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!