Tech Night II

            Last night was technical work through of Act II…well almost.

            We congregated at the usual 7 pm call time and were informed that we would go at 9 pm. There was a lot of grumbling about having to sit around for that long. There were a few little spot rehearsals but most of the company sat around griping about having to sit around. So it goes.

            For me Act II is way more interesting than Act I. Father Martin is onstage for almost the whole act (excepting Queen’s Chamber when I am madly changing clothes). Granted, he spends a whole lot of time standing around and lying in his bed – but at least he’s there. So I was busy instead of aimlessly wandering backstage for hours.

            It was the same stop/back up/start/repeat/repeat/repeat as the night before but we were ready for it.

            When we got to Yule Log “Noel, Noel, Noel” I lit the log. Yes, I actually get to play with fire! A stop was called. The Choir repeatedly ran through “Noel” while the sound designer set levels. Oops! The Yule Log actually caught on fire. There is a hollowed out, metal lined opening that the audience can’t see which is where the flammable materiel that I light is stashed. But it isn’t meant to burn for so long and the log caught fire. I was going to douse it with sand but others ran up and did it before I could bend my aching back over to do it. Anyway – Log saved.

(Time travel – when we were waiting to carry in the log in my Old Tom with Stacy as Agona days she would lead us in singing the log song from the “Ren & Stimpy” show. “It’s Log! It’s Log! It’s big, it’s heavy, it’s wood!” Also in those days my daughter Alice would ride on the log waving.)

It was now about midnight. A ten minute break was called.

How fast can a whole lot of people shed their many layers of authentic wool and leather costumes?

Really, really fast. And furthermore they can reappear fully dressed ten minutes later, but oh – those few minutes of relief…

Smoking is not allowed in costume, except for tights and show tee shirts. There are three of us male Principals who indulge in the filthy, nasty, blah-blah-blah habit. Me, Terry (Governor White) and Louis (Old Tom – all the best Old Toms are smokers). We disrobed in record time and trooped out to the smoking area in our tights and tee shirts. A truly lovely sight but who the hell cares it had been nearly FOUR HOURS. Standing room only in the smoking area, it was packed with members from all departments, all of them in a similar state of undress. Ah – bonding.

            We had just reassembled on stage when the wind kicked up. We were informed that a huge thunderstorm was bearing down on us and we were to take shelter in the dressing rooms. Out came many smart phones and radar was consulted. Monster storm!

            (Note to self: At some point write a long piece about how the evolution of cell phones with web access and texting has changed life at the Colony.)

            They called rehearsal at about 12:30. We changed, turned in microphones, struck props. Then a long wet sprint to the parking lot in the pouring rain.

            There was some jubilation about canceling, but it just means that we’ll have to finish teching the thing tonight instead of having a quick final dress.

            And we didn’t even get to Big Battle.