Part DEUX!

When in Rome . . . Georgia

All Roads apparantly DO NOT lead to Rome.
I drove from somewhere in South Carolina to ROME GEORGIA Friday after a long day and a rough show. The drive was long- something close to 6 hours after an early morning, a tricky load-in and all that chamber theatre entails. Then after a long drive on two-lane highways it started to get dark and we got lost and turned around just enough times to make everyone irritable and punchy. When we finally pulled into one of the more vile hotels we've experienced it was after 8:00 and we had two minutes left before we reached the legal limit of on-the-clock hourage.

I would like to thank our kind hosts and hostesses in SC however, for one of the best lunches we've been treated to! I had a Ham, swiss and PINEAPPLE sandwich on a croissant!! and then I got a real treat-- my very first sample of a favorite southern dish: Pecan Pie!! I have to say that it was quite sweet and delicious, though if you ask me I could have done without the Peacans! In any case that particular southern favorite is, in my humble opinion, a darn site better than GRITS!! But I vow to try them again if I'm able. We're promised a Hot Breakfast tomorrow- a real treat in a string of stale, cold continental breakfast offerings.

I had planned to blog this weekend but unfortunately we stayed at a wretched succession of hotels without the slightest hint of modern technology! Now we are at a lovely motel in Albany GA that makes my heart feel glad. Even the fact that I have to do an entire suitcase full of laundry owing to the (ironic) fact that my laundry detergent burst open and thoroughly soaked and sudded my wardrobe (and unfrotunately some other toilettries), even that is not enough to dampen the happy mood.


The last week was difficult. I'll be honest in saying that I have seriously considered walking away- buying a bus ticket and bidding this whole ordeal adieu. It is not the fun experience I had anticipated- and more that 'hard' it is infinately frustrating. a thousand things that should be fixed, should run smoothly or be improved upon and they are simply not. It is, to be frank, a pain in the rear end. Another factor which makes this difficult is the fact that after a long days work you can't escape- you live with your collegues and often feel like there isn't any breathing room. It has been a challenge for me to figure out how to maintain professionalism in such a situation, which is really more like a family group dynamic. It is as walking a tight rope.

But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. While I'm not seeing as much of the country as I'd like- more like driving through most of the country without pausing to enjoy it- at least I am seeing and experiencing some fabulous things, and for that opportunity I am grateful. While I'm not really being paid appropriately for the amount of work we're asked to do- sound engineer, sound tech, understudy, truck-driver, moving crew, house manager and teacher liason, I am learning a great deal about myself and the limits of my personality. And I think I might be building some muscle!

Here are a few firsts for me:

Pecan Pie
Grits
Seeing Tobacco Crops
Seeing COTTON crops
piggly wiggly
pomegranate margarita (yummmmm)
Touring the country with a theatre troup (heeeheeehee!)

All my love- and I'll write whan I can,

BETH

Slideshow :)

Into every life . . .

As my mother tells me when things get tough:
Into every life a little rain must fall.
Well Mum, it's raining. I'm proud and happy to be on such a wonderful opportunity of a tour- for a reputable company with a producer who produces MAJOR works such as The Faithy Healer and more recently LEGENDS (w\Joan Collins)-- but somedays, sometimes, it's hard to remember the good things and all to easy to dwell on the negative.

Our set is beautiful- but I'll say it and i won't deny it later, Our set is somewhat of a death trap, and was certainly not desigtned or constructed with the full comprehension of daily set-up and strike coupled with trips in and out of a u-haul, and the hazards of a long road journey. To be perfectly frank I wonder what in the world they were thinking designing this thing out of steel and heavy wood-- durability, i suppose, but the thing MUST be, NEEDS to be, by virtue of it's purpose in life both durable AND portable. We had problems with the thing in Boston and they refused to listen, Day one on the road the proscenium was torqueing, the paint was scraped horribly (why didn't a protective finish go in it I wonder?) and literally CHUNKS of it were sacrificed the the RYDER gods.
It is banged up. It is less than safe. It is one week in and we have some serious issues, but all we keep hearing is: Make it work, the show must go on.

So we do. We keep going. . .


Then, thursday, we had what is called in the business an EDISON DAY. This means that we are plugging about 2 dozen or more stage lights and dimmers into what is no different than the outlets in your home.


This means many groan-enducing things.
1) We have alot of additional cable to run with alot of adaptors being used.
2) we have some serious patching to do in the computer to make the lights run the way they are intended. and
3) we are far more likely to run into technical difficulties...

I remember once at my house running the hair dryer at the same time mum turned on the garbage disposal and we tripped a circuit. heeheeehee. This was a much bigger deal.
Halfway through sleepy hollow the lights just quit. Pop. gone. Only one branch of front lights remained, but Our electricians board was dead, her monitor was dead, she had no control- not even ON\OFF let alone dim or color or anything remotely helpful.


^ This is what our lighting intruments have for a plug. Then, in a theatre equipped for actually doing theatre, they all tie into a net box which is labeled and numbered and where all the technology speakks the same language and we aren't forced to run extensions out 8into the hall ways. The head janitor or somebaody came abackstage at in termission and asked: "Where are you plugged in?" Our Electrician just looked at him in disbelief for a moment and then said : "EVERYWHERE!!!"

And then if we did reset the breakers (should we be able to find them in time) who was to know the extent of the damage? Massive power surges tend to cause lamps to blow en masse and Nicole's (our electrician) computer monitor showed all the signs of being shot. It refused to show anything other than a black screen after many attempts at revival.

Ah well. We somehow sorted the majority of the issue out over our very brief intermission and finished the show with some more frustration and our fingers crossed, and then we're told by headquarters thnat that sort of massive power failure happens all the time in many of the venues they've booked for us, and that we should expect to encounter it again. thanks. why book us in places that can't handle even our meagre traveling technology? The answer is of course, the Almighty Dollar. Back at headquarters they get a report that says we completed the show, which means no refunds, and all it well. For us, the ones who had to live it, it isn't so neat and tidy. It was emotional.

But for all that, Carmel Middle School was actually the most involved audience we've seen so far-- even with all the technical difficulties. They reacted vocally to the Narrator's murder of the old man in The Tell Tale Heart and all actually visibly leaned forward to try and see the hacked up body when the policeman tears up the floor boards. They applauded loudly, laughed in all the right places and buzzed excitedly between scenes, discussing the irony in The Necklace, the creepiness of the zombie in The Monkey's Paw and the adorable-ness of the Frog in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Claveras County. All-in-all i believe they enjoyed it, were captivated by it, and will likely think of it long after we're gone. And that's why we're doing it after all, that's what makes the SNAFU's worth it.

Love and missing home,
BETH

On Tour . . . For Real!!!

I really regret not posting about our move to\ stay at The Strand theatre of Dorchester- because shorthly thereafter I suddenly became very busy and time was too precious to spend in front of the computer and fiddling with technology. Tech week for this show was more intense and nerve-wracking than any I've ever been a part of, and the reason? Money. This is theatre for MONEY, not theatre for a hobby. Thus everything seems amped and everyone runs around catering to the chain of command-- with the Producer at the very top.
The Strand is a beautiful old place which admittedly needs some love and care, but which has a quiet old grace about it. Though I had never stepped foot in this space before, I felt instantly at home. To the best of my ability I explored every nook and cranny I could manage to sneak off to, and found lots of fun things, Including the oldest Wurlitzer Organ in Boston (I mean this literally, it had a plaque declaring it so.).
One of my favorite things about this space, however, was the fact that the City of Boston has purchased it and will be restoring the Old Dame to its original state. Here's the cool part: They have already begun the restoration by sectioning off a section and, like the half-woman half-man at the carnival, or like a cross-section in a book, you can see the original colors next to the current bordello-style scheme.












Then, before I knew it, it was time to load out! This was quite a process, let me tell you! We had to UNcable, Unplug, Undo and generally UN stuff.









Then we had to pack all out dismantled set, our boxed-up lights, our wrapped up cables and out crated costumes. There Is a specific packing order (which is helpful- imagine the chaos that could ensue otherwise), and boy do we PACK that truck! - - The Truck, by the way folks, which is the largest size you can get without having to have a special driving class liscence to drive it. I am actually very intimidated by it and nervous to drive the monster!!




Load out was SLOW. It was slow, it was long, it was difficult and I was very, very sore by the end of it. I could barely stand up when I peeled myself out of the honda Thursday night.

Then We had two blessed, two much needed and well appreciated days off. Mum and Dad helped me pack and collect all the items I'd need for the next 3 and a half months. And most importantly (in addition to resting my back) I got to spend time with Family and Dear Friends.







And then, a the bittersweet moment arrived when I had to say goodbye to home, goodbye to my summer vacation, goodbye to friends and loved ones, and HELLO to touring the countryside until CHRISTMAS!!!

It's getting late, and i have to be up quite early tomorrow morning. Let me jsut tell you this: The first 3 days (the first three hotels) have been pretty good. It actually doesn't feel quite real as of yet. I drove the van for nearly 400 miles yesterday from New york, through Penn and Ohio and into INDIANA. This land of ours is quite breathtaking sometimes, and I am humbled and awed frequently as I look out tyhe van windows. Our first show was today. Load in and set up took nearly 3 hours. It needs to get down to under 1 hour. heeeheeeheee. wish us luck- or pray for us, because we need it. I love you all very much, and I'd like to thank Aaron for the Digital camera with which I have been able to capture this adventure!!

I leave you now with photos!

First day in the van:


Road Sign!


Postcard-like view from a rest stop!


GYPSIES!!!