On the Road - For Real! 9/16/05

Elon, NC - Tonight I get the opportunity to give you a full report from our first tour stop, Elon University in Elon NC. And let me tell you something: it's a crash course! Despite whatever anyone tells you about touring before you go, nothing really prepares you for it until you've jumped right into the deep water.

We are holed up in the Country Inn Suites in Burlington, NC, just outside the town of Elon. It's Friday night, I've got the Yankees-Blue Jays game on XM Radio, a makeshift screwdriver to drink, and my trusty Powerbook for blogging. The gig is essentially done, and tonight people are either crashing or doing a small bit of partying. One hardy group decided to go to Greensboro NC to catch the NC Shakespeare Festival do Julius Caesar because a former ShenShakes tour member is in that company. Everything went pretty well, but not perfect. Overall, though, a good first stop.

We came into Elon Tuesday night and just got ourselves organized for the workshops. Got a little rest, and then Wednesday during the day we did some workshops. I attended the "Shakespeare on Your Feet" workshop, which I will be doing at our next stop (Shreveport LA), just to see how it went over. It was a class in Intro to the Arts, and about a third of the class consisted of athletes, notably football players (Elon is D1AA). It all seemed to go well. One of the players even got into the whole spirit by making an entrance from the "basement," bending down and then walking up. Quite funny.

We've been eating in the dining hall, and the food has been pretty good. I am trying to be good and eat carefully, not taking to much, having a lot of fruit and vegetables, and avoiding all the fried foods. But Daniel of course convinced me to have some fried chicken and biscuits for lunch; one wing and one biscuit. Sort of in memory when he came back from his chickenpox bout. We get recognized in the dining halls and congratulated, and even had one mini-autograph session. A young Filipino girl wanted all our autographs and even had her picture taken with Jessica and I while selling the merchandise. She said she had hung her signed program on her wall. A little much, I think, but she was quite genuine in her admiration.

The shows themselves were not all that much to write home about. We added time to both shows, and I think we spent some of the time we were doing Much Ado just trying to find our way in the space. It's funny; I think we became used to the Blackfriars, and moving to a standard proscenium threw us a little. It made our intentions a bit weaker and we sort of had to feel our way vocally around the space. But the audience reaction was strong and enjoyable; they were into the show. As for Richard III, I think we were more comfortable playing in the space, but the audience was a tad harder to read for me. Yet from certain reactions I could tell they went along with us the whole ride. They clapped and applauded during the "Richard on the parapet" scene, and they said "Amen" at the end of the play when Richmond calls to them. There were some walkouts during the show, but admittedly it's a hard show to follow if your knowledge of English history is somewhat limited. But they were few and far between, so no big bother. However, we can do better than we did on this first try out, and I know we will once we settle into the new reality of being on the road and moving from space to space.

I tell you what - trying to keep everything straight in terms of what you have to set up and prepare can really be difficult. Since we are the tech crew as well as the actors, you have to think about a lot more than just getting ready for the play. Setting your instruments, setting your props, setting the location of your quick changes, and keeping it all straight takes some focus. On top of that, Jessica and I have to make sure before every show that the merchandise bin is set up, organized and ready to go within 30 seconds of the final bow. Then there is music call, fight call, and making sure your costumes get into the right garment bag. Ironing clothes might be necessary before the show. So I have purchased a set of index cards, and on the trip to Birmingham tomorrow I will probably write a set of checklist cards for each show so I know what I have to do every time. I also have to remember to bring shaving tools, a toothbrush, and my camera for historical reasons. It's a lot to keep in this old, tiring brain of mine. I'm struggling as it is to keep the lines in there!

(Yankees win 11-10, a game they were winning 11-3 after four innings. Yikes!)

I am also pleased to report that so far my enery is holding up well. I do, of course, make it a point to get to bed early. My roommate this stop is Tyler, and he's capable of keeping somewhat later hours than I. But he did have to get up at 7:15 the first day to do a workshop. I've been on the motel's treadmill twice, but I really dislike that dizzying feeling you get when you're done. But 20 minutes each time at varying speeds from 3-4 MPH and 3% inclines is good. But I do miss my bicycle. Too bad I could'nt get them to put it on the back of one of the vans. And my voice feels good. I can sense a bit of strain immediately after a show, but it bounces right back the next day. Today we did a rehearsal of the music for Planet, and I kept it light. It's the discipline that's important - I can't afford to surrender too much. I think I ate too much tonight for the first time - should have stopped with the broiled fish and not gone to the carved beef.

I've also been trying to keep as low a profile as I can, because I have to admit that I feel, at least right at the moment, a little self-conscious about my age. We sit and eat in the dining hall, and here are all these young actors sitting and eating and this one middle-aged guy sitting with them. While in Staunton it wasn't an issue for me, because I worked right alongside them and it was all about the work, and then I'd go "home." But here I'm more of a presence, and when you're on a college campus full of young students to begin with, it's a sort of strange feeling. My colleagues, of course, treat me exactly as one of them, no quarter. Today I was treated to two of them doing their impressions of me in the dining hall - quite funny! They've identified me as a techno-freak, and occasionally razz me about being a "walking encyclopedia." But you still notice that you're the only person your age walking about. I'm really pretty used to being around college students all the time, but I figure that sooner or later I'll have to find some company my age, otherwise I'll end up forgetting how to act around adults. I mean, I was riding to dinner tonight sitting in the back seat of the passenger van, and I had an overwhelming urge to moon the cargo van behind me! I didn't, but still, I really wanted to!

Well, I think I'll call it a night. I have to get up and pack tomorrow and get headed out for a long road trip. No shows until Tuesday, and the veterans tell us all that Centenary College absolutely loves this company. In fact, every year at Centenary they focus college-wide on a film and a book. This year the film was Forbidden Planet and the "book" was The Tempest. They are ready for us - we do five shows there. Should be a blast! Til next time....-TWL