Butternut squash IS practically pumpkin. Though I wonder why we don't ever make butternut squash pie?

Around here, the variety of squash called buttercup usually has much better flavor than the sugar pumpkins, so we have shamelessly and with malice aforethought made squash pies. Repeatedly. And for family gatherings.

I thought the canned pumpkin in stores was generally a mix of pumpkin and butternut squash?

Theater people! Does "black box theater" mean anything to you? I'm doing a story on a group buying the armory here in town, with plans to turn it into a theater for both film and live performance, and it mentions "rental space for studios, offices, and black box theater on the ground floor."

You want someone to read it first, ita? I make politely ask Stephen do that with emails I'm afraid of.

Nah, I just don't want to have those thoughts in my head for a while. Even if she totally triumphed I'll have to deal properly with the idea there was a battle to be had in the first place (or that I thought there was). Right now, light denial is working just fine.

Back when I just escaped to LA, Allyson got roped into front-line listening to voicemails from crazy ex-boss cousin. Which helped in protecting me from having to deal 100%, but also helped with company--sometimes I think I made her up, and have to sideways solicit evidence for her behaviour.

Theater people! Does "black box theater" mean anything to you?

I'm not a theater person, but yes. It's a plain room, painted all black, so you can put the audience and stage/performers however you want.

Cool. Thanks!

I hope the email is helpful when you do read it, ita.

Oh, I bet there's lighting capacity in there, too. (See? Not a theater person. A person who goes to theater.)

I hope the email is helpful when you do read it, ita.

So I went and read it, because I'm an adult who can handle things (right???), and it said approximately zero. Mostly "he will evaluate you when you go to your appointment." But at least he has "She's disgruntled and not a drug-seeker" from a professional, so hopefully that doesn't count against me.

Black box theatres are usually smaller, and in places (like a storefront, or an old warehouse) where you wouldn't usually expect a theatre to be. There are usually some risers and a bunch of stackable chairs so that you can rearrange it in various ways, depending on the production -- you can have the audience sitting in rows facing a stage, or arrange the chairs in a circle with the play going on in the middle, or whatever. Generally fairly basic lighting and sound system, and usually lots of wires running everywhere to run all of that stuff, since it gets set up differently for each production and there's not much that you can permanently install. Generally a sort of grid thing (I forget the technical name) suspended from the ceiling, that you can attach lights to.

Oh, and I once worked on a student production in a black box theatre that was in the basement of a dorm, and there were pillars in the middle of the audience, and two on the stage, supporting the load-bearing walls of the building. We managed to find some ways to incorporate the ones on the stage into the set design, but the ones in the audience were just a pain all around.

Timelies all!

It's pretty warm here. Trying not to fall asleep.

Black box is a generic term used for theatres with flexible stage/seating arrangements. They aren't always black, even.