And..the show

So there was the history of the theatre.
As for the work day, it was marvelous. They had wonderful locally roasted coffee to replace my unsatisfying hotel coffee, bagels, doughnuts, and a welcoming spirit that just floored us. Not only did the beauty and intriguing history of the theatre warm me right up to the task at hand, the crew were knowledgeable, friendly and fun to work with.
The set went in without any problems. Alan had broken his glasses and did most of his light focus blind! Or at least, in sunglasses.

Otherwise, the day went smoothly, they served us a beautiful lunch of delicious subway sandwiches from a local deli, and we were out of the theatre in time to hot tub, take a nap and do various other quality time activities.

The Show:

People probably won't believe me because I'm writing this after the fact, but once everyone arrived and we got mic checks done and I was hanging out in the house during half hour before the show, I was just basking in the glow of how good the day had been. The still small voice in the back of my mind said, "...a little too good?" ..as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Alas.

Then the lights began to flicker. They dimmed off and on of their own accord in subtle areas, but noticeable enough. I asked the local crew if the theatre had ghosts and they said yes, but some later comments led me to believe they were just joking. Except I'm sure there were. A theatre that has burned down and been rebuilt? There have to be some rogue spirits about.

Anyway, the lights really freaked out during Louie's entrance. The problem was fixed at intermission but it just goes to show that you can never be too careful and...well, there's never a dull moment.

Gold in the Hills

We love Logan!

Monday..

Weather: Frosty but sunny!

Breakfast: Not bad, oatmeal and a muffin with watery coffee :(

The Theatre: Gorgeous.

The Eccles theatre was built in 1923 to replace the Capitol theatre which had burned down. It's a beautiful little opera house with plush, warm red seats, white angel and ram reliefs and musical instruments detail in real gold. A tile mosaic of a phoenix spans one wall, depicting the theatre's own rise from the ashes.

Rebuilt by Mr. George Thatcher, who owned a recently renovated mansion attached to the theatre... it became a movie theatre for a time, fell into disrepair and then was rescued in 1993 by a few brave souls who brought it back to its old glory. They now host a multitude of touring shows every season and in the summer it is home to the Utah Opera festival, giving work to over a hundred actors and technicians. Who knew?

Yes, that is real gold.

And all nestled in the middle of the mountains of Utah.

Where are all the Canadians going?

Sunday, 1-28
It's my sister's birthday. 26 today, can you believe that?
It's also the day we set out for Logan, Utah! I drove Alan and Nora to the University this morning to drop them off at the Budget trucks, then swung back around to pick up Marie and Lauren and off we went!
Not a cloud touched the sky for our entire drive, except to give us a dramatic sunset when we hit the Utah/Idaho border.

Down one stretch of I-15 we passed a suspicious number of vehicles from Canada - a whole convoy of RVs and cars all motoring on down south. Perhaps there's a flood headed our way? We also saw some folks from Virginia, but that just didn't add up so I figured it was coincidence. Either way, we split ways with the Canadians once we took a Historic Byway down US 91 south. I don't know much about the history, but the mountains were gorgeous, glowing with snow and sunset.




We also passed a "Sheep Experimentation Center" as noted on our atlas. Hm. We decided not to stop and look around, though.

Lunch in Idaho Falls at O'Brady's family restaurant. Mediocre food and disappointing hot fudge sundae, but they had amusing little books on the tables to read while we waited for our food.

As stated, we took our little byway down into Utah, rolled through a couple of historic towns and more beautiful mountains and ended in Logan! Where we are staying at a beautiful Best Western with fridges and microwaves in the rooms, an Albertson's, Hastings and other shopping goodies within walking distance and ...well, we'll just see what the theatre has to offer tomorrow!

In Review...
Weather: Gorgeous, sunny and cold!
Scenery: There is a God.
Mood: Bright and adventurous!
Traffic: Swarms of Canadians, aggressive Dodge Rams and one lone Virginian.
Wildlife spotted: 2 big ravens, a magpie, a hawk, and a wolf. Yes, a wolf!
Hotel rating: *****! (that's Five Stars)
All in All: Woo hoo!

Missoooou! Week 2

Back to our home field! As it were. We rolled into town last Saturday to throw up the set for our Benefit performance and afterward danced and drank and ate little snacks until we just couldn't dance or drink or eat anymore. For some fun pictures of this festive event see Lauren's Blog.

Then it was Sunday. And on Sunday... we rest. Slept. Ate Sushi. Slept more.

Monday... slept.


Tuesday... slept, and then did a show in the evening.

Wednesday we had a noon matinee for a gaggle of highschoolers from the nearby region. They were moderately well behaved and enjoyed the show. I'm sure they would enjoy anything more than being in class, but at least we can say they didn't throw anything at the stage. I've heard some horror stories about that kind of thing.

Thursday.. another show! Imagine that. My parents came to this one, making it just that much more special. It means so much that they care to come and see the work I'm involved in, especially when they have friends who ask, "So, is Jessica in this play now?" They just don't know the business.

Friday... revving up, getting excited to be back on the road (even though we're boomeranging back in a week again for the Thespian Convention). Another double show day; a highschool matinee and evening performance. Highschoolers packed the theatre for the noon matinee. They started out rowdy but ended appreciative and generally well mannered. Pretty gratifying to give them something fun and of value on a school day.

Saturday... sooo close! A later afternoon matinee and then an evening performance and..load out! We had a couple of stalwart, kind souls help us pack everything up and we kept it down to 2 1/2 hours; not bad for having just a few extra hands. Not bad at all. Then we all scuttled home to pack.

Yes, I know... the week in review is pretty unexciting, but that brings us to... Logan!

Snapshots Part II

Another handful of Kodak moments for your enjoyment... actual post coming soon!

Montana State Student Union cafeteria has very tall tables!

Lovely moment from photocall. Boys'n'Bed!

You gotta take your naps where you can find them...

The motley crew. In black and white...because it's just better that way.

Snap shots:

I'll have more pictures from the road once I get my USB cable and take photos from my camera. Here are a few, though.

Our set up in the lovely high school gymnasium in Plains

Marie as Arty can take anything!

More of the setup from Plains. Sometimes, you just have to work under the table.

Larry, we have a problem...

Day 3, Show #3: Lewistown, Montana
Weather: Gray and cold.
Scenery: I slept most of the way.
Mood: Going steady.
Lewistown is always an interesting stop. We peform in the Fergus Highschool auditorium, a pretty nice stage with a good load in and a very wide house. The lights are tricky here and the electrics move slowly, run on electronic power rather than any kind of manual hauling of ropes.
The local Kiwanis is our local crew and they rock. They're good hands, fun to work with but you sometimes have to say things a couple of times before they realize you're talking to them. But they love to be involved and help and they do good work.
We enjoyed the largest house count I've ever seen in Lewistown since I've been touring with the Rep, being as we tend to perform there on Super Bowl Sunday but we managed to hit the middle of the week this time! Fortunate for us and them; Lost in Yonkers is really worth seeing - everyone loves a comedy.
The Kiwanians love to try and beat our old load-out record times, but we've usually done about fifteen shows by the time we hit them, so we didn't have much to go off of although we had a decent time.
Jim kept the bar at the hotel open for us - the Yogo Inn, which has a plaque on the floor near the pool that declares by standing there, you are standing in the center of the state of Montana.
So we had some drinks and some sleep and planned for...

Day 4, Show #4: Bozeman, Montana
Weather: Partly sunny and not nearly as cold as Plains.
Scenery: Gorgeous, can we say more mountains?
Mood:Bracing.
Bozeman is an adventure and a challenge all rolled up into a scrappy, dusty little theatre whose time has just about come. They keep on keeping on, though. Joel Jahnke is the man behind Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, but otherwise the Montana State University is more focused on film. I hear they're going to be build a blackbox theatre soon, so bravo.
Bozeman is Bobcat territory, the bitter rivals of U of M Grizzlies. A sign on their Student Union building (which also houses the Strand Theatre) declares: No Smoking, Skateboarding, Grizzlies.
We tried to remain incognito and left our Griz gear packed away. Not much to do about the U of M decales, though.
As for the theatre, we load up through a trap door, hauling up crates on a chain hoist, or hand up other pieces over the little roof/overhang and into the scene shop. A narrow, metal winding staircase leads the way from the lower level up to the shop and stage level and this is always traverse with care.
The house was pretty well sold out and we got a standing ovation... so the oodles more of funkiness that we experienced was, as always, forgiven. At least by me.
I do hope they get their new theatre built soon though.

Day #5, Show #5: Great Falls, Montana
Weather: Cold and windy. Felt practicall balmy by load-out, though!
Scenery: Sweeping plains and rocky foothills and buttes that make you want to dive into an old western novel.
Mood: Sleepy but determined.
Great Falls is a good stop if only because so many of our own are from there. Lots of family and old friends in the house, as well as an uncanny devotion to theatre from the more elderly population.
We park the Budgets just outside the back door of the Civic Center and haul our stuff out, up two ramps going over their entryway staircases, down a short hallway and onstage. The local crew wear their IATSI jackets proudly and for the most part they are good, reliable strong hands. A couple of the younger fellows were obnoxious to our women, though. Nora and Marie grinned and bore their way through some harassment and Martha gave it right back in the truck, but the men didn't take instruction from her too well. The older guys were great though, friendly and more professional.
My very favorite part of Great Falls is sitting in the back of the audience to quietly call the show, and overhearing comments. The ushers in particular crack me up, an army of devoted and quite serious, mostly elderly folks who aren't shy about commenting and laughing loudly during the show. I worked with Larry, the house manager, to make sure things went on time and everyone was sorted out...
He gave me the thumbs up to send out their house speak to thank some sponsors, then just as I was about to tell Katie to send the woman out We all heard a sharp, gnarled voice call out, "Larry! We have a problem!"
Never fear of course. Larry was on task, ushered people, sorted tickets and off we went.

Next up: Back to Missoula!

Week One

At last! Some time to sit and write.

Load Out: Keyword - cold. Very cold, all day. We began at 9:00 with some scenery work, finishing painting crates, I had some different kinds of work to do; measuring relationships of set pieces to the center line for places where we don't have our own floor (which has convenient spike marks). Things like that. Load out took a painfully long time being as it was our first time cramming everything into our two Budget trucks. And I do mean cramming. Every last inch is packed with set walls and crates.

Road Day 1, show #1: Plains, Montana
Weather: Freezing cold.
Scenery: Beautiful Montana mountains!
Mood: Optimistic and energetic.
Plains is one of the Rep's favorite stops because the town loves us and treats us like kings and queens. They serve us a home-made lunch and snacks during load-in, and a dinner after the show. We perform in their highschool gym. That is what traveling theatre is all about, if you ask me! The show went well and we got a wonderful, warm audience response.
Load out was long, cold and tedious. Only the second time to pack it into the truck and some adjustments had to be made near the end (using a pry-bar and a hammer) to cram everything into the truck. But it went it.
We were all frozen to the core by the time we got back to the Dew Duck Inn, a marvelous little establishment with hot showers and warm quilts and good heaters. So we slept well, and woke up entirely too early to head off to...

Day 2, Show #2: Helena, Montana
Weather: Freezing cold, dark, entirely too early in the morning.
Scenery: Gorgeous! Driving out during the sunrise gave us an inspiring view of golden mist and snow white covered mountains, frozen rivers and valleys.
Mood: Refreshed and ready to take on another day.
I woke up far too early, but got to use my new French-press travel coffee mug. The inn owner was at the front desk and he very cheerfully brought me some hot water, and some hot chocolate to add to my coffee. His wife trotted out in her bathrobe and pinke Croc shoes and said "I don't usually greet people in my robe but I just had to tell you how wonderful the show was and how much we enjoyed it." And they gave me hot chocolate to take on the road. Very very sweet people.
Helena was a pretty good day over all. The Myrna Loy theatre is a beautiful little space, also a movie theatre so we had to be quiet going up and down the stairs. We had a small local crew but there's a lot of waiting around anyway during a load-in so that wasn't too much of a setback.
Greg Johnson came to this performance to schmooz with the big-wigs who attend the show in Helena. We also had quite a bit of family in the audience, including Katie's grandmother, who suffered a fainting spell near intermission. Of course it threw Katie for a loop but the latest word is that the attack was something to do with Grandma's medication, and she's doing much better now. Whew.
Greg's main point and concern of the evening: Make sure the show stays tight. We cannot run over 2:15 because it just makes things tedious for the audience and indulgent on our part. Especially for a Neil Simon comedy, crisp, clean, quick acting is key.
Load out was less painful and we were out in time to get a decent night's sleep...

Day 3 & Show #3 coming soon....

Random fun stuff.

Hey. Just something entertaining from this summer until I do a real update on tour!

This is an animation created by Alan from this summer in Bigfork. Lorsey took a multiple number of still photos during photo call while actors were adjusting for the correct position for the "real" photo. Alan linked them together into this charming animation. (click picture to see actual movement)

The Cast

After weeks of rehearsal that I've been negligent in updating, the Core and real story of our tour begins now and I am excited to bring everyone along for the ride. We leave tomorrow at 8:30am. So first, let's get everyone grounded and ready for the adventure.

The Plot: Montana Repertory Theatre's National Tour of Lost in Yonkers, Pulitzer prize-winning, heartfelt comedy by Neil Simon.

The Cast....
Me: Stage Manager.

Libby: Company Manager. Montana native, bright, sprightly, spunky Momma of tour!

Derek: Technical Director. Montana native, friend, classmate and smartass extraordinaire.

Alan: Lighting Designer/Master Electrician. Montana native, friend, classmate, Munchkin player & fellow computer-geek extraordinaire.

Nora: Wardrobe Mistress. Montana native, friend, classmate, superhypercheerfulaxepealidocious girl of never ending adventure and amusement.

Katie: Assistant Master Electrician. Friend, classmate, party-girl then buckle down and work hard!

Dan: Sound designer/Engineer. Friend, almost classmate, even-keel, cultured crewman of endless patience.

Lauren: My assistant! Friend and birthday twin, fellow Bigfork Playhouse alum, generous enough to laugh at my jokes ;)

Danny: Actor, U of M almost-graduate. Playing Jay..hard working, quiet, funny, attentive with impressive work ethic.

Marie: Actress, U of M Sophmore. Playing Arty. Also hard working, impressive ethic and discipline, good humor and sweetness.

Martha: Actress, U of M, playing Aunt Gert. Witty, dry, hard worker, grounded, gritty and lively, partier streak.

Suzy: Equity actress, playing Grandma. Toured last year and years before me, intense, powerful, funny, secretly a partygirl...

J.R.: Equity actor, playing Eddie. Toured last year, even-keeled, funny, knows and finds all the good places to eat and drink and can tell you anything about a glass of wine.

Lordan: Equity actress, first tour with the Rep. Playing Bella..quiet, funny, sweet and quirky. Wonderful to watch onstage, excellent comedian.

Jason: Equity actor, first tour with the Rep. Playing Uncle Louie. Charming, fun, hysterical to watch onstage, seems ready for tour!

Secondary Cast...

Kara: Director of Lost in Yonkers, accompanying us for the first week of tour..

Greg Johnson: Artistic Director for the Montana Rep, the eyes from above..

Steve Wing: Production Manager of the Rep and U of M Drama/Dance department. Highly respected mentor.

LisaMarie: Assistant to Greg and all-around problem solver.

Our story begins tomorrow in Plains, a favorite stop by Rep tour veterans, where we perform in the highschool gymnasium and get fed by the locals.

Buckle your seatbelt.

Let the journey begin.

Kodak Moment

Thank God for camera phones.

A Day in the Life

We live in a hotel with bagels or cereal or fruit for breakfast - depending on how hungry or virtuous you're feeling that day. Our suites sit in a seperate building, so breakfast requires a brief trek to the lobby through whatever the weather is today.

It's snowing today. But I have my own coffee pot, and coffee. I just recieved as a Christmas gift two 1/2 pounds of Montana Coffee Trader's beans - Dutch Bavarian Chocolate and French Roast. Why would I walk through the snow for Griz blend in a thermos?

The alarm on my cellphone is fairly gentle but thank goodness for snooze buttons. I get in later than the assistant master electrician - who I'm rooming with for the rehearsal period, so I generally sleep later. I roll in quietly and she rolls out quietly and sometimes our ships might pass.

Breakfast is brief and simple; I eat lunch before rehearsal so no need to chow down in the morning. But I linger over my coffee. Sets my mood for the day, that time over coffee - more than how much sleep I got or whether the sun is shining. It's less about the caffiene and more about the ritual. I like having the morning because today I have to ship off Christmas packages (don't worry, the destination is only two hours away so they should arrive in time).

Then it's off to the theatre. I make a round around the offices and halls to see if anyone needs anything they haven't called me about before now.

Into the theatre and onstage to see if things are in order for rehearsal. My assistant has water heating for tea and coffee brewing - I don't need more but some people like it in the afternoon and the smell is always invigorating.

And I sit and do my part to keep things moving and in order, although sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in the creative whirl and laugh along with everyone or sit in silence after someone has discovered a profound moment. I keep track of the time (with my trusty stopwatch), and make sure we take the required union breaks. I love rehearsals. It's like popping in a brand new movie that's being made while you watch.

Dinner. Maybe a nap.

Rehearsal in the evening. More of the same as rehearsal in the afternoon, but now everyone else has left the building except the janitors and it's just us, the stage, the set and the script. The energy is all in there. People get heavy-eyed around nine but progress is good. We keep the tea and the snacks flowing and make it through.
People head out, back home or out for fun. My assistant locks up the theatre, cleans up the coffee and tea table. I write up the report of our rehearsal for everyone - specifying if there are any new needs in the way of costumes, props, sound, lighting or scenery. Or anything else.

Sometimes there's drinks after. A beer. A dessert somewhere. I didn't go out last night even though we got out early. It was a long day even though I had my good coffee time in the morning.

Some consideration of going to bed early. But there has to be non-theatre time too. So we stay up. I help my roomie shop online, watch some tv and play on the internet.
And sleep.

And there's that alarm on my phone again.

Tools of the Trade

Will the excitement never cease?

My grand task yesterday, in amongst other papery Stage-Managery toilings, was to replace my stopwatch. A most critical tool on tour to keep a show in check. Nothing says 'yawn' like a scene that's a minute longer than it should be.

My first time stage managing at the university I bought a lovely stopwatch that's meant for lifeguards timing laps. Not only does it sport a jaunty yellow nylon necklace, it has a number of charming features to include silent button-pushing, easy-to-use set features and best of all, it lights up ala Timex's indiglo. And if I ever happen to be working underwater, it's good up to 50 meters. The watch served me well for years until it finally quit last year on the tour of The Trip to Bountiful. I knew it was coming, because the little beeps on each stop and start got longer and more mournful - the pitiful sound of a dying electronic.
I suffered through a brief period of mourning before buying a new stopwatch which - while it was slick, black, and came with a whistle - couldn't match my old one. It also began acting up this fall, beeping every hour on the hour (I still haven't figured out how to stop it) as well as sounding an alarm every day at 4:27pm. I still don't know how the alarm got set, nor how to turn it off. You can understand my eagerness to replace it. There is no place in a stage manager's life for a rebellious stopwatch.

So I went back to Radio Shack on the quest for a battery for my old watch (yes, I carried its inert corpse around for months without finding time to replace the battery...) And, like a car that won't misbehave while the mechanic is listening, the watch suddenly began to function after six months of a blank, dead screen! It was a miracle and I have no doubt that it was inspired by the humming of its electronic brethren all around, the bright glow of flourescent lighting and the nimble hands of the Radio Shack employee. Perhaps a bit of the Christmas spirit, too. I didn't trust much to the miracle though and I bought an extra battery and an extra clone of said watch.

Sure enough, as soon as I got back to the office and tried to set the time on my old watch, the number display blinked and spun in confusion and the screen went dead again.

I observed a brief moment of silence, then threw the watch away and opened up the new one. Its beeps were perky and quick and the screen bright and eager to show me the exact time.
Back to work.

Let the season begin

Deck the halls!

And gear up for tour. My first work day back in Missoula and I hit the ground...at a nice, steady jog really. It's wonderful to see my university building again, be back in one of my many homes (the Campus Inn!) Since rehearsals are beginning earlier this year and we won't be home for Christmas, I purchased an adorable little Christmas tree about 3 1/2 feet tall, planted it in a red Ace bucket and decked it in tinsel, little lights and candy canes. Voila. Christmas has arrived. I just need to get some presents to put under it. I also plan to host a Christmas party for the company members who don't have family in town or other plans. Imagine that - a theatre Christmas party...that's actually on Christmas day!

The Rep has purchased a beautiful, shiny silver Ford Windstar van to add to its tour fleet. I myself will continue to drive the blue Stealth Van of which I have grown so fond over the last three years. The little van has some pickup! Vroom. People always try to pass her because the Van is cleverly disguised as a nondescript Soccer Mom car that seems to be puttering along slowly, but let me tell you...you don't know the meaning of Stealth until you put on the Cruise control in that blue mini and coast up a hill or two past those hot-rodding Dodge Ram pickup trucks or a nice big 18-wheeler. Ha hA!

But I digress.

Back to haunting my old halls and falling into a wonderful routine. There's such an energy rush once I get back on a job, and I already know what's what and where to dive in; feeling organized, wanted and competent, and excited about a new project and new people. And new cities! We're going so many places this tour. Old cities, new cities, borrowed cities, blue cities... wait, that's not right. Something like that, though.

This week is mostly phone calls, organizing and planning. We have our first full company meeting on Monday. It's like a mini Christmas... the gift of new folks and sharing excitement over our upcoming adventure. Conflicts and challenges will emerge but for now.. welcome to the honeymoon.

Ciao.

Heartbreak..and hiatus

All right.
So after a good long break from writing, I can sum up the end of the season.
It always creeps up. We know the week will fly by.. we can take out our stress built up over the season or at a particular event or person by smashing a hammer into a large piece of scenery. Stage backstage clears up, we can breathe - we warned people not to get lost in the huge, clear space backstage. Tears slip down cheeks during the curtain calls of each closing..and we wake up bright and early to clear out one more set, one more set of costumes and one more box of props. We erase notes in our scripts and return them - although the chunk of heart we gave to it for the summer, the soul of it, stays with us.
My crew and I had the dubious honor of putting away props and managing some madness up in props storage. This involved a lot of taking things off shelves, discovering questionable items, and putting them all back neatly onto the shelves. Okay, maybe some stuff went into the trash instead of up on a shelf...
But honestly, why would you need a bag full of pink, plastic Baskin Robbins spoons..?

Anyway. That was an interesting journey. The theatre was scoured clean, as were the dorms. People flew away to home, to school, to their next job and adventure.
I went home with the heart wrenching knowledge that this was my last season as stage manager in Bigfork. It's still a difficult choice, when I think of everything I gained every year I went back, of how I forged part of myself there, and made ties to people like tight silver cords. It hurts to go on from something like that. It's like working four seasons in one, and it's an environment that just can't be beat. The Thomsons make us their family, and the Flathead Valley is my home, so it's even closer to my heart. To think of coming back as an 'alum', the way I see others come back, and to know when I visit I'll be the girl who "was our stage manager for a couple years"... it's a little bitter. But I made the choice - it would've have just as hard to give up touring at this point in my life. I'm just now part of a circle that's been going for almost fifty years, and a very proud part for that matter.

So now all that's left to do is cherish it, and keep my experience and memories close. All the choices I've made have led me to the happiness I had there... so I know that the choice I've made now must lead me to happiness again.

Does that sound dramatic?
Well... that's our business, after all.

As for the 'hiatus' business, I'm out of theatre work until December, when the adventure will being again. I'll drop occasional reviews of plays I plan to see this fall, but otherwise, my drama soul is on a nice, long coffee break.
Ciao.

1..2..3.. smile!

Actually you're more likely to hear someone shout "Hold it!" during a photo call. I remember once when my sister told me she was disappointed to hear that the photos of shows and dances for archives were posed rather than shot during a show. You do lose a little of the honest intent, but you get a better shot and more faces and sometimes you can even make the designers somewhat satisfied with images for their portfolios.

As you probably guessed, we're in the midst of taking production photos of the shows for the company archives. Maybe it would've been a better idea to spread it out throughout the months, but we opted to squish all the photo nights together in a week to get it over with - I say 'get it over with' even though we're doing it the second to the last week of the season. But, sometimes that's the way the tea leaves float.

We got Pirates done last night and got out of the theatre around 11:30. That'll be the easiest one, with the fewest costume and set changes. At least most of the scenery for the other shows rolls. Mostly it will be costumes that eat up the time, I think, and people snapping extra shots for everyone's benefit. That's lucky for everyone although when there's seven or eight people taking pictures, it can be slow going. That's one thing I'll say for an Equity photo call - you have to get in and out of there. But I enjoy our looser structure here too so that everyone can get a decent picture of themselves in the show and so on - and a goofy one here and there. Major General Stanley in enormous, dark sunglass? Sure...

These last couple of weeks will fly. It feels as if we have so much work coming up ahead of us - and we do, but it's already Wednesday and before we know it, photos will be done. We'll have a couple more company parties and special events thrown by locals who love the playhouse. Play adn win or lose a softball game against the Townies. Next week we'll have a couple performances and strike the first show...then the second. Space will clear up backstage and on the costume racks. Props will migrate back to storage and backstage will seem miraculously tidy. Actors will return scripts. People will be double checking their flight itineraries, sealing boxes scrounged from UPS and the IGA and shipping them home...

I'm probably thinking too far ahead, but before we know it... so long Bigfork 2006.

But hey, there's still another week and a half.

A taste of History

Last night was an excellent example of what keeps us going in this exhausting business. At the end of 'Seven Brides' a woman came up to me and said that her little girl was just 'in love with Benjamin - sorry I don't know his real name!' but could he come out and sign her program. So I told Jon G. and he went out to meet his fan - a cherubic little girl, clutching her program and waiting by the stage, bursting with childish anticipation. When she saw Jon she erupted into a smile and squeal and started jumping up and down - not shy at all. I could've punched myself for not having a camera. But how wonderful for a child - to adore someone they've seen onstage and get to meet them! You don't get that with movies. Hello, parents.

Lorsey, Alan, Rory and Jon and I went down/over to Virginia City, MT to see Nora's show on Sunday. We also saw the Brewery Follies while we were there - how exquisite to be able to sit and Watch a show - with a beer in my hand! I felt positively decadent. The show was fun, funny and filthy with all the innuendo (and sometimes outright blatant in it's humor). We sat in the front row and Lorsey got picked on during one of the actor's numbers in which he played 'Carlos, the Love God.' So you can imagine how entertaining That was. Another young fellow in the front row made the mistake of wearing a 'Hooters' t-shirt. He got picked on for the Whole show.

Nora's show was excellent. V.C. has preserved much of its history - the buildings retain their old fronts and small, western frontier feel. The tiny stage and the old oil-style lamps hanging down from the low cieling conjured up images of shows in the past. I loved imagining actors of the old west up on that stage, entertaining the dusty, hard-working folks of the town with vauedeville, song and plays. I find myself hungry for history, to know about the lives of people in my business in a different time and place. The brightness and strength of the human spirit shines through when you see theatre alive and cherished in the most unlikely places. V.C. has done a beautiful job of keep alive that old feeling - a short play, then an hour of vaudeville, comedy and songs. What a treat.

Our shows are just carrying right along. Cliche as it is, it's hard to believe we have only a couple of weeks left. It's going to fly by with company events, workshops, photos and all. Now is the time we're all clinging for extra time with those we've made friends with - and also scraping for a little time for ourselves to absorb this experience. Phase 3, if you will. We're tired of eachother, but we realize that we love each other (and sometimes want to pummel each other), and for a few months we've been a family - dysfunctions and all. We're all working for the same thing, for whatever reason, and now is just the time to drive it home and put it together in our hearts as this, "Wow. Remember 2006? What a great summer..."

Lazy days and day jobs

All right, so the days aren't exactly lazy for most people. I don't do much for the Benefit, myself. They don't really need my stage manager skills for the rehearsals - I would end up sitting there Most of the time. I usually come in around the end to help pull dress rehearsals together, otherwise everyone's happy for me to keep away, and I like to stay away so that I can enjoy the show almost like a real performance, and have some surprises.
I'm sure everyone will be glad to know that Josh (my actor in a neck brace last week) has made a full recovery, and while we had to alter some blocking and calm down Huck for the last 'River' performance, no one was any the wiser. Speaking of River...
In one of the numbers in act Two, "Waitin' for the Light to Shine" the original plan was to have most of the company onstage behind Huck while he sang, up stage of the scrim. But the choreography wasn't coming off as sharp and clean as the choreographer wanted and finally we cut the people from upstage and had them sing offstage. THe costume designer was angry and devasted because three of the women's dresses had been built especially for that number. After three performances, we've all finally agreed that, rather than being interesting, offstage choir sounds, it just looks more like Huck can't remember all the lyrics. So last night we called an early rehearsal, brushed the choreography and threw everyone back onstage. I think the director will be pleased to find that out, as well as the costume designer and the others who helped build the lvoely dresses. It just goes to show was a fluid artform this is...something isn't working, and is easily fixed.
We have had the issue of changing things constantly this season, mostly to do with scenery. Things were designed and built too large and ungainly (quite frankly) , and while it is unethical and unprofessional, cuts were made for the good of the company and the shows. Maybe it's not right, but the shows are better off for it, and that's really the bottom line.

All in all the season is going well. Audiences are enjoying the shows - we do get the token person now and then who might walk out at intermission because they "don't like it," for whatever reason, but based on the other 300 to 400 people in the audience who stay and clap, we don't worry too much about those.
Ciao for now...we'll see how the Revue goes in a few days!

Free at Last!

Stole the lyrics from Jim's song in 'Big River' for this post. Yes, we have all four shows open at long, long last, and what a trial. One can sum up politely by saying 'we all learned a lot'. Lots of patience, lots of grit-toothed smiles. So maybe things weren't as stressful as they felt, but when it's the fourth show in a Long run of rehearsals and trials, everyone was getting worn down. Kudos to everyone for pulling on through.

Once again, the set became an issue - on its own, it wouldn't have been such a monster, but with all that came before it - the gargantuan set for Seven Brides, and then Dolly, everyone began to wear a bit thin. The challenge was space Offstage, when it came down to it, and weight. The set for Big River was decorated with a material called smart lap (I believe the spelling is correct), which most of the technical crew and the actors began referring to as 'smart crap' or 'smart @#^%!" in their better moments. It was just so Heavy. Yes, it looks great, but it's one more thing to pile on top of a very weary company. Of course, as we all learn, one just has to go with it, and we did. I thank my stars for having Dwayne Ague backstage and on the build crew, his brain and experience and skill and patience helped us all when it came to scene changes and making everything work backstage.

In any case, the show opened to thunderous applause and, despite being about twenty minutes longer than it probably should have, people are enjoying it. Cuts that probably should've been made before we even started rehearsal never happened, so the audience gets a little restless toward the end, but they still cheer in all the right places.

So that's Big River. Rehearsals have begun for the Benefit Revue and otherwise we're falling into the swing of our summer - sleep in, work a day job, show, changeover, sleep! (Or not, depending if you're 'thirsty' or looking for a card game, with this company).

Yesterday I got back from a visit to Whitefish and ran into one of my actors in the grocery, and he was a sporting a neck brace. I found out he had 'slept wrong' on it, pressed two vertabrae together and wouldn't be able to be in the show that evening. Fortunately he was chorus in Seven Brides, but we still had to alter blocking, lines and choreography and tonight he's Huck Finn in Big River! So you can imagine our anxiousness that night, waiting to find out how he was doing today, talking over scenarious, who would fill in - who would replace the role of whomever filled in for him... As I llove to say, "never a dull moment!" I think if we hadn't been Prepared, things would've gone haywire. Such as it was, everyone was calm, prepared, and ready. He went to the physical therapist this morning and trotted into Revue rehearsal chipper and feeling better, so we all got a wave of relief, and the show should go off tonight just fine. (knock on wood)
I hope this just reminds everyone to take care of themselves...one scare like that in a summer is enough adrenaline to keep Me going for the last month and a half...

The set that ate Bigfork

Well I haven't been able to do a step-by-step update of the whole rehearsal and production process for "Helloy, Dolly!" but suffice it to say that it's been ridiculous where scenery is concerned. The show was designed far too large for our space, keeping in mind the room we have backstage, scene changes and the fact that there is a limited shop staff, and we have three other shows to think about. Everyone was on edge for the whole process, actors included, especially once we got to work with the scenery, only to find that quite a bit of it wasn't sturdy.
Most of the problems got fixed by the handful of guys in the shop who Do know what they're doing, but despite all that, last night at our opening a piece of scenery still fell down.
Yes, fell down.
Right before Dolly is supposed to enter the Harmonia Gardens restaurant and perform the title number of the show with the waitstaff, the waiter who announces her coming ran up the stairs, the center archway teetered and fell backwards, just striking the backdrop. It was like a movie - there was a huge, collective audience gasp, the actors stood for a beat - the actor playing the head waiter glared (in character!) at the waiter as if he'd knocked over the archway, then the waiter said, 'She's Here!" and Dolly entered and the audience applauded. They performed the number to much audience applause and enjoyment.
I hate to see shows go wrong - but it makes a good story. Plus, no one was hurt - so while it's unfortunate, I can bet no one will ever forget that opening night.