Last Weekend!

As of today, we have one more performance of all five shows here at BVT. In addition to these performances, the supervisors of each department (makeup, costumes, etc.) are updating guidelines for future companies. We will also be doing inventory again, and cleaning both the theater and the residence. The plan, as of now, is to be dismissed around 2:00pm this Tuesday.

In other news, Ames is flooded! Margaux, Jeff and I are all very interested in what we'll find when we return home.

The Countdown Has Begun.

Nine more days.

August?!

Um, hi... I've been meaning to update you, really. Yeah, I know it's been quite a while. Ok, longer than quite a while. No, I haven't been spending more time with facebook! Alright, I've spent some time with facebook instead of you-BUT, I was thinking about you the whole time! I just - I've just been... busy, alright? Look, can we just start over? Thanks.

Nearly a month has passed since my last post, which leads me to believe that my five followers have probably given up their following. Sorry guys. I'm here now though, ready to update you on the very few things that have happened recently.

We get a lot more days off now. Usually Monday-Wednesday along with Thursday and sometimes Friday mornings. It's great to have a chance to relax after the weekends, which now contain six (!!!) shows each.

I ordered some of my textbooks online yesterday, reminding myself of the real world and my inevitable return to it.

... and that's what's new. Pretty boring, right? It sure would be nice to have a visitor or two... or five to spice things up around here...

Quick update

All five shows are open now. Yay.

We found a cat. Her name is Garbage, but I call her Harold.

TOMORROW IS OUR FIRST DAY OFF.

Nightmares

I spoke too soon. I awoke several times between 3:00 and 5:00 this morning, thinking I had missed a light cue.

"Burning Man," the fire which has recently consumed my life.

It's been a while. Sorry. I think it goes without saying that a lot has happened since my last post, over two weeks ago. Oops. If it makes you feel better, my loyal five followers, I've been neglecting facebook just as much as I have this blog. Let's not even get into email.

Where do I begin? We experienced our first four-show weekend and survived, barely. This weekend included a Friday 7:30 performance of Snoopy!!!, a Saturday matinee of Grand Prize, a 7:30 Home is Where Your Clothes Are on the same day, and a Sunday matinee of Snoopy!!!. Gah. This weekend also included a visit from my parents AND my roommates, which was awesome. Getting to unwind with Sonic and some serious girl-talk was an uncommon luxury. We, the company, also experienced and enjoyed the world's most receptive audience - Home ran somewhere around forty minutes longer than usual because we were holding for so many laughs. Yay!

Well before that intense weekend, we began rehearsals for Burning Man, the show for which I am the Script Supervisor. My responsibilities include running rehearsals (woodshedding, combo-ing, the lot), calling light and sound cues, collecting actors, overseeing line bashes, and more. Basically, I'm a glorified stage manager. I've never done any stage managing before. so this new task has proved a little daunting. The work itself seemed simple enough, but after a couple of days of rehearsals I began having nightmares, waking up around 5:00 am thinking I had missed a call for line. This continued for a quite a few nights, but I'm happy to say that I've now been nightmare-free for over 48 hours. Today was our first (and last) full dress rehearsal for Burning Man. I'm still relishing the fact that I get a headset backstage to call light cues. Having a headset, I feel, is about the only thing that really makes a stage manager legit. So, I'm legit. And it feels good. Somehow this headset has the power to make me feel that the hours sitting in a hard, wooden chair while listening to the same scene six consecutive times, only to continue to the next scene six more, the running up and down stairs to collect actors from the shop, the hours of lost sleep due to rehearsal nightmares, and the meals I've tried to eat between feeding lines to actors at a break-time line bash, were all worth it. And you know what? Maybe they actually were...

Things to Know if You Visit Brownville, in no particular order

1. Tickets do sell pretty well, so call ahead for reservations. The number is at the bottom of the website.
2. We don't take credit or debit payment. Check or cash only.
3. Get here on time, but don't expect the show to start at the designated curtain time. Doc (the boss) does a curtain talk that usually lasts a while.
4. Leave some time to explore the bookstores in town. The Antiquarium is my favorite.
5. If you're coming through Rockport, leave some extra time. The bridge over the Missouri River is under construction so you'll probably have to wait at a stoplight there for about 5 minutes.
6. Wear bug spray if you're coming to a nighttime performance. There will be a reception outside after the show and the bugs are horrible here.
7. If you want to come say hi to the actors before the show, we'll be busy, but you're welcome to come in the basement box office door and hang out.
8. If you're a brokecollegestudentfriendofmine and want to stay in the house I live in, give me a heads up because I need to ask the boss first.

I hope to see some friends out here this summer :) "Snoopy!!!" opens this Saturday!

Post-Opening Weekend

We opened our first two shows, "Home is Where Your Clothes Are," and "Grand Prize" last weekend. Tomorrow the plan is to finish blocking Act I of "Snoopy!!!"

We've had a little time to familiarize ourselves with the local attractions here in Brownville. My new favorite place is a huge used bookstore called The Antiquarium. After a couple of breaks spent there, I have a pile of books that will probably take me years to read but I'm still looking forward to going back and searching for more.

I'm exhausted and my contacts are dry, so I'll end this for tonight with my favorite compliment from opening weekend. It came from an eight-year-old girl and pertains to the show in which I play a hooker. After watching the show, the girl told her aunt, "I liked the lady with the whip."

Life Skills and Romance Novels

Over the course of the past week, I've either learned or re-learned the following skills:
Ironing
Using a sewing machine
Using a serger
Manufacturing a false moustache
Making alterations on a shirt
Hemming
...these are just a few. I'm going to know everything about theatre, ever, by the end of this summer.

I may have mentioned the flea market that took place here last weekend. It was like peopleofwalmart.com had engulfed the entire town. That being said, Jeff bought a shirt.

Also, the company has started a late-night routine of reading romance novels before bed. There's talk about turning one of them into a movie. Casting has already begun.

Grand Prize Costume Parade

We're doing a full dress rehearsal for Grand Prize Tuesday, and today, in preparation for that, we had, a costume parade. This was an incredible learning experience and stressor for me. We had one hour after lunch to do hair, makeup and dress. Everyone was very respectful, as usual, but I had no idea how many things I would have to okay or help with before the parade. In addition to helping with all of this, I was supposed to get myself ready. Eek. Somehow everything came together in just a little longer than the hour we had allotted. I can say it was really fun getting to sit in the back of the theater with the director and costume designer and whisper about the people onstage. I've never been on that side of the process before, so it was really interesting. In spite of the extra stress, today was incredibly productive. I got to see makeup under the stage lights here for the first time and get a handle on how long it will take everyone to get ready.
Also, WE GET TOMORROW MORNING OFF.

Somewhat Informative Entry

My day began seeing two penises. Sarah (the costume supervisor and quite possibly the only person who reads this blog) received the Superman costume she had ordered and it was just a little too short in the torso for both men who wear it. Each emerged from the dressing room with big grins and the male equivalent of camel toes. With a morning like that, I knew it would be a good day.
Now for the somewhat informative portion of this entry... I realized that I haven't really explained a typical day here at the Brownville Village Theatre. So here goes:
9:00 - The company reports to the theater to begin our morning shift. This may consist of working in our respective areas (makeup, costumes, set building, props, etc.) or rehearsing for a show. Currently we're involved with rehearsals for the second show to open, Grand Prize.
11:15 - Clean up. Sweep, take out trash, and Jeff vacuums.
11:30 - Lunch at the Lyceum (the local restaurant). Fun fact: the Lyceum used to be a brothel.
1:00 - Back to work on our tech stuff or rehearsals.
4:45 - Clean up. Again.
5:00 - Supper at the Lyceum.
7:00 - Back to work/rehearsal.
11:15 - Clean up. Again.
11:30 - Back to the residence. DONE.
Tomorrow's the town's famous flea market, which means the town will contain more than 200 people. Weird. People are already camping outside waiting for it to start. Also, weird. I'm going to check it out during our morning shift tomorrow and try to find costume stuff. If that doesn't work out (or even if it does) I hear the best cream soda and root beer can be found at this market. I will obtain some. I can only hope tomorrow morning's root beer can top this morning's penises.

I'm going to be tired in the morning.

Being around a new group of people, I'm learning from their respective cultures.
Thus far, I've designed the makeup for our second show to open, Grand Prize. I've pulled a ton of wigs for our last show to open, Playing Doctor, but I have to keep that on the back burner until we've taken care of the first couple shows.
The company is counting down the days to our first morning off, this Monday. We won't have to go to work until 1:00pm, which may prove to be entirely too much free time to handle.

Settling In

I feel like the more I settle in here, the more boring my blog entries will get.

Moustache Day

Spell check says "moustache" is wrong. It says it should be "mustache," but I know spellcheck is wrong and moustache is far classier. Anyway, as this entry's title suggests, my day involved an obscene amount of moustaches. Having cleaned and inventoried the theater yesterday and today, we were finally able to begin work in our respective areas. I began assembling a shopping list for our upcoming trip to Omaha and furthering my concept image collection for hair and makeup. In my search for images, I found my concept for Jeff White's character in "The Burning Man." I'm getting tired, so I'll just end this for tonight with that concept image...

Day One

It was an interesting morning. I spent last night in Omaha visiting a friend of mine. I woke up to discover her roommate had claimed the bathroom for the morning, so a shower was out of the question. After some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and coffee, I was off. Needing to get gas, I stopped at the second bp I saw (the first one was a bit shady for my taste). At this bp, I was confronted by a gentleman collecting cans from the trash. He was kind enough to offer me some words of wisdom. First, all you need to make money is perseverance. He makes $1000 a month collecting cans; that's $600 more than I'll be making at Brownville so I'll keep that option in mind. Also, you need three things to succeed in life: brains, people skills, and the third I didn't catch because he began shuffling loudly with the trash can.
With a tank full of glass and a brain full of new wisdom, I began my quest for the interstate. Google Maps didn't fail me. While on the road questions filled my head. Will they like me? Will I like them? Will they know I've already violated my contract by not taking my daily shower? Before I knew it, I was in Brownville and all my fears subsided. I met the company, who all seem very nice, and took a quick tour of the theatre and residence, which brings me to where I am now. Sitting in the living room watching Paris Hilton search for a new BFF with the rest of the company. So far, the summer looks good.

Preparations Have Begun

Hello all,

This is the first entry of many(?) this summer. I will be working at the Brownville Village Theatre in Brownville, NE.
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I'll be acting in three shows, working with costumes, and designing makeup for all five shows.

As of today, I've read through most of the plays and am making some decisions about makeup designs. I'm anticipating a lot of changes to what I have in mind once I meet the other actors and see what their costumes look like. Regardless, I've never done any sort of design for a show, so I'm excited to have this opportunity.

That's probably about it, until I move to Brownville, but here's the link to the theater's website again if you'd like to check out the season and plan a road trip to see a show or two! ::wink wink::