Three Down, Nine to Go

Today is my first day in over a week where I've had nothing Chicago. OK, I have the songs on shuffle, weaving themselves between brain fiber, but nothing that lands me in the theater for 4-9 hours.

It's going well though. The first night was jittery for all. Second night has some gaffes but by night three, technically speaking, we were smooth sailing.

It's fascinating watching the production over and over again. I'm use to seeing a show once or feeling it from within acting many many times. Rarely am I a repeat viewer. My vantage is a little strange in that I'm perched out above the stage. I can see the tops of heads and noses. I can barely see the outstretched shins and knees of that first audience row. And I'm learning that little missteps are no big deal, and that if a light doesn't come one where you expect it, it probably has very little to do with the lighting person and more to do with a whole series of events that simply ends in the light not being as you expected.

I'm also feeling really fortunate about working this show. I'm a wee bit bored with the show and will be incredibly bored by performance 12 wraps, but I love the crew. I don't know the actors at all, but I'm coming to adore the people I'm working with behind the scenes. Bruce, the guy who taught me lights, is now more or less absent from the theater but after seeing him three days in a row (three days he wasn't suppose to be there really) Zach and I come in and, yep, there's Bruce again. And before I've even said hello he says, "Yes I'm still here. Yes I've set off the fire alarm...twice." And away he disappears. He has an air of laid back cool and the deep knowledge fitting for a man who has lived his life in a tour bus working show after show.

Every night my head is crowned with a headset. It pushes in my temples and gives me headaches but it connects me with three very cool people. One Stage Manager and two Assistant Stage Managers. The SM sits up in the booth with me and directs us all in our tasks. The ASMs each manage a wing of the stage. They make sure actors come on and off at the right times. Deal with props, lights that need to be plugged in manually, stage curtains and scrims. I just press a button and make sure the light shifts. They on the other hand are running around the entire show in various forms of pitch black. I have it easy in comparison.

And everyone is seriously cool. Normally I'm nervous around new people and am slow to warm. These people make joking easy and create a great atmosphere. The Stage Manager's fiance is there too helping Zach and she's as cool as her husband-to-be. I think Zach and I went into all of this a little daunted by the time commitment and instead have been super impressed with the people we're meeting. I know better than to count on the theater for potential friends (at least in most cases) but I'd be sad if we didn't hang out with some of these people at least a little post show.