Several Days: She's Baaaaaackkk!

Two office days, and three shows later I'm back in action! Sorry for the mini hiatus. The three shows this weekend took a lot out of me! Better get use to it, especially if I'm going to be a star :) Oh, the world of theatre! So, I know you all have been anxiously awaiting for updates, and here they are...

Friday was just a typical day in the office. Ticket sales, list editing, ironing, you know the usual. Nothing too fun and exciting. The show went well, and I was ready fro triple the fun this weekend. Saturday's show went well also. I brought pasta for the cast and crew (yes, I am that intern) Everyone loved it, shout out to papa bear and "my sinful pride" Not gonna lie it was delicious! But enough about my amazing cooking skills :) back to the theatre. Sunday, was our matinée, a slightly smaller crowd, but still a good audience. I was admittedly a little distracted, I had my first slide on the ice and very minor accident on the way to the theatre. No fear everyone is okay, and damaged was very little. Thank God!!! Lesson learned, you can't drive too snow on the snow and ice!!!

On to today! Again some usual happenings occurred. Ticket sales for both the Casino Royale Fundraiser and for Dead Man's Cell Phone. Today, I started a new project though. I call it Project Clean Closet, very big and important as always. My job today was to clean out our supply closet and restore it to it's original order. This closet not only houses office supply, but also hold old show programs and posters, Casino Royale signs and invitations, cleaning supply, light bulbs, and a few other little items. All of this has to be placed and organized. I only got so far today. Mostly I pulled things out to see what to keep and what to get rid off. I was able to get one side of the closet a little more organized. The office supplies are looking good, I still have some work to do with the envelopes and paper though. 

This job will be continued into tomorrow,  but I have set a deadline for myself to have it done by Wedneday before the day is over. This week also starts our Stages of Wonder program. I get to teach on Wednesday, which I am very excited about. I think it is going to be a very fun and rewarding experience. Mr. R.L. and Ms. Denise had great things to say about their classes today! I should be on schedule this week and up to date with posts, that being said, until tomorrow...

Days 28 & 29: The Never Ending lists & "Turn around 3 times and spit"

The past two days I have been continuously working on our raffle ticket lists. We have three list that all have to match up. List 1: The Folio list, this has all the raffle transactions that have been processed since selling began in October. List 2: Ms. Kris' list, this has every person who purchased a ticket and corresponding ticket. List 3: Ms. Susan's list, this has all the people who have been documented as buying a raffle ticket and we have collected the money from them.

First two lists to compare list 1 and list 2. Going through the lists was not a hard task at all. I'd be lying if I said it went quickly though. Once I reached the end and sorted out what didn't match, I met with Mr. John to see if we could figure out the issues and create some matches. Luckily, we were able to eliminate most of the problems. As the day was coming to end, all other issues had to be resolved until today. 

I also made a trip to Atkinson's for ice, just the usual :) I also freshened concessions, and prepared for night 5 of Dead Man's Cell Phone, which also happened to be Guardian night. A Guardian is a special patron who gives annually to the theatre and is given special events, rewards, and eternal gratitude in return. I was excited to get to know just some of the people who help keep our theatre going. I met Ms. Judy, who is friends with Ms. Suzanne. She was delightful. I also met Ms. Liz (the soon to be president of the board) and her husband Mr. Rufus again, they are also a delight. I got to work front of house for a part of the evening handing out programs as people came in. I was happy to see some familiar faces, like Ms. Claudia, and Ms. Joan and Mr. Jeff too! The show was awesome! I think it was our best yet, and the audience was even better. We had a brief talk back at the end and the audience members got to ask the cast questions. I even got an introduction as the new intern when Ms. Denise told my story about Kenny Alhadeff (Memphis producer) calling me as I was going across the stage :)

Today, I returned to my list. Continuing to sort out yesterday's problems. I was able to eliminate more of the problems, and although not every one of them was resolved it was on to list 3. Before the conquering of the final list took place I had some raffle and casino tickets to enter. Mr. Greg along with board members were in charge of selling raffle and Casino Royale tickets to the guardians. Apparently Mr. Greg was a top seller! After everything was entered I had a meeting with Mr. John and Ms. Denise about my audition. They said they thought it went well and liked the monologue I picked. They also asked me how it compared to other auditions. Also during this discussion, we talked about what I needed to work on as far as my resume goes, what to wear, and even how to style your hair. Next up, work on my monologue. I also I have to select other monologues to work on too, classical, Shakespeare, and another contemporary one.

I also learned some fun facts about the theatre during our conversation. Fact #1 you are never to refer to the play Macbeth as Macbeth in the theatre (literally the building), it is only known as the Scottish play. It is thought to be a curse if you do. To undo the curse, the person who has said Macbeth has to turn around 3 times and spit. That being me, I was sent outside the theatre to reverse the curse! Fact #2 no whistling back stage (who would've thought it?) But now I know and won't have any problems in the future, with those two facts at least.

I went on a journey to Sweetwater Community to drop off some vouchers on my lunch break. Needless to say, I got lost and it was snowing. Luckily I had GPS on my phone, but it was still not a fun time. I then returned to the theatre and got back to my lists. I had gotten through list three and compared it to list two. We still have some issues that need to be resolved. I now have to go through those two lists one more time and mark what is on list two that is not on list three. And you guessed it! I brought my work home with me. 

The show tonight went really well. Two more night shows this weekend, and one matinee on Sunday to close out the weekend. Then we're back again for our last week on Wednesday. Final event of the next two weeks Casino Royale next Saturday! Can't wait, although I'm sure I'll be lost once the show is over. Until tomorrow...

Day 27: Auditions!

I got to the office late, again. It had snowed and I did not leave time to clean my car off. I really need to take those kinds of things into account. It's literally snow city here! So Maryland when you say you are sick of snow, welcome to my life! It's a little outrageous the amount of snow. You can only see white for miles in any direction, if the snow hasn't been plowed yet of course. I digress, back to the day.

I arrived and had a list of errands to do. Go to Express printing, go to Atkinson's, clean concessions, and pull wine. Express printing is right by the post office, so I was going to get the mail too. Since the mail doesn't arrive until eleven or so I held off on my errands. I pulled the wine, and then I returned to my list of patrons. Once I got through a few pages and eleven o'clock came and went I headed out. I picked up our new Guardian sign from Express, got the mail, and went to Atkinson's to restock on items needed for the concession stand.

Once I returned I started on concessions. Straightening and cleaning. It wasn't too big of a job, just needed a little freshening up. I also took a journey to Ketchum today for concession items. I had to go to The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to pick up our desserts. Chocolate dipped pretzels and graham crackers. YUM! When I returned I also stocked those. I ran to Atkinson's again, to grab a sandwich, and by the time lunch was over it was almost time for auditions.

During the auditions I, along with Mr. Andrew, were in charge of signing people in and asking them to fill out the audition form. We then I had to make copies of the form for the different companies. I wasn't scheduled to go until the very end, so I waited patiently as people auditioning came in and out. I felt surprisingly confident with my monologue and song (which never happens). I was anxious and excited to go in. We finally reached the end and were waiting on one more person. There was time to kill so I was up! I did pretty well, a few slips, but I sill felt good coming out. The environment here is so different from any other audition environment I've been in, I think that's why I was so comfortable and confident! Ms. Denise and Mr. John gave me good quick feedback, and are going to be working with me on it to perfect it! I'm very excited for this work! Before I left I had a few ticket sales to complete and then I was off for the day! All and all it was a good day. Until Tomorrow...

Day 26: Nords Skills at Work

My first duty of the day was to iron the costumes that had just gone through the laundry. I began with Gordon's shirt. Side note: the shirt said no iron, but it was not the case. Although when at Nordstrom, we  have the big time steamer and it does make the job go quicker, but you do have to iron on occasion. I took my work with Facconable and Robert Graham button downs and put it to good use. Gordon's button down was not so simple to iron. Every time I went to hang it up there was a new wrinkle on the front. Three times off the hanger and more ironing later, it finally looked good. I then had to iron Beth's over shirt, which also presented a problem for me. It happened to be a polyester blend that loved to hold on to the wrinkles. I finally was able to iron out most if not all of the wrinkles.

I then returned to the office, and headed to the post office to pick up the mail. When I returned I logged and  took care of the ticket requests we got in the mail for our Casino Royale fundraising event. The tickets sells are doing pretty well so far. We hope to be getting more in everyday until the event! After a quick lunch it was back to the ironing board for me. More button downs. They are our "uniforms" for our Stages of Wonder workshop we do for grades 1-5 at different schools. (more on that later)

While ironing I was working on my song and monologue for today's audition. The more I practiced my monologue the more I did not like it, and was second guessing my choice. So I continued ironing and continued not loving my monologue. After I finished ironing, it was about time for Stages training. We went through some background of the program and were given some literature to read about the program. We then went through the exercises as if we were in a class. The different grades have different exercises, but many of them overlap. I'm really excited to work with the students, I miss little children in my life (I mean you Ailiffs, Duffys, Messineos, and Wards) We start next Monday and I don't teach until Wednesday. Each class as two teachers so until I'm ready, I will mostly be the secondary teacher before I lead.  

After work I headed over to the Merriwether building to work on my song and monologue some more. After I got my monologue more on it's feet I was much happier with my decision. I have one more quick lesson today for my song, but it seems to be coming along well. Auditions are tonight! They are just general auditions though. If any of the companies (nexStage, Company of Fools, or St. Thomas) want you, this audition is for them to keep you in mind for their upcoming shows. I hope I do well, and don't get too nervous. Until tomorrow...

Days 24 & 25: 24 Day Check In and Big Time Interview

Hello again! Sorry I'm just getting back to blogging I've been a lazy bug the past few days, but here I am with a two day scoop for you! So let's get to it! Friday....

The day began as any other. I returned to my list, took a trip to my home away from home Atkinsons, and took ticket orders. Today was my lunch meeting with Ms. Denise and Mr. John to check in. We went to CK's down the street and discussed how it was going so far. Basically I'm loving it, am learning a lot, and am working with great people. They told me what was to come after the show closed, and some projects I'll be in charge of. So far I'm dong well, and the seem pleased with my performance :) Mr. R.L. joined us also, and we all discussed what I was expecting out of the internship and where I was going from here. I really have no idea where I'm going from here, a plan needs to be made that is for sure! As of this minute, though, I'm just going with the flow, and loving every minute here in Idaho!

After lunch we returned to the office. I got back to my list. Of course me and Folio got into a fight, again! However, I called the people at Martech and now have a new best friend. Patrick at Martech was very helpful and was able to fix the problem fairly quickly. Success! (or so I thought)  An hour or so later I ran into another issue. Having a show that night it had to be fixed ASAP! Of course the office was closed, so I had to call the emergency line. I then get a call back from a very nice gentleman (I wish I could remember his name) that talked me through everything. Step by step he told what needed to be done, and we finally rectified the issue! I felt very accomplished dealing with the issue on my own and making sure it worked correctly. I then headed home for a hot minute before show time!

Side Note: During the day Ms. Denise had been in contact with one of our guardians Mrs. Potter. She and her husband are producers of the Tony award winning Memphis! If you know me, you know I am OBSESSED with Memphis. I few emails later and I had an interview set up with Kenny Alhadeff. He has had a part in other broadway shows such as, Vanities the Musical, In the Heights, and of course Memphis, and is a founder and chairman of 5th Avenu Theatre in Seattle! I was too excited to be able to have the opportunity to speak with him! The call of course didn't come until the next day, but I'll get to that.

The show Friday went swimmingly, and the audience seemed to enjoy it. Saturday, I was home most of the day and then headed to the show. Again, it went really well! As I was walking across the stage "talking" on my cell phone it happened to be ringing! Oops! Come to find out, Mr. Alhadeff was calling me! I got back stage and was surprised to see a strange number calling. He left a message, and after the show I texted him. He said he could still talk with me when I got home! I was so amped and nervous to talk to him. I gathered my notes, and my questions, and phone charger, and gave him a call. He was so delightful! He gave me the history of Memphis and gave me tips and what I needed to know in the theatre. I got so much out of the conversation, and I'm actually excited to write a paper (for once) on it! His closing remarks "don't let anyone steal your rock and roll" I died! My weekend was made!

Today I have my voice lesson with Mr. R.L. and I'm really anxious to get into the lessons. Before the lesson I'm heading to the rehearsal room to do work on my monologue for Tuesdays audition! Until tomorrow...

Day 23: Another Day as a Fool

Sorry again for the late posting. I got home form the show and wanted to finish another play I had started. Lucky for me I finished my fifth play! Not so lucky for you, you had to wait for my post!

Yesterday was just a normal day in the office. I did some research for Ms. Denise. She asked me to look into the google grants program. You are given a cap to advertise your non-profit company for free. You get to pick the keywords so your company shows up in the ads when people search. Basically if you keep up with it, and keep track of your status, you're not at risk of losing the grant, and you get exposure! If we get the grant it will be my job to keep up with it and monitor our account.

After my research I took a lone ranger break at the diner down the street. A quick bite and then back to the Liberty. I then worked on my editing some more. Ms. Denise also pulled three more plays for me. I copied and added them to my binder. I now have a total of 11 plays in one binder (and have managed to get through seven already:)) I'm going through them very quickly because I'm still on the hunt for the perfect monologue. I have a back-up just in case, but I want to find the perfect one!

I was in charge of setting up concessions today. After my tutorial yesterday, I had managed to set up correctly. I did miss a few minor things, but you live you learn, and it was a quick fix. The day was going pretty slow so Ms. Denise said I could go home early and come back for the show. While at home I finished Eleemosynary and started Quilters. I continued Quilters during the show and finished when I arrived home last night!

Our second showing was practically perfect! It went really well, and I had a lot of fun tonight. Three more weeks to put on a great show. I'm anxious to see out weekend audience. Until tomorrow...

Day 22: "and if you choke, just kiss"

The day began with a trip to Atkinson's to stock up on water for concessions. Half and half was also on my list. So after a quick trip to the grocery, I was back at the theatre ready to stock and set up concessions. That, however, didn't come until later. I spent a lot of the morning taking phone calls for ticket orders. I also worked on my list (of course). I'm slowly making my through the 1000s of patrons. 

I thought I would have to work on project meat today, but Mr. John was all over it. The meat we had ordered for the dinner scene had not been shipped out yet. So Mr. John put on his artsy hat and made it happen. It actually looked really good. Mr. John really knows how to use spray paint, among many other things in the theatre I've been finding out. It's very important to be able to cover lots of bases. I'm learning a lot from him.

At about 3:30 Ms. Denise gave me a tutorial on concessions set-up. We make coffee, regular and decaf. Set out the chocolate treats. Wipe down the counter. I had also set up the and stocked the waters I got earlier. The "stage" was set, and we were ready for the evening. Presentation is everything and the concession set up looked great.

Before heading home for a power nap. I walked the stage, and made sure the scenes I was in charge of were set, and ready for the night. I also had 2 more ticket sales before I left too! A drive home and a quick nap later, I was back at the Liberty getting ready for opening night!

Everything was set and ready to go.  I was a little nervous I'd mess something up again, but it went very smoothly. The audience made a huge difference. It seemed they were really enjoying the show. We had a great crowd, which was awesome!  After the show we had celebratory toasts and very fittingly some lobster bisque and steak. Everything was delicious, and everyone had a successful night. I feel like we can only go up from here, can't wait to see what tonight will bring! Until tonight...

Day 21: Chocolate treats and a kidney lamp

I started off the day by getting back to my kidney project. The paper mache had dried and it was on to painting. I headed to the work space behind the stage to pick some paint. I chose two different reds and one dark color for the base. I ended up mixing the base color and the darker red together to make the right kidney color. I then painted the base, and then added veins to my lamp. It turned out pretty good. (as you can see)

Next on the list a concessions clean up. I started by cleaning the the glass top and glass case. I then went around and Windex-ed all the pictures in the lobby and bathrooms. I started in the concession counter by clearing all the counters and wiping them down with some 409. I polished the wood fixtures on either side, and set up the flower arrangements also. I even switched out the the show poster to finish up with my concessions clean up!

After my cleaning and painting duties, I head to Ketchum to pick up our treats for the show. Only the best for the Company of Fools, and the best is Rocky MOuntain Chocolate Factory. Every time I go in there I want to eat everything. They have the best chocolate covered pretzels and caramel apples! I quickly got out of there so I wouldn't be tempted. Back to the theatre for me!

When I returned I got back to my list of patrons. Got a little further today. Of course, not too far. Once again Folio decided to flash errors at me. Only me. Luckily I was just about to finish up anyways, but still. I went home to take a power nap before rehearsals. It was much needed and definitely got me through the night.

Rehearsals went fantastically. We are very ready for an audience! Tomorrow is opening night (finally!) Can't to see what everyone thinks. The rest of the week is going to be very busy, and this weekend I have a voice lesson scheduled! Also very excited about that! Until tomorrow...

Day 20: Kidney Failure

Yesterday was just a run through rehearsal. Aside form the fact, I totally messed up some of the transitions, nothing too eventful happened. With that said, on to today!

My assignment for the day was to create a kidney for the kidney lamp needed for the play. We already had most of the lamp assemble. We just needed to add the base and a kidney around the stand. The first thought for the kidney was to make it out of a foam ball. So off to Jane's I went in search of the perfect size foam ball. Having found the right size and discussing with the saleslady her thoughts on construction I thought I had it all figured out. Wrong! I began by gathering some tools from the work space backstage. My tools of choice were a serrated knife, a box cutting knife, a tape measure, and a sharpie. I first cut the ball in half (that was the easy part) Then I measured half inch deep and half inch long half circles in each half. Once they were cut the ball was able to fit around the lamp post. I then taped the ball back together to work on the shaping of the kidney. This the part where it got tricky.

I did some online research and had printed a few picture of kidneys I thought were the best. I began my "shaping" with my serrated knife. They 3D sphere kept throwing me off though, and it was not shaping as I was picturing. Several attempts and two many cuts later, the sphere kidney turned out to be a complete fail. After discussing with Ms. Denise, it was onto plan B. Back to Jane's for me.

Second trip, I just got a plain white poster board. We decided we could cut two kidneys out and put them on either side on the post. It was coming together SO much better foam ball. After the kidneys were attached, I began putting a layer of tape outside edge of the kidneys to make them a little more sturdy. Once the outside edges were all taped it was, paper mache was next. This was my first experience with paper mache. I started by making the paste. Flour and water is all you need. After some mixing and reaching the right consistency I began macheing the kidney. It turned out looking really good. It just covered in scrap paper right now, but tomorrow I will put the finishing touches on it with paint, and it will look like a real kidney. I only wish I had a picture to post with this entry just so you can see my work for the day.

The rest of the day consisted of rehearsal. Only one mess up today. Luckily I have one more night to mess up and get it straight for opening on Wednesday. It went really well today. You could tell that everything was at high energy especially act 1. It keeps better and better every time its performed. I cannot wait for everyone to see it! I will be making my debut as assistant stage manager/running crew in just two short  days! Until Tomorrow...

Day 18: Finding the Right Light

I arrived at the theatre, early (for once), and was ready to get to work. My first job of the day was to get the prop shelf organized. I placed act 1 props on one shelf, act 2 props on another, left one shelf empty for quick drops, and the last shelf had extras and food. This job went relatively quickly, and next was onto lights. My help for lights was not going to be needed for a couple hours as it turned out. In the mean time Jackie and I loaded cars with more items to take to storage.

When everything was packed and stacked we made a storage drop. I was leading the way, and totally forgot what unit was ours. After a circle (probably two) around the building I finally found it. We made two trips up to our lockers. One with props and one with costumes. We tried to organize and fit things as best we could. However, the real makeover in the lockers is yet to come :)

After our storage run we all took a lunch break. Once lunch was over it was time to sit in the lights. Jackie and I set the stage for each scene and then walked the stage and/or sat or stood where characters in that scene would. Going through the whole show took about 3 hours. The lights look really fantastic though. Mr. John was able to set cues and everything today. Tomorrow it will be a huge change to have lights and sounds on a run through. I can't wait! Until tomorrow...

Day 17: "I'm walking to the funeral, and WATCH ME walk to the funeral"

Get ready for a triple dose of The Idaho Fool, I'll be here all weekend! Hope you're as excited as I am for the change. But not to get ahead of myself or try to predict the future I'll just start with today. I once again returned to my list. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it but it is an extensive list, and I want to log every detail of my day :) I got a little further today continuing on my quest of completion. During this quest however, I managed to screw up the entire Folio system. I couldn't make any changes and couldn't even take ticket sales. I thought I may be able to fix it so I tried to book tickets, and that just stopped the system all together. Luckily Mr. R.L. came by and got everything working again! (thank you thank you, intern fail!)

While away from the Folio system I was packing props up to take to storage. Mostly clothes, shoes, and some hats. I loaded my car with a good amount of items. Tomorrow I'll load the rest in Mr. John's car. Next week it will all go to storage and I can start my organizing days. I was able to get a few more names edited after my prop loading before moving onto the light board.

Today was my first ever experience with lights. It is very important in the theatre to be well rounded, so I was excited to learn something new! Mr. John showed me a lot of the equipment and briefed me on the kinds of lights source 4, fresnels, and some others. He showed me where we store our "gels" which are the sheets of plastic you place in front of the light to make it shine a color and taught me about gobos. A gobo is a stencil like piece you also put in front of the light to make shapes and pictures appear. I then headed about to the light booth. I was introduced to the light program, and was put in charge of turning on and off the nights as they were set for the show. Over the next couple of hours, we went through most of the lights in the theatre, changing colors, setting positioning, and adding gobos where needed. I really had nothing to do with that besides using the light board to operate the lights. Mr. Joe positioned, changed colors, and set gobos and Mr. John picked colors, positions, and gobos he wanted the lights to appear in.

The lights were all set! And not a minute too soon, we had a quick rehearsal at 4. I wasn't needed for the rehearsal so I jetted home to skype with my sisters! Best part of the day, I'd say. (miss you both) I returned to the theatre a little before six to make sure I had set everything correctly before I left for the start of the show. Of course, I had ;) We again went through the whole show. The show will probably be finished in just under 2 hours. It's so entertaining though, you may not want to leave. Five days until opening, and it's back to the Liberty tomorrow for some tech work. Until Tomorrow....

Day 16: "Can you start under the blanket like a dinosaur?"

It was just another day of foolin' around. I began my day by continuing to work on my list of patrons to edit. It was very short lived though. Ms. Kris and I then spent a good chunk of the morning trying to figure out Google calendars. Ms. Kris put together a Google calendar for the company of fools, and we had to figure out how to share our calendars so everyone knows what's happening in the company. For some reason we were just have all sorts of trouble figuring out how to link the calendars. However, with some patience and calendar jumping we figured it out! I now have the company's schedule of upcoming events, shows, everything! (so official) After figuring that out I returned to my list before heading to lunch and getting some more posters up!

During lunch I was able to get through a lot of the play In the Next Room. I actually didn't want to stop reading it! The posters waiting in my car were calling my name so I had to put down the script. I only have a few more posters to put up to have gotten through my first stack. Once I returned I got back to my list, and managed to get a lot finished (I even finished the play between name hopping too). I also picked up the programs today! My name did not end up being fixed, but you win some, you lose some, at least I'm in there :D We also did our voice recordings today. During the cell phone ballet, people (Mr. John, Ms. Denise, Mr. Greg, Mr. R.L. and I) voices are heard saying random bits of phone conversations. My lines were I love you, size 5 size 5- oh whatever happy birthday to me, and yup. yup. I don't think so. I think mine turned out pretty good although I am dreading hearing my voice during the show, it never sounds very nice recorded.

Mr. John and I then went on a prop adventure to storage today. We had to gather a few more items for the show. Mr. John showed me around and showed me which "lockers", if you will, are ours. My job over the next few weeks is going to be straightening out storage and getting the props organized, so as Mr. John put's it, "it is like I'm shopping in Target" :) I ran home after our storage trip to send some emails and relax for a little, and then it was back tot he theatre at 6 for rehearsal. We again ran through the whole show. Afterwards, Mr. John and Ms. Denise gave us the notes for the night. If you're wondering where today's title comes from it's another gem from Ms. Denise. I guess you will have to see the show to know what she meant ;) (visitors welcome ) Until tomorrow...

Days 14 & 15: Prop Master and List Conquerer

Sorry for not posting yesterday. Hope you didn't miss me too much :)

Yesterday I was sent on a prop hunt. I had a list that consisted of buy, pull, and make. My first job was to take care of the items on the buy list. I had to adventure to three stores. My other home away from home besides Green's, Jane's, Atkinson's, and the Barkin' Basement. Jane's consisted of me collected stationary samples for the stationary store scene, getting sticky tack, and finding the perfect pens for Jean and Gordon. The stationary and the sticky tack were the easy part. When it came to the pens, I found myself being so particular. What kind of pen would Gordon use? Blue or black ink? Jean's pen should be simple and plain. Gordon's need to be silver and sleek. Literally took me at least 10 minutes to decide. On pens! Of all the things.

Next onto Atkinsons. I only had to snag a few things from here. A white bowl, cocktail napkins, martini umbrellas, and pretzels. The pretzels got nixed because Ms. K.O had bought them already. The bowl did not work out for the scene so I did a return later in the day. The other items were a go though. I took a short break and then headed to the Barkin' Basement. It's kind of like good will expect all the proceeds benefit the animal shelter (hence the name). I managed to find cappuccino cups there that work perfect! I managed to get a few more posters out into the world on my errands also :)

I was able to put together a script binder for myself yesterday too! Which needless to say, I'm very excited about. I copied all the scripts Ms. Denise gave me to read, hole punched them, and put them in one great big binder. The binder has seven plays in all, and I'm just working my way through them. Currently reading In the Next Room by Sarah Ruhl, up next Side Man!

I was able to run home for a hot minute before rehearsal. I was planning on blogging, but didn't really get around to it in the 50 minutes I had. I was able to squeeze in a skype session with my mom and sister though!

Rehearsals went fairly well. we went through act 2 twice. I thought I could rely on my memory for the transitions, but that was not the case. The first run through was stop and go to organize and get the transitions right. I now have them all written down, and Ms. K.O. sent us all copies of them! (thank God!)

Today, I spent the morning sticky tacking the china to the dining room table for the dinner scene. I also tacked the cappuccino cups to the small cafe table. I then went to the office. I was able to return to my list today. I got over 10 pages done. Which I think is really impressive. We've just updated our Folio system, so I had some ticket sale issues today. Luckily Mr. R.L. popped back in and was able to figure out the problems. All the ticket buyers were happy once it was fixed. I also logged raffle tickets today. One of our members Ms. Ellen brought in a whole stack today! (go Ms. Ellen :)) I then did some paper cutting and reading before rehearsal. We went over the ending scene at four and were finished early. With over an hour until run through, I jetted home for a much needed nap!

Tonight we covered act 1. Initially the plan was to go through the whole play, but it was better to redo, and refresh on transitions and what not. It went very well. Time seems to be flying backstage, which I was very surprised about. I like to shadily watch the last scene of the act, in the work area. As I've mentioned, it's one of my favorites. We were finished early so I took the time to set for tomorrow. A real quick turn around and I was on my way home! Hope my two day post wasn't too long and boring for you. Until tomorrow...

Day 13: Not So Unlucky!

I was sent on an adventure in Ketchum today! I had a map in my hand, tape and tacks in the other, and 60 Dead Man's Cell phone posters under my arm. I. Was. Ready. I departed for Ketchum shortly after I arrived at the theatre. My mission, put up as many posters in as many shops that would let me. I barley succeeded. By one thirty I managed to put up a little over half of my posters. A lot of the restaurants and even some shops have certain hours or days they are open, so that was a little discouraging. I was able to hit some hot spots though. Just about every bank has a poster, the visitor center has a poster, the Starbucks, and Java (apparently the young coffee shop hang out) has some posters, and a lot of the ski and sporting shops have posters. I guess I did somewhat succeed, but my original plan was to get them all out there. Three hours later, and I was ready for lunch and then rehearsals. My lunch ended up running a little late, so I was abut 20 minutes late for rehearsal. :(

When I arrived they were just finishing up the cafe scene between Jean (Beth) and the Mistress (Jen). I didn't miss too much, and they were just about ready to move into the next scenes. Next we covered the funeral scene and the scene between Mrs. Gottlieb (Ms. Suzanne) and Jean. The last individual scene we covered today was the dinner scene with Gordon's family and Jean. It's one of my favorites. We had an hour break at five to return at six to go through the entire first act. I was planning on returning home for dinner, but wanted to reset the stage for the top of the act, and time was not on my side. Once I was reset I went to the office. I was happy to find Ms. Denise had pulled more plays for me to read. We had discussed earlier that morning that now that I had finished four plays, and started a fifth, I was eager to dive into some others. I can't wait to get started on my next bunch! I also took the time during break to study my monologue for auditions more. Not sure how I feel about how it's going, but I still have time to make up my mind about it.

Six o'clock finally arrived. We went through the entire act in two and half hours. We did a lot of stop go, to go over transitions and make sure they went smoothly. When we first began I was really struggling, I needed a huge refresher on the transitions since it'd been so long since we set them. I managed to get through it with the direction of Mr. John (thank you for your patience). I snuck to the front of the stage for the last scene. It's the scene between Dwight (Duke) and Jean. It's again one of my favorites! You get to see the romantic aspects of the play in this scene. After we had finished, Jackie, Dawson, and I had our own little crew meeting to discuss transitions for tomorrow, and what needs to be where and what worked today. I then gave line notes. I'm awaiting a prop list from Ms. K.O. to be better prepared throughout this week. It's going to be late nights this week, so you'll have to excuse my tardiness in the blog world. I hope you al are enjoying them as much as I enjoy writing them. Until tomorrow...

Day 12: Scrim in Motion!

The scrim is finally set!!!! So excited! The set is really coming along. The floors have been painted, the scrim, is now up and rotating, and it all looks great! Today we had a short day. We went through all of act 2 and set transitions. The transitions look great also.

It was not a very eventful day, but we got a lot accomplished. I don't have too much to say on the day besides the fact I'm very excited about the scrim which I've already made obvious. I again took some line notes today, and was glad I got to sit in the audience while it was on stage. We are now in the Liberty from here on out!

Cannot wait for the rest of this week. The show opens in 10 days! More to come on my days in the office and the adventures of an Assistant Stage Manager :) Until Tomorrow...

Day 11: A little stretching, A little acting

Sorry I'm a day late blog followers, I was feeling particularly lazy last night. I was able to start the day with yoga though! I think I'm gonna go back next week, I very much enjoyed it! When yoga was finished I ran home to change into professional clothes for the day, and then headed back to the office.

I again, got back to work on my list. I did not get very far today. I also took some ticket sales and logged some raffle ticket sales in the system. I had a refresher lesson on batching out today, and got to do most of it by myself with guidance of course. Fridays also call for a trip to the post office. Since Ms. Kris is out of the office on Fridays it's my job to make that run. It was a usual trip to the post office, got and dropped the mail.

When I returned I continued work on my list. The day was relatively slow, so I took some time to dive into another play Ms. Denise suggested. The play is called Circle Mirror Transformation. I really really liked it. I finished it the minute I got home. I think I liked it so much because one of the characters, Lauren, reminded me of myself :) The program for the play, Dead Man's Cell Phone, was also sent to the printers today! I was given the task to hand deliver it! So, on my way out I'm gong through it and notice my first name is spelt incorrectly. When I arrive the owner had just left. So another gentleman let me in and asked if I needed to see him and so I explained that my name was spelt wrong and he called the man back. I felt so bad, but everyone is so nice here, and I feel like nothing is ever a problem so he seemed totally okay with returning. I just kept saying "I'm so sorry, I'm the lowly intern her wants her name spelt right!" But luckily he was very understanding (thank you Express Printing Man). I of course told Ms. Denise and Mr. John when I returned.

Rehearsals were at 4:30 today. We again were working on the final scene of the play. It's a work in progress, but there were definitely really great moments found today. Ms. Suzanne is such a great Mrs. Gottlieb (previously spelt wrong, fail!) Once it gets cleaned up, I know it will come together perfectly! :)

this is the picture that will be seen on the doors outside the theatre, I'm squatting on the right behind my umbrella

Before returning to the stage at seven, Ms. Suzanne and I met Dawson and Jackie for dinner. Dawson and Jackie are also extras/ in charge of transitions. We arrived in the theatre after dinner at about 7. We, again, were working on the cell phone ballet. Mr. John and Ms. Denise made a few more changes, and I think it is almost perfect! I'm liking the viewpointing more and more as we go. It helps that I love the people I"m working with it :) We open a week from Wednesday and I cannot wait. Rehearsals start back in tomorrow!

Side Note: on my day off today, I had my first ski adventure. I did really well during the lesson, wiped out twice after the lesson, and finished on a high note finally making it down the hill twice! Until Tomorrow...

Day 10: Short and Sweet

Hello again, today's post is going to be rather short. Not to say I didn't have an eventful day, but I'm tired, and I am forcing myself up for yoga in the morning, so I have to get to bed!

I had to bring the pups to the groomer this morning. I got lost on the way there. It's right off of Main Street so it really should not have been that hard. And on top of that I had a diagram Ms. Patty drew for me, Fail!

When I got back to the office I started work again on my list. Eight more pages conquered today! I also did some raffle ticket sales. I took some time in the company script library (located conveniently on a shelf behind my desk).  I picked to more plays to read! I worked with the copy machine again today, which is always a simple and easy task. No ticket blunders today, which was a good thing.

Today at rehearsal we went through two of the scenes we have been working on this week and one new one. The new one was the last scene of the play. Being the first time working on it, we only did a read through today, when we go through it again it will be on its feet! On break I took the time to myself in the rehearsal room and worked on my piece I want to do for the audition. It still needs work. Ms. Denise had offered to do some coaching with me or I could just do it and then get critiqued, but I'm still debating. It's one of those pieces hats a stretch for me, but I decided I was going to challenge myself.

cast photo, minus the dead man and the stranger

After break I headed to the theatre. We were able to work on the stage today. Before getting back into viewpoints. A photographer, Kirsten, came and took photos of the cast in costume. I was able to take a few shots myself on Mr. John's camera. Tomorrow my job will be load and send the pictures I got. Being on the stage is very different than in the rehearsal room, especially when doing viewpoints. The space is smaller, and you actually have to be aware of entrances and exits, and you can't be walking through the walls. Every time we do them Ms. Denise and Mr. John comment on how great they are coming along. It just makes me want to sit and watch them instead of being in them. Viewpoints are always great to watch. I secretly wish I wasn't in the play because I just want to watch it. I mean sitting in on rehearsals is helpful, but I would love to see it all at once! Sorry for my briefness tonight, but that pretty much sums up my day. Until Tomorrow...

Day 9: "A Routine Task Will Turn Into An Enchanting Adventure"

It was a relatively slow day in the office today. (in the OFFICE, gets me every time) As I was saying, not too much action today. I continued on my quest to get through my stack of patrons to edit. I got through 8 more pages today, yay me! Really that is not much of an accomplishment, but it did make time go by quickly. I also went on a few errands today. L.L. Greens hardware is basically my new hangout. I went there twice today. Once to get keys, and once to get key covers. Speaking of covers, I got colors to coordinate with my keys, Red for Rehearsal, Black for Back of house, and Yellow for Front of house (there was no color that begins with F) I obviously chose yellow on purpose to match my red and black, missing the Philly Flash of course!

Ms. Kris and I, did have some ticket sale blunders today. In that aspect it was a busy day. A lot of sales today were either complicated or had some sort of issue. But, we got through it and by the end of the day, we had gotten more normal ones than not. Thank goodness! Continuing on with my editing, I broke for lunch and to gather the rest of the Christmas decorations from the concession stand. I also had to go trade my car today! Finally in an SUV!

Rehearsal didn't start till four today so I still had a little time to kill. I decided to catch up on some reading and dove back into Shanley's Doubt. I didn't want to put it down, and was almost late for rehearsal! Luckily I caught my self, with two pages left of course. Today is Ms. Denise's birthday and Ms. Suzanne gave her a box of fortune cookies. We all got a cookie and read our fortune's aloud. I really liked me, as you can see I liked enough to make it today's title. Everyone had something a little different, but the best was probably Christine's, "You are good at finances" More of statement than a fortune.  After our fortune cookie fun, we got right to work! We worked on the dinner scene today. In this scene Mrs. Gottlieb (Gordon's Mother) has invited Jean to dinner. Also, present at dinner is Hermia (Gordon's wife) and Dwight (Gordon's brother) It was very entertaining to watch. Everybody is so in character, and after a few times through it really started to come to life, and you could tell everyone was having fun.

We all went to dinner around 5:30 to be back at six. I had packed my dinner again so I went and snagged my computer. I wanted to make sure you east coasters didn't get this posting too late. However, my efforts may be a fail. We are still rehearsing. Transitions went really well, and were really fun to put together. Everyone has little fun character quirks they can do even if they are not main characters, such as myself. WE have just finished viewpoints. I actually enjoyed them today. There were more of us and we got to add the umbrellas! I still have to figure out my character in transitions and during the ballet, but I think I have some ideas :) Until tomorrow...

Day 8: Dumpster Diving, Prop Packing, and Costume Carrying

As you know I was fully anticipating getting back to my list of contacts to edit when I arrived this morning.However, this was not the case this morning. I was given the duty of packing all the old props up and getting them ready to go into storage. First I had to find boxes. This is where the dumpster diving comes in. I felt like sketch mcgetch wondering around dumpsters and peeking in the them to find boxes. I definitely got a couple of stares.  

After a trip to Jane's (I would consider it the local Michael's) for packing tape I began packing everything into boxes. I was trying to be organized and put things that were the same together, but there was a lot of everything so, I just did the best I could. As I was finished up I went to put the coffee pot in the last box. Little did I know it still had some coffee in it. I accidentally spilt it in the box! Fail! Luckily I acted quick (as always) and cleaned up the box and rinsed the coffee pot. Once I finished packing and stacking props, I then I had to unload new props from Mr. John's car. I was excited for this! Having the backstage info on props and costumes for the show makes you feel really in the know. All of the items for Dead Man's Cell Phone look great, I'm eager to see them in action!

I was then introduced to the attic. It is the holder of decorations and fake plants. I was given the task of taking down the Christmas decorations and storing them back in the attic. When I was little I was always wished we could go up in our attic. You know how you imagine the pull down door with the ladder and what mysterious and old things you can find in the attic (or is that just me?) Either way, it was not the attic I imagined, then again not every attic is like the one the girls from Now and Then sit in. I got finished packing and loading items up top after just a few trips. I got quite the workout today, between packing, loading, unloading, and going up the stairs. I probably don't need to work out for the next 5 days :) 

I got to my desk at about 1, and began finishing up reading the article Ms. Denise gave me yesterday. Rehearsals started at two today, so I was glad I was able to get some reading in. I also had my first lesson in batching out today. This lesson was a little more extensive than planned because we had accidentally batched out the same batch twice. After some reviewing of the paper work and a quick math lesson with Mr. R.L. we had figured it out! Off to rehearsal!

Today, again was quite humorous. Duke and Beth both have this energy they bring to their work. It's really great to watch and they are really entertaining, during and after scenes. We went through both their scenes in the stationary store, and then the whole cast was scheduled to come in at 4 to go over the rest of the act. Before we began I went over line notes with Ms. Suzanne, and the cast and crew were interviewed for an upcoming article. It was fun to watch and get an insight to what each actor and director thought the show was about. After the interviewed we jumped right back into scenes. Next on the list was the scene between Jean and Hermia (Gordon's wife). Hermia is drunk in this scene and it is just all around comical. Christine brings a lot to the character very effortlessly. We went through the scene a few times, and then I did a line run with Christine as they moved on into Joel (the Dead Man) and Jean's scene.

Shortly after I got back form running lines, I was able to head home. I wanted to make dinner for Ms. Patty and Jordan so was glad I got the okay. Of course, dinner was great! (I mean I cooked it :)). Mr. Marshall even said I did my Dad proud, shout out to you Daddy :) I think that is all for today. Until Tomorrow...