Oooooh Talladega. All I knew of Talladega, before the fateful day we set foot there, was Ricky Bobby. That was, quite literally, the full extent of my knowledge about the place. And I want to start off by saying that the place itself is just fine - as a town, Talladega is about average. Certainly no worse than your average American small town.
But our experience at the Ritz was... beyond words? It can't be, though, because words are all I have to convey what it was like. I guess I'll just give you a blow-by-blow account.
We began with load-in the night before. Why the night before?
Well! Turns out our first performance the following morning was at 8.45. Yes. 8.45. Gag me.
So, the previous evening, we trucked on in to the loading-dock and took a look at the stage. It was (significantly) too small for us to build the entire set, so we cut the biggest piece (yep, the house) and sallied forth courageously anyway. After all, we've done the show sans maison before, so this really shouldn't have been the obstacle it turned out to be.
Once we had loaded in the set (which didn't take long, given that 50% of it was left in the van), we did some touch-up painting on select props and set-pieces, while our stage manager tried to set up the sound equipment together with the (un-)help of the technical director.
Basically, we're painting, running the fans, hanging out, chatting, what-have-you, when we hear an incredible crashing noise. That noise, it transpires, is the sound of our mini-disc player, falling. Off of the edge of the balcony. Down to the ground floor.
However, it played the first bit of the overture, so we weren't too panicked when we said good-bye with the promise of an early morning return.
We headed back to our Super 8, slept like the dead and awoke in time for our first show call. Warmed up, dressed up and made up, hit places and waited. And waited. And waited.
The guy who ran the theatre decided he wanted to "warm the crowd up" for us. The thing is that five year olds don't need to be warmed up for this show. They're already thrilled to be there. If anything, he warmed them down.
Regardless! He made his spiel, then Emileena said her bit about photography, then I gave the curtain-speech and FINALLY! the overture began. Max and Ruby ran out on stage to start and all seemed to be going fine, until the sound started skipping ahead and then just plain stopped. Michelle (the lady playing Ruby) did her best with the silence - though she was supposed to start a show, she stalled, ad-libbed and did what she could to fill the void and, just as she was running out of ideas, our stage manager walked down the aisle to make the following announcement:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we ask our pardon. We're experiencing technical difficulties, but hope to have them resolved in ten minutes. Actors, you may leave the stage, when we begin, we'll be starting from the top."
Yep. We started over from the top.
Turns out dropping the mini-disc player a whole story isn't good for it - who knew!? So, we waited, Emileena did what she could with the malfunctioning machine and we did our first performance. It was sloppy, sweaty and scary as hell, not knowning whether or not the sound would work and being a little overcome by the size (or lack thereof) of the stage.
Ultimately, the shows were ok. Brutally hard, but the kids loved it (thank goodness) and, because the two shows were back-to-back, the whole thing was over before early afternoon.
As soon as the second show ended, we packed up, drove the hell out of Talladega and headed for Georgia.
From Georgia, we headed on to Myrtle Beach, but I reeeaally don't want to write about it until I have my laptop back and can show you guys the pictures of where we were.
Ugh, I get tired just remembering Talladega. Not that the people weren't lovely - they were more polite than.. somebody really polite. BUT THOSE BUMPKINS BROKE OUR MINI-DISC PLAYER!
I think, from this point on, I will never speak of it again.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Driving Through the South...
...is a nearly surreal experience. It's big, it's beautiful, it's boundless. We cross rivers with names like Withlacoochee, Chattahoochee
(Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie )
Echeconnee, Tobesofkee, and Tallapoosa.
We drove up the I-75 and jumped on the I-20, headed West. We passed through Atlanta, clear out and over the Georgia/Alabama state line. I regret to say that, while in Georgia, we did not drive by a single peach orchard. I won't say I was disappointed, but...
Once in Alabama, we had to stop for the mandatory union break, which we decided to take at a Cracker Barrel. Now, I know they exist outside of the South, but I'd never been to one before, so for me, it will always be inextricably linked with this particular sojourn.
We drove in to Talladega, got royally lost in the back-roads of Alabama and opted to head back to the Interstate. Eventually we received alternate directions and followed those to our hotel (the glamorous Super 8). Once here, we went to the theatre here to load in our set and do some basic touch-up painting. (Un)Fortunately, the stage is too small to build the house. So, once again, we will be performing our shows tomorrow sans maison.
Our call time tomorrow morning is 7.50. We have an 8.45 am show and a 10.30 am show.
And to think, most people think theatre is a night-time event. The night will barely be over before we begin our performances tomorrow!
As for pictures - I've been taking them with my phone, but I can't quite figure out how to load them up onto this blog, so.. until I do... these entries will be photo-less.
Use your imaginations.
(Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie )
Echeconnee, Tobesofkee, and Tallapoosa.
We drove up the I-75 and jumped on the I-20, headed West. We passed through Atlanta, clear out and over the Georgia/Alabama state line. I regret to say that, while in Georgia, we did not drive by a single peach orchard. I won't say I was disappointed, but...
Once in Alabama, we had to stop for the mandatory union break, which we decided to take at a Cracker Barrel. Now, I know they exist outside of the South, but I'd never been to one before, so for me, it will always be inextricably linked with this particular sojourn.
We drove in to Talladega, got royally lost in the back-roads of Alabama and opted to head back to the Interstate. Eventually we received alternate directions and followed those to our hotel (the glamorous Super 8). Once here, we went to the theatre here to load in our set and do some basic touch-up painting. (Un)Fortunately, the stage is too small to build the house. So, once again, we will be performing our shows tomorrow sans maison.
Our call time tomorrow morning is 7.50. We have an 8.45 am show and a 10.30 am show.
And to think, most people think theatre is a night-time event. The night will barely be over before we begin our performances tomorrow!
As for pictures - I've been taking them with my phone, but I can't quite figure out how to load them up onto this blog, so.. until I do... these entries will be photo-less.
Use your imaginations.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Show # 36
Today was show # 6x6, 12x3, 9x4 and many other ways of multiplying smaller factors to come up with a total of 36. It was... a good show? I don't know. I think it was predominantly good, but we need to pick up our cues.
Load-in was a very smooth, almost regal affair. At this point, we are so entrenched in the sheer muscle-memory of building the set that we barely need to communicate, verbally, and we go through the motions on auto-pilot. It's nice - putting the set together (for me, at least) is almost a ritual before the show. We build it before we get to live on it. I'm not saying I want to do that for the rest of my life, but... it's a nice thing for now.
Anyway, we built the set, had a very leisurely sound-check, sedately spiked and corrected prop and set-piece placement, lacksidasically went back to places, unhurriedly finished make-up and getting into costume and received our places call in due time, when (GASP!) we all had a collective jolt of adrenaline as Ben realized that he had forgotten his bunny ears in the van!
With seconds to spare, he bolted out into the parking lot (in full costume, I might add) and dashed back into the venue as the pre-show announcement was cued. It was... kind of a wake-up. No matter how much we think we have this down pat, we still need to be alert. Oy.
Anyway, I want to describe our drive through the South - but I also want to save it for tomorrow. I'm trying to take pictures with my phone and send it to the blog (we'll see how that goes).
In other news - I won't have my laptop for nearly two weeks. Thank you, Ethan, for letting me use yours.
Load-in was a very smooth, almost regal affair. At this point, we are so entrenched in the sheer muscle-memory of building the set that we barely need to communicate, verbally, and we go through the motions on auto-pilot. It's nice - putting the set together (for me, at least) is almost a ritual before the show. We build it before we get to live on it. I'm not saying I want to do that for the rest of my life, but... it's a nice thing for now.
Anyway, we built the set, had a very leisurely sound-check, sedately spiked and corrected prop and set-piece placement, lacksidasically went back to places, unhurriedly finished make-up and getting into costume and received our places call in due time, when (GASP!) we all had a collective jolt of adrenaline as Ben realized that he had forgotten his bunny ears in the van!
With seconds to spare, he bolted out into the parking lot (in full costume, I might add) and dashed back into the venue as the pre-show announcement was cued. It was... kind of a wake-up. No matter how much we think we have this down pat, we still need to be alert. Oy.
Anyway, I want to describe our drive through the South - but I also want to save it for tomorrow. I'm trying to take pictures with my phone and send it to the blog (we'll see how that goes).
In other news - I won't have my laptop for nearly two weeks. Thank you, Ethan, for letting me use yours.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Show # 35/i am electronically challenged
More about the electronics later.
For starters, we had our first show in five days and it felt GREAT to be back in the swing of things. It was a rough show; the stage was slippery and we had to fudge our way through a few scene changes that went awry, and really only made some of the costume changes by the skin of our collective teeth, but on the whole, the show rocked. ROCKED. And the kids went absolutely wild. So, that was nice.
In other news, not only did my lap-top come down with a minor cold yesterday (necessitating a trip to the mac store, dropping off my lap-top and waiting for a week while they give it the old poke-and-prod to make sure it's healthy again before they ship it out to me... wherever we may be) but my PHONE also died. By which I mean, the screen died. I could receive calls and make calls, but only if I knew what number I was dialing. And I had no way of knowing what I was dialing unless I physically entered the number myself. Scrolling through the phonebook? It's pretty much impossible when you can't read the screen on your phone.
Anyway, the happy news is that I got a new phone today - FOR FREE! Luckily for me, I was just inside my warranty by about a week. And I should get my laptop back in a week or so.
So, I can still communicate with the outside world. I cannot, however, post pictures or movies or anything on this lovely little blog until I have my computer back.
Anyway - good show, a good trip to the Verizon store and the promise of a good night's sleep.
Call time tomorrow, 7.15.
For starters, we had our first show in five days and it felt GREAT to be back in the swing of things. It was a rough show; the stage was slippery and we had to fudge our way through a few scene changes that went awry, and really only made some of the costume changes by the skin of our collective teeth, but on the whole, the show rocked. ROCKED. And the kids went absolutely wild. So, that was nice.
In other news, not only did my lap-top come down with a minor cold yesterday (necessitating a trip to the mac store, dropping off my lap-top and waiting for a week while they give it the old poke-and-prod to make sure it's healthy again before they ship it out to me... wherever we may be) but my PHONE also died. By which I mean, the screen died. I could receive calls and make calls, but only if I knew what number I was dialing. And I had no way of knowing what I was dialing unless I physically entered the number myself. Scrolling through the phonebook? It's pretty much impossible when you can't read the screen on your phone.
Anyway, the happy news is that I got a new phone today - FOR FREE! Luckily for me, I was just inside my warranty by about a week. And I should get my laptop back in a week or so.
So, I can still communicate with the outside world. I cannot, however, post pictures or movies or anything on this lovely little blog until I have my computer back.
Anyway - good show, a good trip to the Verizon store and the promise of a good night's sleep.
Call time tomorrow, 7.15.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Nowhere Fast
Today was one of those days (following on the heels of many days like this one) where I sat.
And thought.
And sat some more.
Ate some fruit.
Devoured a novel written by a friend.
I have spent the last couple days holed up inside of myself, so to speak.
I'm thinking and trying not to worry about the end of this tour; specifically, what I'm going to be doing with myself at the end of this tour.
And where I am right now.
I cut myself off a little bit from the group, to clear my head, to sleep and think things out and to get a grasp on myself.
I know I'm going to be alright.
My friend Brett floated a pretty huge idea past me a couple days ago that I am still marinating on. I know that's kind of cryptic, but that's also about as specific as I'm going to get about it.
We went out to dinner, having made plans to go The German Restaurant, but were thwarted in our efforts when it developed that we should have made reservations. Instead, we stopped in a Boston Market, where there was much hemming and hawing about do we eat here, do we get it to go, do we pay separately or together. The inanity of the decisions that we were unable to reach irritated me to a point where I withdrew again, mentally, and waited for my cohorts to come to some sort of communal agreement. They did, we got our food to go and now Leah and I are sitting on our beds, having eaten, watched an episode of the Simpsons and discussing the merits of "Step Up & Dance", a Bravo reality show.
I have a feeling I'm going to finish that novel I started today.
And thought.
And sat some more.
Ate some fruit.
Devoured a novel written by a friend.
I have spent the last couple days holed up inside of myself, so to speak.
I'm thinking and trying not to worry about the end of this tour; specifically, what I'm going to be doing with myself at the end of this tour.
And where I am right now.
I cut myself off a little bit from the group, to clear my head, to sleep and think things out and to get a grasp on myself.
I know I'm going to be alright.
My friend Brett floated a pretty huge idea past me a couple days ago that I am still marinating on. I know that's kind of cryptic, but that's also about as specific as I'm going to get about it.
We went out to dinner, having made plans to go The German Restaurant, but were thwarted in our efforts when it developed that we should have made reservations. Instead, we stopped in a Boston Market, where there was much hemming and hawing about do we eat here, do we get it to go, do we pay separately or together. The inanity of the decisions that we were unable to reach irritated me to a point where I withdrew again, mentally, and waited for my cohorts to come to some sort of communal agreement. They did, we got our food to go and now Leah and I are sitting on our beds, having eaten, watched an episode of the Simpsons and discussing the merits of "Step Up & Dance", a Bravo reality show.
I have a feeling I'm going to finish that novel I started today.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Show # 34
Oh, Ocala!
Our venue was a former-high-school-turned-community-college with all the charm and ambiance of a prison. Everything was gray, shades of gray, granite, tombstone, depressing gray. The bathrooms? Gray. The lobby? Gray. The exterior of the building? Gray, with a darker gray stripe running around the entire building, as if it highlight the additional gray slate roofing and gray parking lot structure. Even the plants were drab. In contrast, however, the interior of the auditorium we performed in was a (not much better) mustard yellow. The wood looked more like plastic or linoleum than wood, but the stage was big enough for the entire set. Which was, incidentally, the only splash of colour in the entire surrounding area. It was quite the contrast to our Tampa experience...
Anyway, the show went off without too many hitches. We were all a little affected by the heat and humidity and, not for the first time, I think more than one of us phoned it in a little. I feel sort of guilty saying that, but it's difficult to throw in 100% when you wake up after 6 hours of sleep in high humidity, load in our (let's face it) gigantic set and then run through the 47 minute marathon that is our show. In extremely warm costumes. Particularly with the knowledge of the impending load-out before we can break for lunch. It's times like that that make it difficult to commit all of your energy to the 47 minutes of show time. You want to conserve some for the break-down and drive. Whine, whine, whine, I know, I know, I know. At the end of the day, I am very lucky to be doing this. Still...
From the prison, we drove to lunch at a Panera and then hit the road back to Port Richey, where we are now. The hotel itself is decent, the area has enough businesses and restaurants that we won't get bored during out stay here and the beach is just a short drive away. On the agenda while we're here? Definitely some jet-skiing. Perhaps some para-sailing, if it can be fit in to the schedule.
But now, as promised, some pictures from our glorious day at the beach when we built sand-castles, flew a kite and had a general grand ole time!
Our venue was a former-high-school-turned-community-college with all the charm and ambiance of a prison. Everything was gray, shades of gray, granite, tombstone, depressing gray. The bathrooms? Gray. The lobby? Gray. The exterior of the building? Gray, with a darker gray stripe running around the entire building, as if it highlight the additional gray slate roofing and gray parking lot structure. Even the plants were drab. In contrast, however, the interior of the auditorium we performed in was a (not much better) mustard yellow. The wood looked more like plastic or linoleum than wood, but the stage was big enough for the entire set. Which was, incidentally, the only splash of colour in the entire surrounding area. It was quite the contrast to our Tampa experience...
Anyway, the show went off without too many hitches. We were all a little affected by the heat and humidity and, not for the first time, I think more than one of us phoned it in a little. I feel sort of guilty saying that, but it's difficult to throw in 100% when you wake up after 6 hours of sleep in high humidity, load in our (let's face it) gigantic set and then run through the 47 minute marathon that is our show. In extremely warm costumes. Particularly with the knowledge of the impending load-out before we can break for lunch. It's times like that that make it difficult to commit all of your energy to the 47 minutes of show time. You want to conserve some for the break-down and drive. Whine, whine, whine, I know, I know, I know. At the end of the day, I am very lucky to be doing this. Still...
From the prison, we drove to lunch at a Panera and then hit the road back to Port Richey, where we are now. The hotel itself is decent, the area has enough businesses and restaurants that we won't get bored during out stay here and the beach is just a short drive away. On the agenda while we're here? Definitely some jet-skiing. Perhaps some para-sailing, if it can be fit in to the schedule.
But now, as promised, some pictures from our glorious day at the beach when we built sand-castles, flew a kite and had a general grand ole time!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Show # 33
Yesterday's show was in the old Tampa Theatre... it was built in 1926 and, honestly, the whole thing is so beautifully decorated that it almost felt like a Disney ride. 
The whole front of the proscenium is carved statuettes and busts with intricate detailing and the ceiling is blue-black and covered in stars. Yes, some of the stars even twinkled. It also has the original Wurlitzer organ that it had when it opened. Gorgeous space.
What made the show unique (apart from all the gilt work and carving) was that the stage was too small for our entire house and so, for the second time, we did the show without the key set-piece. Namely, the house. It was fine; we've done it before, so we weren't overwhelmed by this hurdle.
Anyway, I'll write about today's show later. I just wanted to get caught up for now.
Gone swimming.
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