Daily Archives: June 23, 2017

When razors and pill boxes go missing,fingers start pointing in original cruise ship caper

By Alicia Doyle

Special to the Acorn

WELCOME TO THE SHOWAbove, actors sing Sea Cruise during rehearsals this week for Hi-Jinx on the High Seas at the Simi Valley Senior Center. The original musical comedy, which runs two hours and features some 30 songs, will be performed June 29 and 30 at the center. At right, Bill Heiden, left, leans in to listen to Tina Larson as she whispers to him during a scene. The show is filled with kooky characters, including gamblers and seasick passengers. A whodunit caper about stolen items on a cruise ship is the subject of an original musical comedy that will be staged at the Simi Valley Senior Center on June 29 and 30.

Hi-Jinx on the High Seas was written and directed by members of the Simi Valley Senior Center Performing Arts Group.

It is a conglomerate of vignettes of people you would see if they were traveling on a cruise shipand people start missing things, said Jeanne Reed, 79, the shows director. We lose really important things, like hemorrhoid cream, a razor, a pill box, comb and sunglasses.

JESSE WATROUS/Acorn Newspapers Cast members, most of whom are residents of Simi Valley, use their own names for the characters they play.

This production has no star, said Reed.

The play is filled with kooky characters, such as a compulsive gambling husband whose wife is a compulsive spender.

I lose my hemorrhoid cream and he loses his shaver, said Tina Larson, 73, who is playing herself alongside her husband, Duwayne, 79.

Reed will play the role of a passenger traveling with her best friend, who has tremendous seasickness and keeps losing track of her seasick pills.

Were this crazy group of oddballs, Reed said.

Yolie Alvarado, 68, plays the prime suspect.

Everybody thinks Im the thief, said Alvarado. I carry this big bag around with me, so they think I have all the goodies in there.

In the play, shes a solo traveler whose father owned a secondhand store.

So Ive got this weird, bizarre clothing, said Alvarado, who will sing Second Hand Rose. Im by myself all the time and my character is just crazy wacky. I cant hear too well, I cant see too well, Im in my own little dream world. I dont like anybody.

Alvarados song is one of about 30 to be performed during the musical. Popular tunes include Ill Be Seeing You, I Could Have Danced All Night, Under the Sea and The Best Things in Life Are Free.

The show, which runs about two hours, will include an intermission, when tap dancers from the Simi Valley Senior Center will perform.

Linda Detamore, one of the tappers, is also portraying a passenger in the play.

Im a friend of a disabled lady. Shes in a wheelchair and Im her caregiver, Detamore, 59, said about her role. I protect everybody and I stand up for Yolie when shes accused. Im only there because Im taking care of my friend, whos on her first cruise.

Pat Danova will play the part of Detamores friend.

There are so many talented people in this show, said Danova, 74.

Trudy Dubrow, 85, is performing with the group for the first time this year.

My character is someone who is always nervous; I get seasick and nauseous and I worry about my seasick pills, said Dubrow.

Dubrow, who is also involved with an improv group in Woodland Hills, said she was happy to find a group in Simi Valley that would give her the opportunity to participate in one of her favorite hobbies.

I just moved here to Simi, Dubrow said. Im enjoying this skit and the people at the senior center are lovely. Ive always done straight acting, and when I came here I didnt know this was a musical. So this is a whole new thing for me.

Hi-Jinx on the High Seas will be performed at 1:30 p.m. Thurs., June 29 and at 9 p.m. Fri., June 30 at the senior center at 3900 Avenida Simi.

Admission is free.

Continued here:

Seniors make waves with high-seas whodunit - Simi Valley Acorn

Dumfries twins Ellen and Lauren Lind have always been joined at the hip.

So it was no surprise when the teenagers joined the Royal Navy at the same time.

And now theyve completed their basic training just one week apart and are preparing for a life together on the high seas.

Ellen was the first to arrive at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall in March with Lauren arriving a week later to join a separate class.

After a 10-week course, a passing-out-parade takes place and Lauren was given special permission to attend her sisters parade after completing her final exercise.

Ellen said: It made it better that Lauren was there. It would have been kind of weird if she wasnt.

The twins parents, John and Margaret, then spent the week in Cornwall to attend Laurens parade, by which time Ellen had already transferred to HMS Collingwood to begin her specialist training to qualify as a communication and information systems specialist.

The 18-year-olds are former Dumfries High pupils and it was Ellen, the younger twin, who first made the decision to join the Royal Navy.

She said: Id been thinking about it for a while and finally decided to join up and Lauren came to the careers office with me. I signed up and at the interview the careers advisor asked if there were any questions and Lauren asked if she could sign up too.

While undergoing the transformation from civilians into sailors, the girls also had to learn how to be individuals.

Lauren said: You wouldnt actually think it would be weird to feel like an individual but as a twin it is.

Some twins are separate from day one but were not. Were joined at the hip so its been really strange, but its brought out new sides to me and my personality.

Now Lauren is ready to join her sister at HMS Collingwood, where she will undergo training to qualify as a warfare specialist.

Lauren added: Itll be nice to be with Ellen again but we both know we will need to go our separate ways eventually.

Our brother Daniel, 21, is in the RAF so were a military family and our parents are very proud.

Read more:

Dumfries teenage twins are preparing for a life on the high seas together - Scottish Daily Record

The Dutch Royal Navy will be playing host to two professional teams aboard a battleship as they duke it out in Breakaway. During the Twitch live stream, viewers can win alpha keys or gaming hardware. The event is sponsored by Red Bull Esports and AMD with professional esports teams Echo Fox and Rogue taking part.

The event will be held in the Red Bull Esports Twitch channel on Monday, June 26th at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern.

Breakaway is a Team Battle Sport where two squads of four collide in intense competition, passing, juking and dunking the Relic to score and win. It plays like a highlight reel of your favorite action games, with lethal combat, tightly designed arenas and rounds that last just four minutes.

You can learn more in the video below or by visiting theBreakaway site.

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Taking the Fight to the High Seas with the Dutch Royal Navy ... - MMORPG.com (press release) (registration) (blog)