Texas

After Fort Smith we made our way to College Station, TX where we would have a few days off.  We keep "complaining" about how our job is so harrrrrd.  Is this paid vacation?  Where are all the shows?  Oh well...seeing the country on someone else's dime...not complaining.

In College Station we hung out at a few bars, jogged around town, and went to a St. Patrick's day festival near Texas A&M.  We saw many interesting characters here (many men in kilts) and experienced a great Irish rock band.  Our stay in College Station would end by going to the theater to perform and realizing they had someone else's set on our stage.

It was for Alice in Wonderland.  So, while the theater had made certain to our office that the set would be taken down before we arrived, they did not follow through.  Therefore we had to improvise and use their set along with a few of our set pieces in order to perform our show.  It was frustrating.  The theater was also attached to a high school, and our dressing rooms were the public school's bathrooms.  We left our valuables in the van because any high school kid could have gone in and grabbed whatever they wanted while we were on stage.  

After the show we headed to Tyler, TX and Denton, TX for shows.  In Denton, I got to see a great friend from undergrad, Ian.  We got dinner and caught up on our lives since we hadn't seen each other for three years.  Hopefully I'll get to see him at my wedding in September as long as he can make it out.  He is currently working for Fort Worth Opera as a young artist and just finished doing a similar tour throughout Texas of a children's opera.  We had a lot of tour talk at dinner!

Now we are in Houston, TX.  It is great here.  I never knew that southern TX would have palm trees everywhere!  Yesterday we went to Galvaston which is 45 minutes away to go to the gulf coast beaches.  It was a fantastic time.  I miss home, but I'm so excited to be seeing the country and having such a incredible experience.

Best. Job. Ever.

The shows are starting to run together.  I do not remember the theaters.  I do not remember how the shows go, and I never remember what city I'm in.

I do know that this week I performed in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Fort Smith, Arkansas.  I can't tell you any details because I don't remember any.  I do know that this week I started to get annoyed with one particular member of the cast.  We spend so much time together and there is just something about this person that always gets to me.  I just try to keep my mouth shut, smile, and then complain to my roommate, Alex, or my parents.

After Fort Smith, Arkansas we were supposed to head to Shreveport, Louisiana.  However, our show there was canceled so we are now in College Station, Texas.  We will be in Texas for the next week and a half or so.  We actually have almost a week off here.  I actually wish we were working more.  Oh well...I shouldn't complain because I'm still getting the same paycheck without having to perform.

They have puppy stores in the malls in Texas...stop.

Arkansas and Poplar Bluff

The Little Rock performance on Thursday was our biggest show of the tour.  We performed for 2,250 people.  The theater was packed, the stage beautiful, and the performance incredible.  This performance was energizing and reminded me that I was really working.  It was surreal.  

Then we made our way to Paragould, Arkansas which was a whole lot of nothing.  We performed at a cute 500 seat theater which was owned by a cute elderly couple.  We started the show and across the stage in the stage left wings, Casi and I saw the old man moving our off stage set.  The next thing we heard was a huge crash.  I was not on stage yet so I went to go see what happened.  The man, while trying to move our set piece for no apparent reason, had knocked over a huge ladder down the stairs to the dressing rooms during the show!  Monica, our stage manager, ran backstage to make sure no one got hurt.  Luckily no one did.  You could definitely hear the crash on stage and in the audience though.

After this show we drove to Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  Today, a day off, we went to go see the new movie about Oz.  It really could have been so much better than it was.  It seemed to me that the actors, who are usually very good, were not convincing at all.  Since they are all usually great actors it must have been bad direction or just poor writing.  It has been a very relaxing day though and I'm excited for another day off tomorrow.

Since Last Post

It has been a bit since I posted last.  Our show in Farmington, MO was fantastic.  It was a huge stage and a great audience.  We had a full meet and greet after and I had a little girl ask me to her birthday party.  Precious.

Then we were off to St. Louis, MO.  This was a challenge because the theater was a good size (capacity was 700) but the stage was so small we couldn't even use our set.  It was however a great acting exercise to adjust to this space quickly.  The kids still loved the show.  After the show we checked out the arch.

Then we drove our way 5 hours to Memphis, TN.  Memphis has been my favorite city yet.  We went out Monday night to the main street in the city and saw some live music and had a great time.  We had off the next day in Memphis and chowed down on some fantastic southern BBQ.



















Our time in Memphis just got better and better when we showed up to our venue this morning to an incredible space.  We performed today for a rowdy 1,300 children in a theater that had housed performers such as Billy Joel, Sting, Tina Turner, and The Rolling Stones.

After the show we loaded out and drove to Little Rock, Arkansas.  Our Tinman, Joel, has a friend in Little Rock who is an elephant trainer at the Little Rock Zoo.  So before we checked in to our hotel we went to the zoo and were shown around by Joel's friend.  We got to feed, pet, and get up close and personal with Elephants, Rhinos, and Giraffes.  It was one of the most incredible things I had ever experienced.  It was hard not to smile and giggle like a child while being this close to these amazing animals.

Illinois to Missouri

Our show yesterday in Herrin went well.  It was our smallest venue and audience yet, but the kids seemed to like us.  We felt terrible though because there was hardly any ventilation in the theater and our fog machine was making the children cough.  We are getting much better at load in load out as well.

After the show we headed to Farmington, Missouri.  We have another show this evening and we are sold out.  Excited!

Central Time

Second show went well today in Lexington, Kentucky.  I also was scheduled to do meet and greet with the kids.  All of the children came up and wanted to give hugs.  We are unable to touch the kids for lawsuit purposes though so when they run up and hug you, we have to have hands in the air somewhere.  I got a million hugs but I just pretended to be waving to all the other kids.  This is especially important in pictures.  Happy spirit finger hands in the air are always a good choice or a nice ingenue pose with the delicate hands placed under the chin.

After the show we went to Parkette Drive In in Lexington.  It was featured on Diners Drive ins and Dives.  The woman there told us they were the original Kentucky Fried Chicken and then sold their name to Colonel Sanders.  Pretty cool, a very cute place, and good food!

We then drove 4.5 hours to Herrin, Illinois.  We have another day off tomorrow.  We are getting spoiled with this start of our tour.  When we get a few more weeks into it 5 shows a week and driving every day is going to be a challenge I'm sure.

First Show

Today was our first show.  We loaded our set into the beautiful Canton Palace Theater at 8am this morning. 

 It took us about 45 minutes to build the set.  Then we did mic checks and got ready for the show.  Monica, our stage manager said that we will get faster unloading the van and building the set as time goes by.  Also, since it was our first time performing the show on a stage, we had to work out how to use the large stage and where to spike our sets for scene changes.  We also had never worked with two set pieces before so it was quite exciting to put it all together in front of a live audience.

The picture is blurry, but the house seats about 1,000.  It was very exciting to perform in such a great house. Our audience today was about 500 children and teachers.  They loved the show!  They responded to lines throughout.  For example I say, "I can't let them take you away from me, Toto," and they responded, "No!!! You have to save Toto!!!"  It was really precious.  

After the show we broke down the set, and loaded up to drive to Lexington, Kentucky.  We stopped about two hours into our drive at a deli in Columbus, OH that made it onto one of those Food Network TV shows.  I'm making this my charge on the tour to find great local eats from food TV.  After delicious food we finished our 5 hour drive to Lexington.  Now I'm enjoying my hotel room and some red wine and looking forward to what is to come. 

The World's Largest Cuckoo Clock

We are staying about 20 minutes from The World's Largest Cuckoo Clock.  We decided to go see it.  After driving 20 minutes through Amish country, we arrived in a cute little town.  The Cuckoo Clock is on a corner in "Little Switzerland."

We expected more...it was disappointing.  Monica was sad.

After we visited the Cuckoo Clock we decided to go get something to eat, but everything was closed in Amish Country on Sunday.  However we did find this pretty dog.  We took her to the nearest hotel and they said that she is a local dog from a farm and she likes to visit sometimes.

Then we tried to go to a winery and cafe to eat but that was closed too.  However it was beautiful and had a llama.  While the Cuckoo clock was disappointing, it was still a fun adventure.

 

First Week

My goal for this blog is to record my experiences from life on the road as a working actor.  The company with witch I am performing is a long standing company that produces original (new music and scripts) touring children shows.

I arrived in Philadelphia, PA on Friday 15, 2013 at the Wyndham hotel.  This would be my home for the following week.  When I entered my room I found my roommate for the next three months, Casi (pronounced Kay-see).  She is a thin, 24 year old dancer from Chattanooga, Tennessee.  She is playing the Wicked Witch of the West.  We chit-chatted for a bit and then met with all of the other actors for a "get to know you" dinner.  The other actors as follows:

Jason (Scarecrow): 26 tall skinny, dancer from Maryland
Brandon (Lion): 24 tall, buff, singer from Illinois
Joel (Tinman):21  tall, skinny, musical theater actor from Hawaii
Kelly (Glinda/Wizard/Aunt Em): 23 woman from Connecticut

We also have Monica, the stage manager, who is pretty awesome and Eric, the technical director.

Saturday morning was musical rehearsal.  It turned out that my music director was Charlotte Evans who is Julian Evan's sister!  Julian is one of Alex's (my fiance) fraternity brothers.  We produced shows in college for a fundraiser called Greek Sing.  Small world.  With our music rehearsal I learned just how much easier it is to work as a singing actor if you know how to read music.  I also learned that my training in music is way more than you really need to work in musical theater, however it keeps you versatile and as marketable as possible.  If no one has to teach you your notes, you are easier to work with as a performer.  I was also named Vocal Captain which is a small pay increase and gives me the responsibility to keep the cast singing the correct harmonies.

The following two days would be dedicated to getting the show up on its feet.  Our director, David, is the greatest man.  He is so kind, funny, and knowledgeable   We had the show up and running in 16 hours.  This was due to the hard work of the cast and director.  Not only did we learn our blocking and dancing in rehearsal but we also rehearsed on our own time in our hotel.  We had fun as well mostly because the people I am working with are crazy, hilarious, and love to have a good time while getting work done.  It was usually a great time, but obviously was hard work.

Our next challenge was doing the performance we had just learned for the producer.  The notes I had received from the director were to make Dorothy more of a child.  Yes she is lost and far from home but she is excited for this new adventure she is about to embark on.  After performing for the producer, my notes from her were to take Dorothy in the complete opposite direction.  She had thought I smiled too much.  The director hearing this actually stormed out of the room and said, "I can't keep up with this!"  So apparently the producer flip flops on how she wants the shows from year to year.  In addition to the way I was acting she wanted my costume to cover my "bulging biceps" and told the costumer that I needed to tie my chest down.  We joked about this back stage by making Dorthy pose like a body builder asking which way to the Emerald City.  Anyway, the producer ended up loving our final dress and thought we all embodied our characters perfectly.  The changes we made really helped.

Then we loaded out and drove to Canton, Ohio.  The drive was 7 hours which was a long drive to start the trip.  I think our cast gets along really well but if there will be any disagreements it will be over directions, driving, and van time.  However, I am so excited for our adventure and I can't wait for the first show tomorrow!