Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, having recently eaten a cube steak and a baked potato for my meal o’ the day. I’d thought some of us would go out after our stumble-through, but alas no one wanted to, and so I stopped at Gelson’s near me and got the cube steak and baked potato, came home, cooked them and ate them all up. I was so full after eating and quite tired, so I sat down in the arm chair in the living room environment and could not move for thirty minutes. I sat there like so much pounded steak and baked potato, or, as the Jews like to say, I plotzed. I Plotzed – that’s the title of my next novel.
Yesterday, I got almost eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, and did some work on the computer, had telephonic conversations, and relaxed. Then I got ready and then moseyed on over to the Group Rep at four. Our wonderful Vitello’s sound person Nick was there, got everything set up, and I liked what I heard, even though the speakers they have hang halfway back in the theater and face each other, for reasons I can’t even begin to fathom. For A Carol Christmas, we had larger speakers and they hung from a pitp on either side of the stage, clear of everything they needed to be clear of, and, like normal speakers, were FACING the audience rather than each other. So, it’s a bit of a handicap we can’t do anything about. Sitting in the front row gets you pretty weird sound, but sitting four rows up and to the back, it’s better. Have I mentioned that I plotzed? Anyway, we got that all set up, then Richard Allen arrived, we got his keyboard set up – it was not quite as easy as it would have been had I been willing to have it on stage left, but I hate that look – every concert venue and cabaret venue I’ve been in has the piano stage right. So, we figured all that out, then our actress who couldn’t be at the stumble-through ran her duet and her solo, then left.
Then Kay Cole took about twenty minutes and did some easy little steps for our sing-along finale of One from A Chorus Line. It’s really fun. Then it was time to begin the stumble-through. The first thing that was very apparent was that the singers were struggling because they were getting very washy sound coming back at them and were over-singing because it was hard to hear the piano. And the pianist was having trouble because he was also getting washy sound coming back at him and he was having trouble hearing the singers. Prior to starting, I’d given some pointers on mic placement and how to work the mic, but it was clear that some were still unsure of what to do. Easy to understand, since this is new territory for some, having never done cabaret before. So, I took lots of notes. Due to our missing cast member and Peyton being gone, we were four numbers short, overall, so it wasn’t really possible for me to gauge the length or even the pace of the show. The structure seemed to work okay and will work better when the other songs are where they should be.
After we finished, I gave notes for about thirty minutes, cleaned up some musical things that were sloppy, and then I was on my merry way. If everyone drills their lyrics and doesn’t get in their heads about anything, I think it’s going to be a very entertaining show. I sent a group e-mail when I got home and said that very thing.
The rest of the evening you know, especially the part about plotzing in an arm chair. And why is it called an arm chair, anyway? I would understand a butt cheek chair, or a chair that’s smaller than a couch or loveseat, or a chair that seats one, but what does an arm have to do with the price of cataract surgery? Aha – it’s a chair with arms – for a place to put your arms. And yet, at no time did I put my arms on the arms of the chair. This is an enigma.
Today, I’ll hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, eat something light and fun, then relax until it’s time to go to the theater. I hope to hear about the possibility of monitors by the time I arise. I’ll get to the theater around five-thirty, and at six Peyton will arrive and we’ll run her stuff, then others arrive at six-thirty and we run anything that Peyton has a bit in, then we’ll run four or five numbers four sound and hopefully monitors. Then at eight, we do our show and that’s followed by a reception with desserts.
Tomorrow will be exactly the same and then we do our second show. I have no real idea how many people are coming, since I’m told the majority of folks just show up at the door. I’m hoping we’re full up for both shows. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, the helper coming with her truck to cart off about half the crap that’s in the garage, casting the August show, choosing songs, and whatever else comes along.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, arise, hopefully pick up packages, eat, go to the theater and hopefully have monitors, run stuff, and then we do our show. Today’s topic of discussion: What is the most food you’ve ever eaten at one time? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I’m quite certain I will have dreams in which I plotz.