(no subject)

Yesterday was the Boston Theater Marathon--50 ten-minute plays. Noon to 10. All the normal chaos of a theatrical production, multiplied by a factor of about twenty.

So of course I volunteered to help out backstage, and gawk at it all.

I was a Runner. My station was the Greeting Room, the first place the actors gathered. I have to say, it was well-equipped...besides food and drink (coffee donated by Starbucks. LOTS of coffee) we had band-aids, cough drops, hairpins, sanitary lotion, even scented lavender oil. Since we were on the second floor and out of the way, one of my duties as Runner was to carry messages downstairs to the show co-ordinators, things like (at 1:43) "The director for the 2 o'clock says she's missing one actor and all her props. She says the writer has the props and she's 'around here somewhere', but no idea about the actor. So she says you might want to think about moving her show back a bit."

Actual message. In fact, this was the day in a nutshell.

One of the perks about being stationed in the Greeting Room was the TV we had up showing the action on stage. It was fun to see the actors come in wearing their civvies, get warmed up, try to guess what sort of performance they were about to do, and then see them on the little screen a half hour later. It was ALSO fun watching which performances the other actors ignored, and which ones they gathered around in a circle to watch. The Summer Theatre at Salem, of all people, made the room come to a complete stop.

Besides delivering panic-filled messages, my other duty was to guide the actors through the little maze of passageways and stairs down to the backstage area. This was complicated a little by the fact that over on the other stage, a totally different event was going on, the production of Take Me Out, a gay baseball romantic comedy. With shower scenes. And our route was the same path these well-built ballplayers had to use to get between their dressing rooms and their stage. Can I just say damn? Because...DAMN! I wonder if the audience noticed how many of our actors started their scenes looking a little bit shaken.

So, good times. And now I'm sitting down with the program book playing the "That was WHO?" game. As in, "That was Robert BRUSTEIN? That crinkly old man who kept making fart sounds? The founder of the American Rep Theatre and the Yale Rep Theatre?? And I stepped on his FOOT?!?" For when it comes to making connections and schmoozing, I am a loozer.

(no subject)

Memeage from ghormenghast and others:


01) My uncle once: broke his toe kicking a cow. (To be fair, he works on a dairy farm, and the cow needed to stop blocking the path. But still. Hee.)
02) Never in my life: been able to curl my tongue. Just ain't happening.
03) When I was five: my tantrums consisted of my holding my breath until I passed out, because yelling and being noisy just seemed uncouth, for some reason.
04) High School was: better than it had any right to be. I really lucked out.
05) I will never forget: that first kiss. Ahh, the kendo class...the brick wall against my back...the security cameras.
06) I once met: Stephen King, drinking a beer at a 10AM book signing. I was too young to realize that this was Not a Good Sign.
07) There’s this girl I know who: has no idea how cool she really is.
08) Once, at a bar: I realized that fighting, like flirting, is all just a matter of the right sort of eye contact with the right person. Or wrong person. And when that person is Mr. Bouncer, that person is always the wrong person.
09) By noon I’m usually: Locking my door and running, not walking, to my lunch break.
10) Last night: someone's toenail left an inch-long gouge in my heel.
12) Next time I go to church: I'll be watching Greg get married.
13) Terry Schiavo: died years ago. Rest in peace.
14) I have a confession to make: I'm an utter geek.
15) When I turn my head left, I see: a stuffed Ewok, riding on the back of a Giles-as-demon bust using a 'Music = Life' bracelet as the reins (see #14).
16) When I turn my head right, I see: a box of 'Decorer' Pocky, and a Poland Spring water cooler.
17) You know I’m lying when: I speak flawlessly, without any pauses, stammers, or an "um" at the start of the sentence. It means I've been rehearsing it in my head.
18) Everyday, I constantly think about: whether my pedometer is actually accurate, and what this means when it says I've taken 19 steps while pulling up my pants.
19) If I was a character written by Shakespeare, I’d be: much more articulate.
20) By this time next year: Published, on a theater poster, or earning more money. All three, ideally.
21) A better name for me would be: King Galactic Sun-God, Lord of the 19 Planets
22) I have a hard time understanding: NASCAR.
23) If I ever go back to school I’ll: kick ASS with my classes. Go soooooo deeply into debt. And stretch myself too thin (again).
24) You know I like you if: you can make me laugh.
25) If I won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: My Nana
26) Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: the sort of floor hockey team *I'd* get stuck with in gym class.