First day on the Road

...and one truck down.
No one was hurt, but one of the trucks slid off the road and into the ditch. Fortunately it didn't tip over, but white-out conditions and icy roads, and a blizzard blowing around the hotel is not particularly encouraging weather for brand new tour-ees on the first day out of the chute.
So now we're all safe and huddled in Lewistown, Montana, smack dab in the middle of the miserable, frozen state. We'll load in tomorrow and perform the 'clean' version of the play. I still wouldn't let kids watch it, but that's Williams for you.
I'm at least proud to think of how far I've come when it comes to driving. My first tour I hated to drive. It was long, straight, dry highways or nothing at all. Today I drove all day and didn't even flinch. I suppose there really is something to be said for experience.
I don't have much else, but I'm sure there will be plenty of tales from our opening night tomorrow... Ciao.

Back to Tennessee

And by Tennessee, I mean Williams.

I've been without computer for some time, and the rest of the time I just didn't have it in me to post. So, welcome! Welcome aboard for the Montana Repertory Theatre's tour of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!

Our cast, looking snappy for Dress Parade and PR photos.

This will be an interesting tour to observe. I'm constantly on the lookout for variables that affect the mood and success of a tour besides, obviously, the quality of the show and personalities involved. Williams has a particularly gritty outlook on things that's meaty and satisfying to watch, but it can wear on the soul of a company. However, I think this show will be different. Not only does the mood tilt slightly upwards at the end, but there are moments of humor. Our company is well put together and communicative, which is a recipe for good relations. So far. You'll also notice the warm and bright colors on the set behind them. As odd as it may sound, I think this helps, too, when the world we live in and look at half the time is bright and not dark and brooding.

The rehearsal process flew by in a flurry of schedule changes, short days, long days, lots of days of experimentation, and here we are at Tech Week.

Vague enough?

I thought so. Today we begin adding all the lights, sounds and other effects. This show has been amazingly low-stress, I think because of the very few props involved. For some reason, that's always a big stress. Live by the prop, die by the prop. The play also takes course over a continuous line of action, meaning there are no black outs during the acts, and no big scene changes to worry about choreographing. I hope for (but knock on wood) a smooth and painless tech.

This is just a brief line to let everyone know I'm alive...check back in for travels! We set out on the road next week, starting in Lewistown, Montana!

Til then...