Haiku #22, 23 - Real American: Cherie, ASM

REAL AMERICAN:
Meet Cherie B. Tay, our assistant stage manager, Texas/Singapore native, technology savant. 

Where do I begin.  Cherie possesses a level of talent and drive I can really only describe as stupid.  She is my massage hookup, because, in addition to her grueling itinerant-stage-manager schedule, Cherie has taken it upon herself to learn reflexology during this tour.  I made up this haiku for her the first time she used me as a guinea pig:

i wish i could purr
reflexology is nice
i will drool instead

I wrote her this, too -

signing is handy 
to talk to the ASM
from across the bus

- because she is also learning sign language using the videos from the ASL website.  She's teaching me, too.  Or trying.  So far, I speak sign language with an offensively thick accent: I keep saying "vaffanculo!" instead of "good", and when I'm trying to sign back "I don't understand" across the bus, it usually comes out as something like "HORSE! WANT! WHYYY!??!?"  Slowly but surely, however, I am learning to say such useful things as "I want cookie now!" and "Why, God, why today?"
Let's see, what else... she's working on her Spanish (a no-brainer on this bilingual tour), keeping a blog on her stage managing adventures, and acting as our unofficial tour photographer as well as posting on her daily photo project.  

She can also drink me under the table.  But that's not so stupid.  

Haiku #21 - Breakdown

those trees are pretty
I have time to gaze at them
bus is broken down


We got about 15 miles down the road from Penn State when the driver pulled the bus over to the side of the road to investigate a funny noise.  We were rescued about about an hour later by another bus driver who very kindly spent his day off getting us the rest of the way to York (location of tonight's performance).  It's probably good these kinds of things happen right off the bat, before we start to get on each other's nerves, and before we get lulled into a false expectation that things will always go smoothly.  


York tonight, Easton tomorrow!

Haiku #12 - Roomies!

Better to lose sleep
because you like your roommate
than because you don't.


Me with my tour roommate, Alex the Badass Bassist 
We both look a little tired at the airport waiting for our flight back to New York, partly because we've been working very hard, and partly because we're getting into a habit of staying up talking and sharing music.  She is going to introduce me to funky jamz and remind me how to wear lipstick, and I'm going to introduce her to Latin grooves and teach her how to pack. We're a good team, and half of the rhythm section of the Heights band.

Haiku #11 - 2nd Preview

Sunday matinee
Trying to be on our game
Lac's in the hizzy

From left: Gianchi, Alex Lac, & Kurt
We had our second preview performance this afternoon, and Alex Lacamoire, the music supervisor was there.  He was (along with the aforementioned Shermanator) the Tony- and Grammy-award-winning orchestrator and arranger of the show, and the original music director on Broadway.  So... he knows how it should sound.  We all survived, and got some notes from Lac to polish the sound of the show when we hit the road for real in about a week.


Back to New York tomorrow... I am being beckoned downstairs to help some of my colleagues finish the riesling.  

Haiku #10 - Real American: Woody, The Vegan BBQ Master

At the theater
The vegan pitmaster feeds
Scores of carnivores

We had our first preview performance last night at Brooks Performing Arts center here in Clemson, SC. My friend from college days, Gregg, now heads the commercial music department in Spartanburg about an hour away, so he was able to be there. I had a little moment during the opening number when I realized that, while I've played these number hundreds of times for rehearsals, last night was my first time playing them with an audience.

Real America:
Today is the homecoming game at Clemson. It is now crystal clear how big a deal football and marching band are here in the South: this little college town, normally pop. 20,000, balloons to 100,000, mostly dressed in Clemson Tiger orange. We are marooned at the theater all day because of the parking and traffic situation, so the company and theater are feeding us.

Real American:
The theater is run by a guy named Woody, who makes a mean barbecue, and is, implausibly, vegan.

Haha, that's a good one, I laughed when he told me. I'd just tasted the pulled pork he brougt in for the crew. Ain't no way no vegan cooked pork like that. ...Awkward moment as I realized he wasn't joking. He's a self-described "friendly vegan" - vegan for health reasons, he does have a taste of his BBQ to make sure it's up to par. Woody has also been my hot water hookup - as long as his office door is open, I can feel free to use the electric kettle. This has improved morale during these long tech days, because I am MUCH nicer when I have tea access.

Haiku #6 - Kokopelli Goes to Band Practice

G.C. and Al - bass & drum!


Playing in the band:
Andrew, Al, Jonathan, Jim
G.C., Kat and Kurt

(not pictured: Jonathan, Andrew - trumpet and trombone, respectively. I'll catch them eventually, bwah hah hah hah...)
Jim the flute (and sax and clarinet) player with Kokopelli the flute player
With music director, Kurt and Koko

Haiku #4 - On the Keyboards!

I am practicing
pedal choreography
2nd keyboard woes

Let this not be interpreted as a complaint - 2nd keyboard woes in this show are mild compared to the woes of the 1st keyboard/conductor.  We had our first chance to practice on the keyboards last night, so finally I'm hearing the sounds from the show. I have about 160  patch changes, and I'm using a volume pedal for the first time. My left foot is like, "Yo, you want me to work? I haven't seen you since you needed me for the sostenuto pedal in 2002." ...But I have a lot fewer notes to play on a nightly basis than our fearless music director, Kurt (I also get to trigger the coolest sound effects, including but not limited to a car horn, a record scratch, and a big-ass explosion).

Relative woes are really a moot point, since I am also learning the conductor score to be prepared to conduct in the event Kurt eats some sketchy General Tso's or gets hit by a covered wagon. The show must go on - that is the magic of thater.