The Ladybirds spent the better part of the weekend of August 4th at a semi-retreat at the Road Kill Cabins & Campground. The purpose of this adventure was to give the ladies a chance to relax and enjoy themselves, and at the same time, put in some intensive rehearsal time. The Smouses, Ida and Bill, who live on Green Ridge Road fairly close to the Road Kill Restaurant, invited the Ladybirds to rehearse in their basement that Friday night, and the next day, Bill said he’d record the group’s show music. The group met at the Cabins and then at the restaurant for a wonderful meal; then they went to the Smouses’ house for a trial run with the recording equipment. That was not the best, actually, because they were very crowded, and the temperature was HOT; on top of that, the Smouses were having technical difficulties with their recording equipment. Nonetheless, the ladies ran through four or five songs, while the Smouses tried to figure out the problem of the 60-cycle hum that was most annoying.

Finally, they broke for the evening and promised to be back the next day at 10:30 a.m. to record the whole set of show songs. They went back by the Road Kill and patronized the ice cream shop on the premises there before returning to the campground. The rest of the evening was spent together around a beautiful, relaxing fire, which Frank Batchelor started and tended for the evening. Yes, there were three men in attendance: Jim West, Frank Batchelor and Harold Hoopengarner. Only about eight or nine of the Ladybirds stayed the night, but on Saturday morning, the entire chorus was present for the recording. Around the fire, the group enjoyed the calm and quiet of the evening as they watched the flickering fire. Everyone was too full from eating down the hill at the Road Kill to want to roast marshmallows or eat any snacks. They did want to sing, though, and tell jokes and interesting spontaneous tales of days gone by. Shirley Carson shared several “light up” pens, which had fibre optic plumes that lit up and changed colors. Those were fun! At nearly 11 p.m., the group disbanded and went to bed. The plan was to meet at Road Kill on Saturday morning for breakfast and then at the Smouses’ home at 10:30. The plan worked flawlessly; everyone arrived on time, and by then, the Smouses had discovered the cause of the technical problem and had corrected it.

The Ladybirds Chorus Rehearses

All seventeen Ladybirds and the two Smouses somehow squeezed into the small basement at the Smouses’ house and began the recording process. Early on, Shirley Carson began to feel unwell, and she had to return home as she was not up to staying for the recording procedure. The rest of the group, though, did complete the recording, which Bill Smouse edited and duplicated. He gave two copies of the tape to Ellie at the mall on Tuesday. Ellie was pleased to hear that the tapes sounded quite good when she had an opportunity to listen to them. Bill and Ida did a nice job for the Ladybirds, who wish to thank them for their hospitality and their assistance.

The Ladybirds Chorus Rehearses

After the intense practice/recording session, the group returned to the Road Kill for lunch before disbursing for home. They felt that good or bad, the tape would reveal the areas where the chorus needs some work and would allow the group to begin implementing some choreographic moves without having to worry about singing!

September 9th is well on the way and will be here before the group realizes it. They are to be commended for their hard work in mastering the show songs, for all their diligence in selling ads for the program, and for taking care of the necessary preparatory chores of publicizing the show, setting up the stage, planning the afterglow, mailling flyers to inform people of the show’s date and time, selling show tickets and 50/50 tickets, and the scheduling of the last few regular and “extra” practices to ensure a successful Night at the Music Box!

More pictures from the retreat are available in the Gallery.