The guys took apart our unit - things were wired incorrectly, and you could see the parts had been fried from the lightening. He said he'd never seen a mess like that, and couldn't figure out what the point of the incorrect wiring was. They replaced a bunch of parts, started it up, and you could smell the burning dust. BINGO! I never thought I'd like that smell - but when
Arrived at the theater around 615p. I knew we were going to try writing cues, but I wasn't sure exactly what the game plan was. No cast. Tho some did show up to help with the set. The set is really coming together. I feel pretty good - took some good pain drugs before I left the house, so I was in a pretty good mood.
Almost all the players are there when I arrive. LD, Dir, MDir, Prod, Joe, MC/SD, props. Brian pops in to say hello. That was a nice surprise before getting started. After chatting for a bit I head up to the booth. The SM will arrive between 7 & 730, so Joe and Peter do a few tweaks before we start up with the cues again. Just as they get started, the SM arrives. Someone calls a meeting, so all the players head to the back room to talk. It's hot up in the booth again and I still haven't brought a fan with me. So I go looking for cooler temps.
It feels like the meeting is lasting forever. It was prob not much more than a half hour. I'm not entirely sure of the time we finally got started. 8ish I think. Peter runs thru the cues we created the day before with the Dir. We make a few changes, then get rolling. At a snail's pace. Group 1 at full. Um
There is one scene where the Dir wants stars to shine all over everything. House, stage, ceiling... This is why Peter has 5 leko's on the 1E - for the star gobo's. Then we'll put gobo's in the moving lights, and aim them into the house. The star gobos currently in the moving lights are not the same as the ones he bought, so he bought enough to replace the ones in the moving lights. (I'm sure we've blown the typical $200 lighting budget between a gazillion gobos and all the gel...) Dir just wants a mirror ball. We did this for Evita and it worked brilliantly. Hang the mirror ball from the catwalk dead center. Put a leko in each alcove and focus it right on the mirror ball. Hang another light either from the bridge or from the back bar of the catwalk (or even the house bar) and point it at the mirror ball. That puts little dots of light all over the place. You can save circuits by 3-fer'ing the lights, and we don't need to turn the mirror ball, so no power needed to the motor.
No argument, but tense discussion. Joe finally says he'll go ahead and hang the mirror ball and lights. We'll compare the two and go from there. How does that sound? Dir: agreed. Peter: um, er, well, I didn't... ok. (KILL ME - stop arguing with the director! It'll save you circuits, you don't have to buy the gobos - which you can't return once you use them - and the Dir will be happy. If it was something physically impossible to do or dangerous, that's one thing. But this is CAKE.)
It appears the Dir is ok with everything else he's been seeing, but by 10p, I was ready to go home. Then we got word - we're here til 11p tonight. Ok... Np. ELMO! (That's my latest acronym - Everyone, Let's Move On - Thanks Patrick!) I am anxious. I'm bored, and I'm waiting for him to make some kind of decision with every single cue. Um, pause, twist hair, pause, um, ok, right, um, twist hair, pause. All freakin' night. Of course, I'm watching the clock. At 10 min to 11, I'm ready to shut down. They keep going. Finally, at 1120, we finish a cue, I bring up the house lights - Amy's done! Someone says, I guess we're done? I said 'you're losing a board op. If you want Joe to run the board, feel free to keep going. But I've got to go home.' Joe shows me again how to save the show, I grab my stuff, and I'm out the door.
Amy's cranky again. My headache creeped back at some point, I don't remember when. Then we add an hour and a half to the evening... As I'm leaving I get thank you's from everyone. That was nice. I think I got you're welcome's back to everyone, but I'm not sure. One thing is sure, I never stopped walking, just headed straight to my car. The Dir was parked right next to me (nice BMW, dude! Wanna trade?) we chatted a little. He apologized for the pace etc. I told him it wasn't his fault and I appreciate his concern. We assured each other that everything is going to be fine and it'll all come together.
10 mins later, I'm walking in the apt. I'm peeling clothes off as I head to the bedroom, leaving a trail. Bathroom, meds, bed. Kiss Jimmy, set the alarm, then I'm out. WAIT! The cat is insisting on laying on top of me. So I'm laying on my back, with a 10lb cat on my chest, whiskers and purring in my ear. I remember nothing after that until the alarm went off at 6.
Lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. I typically get 9hrs, I'm only getting 6. I've been struggling to stay awake all day. Off to lunch now - will prob nap in the car. Then home at 4 to take another hour long nap, then to the theater at 630. I'm PRAYING that Noam will be there, cuz I'm going to let him sit on the board for the next 4 hours and I'm going home and going to bed. I hope... If nobody guilt's me into staying...
It may not sound like it, but I'm glad I'm doing this. Yes, there are a lot of irritating things this time, and I don't feel good. But I need to test my system - show myself that I'm still able to keep up, and be somewhat helpful. I know I'm helping, but it's hard to tell if I'm being more difficult than my help is worth. I have a busy season this year - I've got a shows in March, April, and May, plus I want to do RMT's July show. So I'm doing everything I can to keep myself going to get this show open. Staying healthy (no cold or flu so far! KNOCK ON WOOD!) attempting to control the headaches, and keeping my day job, without being too much of a PIA to everyone else. I haven't been fired yet (Denise said that would only happen in my dreams...) so I guess that's a good sign... Nap time.
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