We teched the show in CLAREMORE, OK, which is essentially where the musical Oklahoma! takes place--that was fun! The main road we took from the hotel to the theatre was Lynn Riggs Blvd., named after the man who wrote the play Green Grow the Lilacs, on which Oklahoma! was based. And, the priest even mentioned the show in his homily that Sunday--he was right, it was indeed a beautiful mornin'! A little bit of musical theatre dramaturgical dorkiness for you all... =)
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| Lynn Riggs Blvd! |
Highlight of the Claremore tech experience: the fire alarm going off during our preview performance. After a rough weekend (our show is a beast to tech--all the usual issues that come with a big musical, along with flying, fire, quick changes, dogs, children...you name it!), we were finally feeling confident that we could get through the show without stopping...and the fire alarm went off right after I flew out of Munchkinland! It must have been the Wicked Witch's fire ball or else the general haze...whatever it was, it hadn't set anything off all weekend during tech, but of course, as soon as the audience got there...evacuation time! We got back in quickly, though, and the audience was incredibly supportive--Dorothy started the show back up with, "My, people come and go so quickly here"--which usually refers to my exit but took on a whole new layer of meaning! The audience wouldn't stop clapping. =)
FORT WORTH was next and while it's early to say, it's been my favorite city so far! Absolutely beautiful and so much to do. We started our weekend with a trip to the historic Stockyards district, where I experienced a "Dirty Love Burger" for the first and probably only time...it had bacon and quail eggs on it. Got it at the "Love Shack," which bore a striking resemblance to Shake Shack in NYC...coincidence? Proooooobably not.
Our performance space was right in the downtown Sundance Square area--home to a number of cute shops, restaurants, and historic buildings (including Fort Worth's own St. Patrick's Cathedral, built 1888-92)--as well as the best guacamole I've ever had! Bass Hall was the most incredible venue I've ever performed in...a beautiful space with over 2000 seats, four balconies, and unbelievable acoustics.
Stepping out into that theatre for the first time felt like a dream...as did our dressing rooms, pretty swanky with our own bathroom/fridge/recliner! My station is pictured below...complete with Glinda T-shirt, Glinda bookmark (from the Wizard of Oz-themed table at the Barnes & Noble next to the theatre!), and a pumpkin spice latte on opening night. =)
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| "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch??" |
Other highlights of our weekend in Texas: I had my first club experience ever in the Dallas gayborhood, AND we went to the Texas State Fair--where I experienced fried peach cobbler on a stick, pig races, and of course, the obligatory ferris wheel...which proved that everything is, indeed, bigger in Texas!
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| Fried peach cobbler on a stick!!! |
I also mastered my quick change by the end of the weekend...changing from Auntie Em into Glinda after the tornado was kind of a nightmare at first--imagine changing your costume/shoes/wig/accessories/makeup in about thirty seconds...AND getting snapped into a bubble to fly onstage--but we've got it down to somewhat of a science by now! Shoes first...always shoes first...because once that big pink skirt is on there's no way you're getting to them. Learned that the hard way when in one of our first couple shows I walked around for my whole first scene (all of Munchkinland) with only one shoe fastened. Glinda was a little awkward that day... =)
After Fort Worth came SIOUX FALLS, SD. Another beautiful theatre--huge, with probably close to a couple thousand seats--and they were purple! We got there Wednesday and had shows Friday and Sunday, which left us time to do some fun promotional activities too. The crowd favorite was our pottery project that Thursday--for an arts initiative called the Empty Bowls project, where kids make bowls that are filled with soup and sold around Christmastime as a fundraiser to feed the hungry. We got to be the kids that day! It was amazing--I've never made pottery before and now I want to do it all the time!
A few of us also did a Q&A for the local college theatre kids later in the weekend...which was fun, but a little odd. Feels like I was just there! And now I'm the one sitting in front of the class sharing my "life experience"...hmm.
...Falls Park (built around the falls of the Big Sioux River, from which the town takes its name), and the best milkshake I've ever had in my life (OK, I promise this isn't going to turn into a food blog!). Seriously though--it was a s'mores milkshake and they even toasted the marshmallows on top. It was truly bangin'.
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| Falls Park! |
It was in Sioux Falls that I mastered the art of putting on eyelashes! I never wear them, but for this show...well, Glinda needs them. And they're HUGE. It took me days and days of failed attempts to learn--and to be honest, "mastered" is a loose term at best. I'm still not terribly great at it. But, I did it myself both shows in Sioux Falls!! A major personal milestone. =) However, I have not yet mastered the removal of glitter...it seriously never comes off! And it gets everywhere. Ah, well...a skill to aspire to...someday...
Stay tuned for my next post...a recap of our first week back on the road!
xoxo
Kelly
