The Beginning...Again.

I'm sitting in a rehearsal hall in Chelsea Studios awaiting the beginning of a rehearsal day. I am drinking a vente Chai Tea Latte and munching a buttery croissant (my pastry of choice). The actor's are filtering in for the start of our 10th rehearsal and we are discussing the ratio of quality to trashiness on TrueBlood. It's the second week of rehearsals and the cast and I can't wait to get out on the road.

I am a Stage Manager for a TheatreWorks USA show called Click, Clack, Moo. This show is one of many that the company sends across America (including Alaska) and parts of Canada. Other shows include Junie B. Jones, Fancy Nancy and other Stories, Charlotte's Web, We The People and A Christmas Carol. Those are just a small sample of the shows that are sent out. This Fall season my tour is traveling around the Southwest, west coast and around Thanksgiving we are being flown to Alaska.

TheatreWorks USA is important to the younger audiences of America, not only are we teaching children how to properly participate and watch live theatre but every show comes with it's own morale or theme. My show, Click, Clack, Moo's theme is compromise and negotiation. 'You have to give a little, to get a little' as the character of Jenny instructs Farmer Brown, the grandfather and main antagonist of the play. However as the play also teaches kids about going on strike, this can sometimes backfire. We have received letters from slightly amused/frustrated parents telling us how their kids loved the show so much that they have taken the lesson to heart and gone on strike by refusing to clean their rooms.

 So how this touring process works is the show casts 6 equity actors who double as Assistant Stage Manager's and work with me as we travel across the country. We rehearse for 2 weeks and then are off on the whirlwind adventure. We travel with two Dodge Sprinters, one van holds the set, props, costumes and sound equipment. The other van is utilized for passenger and luggage transportation. The actors and I take turns driving these mobile monsters from city to city. 

Our performances usually begin at 10:00 which means we have to be at the venue at 8:00AM to load in all the necessary components of the show.  We usually get 1.5 hours to set up and then 30minutes before GO. After the show (sometimes we have more than 1), we take down the set, pack up and get back on the road.

It is a non stop and exhausting process but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a show well executed and the looks on the kid's excited faces as they chatter about who their favorite character was. Something to keep in mind is that we don't only perform in theatres. We also perform in small gym-caffe-toriums in elementary schools, sometimes they are so small we can't put up the entire set. Most of the kids in these schools have never seen live theatre, we are exposing them to an element of life that may have gone overlooked if we had not performed in that school. Its a satisfying moment when you realize you are opening kids up to new experiences.

So here I am. Leading this band of actors and our two massive sprinter vans across the country (and at some point flying to Alaska, more on that later). We will have adventures, misadventures and a whole lot of shenanigans in between. I will be discussing our day to day performances and the crazy situations the cast and I find ourselves in along the way. I will leave today's post with a picture of the set on a stage in Altoona, PA and our current itinerary!

Click, Clack, Moo set at the Mishler Theatre

Sep 21 10:00AM Viola Elementary School Suffern, NY

Sep 22 TRAVEL DAY to Wysox, PA

Sep 23 9:30 / 12:30 Keystone Theatre Towanda, PA

Sep 24 9:30 / 12:30 Sayre Theatre Sayre, PA

Sep 25 TRAVEL DAY to Vandalia, OH

Sep 26 DAY OFF Vandalia, OH

Sep 27 TRAVEL DAY to Eureka, MO

Sep 28 TRAVEL DAY to Alma, AR

Sep 29 9:30 / 1:30 Alma Performing arts Center Alma, AR

Sep 30 11:30 Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa, OK

Oct 1 9:30 / 11:30 / 7:00PM  Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa, OK

Oct 2 11:00 Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa, OK

Oct 3 DAY OFF Tulsa, OK

Oct 4 TRAVEL DAY to Dallas, TX

Oct 5 10:00 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX

Oct 6 TRAVEL DAY to Houston, TX

Oct 7 9:30 The Rice School Houston, TX

Oct 8 9:30 / 11:30 One World Austin, TX

Oct 9 11:00 / 1:00 One World Austin, TX

Oct 10 DAY OFF Austin, TX

Oct 11 TRAVEL DAY to Palestine, TX

Oct 12 9:30 / 12:30 Crockett Civic Center Crocett, TX

Oct 13 TRAVEL DAY to Artesia, NM

Oct 14 DAY OFF in Artesia, NM

More to come...