Clowns in Space Part 2

Day 4, Monday May 8th LOAD IN

It wasn't that bad. Exhausting and stressful as all load ins are, but overall it went pretty well. We got to the theatre a bit early to get all the props and things inside. We then met with Chris, the house electrician who ended up being a kick ass help to us all week. Getting the lights up took a little longer than I wanted, but we got everything done. Turns out clowns aren't bad focus monkeys. I was proud of myself that I only snapped and got a little mean once, but we have a really good group that ended up working very well together, and getting through all the problems. John almost killed Dan, a blacklight almost killed me and Dan, and Chris kept yelling "Christmas!" when he needed to curse. It was a fun day. Everyone left around 6, but Dan and I stayed a bit late to finish up a few things. We then went back to Jersey for, you guessed it, more working on props.

Day 5, Tuesday May 9th

Rehearsals rehearsals rehearsals. Didn't get NEARLY as much accomplished as we wanted to, but that's how it goes. There was a lot of figuring out music issues as well as blocking and other things that aren't addressed when it's been 3 months since the last rehearsal. It ended up being a not very technical rehearsal day, as there was too much other work to get done, but I managed to finish cueing most of the show and getting Josh all set at the sound board. Tuesday night was more of the same. I stayed up till I think 2 watching the Cubs game online, which they blew in the 15th inning. I wandered downstairs to find Dan STILL working on the UFO, and we were up for a while longer finishing that up.

It was these couple of days that it started to really set in how difficult it is to put a show together from nothing in such a short amount of time. I now spent 2 days in the theatre without meal break, or break of any kind. It's been a long time since I've had a gig like that, but I do kinda like it. Something about insane stress and pressure drives me. And this time since I had no one to keep me on my toes and make sure I was getting things done, it was especially fulfilling. I like being in charge. I also discovered the wonder of Jamba Juice. Awesome. No, really.