sarah vs the world

Not a video game, not a comic, not a band, but an amazing adventure continues...

Monday, April 07, 2014

Whole gig conquered between posts....

So I realise a lot has happened since the last blog.  Apologies in advance for not updating sooner, but I have been very busy settling into my life in the UAE. 
Obviously I was working on our show.  It was called Clusters of Light and was an Islamic opera production staged in a new amphitheater in Sharjah, just north of Dubai.  I was working with some old friends and a lot of new ones as well, but it was very well received.  We went through a few rain delays, but we managed to get there in the end.  Very amazing show.
Let's start with some fun stuff.  Eloise Grace moved in, and of course, it was just like old times.  It has been great having her around.  Not sure what I will do when she goes, but we have had a good time.  We had some lovely brunches, did some awesome 'genuine fake' handbag shopping, became regulars at our local nail salon, drank way too much beer at the Irish Village and got a little bit of Australia at Dubai's Jones the Grocer.  Photos follow...
Eloise with her Pain au Chocolat from The Farm
Roni, El and I at The Farm
The iPad menu at The Farm
Roni and I well into the beverages at The Ivy Brunch
My dessert at The Ivy...Eloise's one was a chocolate ball the opened up!
The leftovers from our infamous lasagna dinner party
Coops at the Irish
Coops at Vintage - our favourite fondue / wine bar with the leftover crunchy bits
Eloise with our lifetime supply of Nutella
An awesome photo of the Burj Khalifa on the skyline
Lovely Steve and I get some pool time in
 Our famous first win at the Hard Rock's Music Quiz
 And our second win!
 I also had a visit from Sara VanAernum all the way from Washington DC.  She did come when I was quite busy, but for 24 hours we checked in to the amazing Mina A'Salam at Madinat Jumeirah.  We took a boat to our room where we were greeted by our butler.  Lovely food, great pool & beach time, amazing service.  The rain didn't ruin too much as it was at the end of our 24 hours just as we were getting the bill from our dinner.  It was great to see her.  Hopefully I will get to visit her at her house at some point!
The Burj al Arab at night.  It is just next to where we stayed.
Our beach umbrella had a service button - amazing!
And a man cleaned our sunnies
Me and my fancy toes at the pool just outside our villa
On to the show.  Obviously this has taken up a large majority of our time, so I wanted to include some photos.  It ran for about a week and who knows where it will go from here.  I met a lot of amazing new people who I hope to see again soon.  And so I present Clusters of Light....
Our island venue
 The build begins..



  Our fabulous camel puppet
Camel Transport
The Colonnade without projection
The lit up Colonnade
Show photos...




A shot from my control room desk
So now I am going to finish the load out and have a little break.  Eloise and I will spend a few nights living it up at St Regis Saadiyat Island before I drive myself away for a few days to Muscat, Oman.  I have a place to live in Dubai now, so will stick around here for a while.  It will start to get quite hot soon, so a trip elsewhere will surely be required.  But for now, I will see what comes up workwise and just enjoy the upcoming summer!
If you happen to be in the region, let me know. 
Lots of love,
Sarah xo