It's almost time to open the house. (let the audience in) Kathy, Maria, Katie, Glen and I have just about finished the preparations for this With Flying Colors performance and the only thing we really have left to do is the lighting. It's not going well. Tonight's performance is in a brand new theater. So new in fact, that no one else has ever performed in it. We are the first to realize that they have put their ambient lights in the spotlight slots and their spot lights in the ambient slots. (not that the spotlights actually face the stage, but this is another issue) The house seats are lit beautifully. In fact, the only really dark spot in the entire room is, indeed, the stage where I am about to sit and read my play aloud for the next hour and fifteen minutes.
I have my bedstand snake neck lamp from home in my hands and Kathy has her and Wes's desktop snake neck lamp from their house in her hands. Katie is sitting patiently in my performance chair while we try to light her. Katie is 12 so this truly takes patience on her part. We are trying to keep the lamps low so that they don't get in the audiences sight lines. but because of this angle, Katie is looking like she should be in a Vincent Price movie. Which is not exactly the effect I am looking for in this piece. The lamps also make giant shadows on the back wall which I fear might become more interesting than my performance if we can't find an angle whereby they disappear. Did I mention that it's not going well?
Mike shows up. "You guys have got some really bad shadows going on the wall back there," he says. "Thanks." Kathy and I say in unison as our snake neck lamps continue to orbit around the now nearly blinded Katie. "I've got my light kit in the car, let me go get it..." says Mike.
Kathy says, "Mike, we don't have time, we are letting in the audience in 5 minutes!" "This will only take two minutes." he responds. "OK," Kathy says putting down her lamp. "You've got two minutes." And she meant it.
Mike is out to his car, back with the lights and the light stands, and the stage is perfectly lit at the 1 minute 58 second mark. Mike says, "Told ya, two minutes." Maria finishes taping off the back rows and we open the house.
Kathy gave me a great introduction. We had a very nice turn out and I think the show went well. It's always hard for me to gage when I'm doing With Flying Colors, but they were nice and responsive, laughed in nearly all the appropriate places and clapped at the end. What more could I ask!!?
I realized when it was all over that the evening could have been a bit of a disaster. Say, for instance, my friend with the light kit hadn't shown up right when we needed him. When I was younger I would get very upset and worried about moments like that, but living this life of mine has taught me that most stuff works out for me in the end. I think that's how I survived cancer, how I remain an actor, how I have a web site and how I stay happy. Friends. I seriously count on my friends, and I have a friend for everything...
