The "Special" Show

Three things that will hopefully never happen again on the Max & Ruby tour:

1) We performed on a stage so small that we couldn't even fit the constructed house on the stage. We wound up reblocking the entire show during our load-in to accommodate around only using our two fences as set. Much new scene change-ography, and some major blocking reduction. It was a serious adventure.

2) One of our cast members passed out at five minutes to curtain. Cause is unknown, and we were all pretty rattled. Thankfully, she was OK and rejoined us after the opening number. Safety first, you know.

3) Every single actor cracked, more than once. First, the kids were screaming so loud that we couldn't hear each other onstage, causing us to burst into laughter on multiple occasions Then, because of reblocking, it appeared that Max and/or Ruby was eaten by the Blue Tarantula every time they crossed into each other's rooms, causing huge gasps and sighs of relief from the audience. This prompted the Tarantula crew to laugh so hard that we could barely squeak out the song. We finally got ourselves back together for the closing number, but it was a struggle, albeit the best kind.

So, an odd show. But the kids loved, loved, loved it, and teacher after teacher expressed their deep appreciation for what we were doing. And that's really all that matters.

Kid quote of the day: if I could have heard any of the kids, I would have something for you.

Call tomorrow: 6:30am, Manhattan garage near Columbia. We're performing in the Bronx.