That must mean I'm a unicorn!

Day 2 in the dustiest place to ever do a theatrical production went rather better than day 1. I got some desperately needed help from Dan Parks for a few hours. He helped me hang and focus my pile 'o lights. Hanging eighteen lights is no big deal, if you have a buddy. If you're on your own, it takes much much longer. So Dan is awesome, and I owe him a nice big dinner sometime. With his help, I got the stuff ready between 11:30 and 4:30. Then I went home and took a glorious shower. One of my top 5 showers ever, probably. I rested awhile, made a lovely batch of smoothies, and had dinner with Donald.

Around 8:30 I went back for the evening portion of rehearsal. I wrote some cues, and watched the scene change rehearsals. It was a pretty productive evening. It was also relatively comfortable, sitting still in front of my light board with a fan on me. I borrowed a camp chair from my dad so I have a clean place to sit. Once the sun has been down a couple of hours, it gets cooler, or at least seems to . That's not going to help with the performance much though, since "curtain" is at 7:30.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to not go in until 6:30 for rehearsal. We thoroughly teched Act 1, then just did the scene changes for Act 2. It's coming together quite nicely, and I think we're ready to run through the whole thing tonight. If you're free Monday night, check it out... it'll be unique! Bring a hand fan and wear shorts though!

info here: http://davidfehr.net/Sin.htm

Dirty place: day 1

Having gotten the Equity Showcase up, and having returned from the weekend out-of-town trip, I was left with no choice but to start in on the One Night Stand show. Hoo boy, did I do a lot of running around using up petroleum today. (Sorry planet, at least I recycle, right?)

1. Drove to fetch lights from theater in a land far, far away (Kansas.) Took about half an hour to get there. Kept telling myself, the lights were free, I only had to go get them. Filled up my dad's gas tank, said goodbye to $50. Delivered lights to "theater."
2. Drove to fetch booms and dimmers from a land much closer, but possessing a much more unpleasant smell. Harvest Productions is just north of the river, and it smells truly awful in that general area sometimes. Loaded all the stuff into the pickup truck, back to the "theater" for more unloading.
3. Drove back to my home to get keys so I could fetch a light board and various other stuff from UMKC. More unloading.
4. Started setting up in "theater." This was the hard part, and the lack of A/C was very unpleasant. I spent a lot of time taking water breaks and trying to cool off somewhat. At least there are now copious extension cords to plug fans into.
5. Drove to Home Depot, bought a few things, went back again.
6. Set up a bit more equipment. Got booted out of the building at 7. I've never been so glad to be kicked out of somewhere I'm trying to work. I was so ready for any excuse to go home and take a shower.

I think I sweated more today than in the whole rest of the summer combined. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better, since all the equipment is already there. Now I just have to put it all together, and hope none of the lamps are burned out. Then focus the lights, and write cues, and do a play! Whew.

summertime Missouri hatred sold here

My family went on vacation this week. They left last night for Santa Fe on the Amtrak Southwest Chief. Donald and I drove them to Union Station. Naturally, the train got to KC an hour late. Gee Amtrak, I wonder why nobody takes the train anymore? They ended up boarding at 11:20. Yep, PM. They had a sleeper room. I can't wait to hear how tiny and uncomfortable that was! Hopefully not too uncomfortable. My mom likes everything to be... just so. Donald and I helped pull/carry their luggage to the train, then we waited on the platform for the train to leave so we could wave. The train looked like it could be kind of fun. Dragging a suitcase along with a bunch of travelers made me wish Donald and I had done some traveling this summer. Maybe in the fall when it's cooler.

My job for the week is to look after their house, bring in the newspaper, collect the mail, and water the plants outside. This involves no less than 3 hoses. One in the front yard, one in back by the patio, and one all the way back to the garden. I'm also supposed to pick and eat any vegetables that get ripe. I am responsible for keeping the plants alive! It's an epic battle of garden hose vs. Missouri heat! Who will triumph?!? I will, dammit. I have the power of the running water at my fingertips. Take that, heat!