Last Thursday and Friday, we performed Max & Ruby for the last two times.
In all actuality, Thursday's show is the one that felt like a real last performance, where as Friday's show was booked in the common area of a Lower East Side school where we (for the billionth time) did the show without its key set-piece.
Still, it was fitting to end the tour where we began it - at an elementary school.
Thursday's show, however, was at the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium in Rhode Island, somewhere (I want to say Providence? I think?)... It was a perfect high note. We had two thousand kids singing along, shouting out "super bunny!" and being a generally wonderful audience. To the best of my knowledge, nobody peed themselves during Blue Tarantula, but the screams were awesome. A good way to finish out our run.
Friday's show was also good - the kids were very well behaved and very enthusiastic. My personal favourite was the little guy in the front row who, when Grandma entered to see the play, yelled out "Max, you destroyed everything!"
Yes, Kid Quote of the Tour, I think. It may have deposed the "Save yourselves!" line we heard a couple weeks ago.
Anyway, I took this last weekend to decompress and am going to continue doing that for a few days before I write a sort of "In conclusion..." entry.
It's weird to think that this whole episode has come to an end, but all things do.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Shows # 79 - 82
It should only have been 79 through 81, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Let's start with yesterday (shows # 79 & 80).
They were just fine - we had some small slip-ups (when don't we?), Ethan came on without his braids (which basically just meant he looked like a boy, instead of like a girl. He's supposed to in that one instance. It was pretty hilarious, in the moment), Michelle twisted her ankle, I dislocated my hip (don't ask), some cues were late... you know, the usual.
Then we drove to Cape Cod, where we thought we had one performance, today.
Only it turns out we were scheduled for two.
The thing is that, under Equity rules, we're supposed to be given 8 days of advance notice per performance. Which technically means we were not obligated to perform for the second time, today.
However, after a pros & cons conversation, some negotiation with Theatreworks and a secret-ballot vote, we opted to perform our show for the second time.
It's just been a little bit stressful, these last 48 hours.
Whatever.
We're on our lunch-break, driving to Providence and doing this show (presumably) only two more times.
Yes, I'm counting.
Let's start with yesterday (shows # 79 & 80).
They were just fine - we had some small slip-ups (when don't we?), Ethan came on without his braids (which basically just meant he looked like a boy, instead of like a girl. He's supposed to in that one instance. It was pretty hilarious, in the moment), Michelle twisted her ankle, I dislocated my hip (don't ask), some cues were late... you know, the usual.
Then we drove to Cape Cod, where we thought we had one performance, today.
Only it turns out we were scheduled for two.
The thing is that, under Equity rules, we're supposed to be given 8 days of advance notice per performance. Which technically means we were not obligated to perform for the second time, today.
However, after a pros & cons conversation, some negotiation with Theatreworks and a secret-ballot vote, we opted to perform our show for the second time.
It's just been a little bit stressful, these last 48 hours.
Whatever.
We're on our lunch-break, driving to Providence and doing this show (presumably) only two more times.
Yes, I'm counting.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Show # 78
We performed for the 78th time today in West Springfield, MA, which is a very nice little town with quite impressive architecture... they had some very imposing clock towers for a town I'd never heard of.
It went by pretty fast, for which I was grateful. Having not performed this show for two days gave me a feel for what my life will be like again after this ends (and the end is nigh, good friends); I'm ready for the next phase.
Anyway, performed, loaded-out, lunched, drove to Dartmouth (which is where we are right now) and Michelle and I went out for a small dinner.
Also, I got my hair cut. Nothing drastic, just something to make it manageable again.
Tomorrow is our very last two-show day.
And tonight is the House MD season finale, which is all I really care about.
It went by pretty fast, for which I was grateful. Having not performed this show for two days gave me a feel for what my life will be like again after this ends (and the end is nigh, good friends); I'm ready for the next phase.
Anyway, performed, loaded-out, lunched, drove to Dartmouth (which is where we are right now) and Michelle and I went out for a small dinner.
Also, I got my hair cut. Nothing drastic, just something to make it manageable again.
Tomorrow is our very last two-show day.
And tonight is the House MD season finale, which is all I really care about.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Shows # 76 & 77
...were shows pretty much like all the rest.
They both went very well: Leigh's voice was back, nobody coughed on stage and the load-in (albeit in the rain) still went fairly well.
The second show was RIDICULOUSLY hard for some reason... I can only assume that we weren't rested enough in the wake of this last week.
Enjoyed a day off today (hurray!) and hit the road again tomorrow.
Also, posting the Chester PA video.
Next.
They both went very well: Leigh's voice was back, nobody coughed on stage and the load-in (albeit in the rain) still went fairly well.
The second show was RIDICULOUSLY hard for some reason... I can only assume that we weren't rested enough in the wake of this last week.
Enjoyed a day off today (hurray!) and hit the road again tomorrow.
Also, posting the Chester PA video.
Next.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Shows # 72 - 75. Oh my God, we hit 75.
Yep, today we officially hit performance number 75 in ... somewhere in Jersey. I don't actually remember where.
Yesterday, for performances 72 & 73, we were in Morristown, NJ, which was quite nice - very cute little town, with pleasant non-chain cafes and shops. Had some ridiculously good coffee and a parfait at the coffee shop around the corner from the theatre and enjoyed one of the most helpful crews we've had yet.
The crowds were pretty good, too.
Today's shows were fine, except for the fact that Grandma (Leigh) is sick as a dog and Ruby (Miss Michelle) was injured when she got thrown suddenly from her seat in the car during a very abrupt slamming-of-the-brakes. Luckily, both shows went off without any hitches.
We're hoping like hell that Leigh's voice comes back before tomorrow's shows.
Tomorrow is our last day of the "local" leg (where local can mean anything from a half hour drive to an hour and forty five minutes) and also officially marks the day that we have one week left! It is ridiculous to think about how near the end we are... and to realise how far we have come.
Anyway, I'm sleeping in Inwood tonight (courtesy of Michelle) so as to minimize my AM commutes to the van and it is hot and stuffy. And I can't sleep. It's ok, I'll meditate or stare at my eyelids until sleep comes. Until it does, I will think about how awesome the dinner I made was (you wish you had some!) and how I should be grateful that it's warm and no longer winter.
Sleep tight, everyone.
Yesterday, for performances 72 & 73, we were in Morristown, NJ, which was quite nice - very cute little town, with pleasant non-chain cafes and shops. Had some ridiculously good coffee and a parfait at the coffee shop around the corner from the theatre and enjoyed one of the most helpful crews we've had yet.
The crowds were pretty good, too.
Today's shows were fine, except for the fact that Grandma (Leigh) is sick as a dog and Ruby (Miss Michelle) was injured when she got thrown suddenly from her seat in the car during a very abrupt slamming-of-the-brakes. Luckily, both shows went off without any hitches.
We're hoping like hell that Leigh's voice comes back before tomorrow's shows.
Tomorrow is our last day of the "local" leg (where local can mean anything from a half hour drive to an hour and forty five minutes) and also officially marks the day that we have one week left! It is ridiculous to think about how near the end we are... and to realise how far we have come.
Anyway, I'm sleeping in Inwood tonight (courtesy of Michelle) so as to minimize my AM commutes to the van and it is hot and stuffy. And I can't sleep. It's ok, I'll meditate or stare at my eyelids until sleep comes. Until it does, I will think about how awesome the dinner I made was (you wish you had some!) and how I should be grateful that it's warm and no longer winter.
Sleep tight, everyone.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Shows # 70 & 71
After we spent our (free! whoopee!) night in a shitty little Econolodge and performed two shows today in Hartford, CT on what was easily the smallest stage we've ever encountered, I realised we were into the 70s. Yep, today we broke 70 performances.
It feels like it, too.
The size of today's space was enough of a challenge that we had to re-block certain aspects of the show even without the house. The stage was a total of 16 feet deep.
Let me repeat that.
The stage was a TOTAL of 16 feet deep.
That's practically a closet.
The other thing I realized today, fully, is that I've got some serious burn out.
It's been creeping up on me, as I'm sure anyone who reads this has been noticing, but today was sort officially the day that I realised just how ready I am for this to end. Not because the kids weren't wonderful - they were. Not because the stage was small - the cast pulled together and, as always, worked through the complications (albeit in the face of less helpful people...).
I think I'm just having trouble remembering what makes this experience joyful.
Our nerves are always relatively fraught, but lately it feels like that is more the case than ever.
I think that what it boils down to is the fact that I wanted this to be a more professional experience than it has been lately. I want to make clear that I don't feel this way because of my fellow cast-mates. We may stress each other out, but we tend to stay civil towards one another.
Unfortunately, I have to work with people besides the cast who don't always stay civil. Nor am I convinced that they are even partially civilized.
Still, when the going gets tough, I just remind myself that I have less than two weeks left. And after that, I'll be able to say I completed one of these tours!
It feels like it, too.
The size of today's space was enough of a challenge that we had to re-block certain aspects of the show even without the house. The stage was a total of 16 feet deep.
Let me repeat that.
The stage was a TOTAL of 16 feet deep.
That's practically a closet.
The other thing I realized today, fully, is that I've got some serious burn out.
It's been creeping up on me, as I'm sure anyone who reads this has been noticing, but today was sort officially the day that I realised just how ready I am for this to end. Not because the kids weren't wonderful - they were. Not because the stage was small - the cast pulled together and, as always, worked through the complications (albeit in the face of less helpful people...).
I think I'm just having trouble remembering what makes this experience joyful.
Our nerves are always relatively fraught, but lately it feels like that is more the case than ever.
I think that what it boils down to is the fact that I wanted this to be a more professional experience than it has been lately. I want to make clear that I don't feel this way because of my fellow cast-mates. We may stress each other out, but we tend to stay civil towards one another.
Unfortunately, I have to work with people besides the cast who don't always stay civil. Nor am I convinced that they are even partially civilized.
Still, when the going gets tough, I just remind myself that I have less than two weeks left. And after that, I'll be able to say I completed one of these tours!
Show # 69
Was yesterday.
We went to New Haven and performed on the Southern Connecticut State University campus, in a very pleasant little theatre.
We also did the show (for the umpteenth time) without the house (which made load-in and -out correspondingly easier...sometimes I thank God for venues that are too small).
There was the little issue of being able to hear our stage manager calling the cues via the god mic (and yes, the whole house could hear her), but that was resolved once I texted her to tell her to turn the mic off.
See next entry for today's shows...
We went to New Haven and performed on the Southern Connecticut State University campus, in a very pleasant little theatre.
We also did the show (for the umpteenth time) without the house (which made load-in and -out correspondingly easier...sometimes I thank God for venues that are too small).
There was the little issue of being able to hear our stage manager calling the cues via the god mic (and yes, the whole house could hear her), but that was resolved once I texted her to tell her to turn the mic off.
See next entry for today's shows...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Shows # 67 & 68
I guess I thought the Lebanon Opera House would be bigger.
Instead it was... entirely average. Perhaps a little narrower than most of the venues we've been playing in.
We had a 9 am and an 11 am performance to two very enthusiastic crowds - the first crowd clapped along with every song. Literally. Every. Song.
Whether or not the song called for it.
Really, their doggedness to keep clapping was sort of admirable.
Anyway, we lunched in a little Irish pub, packed ourselves into the vans and then drove back into NY, where we will be enjoying two whole days off.
Two days without the show.
Two days without the vehicles.
Two days of time with people by choice, as opposed to obligation.
Two days with sleep, food and more sleep.
It's gonna be wonderful.
Instead it was... entirely average. Perhaps a little narrower than most of the venues we've been playing in.
We had a 9 am and an 11 am performance to two very enthusiastic crowds - the first crowd clapped along with every song. Literally. Every. Song.
Whether or not the song called for it.
Really, their doggedness to keep clapping was sort of admirable.
Anyway, we lunched in a little Irish pub, packed ourselves into the vans and then drove back into NY, where we will be enjoying two whole days off.
Two days without the show.
Two days without the vehicles.
Two days of time with people by choice, as opposed to obligation.
Two days with sleep, food and more sleep.
It's gonna be wonderful.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
LOST IN THE THEATRE!!!
At last, the video I've been promising:
I'll post the one about our ghetto-tastic weekend in Chester soon. Really. I swear.
I'll post the one about our ghetto-tastic weekend in Chester soon. Really. I swear.
Shows # 65 & 66
Interview with Michelle about how today's shows went:
L: Were today's shows sold out?
M: Um, the first one was. The second only the first level was filled.
L: Were today's shows good?
M: Very good. Um, our stage manager might argue with us, that our second show was a little over the top, but we felt great about it.
L: Even though I nearly knocked the gong off the stage?
M: Eh, details.
Kid Quotes OF THE TOUR:
During Blue Tarantula, "Save yourself!!!"
And during "Happily Ever, Then What", after Ruby sings "And she'd live Happily Ever, Then What? What's next? Can't say!", a child yelled out:
"Ruby! 'AFTER!' "
L: Were today's shows sold out?
M: Um, the first one was. The second only the first level was filled.
L: Were today's shows good?
M: Very good. Um, our stage manager might argue with us, that our second show was a little over the top, but we felt great about it.
L: Even though I nearly knocked the gong off the stage?
M: Eh, details.
Kid Quotes OF THE TOUR:
During Blue Tarantula, "Save yourself!!!"
And during "Happily Ever, Then What", after Ruby sings "And she'd live Happily Ever, Then What? What's next? Can't say!", a child yelled out:
"Ruby! 'AFTER!' "
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Shows # 63 & 64
Call time: 7.45 am
Loaded in.
1st performance - sold out? I think? At any rate, very large, very enthusiastic crowd. Good show, except for one set malfunction which caused me to be unable to complete a set-change which, ultimately, meant that a somewhat important prop didn't make it on stage. My goal? For that to never happen again.
2nd performance - crowd of, like, 20 kids. Very quiet and well-behaved. Possibly bored? Whatever.
Came back to the hotel.
Showered.
Slept for an hour.
Now I'm going into downtown Concord, NH to gallivant. Or maybe just to eat, we'll see.
Call time tomorrow is 9 am.
(No load in! Yippee!)
Loaded in.
1st performance - sold out? I think? At any rate, very large, very enthusiastic crowd. Good show, except for one set malfunction which caused me to be unable to complete a set-change which, ultimately, meant that a somewhat important prop didn't make it on stage. My goal? For that to never happen again.
2nd performance - crowd of, like, 20 kids. Very quiet and well-behaved. Possibly bored? Whatever.
Came back to the hotel.
Showered.
Slept for an hour.
Now I'm going into downtown Concord, NH to gallivant. Or maybe just to eat, we'll see.
Call time tomorrow is 9 am.
(No load in! Yippee!)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Shows # 60 - 62
Fairfield, oh Fairfield. Fairest of the fields. Field of fairs and all things fair and equal. I could wax eloquent about what a pleasant experience you were for hours and still not fully make my point.
Sunday, we drove to Fairfield, loaded in the set and performed two shows, back to back, for the general public. I love family audiences - the parents get to laugh at the adult humour, the children get to laugh at whatever it is Max is doing and we get to feel like we're reaching out to families as units, rather than just individual people. I LOVE when I peek out through the cracks in the set during Tarantula, and I can see a young child holding on to dad's hand. Or mom's. The show is more meaningful to me when it serves to bring people together; theatre, on the whole, should serve to bring communities together (among other purposes, but that's another debate) so when we achieve that, I feel like there is grace in what we do. Even if we are also getting beacoup de splinters and bruises and throwing out our backs, etc.
The other reason Fairfield straight up ROCKED is because of the food. When we first rolled into our tastefully decorated green room, there was a giant spread of bagels, cookies, fresh fruit, tea, coffee (even decaf!), juice and jellies. It was awesome. We were better fed between those two shows than I think we have been in a while.
No, I take that back. Totally ate lobster in Maine, and while bagels undoubtedly rule, not much can compete with lobster.
Anyway, after the show, I parted ways with the cast and drove out to family friends who lived in the area (for those of you who've been reading this, they are the people whose house we all stayed at in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach/Pawleys Island/what have you). I had a lovely dinner and spent the night with them (so rejuvenating to be around people you love and who love you) and then drove back to Fairfield this morning to do our show for the classes that were bussed in to see it, load-out and drive to NH.
During load-out, I was given cause to remind myself that the end is near and that, at this juncture, losing my temper achieves nothing. Bad habits that haven't been fixed by now never will be. Conversely, the good stuff has only gotten better. And, as I was saying on the phone with my dad today, I'm getting paid to do something that I love. Sure, the manual-labour-circus-style-life has its drawbacks, but I've always been a nomad at heart. I may as well be one professionally. And in profession, you can't always choose the circumstances, so you make the best of them. Obscure, I know, and probably irritating to read. I'll finish this section by quoting my old roommate, Brandon:
"If you can fix it, do. If you can't, get over it."
Regardless - we finished our sojourn in Fairfield, picked up the trail North and drove through to Concord, NH, a state I've never been to before. We'll be here (at the distinguished Hampton Inn) for the next couple days and then heading out to ... somewhere. I think more New Hampshire gigs are in the future, but I don't have my schedule in front of me and I'm too lazy to go check.
Anyway - call time tomorrow is 7.45 am. Sleep tight, everyone.
Sunday, we drove to Fairfield, loaded in the set and performed two shows, back to back, for the general public. I love family audiences - the parents get to laugh at the adult humour, the children get to laugh at whatever it is Max is doing and we get to feel like we're reaching out to families as units, rather than just individual people. I LOVE when I peek out through the cracks in the set during Tarantula, and I can see a young child holding on to dad's hand. Or mom's. The show is more meaningful to me when it serves to bring people together; theatre, on the whole, should serve to bring communities together (among other purposes, but that's another debate) so when we achieve that, I feel like there is grace in what we do. Even if we are also getting beacoup de splinters and bruises and throwing out our backs, etc.
The other reason Fairfield straight up ROCKED is because of the food. When we first rolled into our tastefully decorated green room, there was a giant spread of bagels, cookies, fresh fruit, tea, coffee (even decaf!), juice and jellies. It was awesome. We were better fed between those two shows than I think we have been in a while.
No, I take that back. Totally ate lobster in Maine, and while bagels undoubtedly rule, not much can compete with lobster.
Anyway, after the show, I parted ways with the cast and drove out to family friends who lived in the area (for those of you who've been reading this, they are the people whose house we all stayed at in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach/Pawleys Island/what have you). I had a lovely dinner and spent the night with them (so rejuvenating to be around people you love and who love you) and then drove back to Fairfield this morning to do our show for the classes that were bussed in to see it, load-out and drive to NH.
During load-out, I was given cause to remind myself that the end is near and that, at this juncture, losing my temper achieves nothing. Bad habits that haven't been fixed by now never will be. Conversely, the good stuff has only gotten better. And, as I was saying on the phone with my dad today, I'm getting paid to do something that I love. Sure, the manual-labour-circus-style-life has its drawbacks, but I've always been a nomad at heart. I may as well be one professionally. And in profession, you can't always choose the circumstances, so you make the best of them. Obscure, I know, and probably irritating to read. I'll finish this section by quoting my old roommate, Brandon:
"If you can fix it, do. If you can't, get over it."
Regardless - we finished our sojourn in Fairfield, picked up the trail North and drove through to Concord, NH, a state I've never been to before. We'll be here (at the distinguished Hampton Inn) for the next couple days and then heading out to ... somewhere. I think more New Hampshire gigs are in the future, but I don't have my schedule in front of me and I'm too lazy to go check.
Anyway - call time tomorrow is 7.45 am. Sleep tight, everyone.
Show # 58 & 59
Shows # 58 and 59 were in Patchogue, NY and Wallingford, CT respectively.
There isn't too much to tell.
Patchogue (pronounced Patch-Ogg) was an evening show in upstate NY. The crew was useless - half an hour late - and the audience was... I don't know. The adults didn't care, the children ran around the theatre and barely watched the show and we barely got back to Manhattan in time to get 8 hours of sleep before we had to pack up and drive to Wallingford again the following morning.
That being said, Wallingford's show was entirely civilised and lovely.
We performed to a sold out audience in the Paul Mellon Arts centre, which was attached to a high-school with a very in-depth performing arts program. Literally, high school students (udner the supervision of the technical director) helped us with load-in, build and load-out. The TD was a woman named Leslie who not only was super-organised and helpful, but could also lift the flats of our house over her head. Single-handedly. Yeesh.
At any rate, these shows were both considered "local" shows, but were also the last two of that sort before our jaunt out to points North. I'll discuss those in another post. Probably in about 10 minutes, because I've been falling awfully behind on the blogging front and feel like I need to catch up a little. Ok, a lot.
There isn't too much to tell.
Patchogue (pronounced Patch-Ogg) was an evening show in upstate NY. The crew was useless - half an hour late - and the audience was... I don't know. The adults didn't care, the children ran around the theatre and barely watched the show and we barely got back to Manhattan in time to get 8 hours of sleep before we had to pack up and drive to Wallingford again the following morning.
That being said, Wallingford's show was entirely civilised and lovely.
We performed to a sold out audience in the Paul Mellon Arts centre, which was attached to a high-school with a very in-depth performing arts program. Literally, high school students (udner the supervision of the technical director) helped us with load-in, build and load-out. The TD was a woman named Leslie who not only was super-organised and helpful, but could also lift the flats of our house over her head. Single-handedly. Yeesh. At any rate, these shows were both considered "local" shows, but were also the last two of that sort before our jaunt out to points North. I'll discuss those in another post. Probably in about 10 minutes, because I've been falling awfully behind on the blogging front and feel like I need to catch up a little. Ok, a lot.
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