This past week has turned out to be one of those where you're running from moment to moment, exhausted, but some how fueled by all this crazy energy. Yes, I'm a working actor and damn it feels good. But I sure feel like those amazing Punch Drunk folk. Sleep no more!Go check it out. for real. go now, come back when you're done.
Anyway. Being that I've been running from place to place, some accidents were bound to happen. A wrench or two have flown into the works. Who throws these wrenches is something I'm currently researching. Seriously, what a horrible job. Gremlins probably. Which of course all happened on one day. Yay. I could deal with hiccups spaced throughout a busy week, but not all in one day. So here we go.
I'm touring with American Globe's Macbeth. It's great. Truly. I'm enjoying every moment of it, even waking up so freakishly early in the morning to get to where I need to go. Which happens. Most shows are at 9. which means being out the door by 7 to make it to call time which is 8. Inspect the space, make adjustments due to the different lay outs and of course run the fights. Not to mention we're lugging all of out costumes and weaponry and few props that we have along with us. We each are equipped with a big travel dufflebag..thankfully with wheels..to navigate the city's turnstyles.
So all that can slow you down a bit and make it harder to get to places in a normal amount of time. I usually leave 15 minutes earlier than I need to because I know. MTA (raising fist to the sky) So Wednesday we're to be at a school at 10:30 for an 11:30 call. Where is this school? Deep Brooklyn. Second to last stop before Coney Island. I'm up..early. I leave early and this was the day that it was like walking through cold soup. I sware the rain just stopped in mid air and hovered. So the trains are of course delayed. Figured. Anytime it rains they run slow.
So i'm travelling along, listening to some Beatles on repeat. And I transfer to the D. Which is apparently not going where I need to go. Normally changes are scheduled. This one? not so much. So I go as close as I can....I'm late btw. At this point about 15 minutes late. I race above ground, grab a livery cab and driver who barely speaks English and along the way he tries to drop me off at every school we pass. We finally get there....sort of. In NY, a lot of schools are actually Elm, Middle, and High all in one big compound. So I get out and end up having to walk around the block to the highschool. Late Late Late. I'm freakin out and calling my contact person. Turns out..we're all a little late. 3 of us are already there, and as I'm entering the building, two more of our cast are right behind me. The MTA did a number on all of us coming from all over. 1 of our number was insanely late due to even more screwy train craziness. It sounds like such a horrible lame excuse but the trains really are the most unreliable. Sometimes no matter how early you leave...you're late.
So our missing cast member shows up finally at 11:50. 20 minutes AFTER we're supposed to start. We compensated as best we could. Talked to the kids before the show. Whatever. We did the show, tried to speed up where we could so we weren't insanely late. But there is only so fast you can speak Shakespeare before it's just poetic noise. So we finish. Pack up, leave. Make the long trek back home to drop off this bag, shower and prepare for rehearsal in the evening.
This would be the second rehearsal of a section of a larger play by the same creative crew that brought Getting Even With Shakespeare to the Fringe this past summer. When given the opportunity to work with them again, I jumped at the chance.
whew this is getting long...
So i get home, shower assemble what i need for rehearsal and head back out unto the breech. Headed to Shetler this time, SO much easier to get to so It shouldn't be too bad. And it wasn't. But I want to point out I saw the oddest thing. A generic "Made in the USA" jacket. Really? How do I know it was? The flag patch had 9 stripes and 10 stars. seriously? I tried to take a pic, but I looked like a whack-a-do staring at this guy's arm.
this has also taken me an hour to type up so far. I'm easily distracted.
So I get to 57th without a hitch and duck into the Starbucks on 54th for some caffeine and much needed line work. Some how I agreed to be off book by Thursday. So Wednesday needed to be 50%-ish. There I sit, burnt coffee in hand and i'm writing out my lines. (one of my many memorization techniques) The couple next to me are going on and on about $$ and a new job offer and I kid you not, the girl says.."I studied water boarding in College." What? Excuse me? Maybe she meant wake boarding? no no no. She says it again. Which of course is my cue to leave, while laughing. Because I have no filter when it comes to ridiculousness.
So I head to rehearsal for..Missionary Sundays. Let your imagination do with that what you will. We had a very productive rehearsal. Not completely off book, but getting there. It helps to be on your feet going through the blocking. So memorization is coming. And it's a short piece with 2 actors. So we can fly through it several times. Of course by this time, I'm exhausted. I race home..and by race I mean..wait for a train and ride it as it crawls to my stop.
I get home and then answer a slew of emails that during the day I just can't give enough attention to on my phone. Several auditions coming up, yay. And then Thursday got up and did it all again.
I'm pretty sure the dread of being late to the show added to my franticness. Then I suppose add to that the coffee...jitters man, jitters!
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