing it get more and more run down. We have purchased the building, and would like to renovate it, but the building is zoned commercial, and we need it to be residential. We will be applying for a zoning variance to change the type of zone, but we need your support to clean up the building and make it a nice place to live and look at. [include language about how to sign a petition or whatever you're doing]

Thanks for making the neighborhood a better place!

sincerely,
[whoever]

Here's what I came up with -

I,[name], resident of the neighborhood at [address] in [city] support the efforts of [Boss] with [Boss' company] to have a zoning variance granted for the residence located at [address].

The residence located at [address] has been an eyesore to our neighborhood for two years. Its ramshackle appearance brings down the vitality of our community as well as the property values. I feel that his plans to renovate this building and turn it into a multi-housing building would bring back the vitality lost by its current outwardly showing.

While this area is a residential neighborhood, the stretch of Washtenaw Avenue that it sits on is a bustling and diverse commercial district. As such, granting the zoning variance and allowing [Boss] to open this residence to inhabitants will help inject new life into our neighborhood and bring new business to our area.

I fully support [Boss's] efforts and urge the members of the Zoning Board of Appeals to vote in favor of granting the zoning use variance.

My boss just caught me cursing at a banana.

One of the partners caught me muttering "what the fuck" at one of the books this morning.

the fight between the British and the Americans over how to pronounce Aluminum Man.

I don't think there's much of a fight there. The debate is on how to spell the element.

lisah, Cafepress has a metric shitload of baby things with Shakespeare quotes on them. And here's what you get when you search for kids' clothing with the keyword "theatre." Some painfully dumb stuff, but tons of really cool and amazing designs too.

most theatre people I have met, including myself, hate the comedy tragedy masks!

Word. I don't really hate them, but man are they over-used.

I'm sure you could find a bunch of Shakespeare stuff - I know there's the plush Shakes doll....

Does anyone have a Mr. Bento? I'm wondering if I should buy one.