Watson Wisdom Wednesday

During my first Haunt Rich and I were sent to get some plywood from the Asylum Maze. Being new I had no idea where the maze was so trusted Rich that it was on the Stagecoach Trail. Now a big thing to remember is that carts weren’t allowed to drive on the trail during park hours but I follow Rich’s directions.


On the way onto the trail some our fellow techs may have called at us from near the main gate or may not have I’m not sure though Rich swears it happened. So we get to the entrance to the ride and the coach departs, Rich tells me to turn around and head back the way we came. So there we are two tech in an area we shouldn’t be, doing something we shouldn’t, trying to out run a stagecoach in a taylor dunn cart and if we get caught things won’t be good. It was a good thing we had ‘The Fast One’ that day because we beat the coach, avoid trouble, remain unknown (or at least no one mentions it), and don’t discover if a cart will beat a horse in a crash. As we leave the trail the coach goes by, I’m shaken and Rich is laughing.
Finally he says, ‘I think they moved the maze this year.’

Always find the humor.

Easy Gig

They told me to show up at 4 and I'd be done at 10.
I showed up at 4 quickly taken through that today is going to involve a mic check, then a quick show and one by 6:30.

Mic check happens and it's a song from a musical to open in a few weeks performed by the female leads that are rather good. Goes well no problems. Then I wait.
Not too long and the Executive Director from one theatre and the Managing Director for another talk about the co-production and introduce people and I realize I'm in the room with a number of the board members of 2 major theatres perhaps not movers and shakers but damn these are the ones that call the shots in my field. And to believe I thought this was going to be nothing big.

Event goes up a bit late, no problems and then people mingle, have food and drinks and I hang out and wait. When the place is nearly deserted I'm called down to take some food home. Delicious deserts, some savory wrapped things, and veggies. I power down, say good bye and head home for an early night.

Don't worry free food I'll give you a good home.

So Very High School

My first theater was a converted chapel hidden near the freshman lockers and activities director’s office. A small speck of a building with more potential and energy than it deserved. A fixed grid above a slight rack above the upstage with the apron being well over double the depth and width of the rest of the stage, there was some circuits at the grid, we’d put booms on the apron and we had a FOH pipe. All of this was controlled by 24 dimmers and an ancient lepercon board.

To this day I look fondly on this space and assembling the scaffolding to work on lights FOH, the odd ladder work on the grid and just how the space wasn’t really useful for the shows. A few people influenced me enough to try it professionally. Had that small push not happened… well my life would be quite different.

My High School dreams of sets like this.

Today I had the fortune of working for a friend at a privileged high school on the Eastside. The place is ‘Three Penny Opera’ and the director is strange but the facilities were so much better than what I had over 10 years ago. The high school me looked at this space with shock and awe. A 500 something house, half fly with more lights than the board can handle, a decent looking sound system, spot lights and a person in charge of the whole thing.

Down side is the cynical bastard that has been working in the trade started finding the problems. Poorly maintained equipment, strange positions, odd design features and a whole mess of things that show time and skills were lacking perhaps not both but each in its own way. I sat in the cats and watched part of the ‘run through’, though it was a start and stop rehearsal, and wondered if these kids knew this would be fleeting. There were a few of talent who might go somewhere but by and large they were there for fun.

There was also a high schooler helping us and he seemed interested and took it more seriously than I did. He had reason to be invested this was his school, his play and people would talk about his work. I am just some guy that was brought in a for a day and it’s hard when I’m not getting paid and it’s a favor. He was good if I was lacking and if he wants he might find a life in this business and some might not curse the kid but it’s his choice not mine.

Still it was a hard day. Things didn’t work, plans changed, we lost 5 hours because of the rehearsal where ‘tech talk’ was restricted. Didn’t help we were understaffed and by the end of the day all of us were tired, one guy was rather sick and another had to leave for dinner. It was harder and harder to keep going but at least we got it hung, colored and I got a picture in a Sergeant Pepper style coat.

Understudy-tastic

This show has had some odd understudy shows.
Still the best was when we had 5 understudies go on.
Now that was a show and after that a single understudy seems routine.

School Show Day 1 of 3

Being a night person has it's advantages in stage work. Mostly those late nights don't weigh as hard, getting used to a world of night is easy and sunrises are things that spell bedtime. Yet even I must break that routine and have to work a school show.
A school show in lovely Everett.
On the plus traffic was going the opposite direction but on the minus I wake up early to make the drive.

Show should have been easy with a cast performing for kids but a spot ops bus was late, I was asked to step in and be ready to cover the opening until he arrived. Going over the light, checking cues and getting myself into a state of mind to spot the show he rushes in as we begin.
(after holding for 7 minutes)

Damn foiled by someone's close call and I actually wanted to run that spot even for a moment but alas I was denied. Oh well some other time.

Then automation decided to be difficult and that caused an interesting turn of events but mostly the show ran okay beside coffee making its way through people's systems all at about the same moment. Luckily it was slow and turns at the bathroom were staggered.

Between shows I went 7 miles up the road to a casino.
Lost 2 dollars, got a meal and had a good time. A good way to kill hours between shows.

The evening would have been fine had an actor not become hurt thus creating some tension, confusion and taking an otherwise dull second show into a flurry of worries and planning. None of it affected me beside having to announce my own complete but I am, after all, a professional ;)

On a side note is the Zodiac changing really a big deal? Facebook seems to tell me it is but I'm not sure becoming an Aquarius is that big of a deal beside now Age of Aquarius by the Fifth Dimension can be my theme song.

Regardless of Zodiac confusion tomorrow's going to be understudy-tastic.

Watson Wisdom Wednesday

When having a shit day try this:
Go home, drink TWO beers, go to sleep, wake up and do it again.

Last Minute Add

It was cold last night. Sitting at home trying to decide if I'd watch Nova or some other program, maybe put on a movie. Just relax on a day off and I get a call around 8pm, 'Can you be at WaMu Theatre in an hour?'
Consider a few things here:
I'm ready to have a night off
It may or may not be snowing outside (I don't know but there's a weather advisory)
My tools are in my car which is being worked on
And if it runs 4 hours I'll be back at 1am

I say yes and am asked to let anyone I know that might want work (and knows audio) there's an emergency. So I call a friend and her and her boyfriend decide to do it. An hour later the gig starts and we have to take down the house system and a guy known for his ability to talk is there. I tell my friends I didn't call him.

Easy call and I'm glad I was on my crew because the crew stretching and straightening the projection screen and surrounding set pieces weren't having as much fun. Nothing like hearing 4 adults all giving instructions at once and none are repeated. It's comic but only from the outside.
Good call, 3-0-2 which isn't bad for a night that I might have been at home on my duff watching tv. And again dispatch knows I'll do most calls if asked.

Nothing like walking away from a night with money you didn't expect to make that trip to Beth's so much better.