50 Nifty United States

Before starting this tour I considered myself to be fairly well traveled. Having lived overseas for childhood I was able to see countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jakarta or Nepal. After college I made the trek down to Australia. This summer I traveled to Europe and walked miles through Prague, Paris and London. I have had oppourtunites in life to go to Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington State, Florida, Arizonia, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, The Carolinas as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC and Vermont.

Either I lived in these states (Louisiana, Delaware, New York and Texas) or we visited to ski (Utah, Colorado, Vermont) or we went on vacation (Hawaii, Florida, Washington State, California, Arizonia, New Mexico, Arkansas, Tennessee, Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington DC). Most of these experiences consisted of leaving home, getting on a plane (or in a car), getting off the plane and driving to whatever resort or hotel or friend's home we were staying in. Then I proceeded to do all the touristy things we were supposed to do when you visit said city and went back home thinking I had experienced that place.

And in a way I had. But in another way I hadn't.

Obviously I don't know what it is like to live in these places I have visited. As a tourist you see what they have decided you see.

This tour is different. No more realistic in it's view of each place but definently less "padded."

We stay in hotels, not all of them nice, and eat at chain resturants mostly- the cheaper or the more for your money the better. We can always find the Walmart and the laundry and we have learned which rest stops have clean bathrooms and which gas stations almost always have auto deisel. Each hotel starts to look the same, each gas station, each resturant. The Walmarts all look exactly alike which is the point and probably accounts for our enjoyment of visiting Walmart. We know what we can get and where it will be which gives us plently of time to get back to our hotel rooms to watch TV (even though the channels are always different)

I haven't really added any new states. Possibly Mississippi but does that really count? But I have added a new view. Not any more genuine but different.

I suppose different is good.

Onward and Upward.

Signs on the Road

Ok- so I know I am very behind on my blogs. But honestly I just don't have the time or energy right now. So I'm gonna cop out and just post some pictures of signs I have seen on the road lately.

And then I had to post this picture I took of the Rolling Stones magazine this week because two of my friends are in it. The girls sitting on either side of the musician are my friends, Alisha and Emily. Alisha is friends with the photographer who is also known for his Obama cover a few weeks ago.

Onward and Upward.

Jack (Rabbit) of all Trades

My tour creates a set of performers that are a Jack of All Trades. Each performer is also an ASM, working on set up, load in and out, costumes, props and sometime sound. That means they must learn a little bit about every part of the show. That also means as the Jack in charge I need to learn/ know a lot about every aspect of theatre. Sometimes I am a TD, sometimes an LD, a Master Electrician, a sound engineer, a sound tech, wardrobe supervisor, props mistress and stagehand. Sometimes I am even a director. Ok.. Maybe an Assistant Director. I also get to function as a board op, a PR person, a company manager and even sometimes a stage manager.

A usual day runs a bit like this..

A week beforehand I will have called the venue, asked them about their space and told them of our "requirements." We would have established a load in time which for Max and Ruby is about 2 hours before the first show. That gives us one and a half hours for load in before the actors get their 30 minute break to prepare to perform.

If the show is at 9:30 that means load in will be at 7:30. Perhaps call time will be 7:15 because the venue is close and it will be a short drive to get there. Once we arrive we find someone to let us in and while the actors put down their bags or back up the van to the loading dock I survey the situation. I'm looking to see what kind of stage they have, how big it is, whether I want to use our sound equipment or can I run the show from backstage, where the dressing rooms and green room are and I am usually talking with our contact person to make sure everything is alright and we can get them to work easily with us.

Then we unload the van. We have 6 prop bins, a backdrop bin, a sound cable bin, a tech bin, 3 sound road cases, 8 flats, a metal truss, 4 metal legs, a roof, a chimmney piece, 2 folding fence pieces and assorted smaller shelves, poles, and such. Our truck is pretty full. The performers have learned where each piece should go onstage so that we don't have to move them 3 or 4 times. Once the truck is mostly unloaded I measure out the stage and mark the center line at 8 ft, 12 feet, and 16 feet from wherever I think the set should begin. I usually try to leave a 2 foot gap between the number line and the front of the stage so that we have wiggle room.

Then I start setting up sound. Sometimes this involoves running cable to 2 speakers, setting up our mixer and mic rack and finding someplace to put the mini disk player but sometimes this just involves handing the MD player to someone else to plug into their board and setting up the mic rack. Our mic rack searches for avaliable frequencies and then sends the new frequency to the mic pack. Its super easy. When it works.

While I am doing this 3 of my performers are setting up the house and 3 are setting backdrops and then props. One performer assists with the backdrops and then also sets up costumes. Unloading the truck usually takes about 30 minutes and the set goes up in 45 which leaves us 15 minutes for sound check and final details such as spike tape and masking.

At 30 minutes the actors go prepare. Then we run the show. It runs about 47 minutes. I work the sound board and cue any light cues. Upon completion of the show we either reset and rest before our next one or we take everything down, put it away and place it back in the van. This takes about an hour from curtain. Everything goes in the van in a very particular order in a very particular way. We bungee it all together and then move on to our next site or hotel.

Makes me exhausted just thinking about it.

Onward and Upward.

New Schedule

Stolen from Virginia's Blog so I don't have to re-type!

*Schedule is subject to change

Huntingdon, TN: Friday, February 13 @ 9am, 11am
Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center
Address/Directions: http://www.dixiepac.net/visit/index.htm

Somerset, KY: Tuesday, February 17 @ 10am, 12pm
Lake Cumberland Performing Arts Center
Address/Directions: 2292 South Hwy 27 Suite 300, Somerset, KY

Madisonville, KY: Wednesday, February 18 @ 9:30am, 12pm
Glema Mahr Center for the Performing Arts
Address/Directions: http://www.glemacenter.org/directions.htm

Waldorf, MD: Friday, February 20 @ 1pmBarnhart Elementary School
Address/Directions: 4800 Lancaster Circle, Waldorf, MD 20603

Shippensburg, PA: Saturday, February 21 @ 11am, 2pm
Luhrs Performing Arts Center
Address/Directions: http://www.luhrscenter.com/page.cfm?pag=310

Vineland, NJ: Sunday, February 22 @ 3pm & Monday, February 23 @ 9:45am, 11:45am
Cumberland County College
Address/Directions: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=3322%2Bcollege%2Bdrive,%2Bvineland,%2Bnj%2B08360&ll=39.460583,-75.054474&spn=0.470758,1.384277

Syosset, NY: Tuesday, February 24 @ 10am
Berry Hill Elementary School
Address/Directions: 181 Cold Spring Road, Syosset, NY 11797

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wednesday, February 25 @ 9:45am
Reynolds School
Address/Directions: 393 W. Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Towanda, PA: Thursday, February 26 @ 9:30am, 12:30pm
Keystone Theatre
Address/Directions: 601 Main Street, Towanda, PA 18848

Sayre, PA: Friday, February 27 @ 9:30am, 12:30pm
Sayre Theatre
Address/Directions: 205 South Elmer, Sayre, PA

Ogdensburg, NY: Monday, March 2 @ 9:15am, 11am
Ogdensburg Free Performing Arts Center
Address/Directions: 1100 State Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669

Gouverneur, NY: Tuesday, March 3 @ 9:15am, 11am
Gouverneur High School
Address/Directions: 113 E. Barney Street, Gouverneur, NY

Oswego, NY: Wednesday, March 4 @ 9:30am
Oswego High School
Address/Directions: 1 Buccaneer Boulevard, Oswego, NY 13126

Randolph, VT: Thursday, March 5 @ 9:30am, 12:30pm
Chandler Center for the Performing Arts
Address/Directions: http://www.chandler-arts.org/directions.php

Derry, NH: Friday, March 6 @ 10am
Stockbridge Theatre
Address/Directions: http://www.stockbridgetheatre.com/directions.htm

Burlington, VT: Sunday, March 8 @ 2pm & Monday, March 9 @ 9:30am, 12pm
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Address/Directions: http://www.flynncenter.org/about/thearea.shtml#directions

After this we should be in and out of NYC for a week and then we think we are going back down to FL. We should recieve the new schedule on March 3rd.

Onward and Upward

Ruby Falls

Today we drove up to Chattanooga TN and went to Ruby Falls. Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall that falls around 150 feet down. It was pretty neat. Our tour guide was a young student who was obviously bored with his job. He was ironic in a sometimes bitter, sometimes funny manner. He memorizes where everyone is from and calls each group by their home town. The three of us were "New York." He suggested that we didn't drink the water out of the waterfall because it is high in magnesium and it will make us "go very hard."




The cave is full of calcium shapes such as ribbons, beehives, and stalagmites. Many of them are named like Bacon, Elephant's Foot or Cactus. Sometimes they actually looked like whatever item they were named after and sometimes you thought the explorers had been on some really strong drugs. One shape is called the north end of a south-bound donkey.





The group of people we were with were pretty funny as well. One set of parents had their kid on a leash. One kid kept saying "uhoh" the entire time. The 9 year old behind me was obsessed with holding onto the handles- that's what he called the handrails. Along the passages there were places where the staff had stashed fire extinquishers, wheelchairs, ladders and rugs. At one point in time the dad behind me asked the handle kid - " Look at that! What is that?!" the kid answered excitedly "A wheelchair!." I don't think that is what the dad was pointing out.





The actual falls were very cool. The light design and sound design that completed the experience were well done and made the entire event feel important. The pictures I took are not that great but you can also try looking at the website http://www.rubyfalls.com/




Onward and upward.