<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charse= t=utf-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV>Ron,</DIV> <DIV>Your theater comment calls to mind one of my career highs.  W= hen working for a southern school that had a ballet department, they called = me to ask if I could put one of the concert pianos in the pit.  The nor= mal access to the pit with a 9 ft was down a flight of steps between section= s of seats and a short 3 ft drop into the pit.  The department however = was mounting a bible belt version of the Rite of Spring and had had some fan= cy schmanzy New York designer who decided that ramps from the stage into the= audience (fallopian tubes) which terminated into platforms (ovaries) needed= to cover the steps which blocked the access to the pit.  "Wouldn't it = be OK just to push it over the lip of the stage [8 ft drop) and catch it," t= he very stupid student stage manager asked? After a heated conversation in w= hich I firmly refused to allow such an attempt, I got to scream, "Well, if y= ou hadn't put your fallopian tubes in here first, etc.," ....!!!!!!!  I= t truly made up for many droll practice room tunings.</DIV></BODY></HTM= L>