Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Closing Max & Rub
We performed in a school.
On Manhattan's Lower East Side.
In an "indoor garden."
In perhaps one of the most depressing gynmacafetoriums I've EVER seen.
...
The "indoor garden" was too small for the set.
The ceiling was too short for the roof.
We couldn't even put the "tree toppers" on our drops.
Our van got a parking ticket.
We had Fifth Graders in the audience.
The space was too echo-y to use mics.
We slipped and slid across the floors.
Our changing space was in full view of a whole section of the room.
We started fifteen minutes late.
...
And they (and we) still loved every second of it.
Kid quote of the day: After Max knocks down the castle and Grandma arrives for her show, Ruby informs her that something terrible has happened. "Oh," says Grandma. "What is it?" And a little kid announced, "Max, you've destroyed everything." Not a chance...
On Manhattan's Lower East Side.
In an "indoor garden."
In perhaps one of the most depressing gynmacafetoriums I've EVER seen.
...
The "indoor garden" was too small for the set.
The ceiling was too short for the roof.
We couldn't even put the "tree toppers" on our drops.
Our van got a parking ticket.
We had Fifth Graders in the audience.
The space was too echo-y to use mics.
We slipped and slid across the floors.
Our changing space was in full view of a whole section of the room.
We started fifteen minutes late.
...
And they (and we) still loved every second of it.
Kid quote of the day: After Max knocks down the castle and Grandma arrives for her show, Ruby informs her that something terrible has happened. "Oh," says Grandma. "What is it?" And a little kid announced, "Max, you've destroyed everything." Not a chance...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
2000 Screaming Kids
Well, I have returned to New York in one piece, bid farewell to our vans at the Upper West Side garage and returned safely to my Brooklyn apartment. Today marked our final out-of-town performance, and leaves us with one show left before the adventures of Max & Ruby-Red are finished for this spring. However, today's show in Providence, RI, prompted a scene (of sorts) that I'd like to share. It may wind up being one of my favorite memories of the tour.
Remember this whole Blue Tarantula scene I've been talking about? Well, it all surrounds Ruby trying to get Max to take a nap, in order to calm him down, so that she can finish writing the show for Grandma. Max is riled up because his favorite radio program, SuperBunny, is on. He runs around, wearing a cape, shouting "SuperBunny" and doing the Superman flying-off-to-adventure arm thing. This repeats itself after the Blue Tarantula number and leads into a scene change. Our audiences being mostly of the six-and-under ilk, they like to chime in on this second "SuperBunny"-a-thon. And today's performance was one for the record books.
Two thousand Rhode Island children, screaming "SuperBunny" at the top of their lungs, doing the hand motions and nearly jumping out of their seats with excitement. Ben knew what he was doing, and milked it for all it was worth, while we watched from the wings, stunned. It stopped the show.
There has been some drama of late within the company, the kind of strife you'd expect from people who've been living and working together 24/7 for four months. None of which is worth reflecting on here. What we needed was a good ending to our run, something we could feel really happy with, something that would remind us why we have indeed dedicated nearly half a year to this show, and these kids, and this company. What we got today was as good a final "show in a theater" as anyone could have hoped. And, as we rolled into NYC for the last time, Sara Bareilles's "Love Song" (which has become the anthem of our company) blasting on the van stereo, I was overcome by a sense of pride in what we have accomplished. Amid the broken mini-disk players, too-small stages, car breakdowns, crappy hotel rooms, early wake-ups and long drives, we created something magical that can get 2000 kids to jump out of their seats with joy and wonder. We did it, together, without killing each other, in the most unusual of circumstances, and showed a whole new generation how amazing live theater can be. And when we officially close Max & Ruby tomorrow on Manhattan's Lower East Side, it is that sense of pride that I will take away from these months. I truly couldn't have asked for anything better.
Kid quote of the day: "SUPERBUNNY!"
Call tomorrow: 1:30pm, PS 42 Benjamin Altman School. It's time to put this show to bed.
(P.S. Exciting news! Ben, our amazing Max, was contacted by Nickelodeon to come in for a general audition. Turns out, somebody heard about/saw his great performance in our show and referred him to the people at Nick. WAY TO GO BEN!!)
Remember this whole Blue Tarantula scene I've been talking about? Well, it all surrounds Ruby trying to get Max to take a nap, in order to calm him down, so that she can finish writing the show for Grandma. Max is riled up because his favorite radio program, SuperBunny, is on. He runs around, wearing a cape, shouting "SuperBunny" and doing the Superman flying-off-to-adventure arm thing. This repeats itself after the Blue Tarantula number and leads into a scene change. Our audiences being mostly of the six-and-under ilk, they like to chime in on this second "SuperBunny"-a-thon. And today's performance was one for the record books.
Two thousand Rhode Island children, screaming "SuperBunny" at the top of their lungs, doing the hand motions and nearly jumping out of their seats with excitement. Ben knew what he was doing, and milked it for all it was worth, while we watched from the wings, stunned. It stopped the show.
There has been some drama of late within the company, the kind of strife you'd expect from people who've been living and working together 24/7 for four months. None of which is worth reflecting on here. What we needed was a good ending to our run, something we could feel really happy with, something that would remind us why we have indeed dedicated nearly half a year to this show, and these kids, and this company. What we got today was as good a final "show in a theater" as anyone could have hoped. And, as we rolled into NYC for the last time, Sara Bareilles's "Love Song" (which has become the anthem of our company) blasting on the van stereo, I was overcome by a sense of pride in what we have accomplished. Amid the broken mini-disk players, too-small stages, car breakdowns, crappy hotel rooms, early wake-ups and long drives, we created something magical that can get 2000 kids to jump out of their seats with joy and wonder. We did it, together, without killing each other, in the most unusual of circumstances, and showed a whole new generation how amazing live theater can be. And when we officially close Max & Ruby tomorrow on Manhattan's Lower East Side, it is that sense of pride that I will take away from these months. I truly couldn't have asked for anything better.
Kid quote of the day: "SUPERBUNNY!"
Call tomorrow: 1:30pm, PS 42 Benjamin Altman School. It's time to put this show to bed.
(P.S. Exciting news! Ben, our amazing Max, was contacted by Nickelodeon to come in for a general audition. Turns out, somebody heard about/saw his great performance in our show and referred him to the people at Nick. WAY TO GO BEN!!)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Day That Was, But Should Not Have Been
The day started well enough. I rolled out of my Cape Cod HoJo bed at 6:30am, showered, packed, grabbed a packet of PopTarts from Ben (my roommate for the night and the owner of half of the PopTart stash) and headed towards the reception area to check out and grab their version of continental breakfast. As I approached the building, however, something seemed strange. For 7am, the place was dead, and their didn't appear to be anyone behind the desk. A quick twist of the door handle proved me right: the place was locked down. However, through the windows, I spied a fresh pot of coffee, two carafes of juice and cereal. Which meant that somebody was there. My pounding on the door becoming futile, and there not being enough time to drive off in search of liquid caffeine, I angrily ate my PopTarts as I stared down the HoJo coffee machine.
Not a good start to the day.
Then we arrived at the Cape Cod Community College, which does indeed frequently get referred to as CCCC. After a lovely, fast load-in (with limited bodily harm) and a good sound check, Emileena came to us with the bad news: there were two shows scheduled, although only one was reflected on our schedules. Not normally an issue, but Equity requires that we be informed of "added shows" at least eight days in advance. So, secret balloting was held, Theatreworks was called, a little drama ensued, and we voted to do the show with some additional compensation (again, along union guidelines). Both shows went well (although everyone is pretty wiped out; we had planned for a one-show day, after all), we loaded out quickly and now we're on the road to Providence, RI, for our last out-of-town show. Which is, incidentally, one of my favorite towns.
What other wonders does this day hold in store for us?
Kid quote of the day: After the Blue Tarantula fingers popped over the wall for the second time, a little boy excitedly cried, "There IS a Blue Tarantula." Suspension of disbelief, indeed.
Call tomorrow: Unknown, as of now. I'm actually blogging in real-time from a Burger King. Classy, I know.
Not a good start to the day.
Then we arrived at the Cape Cod Community College, which does indeed frequently get referred to as CCCC. After a lovely, fast load-in (with limited bodily harm) and a good sound check, Emileena came to us with the bad news: there were two shows scheduled, although only one was reflected on our schedules. Not normally an issue, but Equity requires that we be informed of "added shows" at least eight days in advance. So, secret balloting was held, Theatreworks was called, a little drama ensued, and we voted to do the show with some additional compensation (again, along union guidelines). Both shows went well (although everyone is pretty wiped out; we had planned for a one-show day, after all), we loaded out quickly and now we're on the road to Providence, RI, for our last out-of-town show. Which is, incidentally, one of my favorite towns.
What other wonders does this day hold in store for us?
Kid quote of the day: After the Blue Tarantula fingers popped over the wall for the second time, a little boy excitedly cried, "There IS a Blue Tarantula." Suspension of disbelief, indeed.
Call tomorrow: Unknown, as of now. I'm actually blogging in real-time from a Burger King. Classy, I know.
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