"AMR","Tita",
"Mrs. P", "Chou Chou" and most recently, "Mrs. The Rat" (from the
Wind in the Willows) are just a few of the affectionate names we
have for this Renaissance woman. Perhaps it is really more accurate
to refer to Anne as a 19th century Muse. Truly in her element in
a Paris bistro sipping Cafe au Lait, or strolling the Louvre, "Chou
Chou" often tells us that when she wins the lottery (unlikely since
she has yet to buy her first ticket), she's
acquiring a small pied à terre in the 5th so she can become
one with the Left Bank.
Mrs. P is truly a gourmet cook. Whether preparing an intimate dinner
for four or a big bash for 30, she will spend a week reading various
texts and musing aloud about a potential menu, all the while considering
the ramifications of this dish served against that one, but when
the time comes, she puts the books away relying instead on instinct
and experience. Anne makes putting on a major feast look easy. The
year-end Holiday staff party at "Casa Pomple" (David and Anne's)
is a much-anticipated fete.
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Etosha Park,
Namibia |
Somehow amidst all this Anne finds time to conduct the interviews
that are the heart of our productions. We marvel at how she is able
to get people to reveal their innermost thoughts on tape. However
it might have something to do with all of those many years she spent
as the director of a mental health crisis clinic where she regularly
encountered people in the extremes of life. On bad days Anne refers
to herself as "the script girl", wonders why we need so many of
"these STOOPID computers" and fumes, "If
I hear another word about a server, I'm going someplace where people
speak English."
In fact, English, as in literature, is essential to her existence.
Beginning in childhood when she would pretend to be asleep but was
in fact under the covers with a flashlight, she has read voraciously.
At any given moment, she might be devouring a mystery (encompassing
a variety of types from Miss Silver to Inspector Jury), alternating
with Salman Rushdie or one of her many histories of the Italian
Renaissance.
She is also a huge fan of the Cinema. The first thing she does
every Friday morning (assuming she is in town) is to peruse the
otherwise worthless local paper in search of whatever new movies
are opening that evening. Come four o'clock, on most Fridays, Tita
and the President for Life will slip away from work and catch the
last matinee of the day.
Although those who knew her in her early days would find it hard
to believe, Anne has become a very knowledgeable world traveler.
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Coffee from
home in Mozambique |
Since most of the time "the crew" (sometimes only Anne
and David) travels with between three and six cases of equipment,
not including clothes, she has learned to keep the personal necessities
to a minimum. However, as one who has a four-shot espresso drink
named after her at Seattle's best coffee stand, she has a certain
reputation to uphold.
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Bad coffee
in
Otjiwarongo, Namibia |
Anne has discovered that not all corners of the world meet her
high standards with regard to The Morning Cup of Coffee. After years
of torture and abuse by the less appreciative, she now carries a
small kit with her: switchable voltage coffee pot, paper filters,
Starbucks commuter cup, and of course, a few pounds of coffee from
home. There have been some desperate moments, like the time she
blew up the coffee pot in New Delhi and had to hit the streets to
find a new one, but overall, the new system has made Anne, and therefore
the rest of the crew, much happier.
An avid gardener, Anne is devoted to roses, orchids and her wonderful
daughter Kate, currently a student at Reed College, who is a poet
and has, on more than one occasion, written original music for our
productions.
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