The beauty of a volunteer schedule is that you can plan breaks and ours yesterday was spent at the Gibbes Museum of Art.  We saw the sculpture, The Veiled Lady (pictured) in brochures and wanted to see her in person.  Also, there was a Charlestonian photographer exhibited who has lived in Spoleto for 25 years and we wanted to see her images of our new hometown.  The museum has a great deal of local history depicted in its collection, so we learned so much more.

The perk of arriving at ushering assignments is you get to meet the actors as well.  We 'hung' out with the cast of the play we saw yesterday, Present Laughter.  Hobnobbing is always fun.  In addition, we met the actor who played the evil uncle in the evening's performance of the opera Flora, as well.  This is the one event I wanted to see due to the description in the program:

February 18, 1735, Charleston, South Carolina, hosted the first performance of a ballad opera, "Flora, or Hob in the Well," in the United States, at the New World Theatre.

A wronged heiress, a faithful lover, a resourceful maid and, of course, an avaricious uncle play out their roles in the first opera ever performed in the American colonies. Flora swept the British Empire in the 18th century as one of the first ballad operas with lyrics written to the accompaniment of popular tunes of the time.

In 1735, Flora reached Charleston and was such a success it was repeated the following year in the first purpose-built theatre in America, the Dock Street Theatre. Now 274 years later, Flora returns to the Dock Street as the theatre reopens after three years of renovation, in a delightful production that will thoroughly illuminate just why this was a theatrical staple throughout the 18th century.

It did not disappoint.  After the play, we met Shana and some friends at the Blind Tiger Pub for goodbyes and promises to meet again!  What a day!