Just Point Me in The Right Direction..

I haven't mentioned here that I'm Music Directing a new show. It's called, "Honk!" and it opens next weekend for a one-weekend run. The show is a musical version of The Ugly Duckling story, and won raves in London and Broadway the last several years. This particular production is cast entirely with middle-school and high-school kids, so it's been a challenge teaching and rehearsing music to some kids who, a) don't really read music, b) voices haven't changed enough to have the real articulation and projection to reach much past the edge of the stage.

But the show goes on. I'm lucky to have my friend Michael the Bass Player from "Annie" helping out, as well as another good friend, Dan, on keyboards that I've known and worked with for years.

The rehearsal schedule has been fairly brutal - I get up, go to work, grab a quick dinner and rehearse from 6:30 - 10:30 or 11. Get home, unwind for a bit, go to bed.

Repeat ad nauseum till June 26.

As a result, I'm part of the walking undead these days. My enthusiasm for work has hit a big low, and I don't feel very much like the happy corporate camper these days.

I need sleep, I need to play with my kids, I need quality time with my wife (well, I always need quality time with my wife and we're lucky to get a night out here and there anyway), I need to do something productive outside of theatre.

Hey, hopefully "Lost" - Season 1, Disk 5 will get here tonight from Netflix.

There goes my sleep...

Let's Get Dramatic About It

Here's a great example of a company stuck between a rock and a hard place - between sticking by their guns and legal rights, and disappointing a bunch of kids...

They Get to Put On a Show in the Bronx

"On Friday an official from Samuel French, the licensing agent for "Chicago," the hit Kander and Ebb musical that has been playing on Broadway for nearly 10 years, told that Bronx high school that it would not be allowed to stage the show because it had not applied for permission. Dozens of students, who had worked for months on the production and had been planning to perform it tomorrow, were heartbroken."

As the article says, it's a basic - basic - responsibility of a performing group wishing to put on a production to first pay royalties to the company that owns the right to the particular play or musical. This is true from the largest-scale Broadway musical on down to some of the most basic children's plays.

But apparently there was ignorance all around of this process:

The case, from a legal perspective, was not complicated. The school's drama teacher, Anthony Cerrini, 24, had decided to stage "Chicago." He found some dialogue on the Internet, transcribed some of it from the 2002 movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger, and wrote some of it himself.

At the news conference, Mr. Cerrini took responsibility and said that he had never been told about the need for an application.

...

To put on just about any Broadway show, a school or performing group must apply to the licensing company and pay a fee. No one at Lehman High School made the application, and the principal, Robert Leder, said he had not recalled having to apply for anything in 27 years of putting on high school musical events.

This lack of knowledge, by a high school principal who's been putting on shows for 27 years, and a drama teacher, is inexcusable. There's also this:

Meanwhile, Mr. Van Nostrand said that Samuel French would begin looking into those previous musical productions that Mr. Leder said the school had been putting on without, to his recollection, applying for permission. "I'm a little curious about what those other 27 years were," Mr. Van Nostrand said.

I think this school could be in some serious, serious trouble.

Oh, but wait! There's hope on the horizon, thanks to some city council members and other community leaders willing to hold their breath until they turn blue and guilt the rights-holders into granting permission:

...four [Bronx] City Council members and Betsy Gotbaum, the city's public advocate, vowed to stage a protest in front of the Ambassador Theater, where the Broadway revival is playing. By the time everyone arrived, however, the protest had turned into a triumphant news conference to announce that an agreement had been reached.

The Shubert Organization, which owns the Ambassador; the producers Fran and Barry Weissler; and, most important, the songwriter, John Kander, and the estates of the lyricist, Fred Ebb, and the book writer, Bob Fosse, had granted permission for a single unauthorized, unlicensed performance at the school.

So the thing we've learned here, is that no matter if you follow the rules, apply for permission to put on a show and possibly be rejected:

With "Chicago" there was an additional wrinkle. For many Broadway and touring shows, agreements are negotiated by the producers and theater owners prohibiting competing productions of a show within a certain distance.

If a group puts on a performance that violates this rule, it could be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, Mr. Van Nostrand said. In the case of "Chicago," the radius from Broadway is 75 miles, easily covering East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx, where Lehman High School is situated.

A similar thing happened recently locally to the Oak Ridge Community Playhouse. Last fall, they had planned to put on the musical "Peter Pan", had applied for and been greated the performance rights. Unfortunately, a touring company of "Peter Pan" added Knoxville to its schedule and the company was forced to rescind its permission for Oak Ridge to perform it. That's how, in its place, they substituted "Annie".

But you can see how Oak Ridge abided by the rules, and I'm sure every other school that applied to do "Chicago" and was turned down because they were too close to the Broadway production was disappointed but complied. However, due to the actions of the city officials who excused the school principal and teacher's irresponsible and illegal actions, they saw the opportunity to take advantage of some possible bad publicity and "save" the show.

Sure, the kids were kept happy, but the law and justice and fair play was screwed.

Hmm..

Sounds a lot like the immigration question, doesn't it? Good things these kids are getting an education on how you can buck the system and cut to the front of the line, while the rest of those who work hard, keep their noses clean and follow the rules are ignored.




One final thought. What in the world is a high school doing performing "Chicago"?? It's not the most, um, innocent of shows and a far cry from "Oklahoma!" and "Bye Bye Birdie" that I did at Central High...

What I Love About My Kids

• Dancing and singing with Tink while we rap the song, "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie - complete with those weird hand gestures rappers use with the index finger and pinky pointed out on both hands. It's quite surreal watching a 6-yr-old blond girl rapping with her voice real low.
  
  
• Night before last:
  Brainyboy (to my wife): Goodnight!
  
  Laura: Sleep tite!
  
  Me (singing): "And pleasant dreams..to you."
  
  Laura and I (singing): "Here's a wish...and a prayer...that every dream comes true.
  And now 'til we meet again - Adios, au revior, auf weidersehen..."
  
  Brainyboy (watching us with bemusement and not a little pity): Whatever..

Diary of a Music Director - Part VIII - "Easy Street"

It's over. The final performance was Sunday afternoon, and none too soon.

The cast had a bad case of "Lastshowitis", in which some of the actors took advantage of the last performance to either use some of the bits they'd been saving, or just ham it up one last time. As a result some of the scenes became much more about them than the plot or the main characters. Ah well, it happens. It's a shame for the audience who pays just as much as any other performance and expects a controlled show, but most of the performers are amateurs, so what can you do. You get what you pay for :)

Speaking of audiences...one of my huge pet peeves in any crowd, whether it's a play, a movie, a church service, whatever. If you're in a situation where everyone is trying to listen to one source of sound, if you have a crying child or a misbehaving child...or even a babbling baby, take them out. Or better yet, don't bring them. There's nothing more distracting to performers or other audience members than to try and concentrate on what's going on when someone's little darling is raising the roof, crying for juice or just being a general nuisance. Now sometimes these things can happen - kids get cranky, upset, whatever. I know, I've been through that. But before it escalates, take them outside. Sure, you paid as much for a ticket as the other folks did but you have a responsibility to ensure your party doesn't disrupt the event. You temporarily forfeit the right to see that part of the show if your child is raising a fuss - they have to be removed until they're calmed down. And if your child is too young to come to the show anyway, find a sitter and leave him or her behind. It's that simple. Your right to bring your kids with you wherever you go ends when they affect other people's rights to enjoy the experience without distraction.

Ok, rant over. I have several church-related productions in the next couple weeks, then it's Christmas and New Years - typically those couple of weeks are fairly relaxed as we visit my wife's family out of town for a few days, then come home to a big New Year's Eve party at our house with some good friends.

Looks like "Easy Street" from here on out. :)

I don't have any upcoming theatre plans at the moment, but next time I do something I may do another Diary, if there's interest. What did you think about this particular series? Let me know...

Diary of a Music Director - Part VII: "It's a Hard Knock Life"

We're three performances into the show and things are going smoothly. The band's hitting a groove and most numbers have become fairly routine. When you first start running a show there are a thousand little details the musical director has to pay attention to, such as cues, tempos, fades in/fades out and such. When the show has begun to run though, those things become common knowledge to everyone in the group and I don't have to be as precise - everyone knows what's coming and reacts appropriately. That's what makes the first couple runthroughs and opening nights rough, until you get used to the flow of the show it requires a lot more concentration and you can't really enjoy yourself a lot. Now I find myself being able to watch some things on the stage I haven't been able to see before, and also to really enjoy myself on some of the bigger numbers so it's worth it.

Interestingly I seem to have become both a friend and a menace to local wildlife. Tonight's show (Saturday) saw poor doggy Sandy get loose during the final bows and run off stage. After the curtain closed and we began our exit music I saw the mutt run out of the curtains, jump onto the floor of the audience and begin running amok - much to the delight of the children in the front row. I hopped up from my spot in the band, ran over and cornered the confused canine, scooping him up and handing him off to Annie who with a few others had run through the curtain looking for him. Disaster averted.

Not such for one of the woodland creatures hereabouts - driving home last night from the show, I was broadsided in a particularly dark part of the Pellissippi Parkway (the route home) by what appeared to be at least a 4-5 point buck. The deer appeared out of knowhere in front of my car and to the left - he had apparently been trying to cross the highway left to right - and didn't quite beat my car. He plowed into my left front fender, scrambled and rolled down the side of my car and smacked into the drivers side passenger door before vanishing. I saw a car behind me swerve to avoid him as well, and that's the last I saw of him. If he actually survived the impact I'm certain he couldn't have lasted the night. I don't know how much damage was done to my car - my brand new (to me) 2005 Ford Focus, that I bought back in June, incidentally - and I'm afraid to find out....

It's a Hard Knock Life for us. For sure.

Diary of a Music Director - Part VI: "Tomorrow"

Well, you probably saw that post title coming.....

"Annie" opens tomorrow at the Oak Ridge Playhouse and runs this weekend through next weekend. I'd like to invite any local Knoxville bloggers to come see the show and enjoy a couple hours of fat-free, low-cal musical theatre during and after the big Thanksgiving holidays...

Our final dress rehearsal is tonight, and the band continues to gel. Actually, my friend Michael the Bass Player is chronicling events as well so you can visit his site to get a play-by-play of how last night's Dress went.

As he mentions, this is the first time I've really played lead piano in a show before - I hadn't considered it that way, but it's actually true. When I lead a band I typically play supplemental keyboard, which is using an electronic keyboard to simulate parts that aren't present - trumpets, strings, that sort of thing - and which are needed to create that full orchestral sound. In this summer's "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" the other keyboard player and I switched around a bit, one playing lead sometimes and one playing other, while we also alternated on supplemental.

But I continue to find my own performance skills leave a lot to be desired - I'm not that technically proficient, and I tend to try to play about my skill levels at times. For one thing my hands get sweaty a lot, and trying to play intricate melody lines on piano can generate a lot of wrong notes - especially in parts I'm not quite as familiar with. The folks backing me up are a lot more experienced in actual performance than I am, so I hope I'm not holding us back :) That may just be my paranoia talking, but it exists and I have to deal with it.

Otherwise we sound fine, the cast sounds fine and a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Come see. Tomorrow - it's only a day away.

Betcher bottom dollar...

Diary of a Music Director - Part V: "You Won't Be An Orphan For Long"

Yesterday was a marathon rehearsal for "Annie", at least for your humble host. Well, it was a marathon in and of itself...

Right after church was over, I had to head out and be in Oak Ridge at 1:00 for our first band read through. I didn't have time to grab lunch since it's a half-hour drive from Bearden to the Oak Ridge Playhouse, so the race was on.

Our band consists of:

Michael - Bass
Greg - Guitar
Kerry - Drums
Beckie - Keyboard, trumpet
Patty - Flute, clarinet, sax

And myself on piano. The read-through was a great success, better than any I've participated in so far. I attribute that to the professionalism and experience of all involved. A number of times I've used student or amateur performers in shows, and what they had in enthusiasm they sometimes lacked in overall skill - which occasionally caused some headaches. But not this time - each of our band members has done a number of shows before, and are experienced musicians. It's really important when putting together an "orchestra" to get people who don't just know how to play a horn or beat a rhythm, musicianship is key because of the constantly fluxuating requirements of the musical stage. A cut here, a key transposition there, can be really confusing to those not accustomed to playing a show. But there's no problem this time. I plan to keep all these folks on my speed dial for future shows :)

But overall it's nice not to be the orphan piano player out there - now I've got family coming in :)

Oh, and Kara, our Annie, is much better now - strep seems to be mostly gone, though her throat still sounds a bit scratchy... She's a trooper, and one of the most visually engaging young actresses I've seen in a while. She has a sweet smile and infectious enthusiasm for the part, as well as good stage presence.

Typically on Sunday before opening (which is on Thanksgiving, by the way) we run what's called a "Dry Tech" - which is basically zombie-walking through the show mainly to nail down scenery changes, lights, props, etc. However, this show is different - yesterday was a quick review of scene changes in the second act, then a complete Act 1 run-through. Something normally reserved for the next couple of days. So that means we're really ahead of the game, compared to normal musicals. And that makes life a little easier for everyone - cast, crew, and assorted directors :)

Tonight's a Dress Rehearsal and we put the band to work for the first time with the cast. I have a tradition of inviting interested cast members who want to come to the band read-through and sing along, and several took advantage of it. I think it's helpful for principals (Annie, Daddy Warbucks, etc.) to hear the real music in a more relaxed setting for the first time, rather than cold up on the stage on First Dress Rehearsal night. It's my responsibility to make sure the actors are comfortable with their singing parts, and sometimes adding a full band when they're used to just a piano rehearsal accompianist can be jarring. I don't anticipate any problems in that regard tonight, but it pays to be ready.

Costumes will be added tonight for the first time, as will more extensive lighting, props and scenery. The house will be dark, and we'll be in a mostly performance mode from here on out.

So far, things look like they're on track. Knock on proscenium arch... ;)

UPDATE: By the way, take a look at articles about the show from the Knoxville News Sentinel and the OakRidger (both sites require registration).

Diary of a Music Director - Part IV: "Little Girls"

You Know It's Going to Be a Bad Rehearsal of "Annie" When:





You find out your 13-yr-old lead actress has strep throat, a week before Opening Night....

So Many Thoughts...So Little Time....

It's amazing sometimes how many things and ideas and feelings are buzzing around in my head at one time, and how I can never get one of them to coalesce into a reasonable blog post....

Things I'm thinking about:

1) Fathers and sons - I'm reading "Big Russ and Me" by Tim Russert, and he's got a lot of thought-provoking anecdotes and stories about what a father is supposed to teach his son. I know everyone and their brother tells me what a good job I'm doing as a dad to BrainyBoy, but when I read books like these I realize how much more there is to be done...

2) War and justifications for war. And friends against friends. And all that jazz. It's on my mind constantly these days.

3) "Annie", and preparing for the final push to tech week. And where do I go from there.

4) Spending time with my wife. And kids. And friends and neighbors.

5) Job futures

6) Creative writing

7) Basic friendliness



Here's a quiz:

You sit down at your table at the restaurant and order sweet tea. Your waitress brings you unsweet tea by mistake, then realizes she brought the wrong thing. Do you:

a) Gush and thank her profusely for bothering to bring anything to your miserable self in the first place?
b) Tell her not to worry about it, you'll sweeten it yourself at the table and she can refill it with sweet later
c) Don't say anything and just drink it
d) Ask her to take it back and bring you sweet tea
e) (Think to self: Doofus, get the order right...) and then ask her to take it back and bring you sweet tea
f) Get upset and request she bring you what you ordered.
g) Swear profusely, crack the glass over her head and demand a new waitress

Loss

Sometime late Friday night/early Saturday morning somebody got into our garage, into our van, and stole my wife's camera and camera case. The case also contained Tink and BrainyBoy's own little personal cameras. Laura's camera was full of undeveloped Halloween pictures. They also stole two empty laptop cases out of the back, before apparently getting spooked. There were other items in the car and in the garage they could've taken but didn't, for which we are fortunate.

We called the Sheriff's Dept and they sent out an officer who was quite nice and helpful. They even called out a crime scene tech who dusted the van for prints. It's doubtful we'll ever find the person or the camera(s) but there's always hope.

Here's a tip - record serial numbers for all your valuables. We haven't been able to find the serial number for the camera in our files, which makes recovery much more difficult.

Nobody can guess whether it was someone from the neighborhood, or just someone wandering or driving through looking for easy targets.

*sigh*

On a bright note, I found a drummer for "Annie" so that's a load off my mind. I worked that out Saturday night, but it was no compensation.

In church today I prayed for the robber, asking God to help him or her look into their heart and realize their guilt. I don't pretend to imagine they'll turn up on our doorstep tomorrow, camera in hand, begging our forgiveness. But if their hearts are turned in the slightest way back toward the light, it's ok with me.

Diary of a Music Director - Part III: "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"

Mid-way through rehearsals for "Annie". This combined with the theatre conference last week have put me into serious stage mode. This kind of work is what I would love to do with my life, if, you know, I actually had enough talent to make a living at it. I've been a zombie at work because yet another day of updating work hours for the pathology lab on the website, or changing "Breast Cancer Screenings" to "Alzheimers Screenings" on the home page just lacks that certain creative energy flow...

The show continues to roll along, as we're approaching the end of blocking. So far the music on this show is, overall, the easiest of anything I've done as far as complexity goes. "Annie" is no Sondheim, and although the songs are catchy they're not very complex.

Still hanging around my neck is the search for a drummer. What is it with drummers in this town? I've had the rest of the ensemble set for weeks now: bass, guitar, supplemental keyboard and myself on piano. I've had two guys that I contacted decline due to prior commitments, and have had trouble getting in touch with other candidates. I may end up using my boss's son, a middle-schooler who - while talented - is inexperienced and may require some heavy coaching. But I would imagine if there was any show an inexperienced drummer could succeed, this is the one.

The biggest drawback of amateur/semi-pro theatre is the time I spend away from my family. This past week, through opening weekend, my typical day means seeing the kids for about an hour in the morning (plus the drive to school). That's about it, since I go to rehearsal before Laura brings them home and they're in bed when I'm finished. I'm trying to pencil in something Saturday afternoon with them, but no promises...

Diary of a Music Director - Part II - "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"

Week one of rehearsals for "Annie" is done. Just vocal instruction so far, where I teach and work with the cast on all the songs - choral, solos, whatever. Blocking starts tonight and I'll be there, plugging away on the piano whenever a song is being choreographed.

Period shows like these often use names, places and events from the past that have little resonance with today's audiences. I remember we did "Bye Bye Birdie" in high school, and at one point in the show the main character, Albert, is talking on the phone to someone from the media about his client, superstar Elvis-clone Conrad Birdie. It turns out the caller is not "Mr. Loos" as Albert first thinks, but he's corrected by the caller and repronounces it...um, well, "Mr. Luck". He hangs up the phone and we go on, the audience not have a clue what the whole bit was about. Except even the director (who should have known better) get it wrong. It wasn't "Mr. Loos" or "Mr. Luck" it was Mr. Luce, aka Henry Luce, the legendary creator and publisher of Time Magazine. But since nobody in the cast knew who Henry Luce was (why would we?) and apparently the drama teacher never bothered to look it up, it was mispronounced and the joke fell flat. Later I looked it up myself and figured it out.

So a little research is sometimes pretty important when you're presenting a historically set piece in the present. Sometimes it doesn't have to be a historical play to trip you up - when I did "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" this summer, not only was the show several years old, the songwriter that the work is based on was a Belgian/Frenchman churning out popular tunes in France in the 1960's. So there were a number of cultural and temporal anachronisms I had to research and clarify to the cast before we could go forward.

Which returns us to Annie, and an amusing story I found online of an actor who ran into a similar problem when they were learning a routine from the show in a revue. Well, read about it here and you'll see what I mean.

Oh, and you may need this link to help you out: Beau Brummell.

Enjoy.

Diary of a Music Director - Part I: "Annie"

The first week - actually, only two days - of "Annie" rehearsals are over. For those of you who might be curious, we've now gone over about 3/4 of all the songs in the show.

The way that it works is certain members of the cast come to the rehearsal at different times and I go through each some with them. I teach them the notes if they need it, work out parts, and generally work out the tone and feel of each song. In the case of soloists, we work together to find the easiest way to sing certain passages or work on breathing and phrasing. A big problem doing music in East Tennessee is the dad-gum Southern hills accent we have here. It's more prominent in women than men, that I can tell, and is tough to work around.

(Basically, the "ahs", "oohs," and "ehs" are very flat and drawn out, to create a drawl. Since few musicals outside of L'il Abner are set in the South, it's very noticeable when you hear some young East Tennessee girl sing, "To-Mahr-ah, To-MAHR-ah, ah'll love ya, To-Mahr-ah...." I have to get them to consciously round their "ohs" and make more pure sounds. I'm sure this is just terribly interesting to everyone :) But it's something I have to work with folks on.)

We also work through the big company numbers, assigning individual parts to members of the chorus and working on dynamics and such.

I'm lucky, because "Annie" is a fairly straightforward, simple musical. The music's fun, but not complicated and we knocked it out pretty quickly.

One section features an Andrews Sisters-esqu trio that will probably be the toughest thing we work on, due to the tight harmonies. But even after just working yesterday and today, the trio of young women is about 75% of the way there. They just need to be familiar with it, and confident. It's a kick watching and helping people learn music, mold it and eventually make it their own. I love it.

So next week we'll finish the learning process and review with memorization. Then blocking will be ready to start.

-- To Be Continued

Life's a Beach...

...only it's overcast and slightly drizzly.

Well, somewhat. Actually it was nice and warm, although not a lot of sun. Well, enough to give my chest a nice crimson glow...

Just got back last night from Myrtle Beach, where the Innfolks and I have been wintering the past several days. Actually, only half of us are back - Laura and Tink are still there, womping and fwolicking in the water. They'll be back on Saturday, while BrainyBoy and I drove back last night.

Ok, I did all the driving. Well, most of it. Ok, all. Seven hours worth from Myrtle back the Knoxville.

Being in fourth grade means more homework, more responsibilities - plus I start rehearsals for "Annie" tonight (music only) so we had to come back early.

Myrtle Beach in October is not what I'd call...high summer. It was still feeing the effects of the Tropical Storm Tammy, who slouched through the previous week. A little grey, a little wet, occasionally sunny but still fairly warm. Not too bad, but we did get some great pictures that I'll post when we get them back.

BrainyBoy's thirst for science continues unfettered, and I hang on for the ride. On Monday we visited Alligator Adventure, which contained - I kid you not - 1,200 alligators. Not to mention these, these, these, and these. And, oh yes, UTAN, the largest croc in captivity.



Later that evening we went to this place: MagiQuest, a very cool interactive magical playground/activity area that was great for kids and adults who never grew up (me). Apparently the only one is in Myrtle Beach - anyone wishing to establish a franchise in Gatlinburg, please contact me because I want to invest. It's that cool. I may do a separate blog post about it, because it was so detailed it's impossible to summarize.

So here we are, two days sans wife and daughter/mom and sister. What will we do?

Same thing we did last night - scrounge for food, since the pizza I'd expected to heat up for dinner was rock hard and I ended up giving BB a frozen kids meal. I think I had a bag of popcorn, cause it was like, 10:00 by the time I got to eat last night.

Well, here's to the rest of the week. Cheers.

Oh, did UT win last week? I think I'm out of it...

The Blogdrums

I just don't have it right now. Don't have the urge to wax poetic on the news of the day or comment on the passing scene.

We cast "Annie", for the most part. Still looking for a couple people. Rehearsals start next week.

Sorry for the 'tude. Just don't feel it. Anyone have anything interesting to talk about? It's Open Comment Tuesday....

What's On the Plate...

Yesterday:

Date night with Laura - dinner at Olive Garden, saw "Flightplan" with Jodie Foster. Wow, Jodie isn't 15 anymore...

Today:

Parent-teacher conferences

Watch "The Wizard of Oz" at Market Square. Y'all come!

Tomorrow:

Auditions for "Annie"

Tennessee - Ole Miss (prediction: UT 35 - Ole Miss 17)

Sunday:

Auditions for "Annie"

Titans-Colts

Have a good weekend!

Leapin' Lizards...Yeah, and There's That "Tomorrow" Song, Too..

My next show:


I'm will be musical directing "Annie" at the Oak Ridge Playhouse in October and November. This should be fun - large-scale, big budget (relatively speaking) musicals are always great, and I've never done Annie before. Of course, I'll be ready to strangle the next person who sings "Tomorrow" by the second week of rehearsal, but that's to be expected. And there will likely be 300 little girls at auditions, all singing the same song..

But hey, that's show biz.