I've been doing a bad job of keeping up with my blog! I'm making a new effort in 2010 to find time to write. Since my last installment I opened two shows, found out that I'm going to have a niece (YAY!!) and celebrated Christmas and the New Year with my amazing family and friends in Florida.
This story begins in the fall of 2003. In order to earn my BFA in stage management from UCF I was required to find a paying internship at a professional theatre. I landed an incredible job at a regional theatre in Baltimore. I arrived in September and settled into intern housing. The first show of the season was going into tech and I was getting blisters on my hands from making thousands and thousands and thousands of glow dots. Show 1 opens. We start rehearsal for show 2. My fellow interns and I are livin' it up on our lavish salaries (a hundred bucks a week) we were all broke and we all had a lot of fun! The season continues, people hook up and break up, casts come and go, we ring in 2004, I made my first snow man, there was a hurricane and the requisite hurricane party.
We start rehearsal for the final show of the season. It's a big love fest. The cast becomes quick friends. The interns are all clinging to the last few weeks of living and working in Baltimore; excited and fearful of the "real world" that awaited us. The show goes into tech. Everything is going swimmingly. We open the show. People love it. And THEN...an actor disappears. I remember getting a call from the stage manager; she told me we were bringing an actor down from New York to play "Blahbity blah's" part; the New York actor was already on an express train with the script. He was scheduled to arrive in Baltimore at about 2 in the afternoon. We called the cast in and had a put in rehearsal with the New York actor. He had a costume fitting and went on stage at 8pm with script in hand. The next night he went on with no script and the show continued it's run without incident.
But WHAT happened to Blahbity blah?
Well...he skipped town in the middle of the night. He went out for drinks after the show, gave no indication that there was any kind of problem. (He had complained that a pre-existing knee injury was bothering him - he didn't want to see the company doctor and was not wearing a knee brace.) The cast walked home from the bar together and went into their apartments. The next morning someone knocked on Blahbity blah's door and he didn't answer. People started calling him - no answer. People got concerned and called company management. The company manager went to Blahbity Blah's apartment, unlocked the door and ALL of his stuff was gone. No note - just gone. People at the theatre were calling his agent, his emergency contacts - NO ONE knows where he went or what was going on.
Finally, Blahbity blah calls company management. He explained that his knee was really bothering him so he got up early and drove to New York City to see his knee doctor (This was NOT a day off). He claimed that he, "didn't want to be a bother" so he just went without saying anything...to anyone! All of this knee doctor business was very suspicious. He continued to call and "update us on his progress". In between updates someone Googled Blahbity blah. We found out that he double booked himself. He was not in New York at the knee doctor. He was on his way to Georgia (or Alabama or some place in the deep south with a Shakespeare Festival). He had to drive through the night in order to arrive in time for the first rehearsal; he was cast as Hamlet (or something equally huge). He ditched our show to go play the bigger part! He never apologized to anyone at the theatre or his cast mates. When he knew we'd discovered the truth - he just stopped all communication and we never heard from him again.
And that's the story of The Disappearing Actor.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
My Favorite 3 Show Stories
1. Leaving the lead.
2. The disappearing actor.
3. We don't have a Stage Manager or a Choreographer and we open next week.
I'm going to break this into three separate blogs. But now you have a little teaser of what's to come!
Leaving the Lead
One time (all good theatre stories start this way) I was on tour with an educational show; this was my third tour with this show. The first two were delightful. I got my equity card, I had health insurance, I got paid to drive cross country, and spent days off exploring new places with great people. I needed 3 more weeks of work to secure another year of health insurance. There was nothing else on the horizon so I took the third tour - a 12 week contract - with a new group of actors (none of whom had toured before). I thought: this will be great, I'm interested to see what the show will be like with a new cast, I find this work to be hard but rewarding...I've got ONE more tour in me.
Then we started rehearsals. I should pause here and explain what this tour is all about. There are 4 actors, 1 stage manager, a van (named Gertie), a minimalistic set, props, a sound system and 1 costume per actor (Yes, we all fit in one van). I, as the stage manager, am responsible for driving the van, contacting venues to advance the show, finding and printing directions to venues and hotels and setting up and operating the sound system. The actors each have an additional job as well: assistant stage manager, a set person, a props person and a costume person. The first sign of demise was that no one would volunteer to be the laundry person. Usually the costume person does laundry; our costume person refused to do the laundry. After the director suggested that I do the laundry which elicited uncontrollable sighing and eye rolling (by me) the props person said she would do the laundry. Due to equity rules we also have to have an additional driver. No one wanted to drive the van. Our additional driver ended up being the costume person - she was 5' tall and literally could not see over the steering wheel. She drove maybe twice, on straight flat highways in clear weather.
We've been touring for maybe 3 weeks. There's been one quick trip to South Carolina and a bunch of day trips in the tri-state area. We are embarking on our first real out of town trip - we're going to be on the road for 2 weeks. It's February. We're heading to up state New York. And I mean UP STATE New York. A few days before the trip The Lead starts asking about what happens if it snows. I tell her if roads aren't safe we stay where ever we are and wait the storm out. Shows get canceled when school gets canceled and the winter tours often have to re-schedule shows. She seems satisfied with that response.
We are scheduled to leave on Sunday morning. I get a call Saturday afternoon from the Managing Producer. He tells me The Lead called him (on his cell) and told him she was concerned about driving up state and requested (actually demanded) that we take the route that she worked out with a AAA call center representative. I agreed (worst mistake ever). We took NO major highways and traveled through the middle of a mountainous state park. I was literally dodging dear at sunset. It took an extra 2 hours of travel and EVERYONE in the van was totally annoyed. She got out at the hotel and actually said out loud "that was definitely the best way to go - I'm so glad I called AAA."
Two days later, we're in Ogdensburg, NY. We are supposed to leave Ogdensburg in the morning to travel to Buffalo. It starts to snow. The Lead starts to freak out. She won't leave her room - she's watching the weather channel. We have a heated discussion...she is refusing to travel. I end the conversation with, "We'll agree to disagree and see what the weather is like in the morning" and then I slammed the door. I have never been so frustrated with an actor. I get up at 5 am. I'm checking road conditions and weather reports. I determine that it is not safe to travel and start making phone calls. At 7am I knock on The Lead's door. She is already awake and watching...the weather channel. She throws the door open and says, "I'm not going any where! I don't care what you say!" I tell her, "Yes, your right. None of us are going anywhere. There's a blizzard outside." We spend the day in Ogdensburg. We go sleading, drink hot totties and have a very nice snow day.
The next day, Thursday, we ARE leaving. There is NO snow. We have a show in Buffalo at 10:30am on Friday. "The lead" is totally freaking out. We are looking at the EXACT same information. I say it's safe to drive. The Lead says we're all gonna die. Again, many phone calls are made. Late in the morning I get a call from our equity represtative. I explain the situation. The equity rep tells me that she hasn't ever had this happen and isn't sure how to proceed. She asks me for all the weather sources I've been checking and tells me she'll call me back. The Lead is now holed up in the ladies restroom in the lobby. No one has spoken to her in over an hour - she is hystarical and has been on her cell phone all morning. The rest of the cast is sitting in the lobby with their luggage ready to go.
The equity rep calls back and says we should leave - without The Lead. I go into the ladies room to speak to her. She has cried herself to sleep in an arm chair hugging her cell phone. I wake her up and tell her that we are going to leave without her. She is going to have to arrange her own travel back to the city. The company is flying an actress up to Buffalo to perform The Lead's role in the Friday morning show. She says "Ok" and we leave. She is in the middle of NO where. There is 10 feet of snow on the ground. This town has a gas station, a liquor store, a CVS and the hotel.
We make it to Buffalo safe and sound. The replacement actress arrives at 10:30pm. We have a 30 minute put in rehearsal after we load in on Friday morning. We perform the show for 1500 kids, load out, have lunch, drop the replacement actress at the airport and drive back to the city.
The lead didn't get fired. Our next show is on Tuesday. We have a 6am call. At 6:10am she wasn't at the van. I called and she didn't answer. I'm thinking "Thank god" and "Oh shit" simultaniously. At 6:15am she comes running up. Jumps in the van and we head out. No one asks her: How did you get home? What happened after we left? We, actually, never talk about Ogdensburg ever again. And that's the story of Leaving the Lead.
2. The disappearing actor.
3. We don't have a Stage Manager or a Choreographer and we open next week.
I'm going to break this into three separate blogs. But now you have a little teaser of what's to come!
Leaving the Lead
One time (all good theatre stories start this way) I was on tour with an educational show; this was my third tour with this show. The first two were delightful. I got my equity card, I had health insurance, I got paid to drive cross country, and spent days off exploring new places with great people. I needed 3 more weeks of work to secure another year of health insurance. There was nothing else on the horizon so I took the third tour - a 12 week contract - with a new group of actors (none of whom had toured before). I thought: this will be great, I'm interested to see what the show will be like with a new cast, I find this work to be hard but rewarding...I've got ONE more tour in me.
Then we started rehearsals. I should pause here and explain what this tour is all about. There are 4 actors, 1 stage manager, a van (named Gertie), a minimalistic set, props, a sound system and 1 costume per actor (Yes, we all fit in one van). I, as the stage manager, am responsible for driving the van, contacting venues to advance the show, finding and printing directions to venues and hotels and setting up and operating the sound system. The actors each have an additional job as well: assistant stage manager, a set person, a props person and a costume person. The first sign of demise was that no one would volunteer to be the laundry person. Usually the costume person does laundry; our costume person refused to do the laundry. After the director suggested that I do the laundry which elicited uncontrollable sighing and eye rolling (by me) the props person said she would do the laundry. Due to equity rules we also have to have an additional driver. No one wanted to drive the van. Our additional driver ended up being the costume person - she was 5' tall and literally could not see over the steering wheel. She drove maybe twice, on straight flat highways in clear weather.
We've been touring for maybe 3 weeks. There's been one quick trip to South Carolina and a bunch of day trips in the tri-state area. We are embarking on our first real out of town trip - we're going to be on the road for 2 weeks. It's February. We're heading to up state New York. And I mean UP STATE New York. A few days before the trip The Lead starts asking about what happens if it snows. I tell her if roads aren't safe we stay where ever we are and wait the storm out. Shows get canceled when school gets canceled and the winter tours often have to re-schedule shows. She seems satisfied with that response.
We are scheduled to leave on Sunday morning. I get a call Saturday afternoon from the Managing Producer. He tells me The Lead called him (on his cell) and told him she was concerned about driving up state and requested (actually demanded) that we take the route that she worked out with a AAA call center representative. I agreed (worst mistake ever). We took NO major highways and traveled through the middle of a mountainous state park. I was literally dodging dear at sunset. It took an extra 2 hours of travel and EVERYONE in the van was totally annoyed. She got out at the hotel and actually said out loud "that was definitely the best way to go - I'm so glad I called AAA."
Two days later, we're in Ogdensburg, NY. We are supposed to leave Ogdensburg in the morning to travel to Buffalo. It starts to snow. The Lead starts to freak out. She won't leave her room - she's watching the weather channel. We have a heated discussion...she is refusing to travel. I end the conversation with, "We'll agree to disagree and see what the weather is like in the morning" and then I slammed the door. I have never been so frustrated with an actor. I get up at 5 am. I'm checking road conditions and weather reports. I determine that it is not safe to travel and start making phone calls. At 7am I knock on The Lead's door. She is already awake and watching...the weather channel. She throws the door open and says, "I'm not going any where! I don't care what you say!" I tell her, "Yes, your right. None of us are going anywhere. There's a blizzard outside." We spend the day in Ogdensburg. We go sleading, drink hot totties and have a very nice snow day.
The next day, Thursday, we ARE leaving. There is NO snow. We have a show in Buffalo at 10:30am on Friday. "The lead" is totally freaking out. We are looking at the EXACT same information. I say it's safe to drive. The Lead says we're all gonna die. Again, many phone calls are made. Late in the morning I get a call from our equity represtative. I explain the situation. The equity rep tells me that she hasn't ever had this happen and isn't sure how to proceed. She asks me for all the weather sources I've been checking and tells me she'll call me back. The Lead is now holed up in the ladies restroom in the lobby. No one has spoken to her in over an hour - she is hystarical and has been on her cell phone all morning. The rest of the cast is sitting in the lobby with their luggage ready to go.
The equity rep calls back and says we should leave - without The Lead. I go into the ladies room to speak to her. She has cried herself to sleep in an arm chair hugging her cell phone. I wake her up and tell her that we are going to leave without her. She is going to have to arrange her own travel back to the city. The company is flying an actress up to Buffalo to perform The Lead's role in the Friday morning show. She says "Ok" and we leave. She is in the middle of NO where. There is 10 feet of snow on the ground. This town has a gas station, a liquor store, a CVS and the hotel.
We make it to Buffalo safe and sound. The replacement actress arrives at 10:30pm. We have a 30 minute put in rehearsal after we load in on Friday morning. We perform the show for 1500 kids, load out, have lunch, drop the replacement actress at the airport and drive back to the city.
The lead didn't get fired. Our next show is on Tuesday. We have a 6am call. At 6:10am she wasn't at the van. I called and she didn't answer. I'm thinking "Thank god" and "Oh shit" simultaniously. At 6:15am she comes running up. Jumps in the van and we head out. No one asks her: How did you get home? What happened after we left? We, actually, never talk about Ogdensburg ever again. And that's the story of Leaving the Lead.
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