Everybody's working for the weekend...

So here we are, gentle readers. We have arrived at the end of the first week of rehearsal. (Yes, I know it's actually only been three days, but trust me, when you work for Chamber, that's as good as a week.) We have now at least roughly blocked every single show, save for the latter half of the Necklace, which will be finished on Monday. And again, things have gone surprisingly smoothly. (Does anyone else ever find it weird when you put two word that end in -ly next to each other? I don't know why it would be incorrect, but it always sounds that way whenever I say it out loud.) Or at least they did until Pat left for an afternoon meeting (hence why Necklace isn't finished) and Jodi took over blocking Frog for us. As much as one might chafe under the micro-managerial style of Pat, it's like a breath of fresh air when compared to the chaotic, frantic mess that is being given blocking by Jodi. She rushes through large chunks of the script, shouting directions from her table (half of which are wrong) in a decidedly non-specific manner . ("Exit Left" Which left? We have three! Up Left? Down left? Straight off into the wings?) This was done mostly so that the girl playing the narrator knows where her sound effects are, since she does most of them in fine Foley fashion. That would be great if Jodi could remember where they come in. But hey, it's not her fault. She's only worked for the company for five years. Now, to be fair, I understand not being clear on which bits are in or out, since every tour is different with that, but the placement of these sound effects really shouldn't change. I don't know. Maybe I just need something to bitch about since I haven't been doing enough kvetching, but I could see the blindsided looks in the new people's faces since they had just gotten used to all the blocking being so precise. It's a lot to ingest all at once, and it's even more difficult when it's being fired at you from a verbal salad shooter. However, despite that, the day went well, and the two ladies and I went across the street to the Dublin House (A decidedly non-Irish Irish bar which has no draft beer and really good wings) to have an after-rehearsal drink, some dinner, and generally figure out who the hell we all are, since we really don't have that much time to kibbutz (now why does that word mean both to chit-chat in a relatively gossipy way AND a Israeli settlement?) during rehearsal. But I have had a chance to conversate with pretty much everyone by now so here it is--you know you want it--the cast!

Me: You know me. You certainly don't want to hear my impressions of myself. Of course if that's true, what the hell are you doing reading this blog?

Bob: (remember--I promised aliases) He's about ten years older than me. In fact, I believe he may be the oldest one in the cast, a title I relinquish with joy. He's also the only other person in the cast that's toured with Chamber before. He seems very nice and even-tempered. he also has a love of puns and quirky humor, so god help the rest of the cast when the two of us start going. He's very methodical and as I said before, strikes me as a little OCD. But he seems to share my attitudes toward touring, which is to just relax and try to be as considerate of everyone else as possible. And since he's dealt with life on the Chamber road, I doubt he'll end up being a problem. So really, as Ichabod, I couldn't ask for a nicer arch-nemesis. He also plays the Inspector in Tell-Tale, Brom in Sleepy Hollow, Mr. White in The Monkey's Paw, the other Narrator in Necklace, and the Stranger in Frog.

Ted: He's a local, and I can't get a read on his age yet. I figure he's older than I am, but he could also be around my age. It's hard to tell. He's a character actor, so that makes things hard to determine. His pop culture references peg him as older, but then, so do mine. He's very affable, and is a ready source of all manner of information, so I'm thinking a game of Trivial Pursuit is out of the question. He's new to the whole Chamber experience, but seems to be taking it all in stride. He seems very easygoing, so at this point, it seems like the guys are going to be able to get along pretty well. Thankfully, he's got the same sort of twisted sense of humor I do. That's good, because on some of these drives, we're all gonna have to be able to laugh at things  that just aren't funny. He also plays The Old Man in Tell-Tale, Balthus Van Tassel in Sleepy Hollow, Herbert White (or Mommy's Little Zombie, as I like to refer to him) in the Monkey's Paw, poor put-upon husband Bernard in The Necklace, and the Frog in Jumping Frog.

Alice: She is the youngest person in our tour (at least until the electrician and understudy show up--I have no idea how old they are) at the tender age of 22. She's also the only smoker on the tour, though she's trying to quit. (NOT cold turkey, thank heavens for ALL of us!) She's the native New Yorker, from up near Albany. Tall, lithe, a dancer-type who, by her own admission, doesn't dance. (There's nothing I like sharing the stage with more than a contradiction.) She has a taste for whiskey, so you know that whatever else, she can't be all bad. She has a very well-developed sense of humor, which is evidenced by the fact she finds my T-shirts very funny... From what I've gathered, she hasn't toured before, but at least so far, she seems to be able to deal with the weirdness with good humor and a positive attitude. (And an occasional whisky don't hurt either...purely medicinal) She also plays Katrina in Sleepy, Amelia in the Monkey's Paw, social climbing Matilda in the Necklace, and the Girl Frog in Jumping Frog

Carol: She's been a little quieter during this rehearsal process than most of the others, and has spent some breaks in the rehearsal room looking at her script. But she is very outgoing, quick-witted, and has a solid sense of humor, both about the whole situation in general, and herself. Lives in NY now, but spent a number of years in Arizona, so according to her, she hasn't been warm since she got here. I don't think that's an exaggeration at all. Hell, I haven't been warm since I got here, and I'm from Chicago! She'll turn 25 during the tour, so there will be celebrating. I'll turn 37 during the tour. There'll be less celebrating. She is the darker hair to Alice's blonde, and while she does not share Alice's penchant for whiskey, she has been known to knock back a few beers when the occasion calls for it. I don't believe she has toured either prior to this, but she has done summer stock, and if you can stand being cooped up with a bunch of people in the middle of nowhere for a summer, then really, a van isn't that much worse. After all, at least the scenery changes. Sorta. Neither of the ladies is particularly keen on the truck driving aspect, but they're both game to try it, so that bodes well. All in all, Carol seems very friendly, upbeat, and dedicated to getting her stuff down as soon as possible. Which is good, since she plays the Narrator in Sleepy Hollow, Mrs. White in Monkey's Paw, Madame "I probably should've told you this earlier, but..." Forestier in the Necklace, and the Narrator in Jumping Frog. Yep, just call her Madame Exposition!

Speaking of driving trucks, the story of how our truck from the last tour got the top of it sheared off under a bridge came up--and I didn't bring it up! Jodi did. Ah yes, my last tour is now being used as a cautionary tale. I feel so proud. What makes me feel even better is that the rest of the cast was appalled and amazed when the heard the story. That makes me feel very optimistic about the future of any of our vehicles on this tour. So for those of you who were on my last tour who are reading this, know that the hellishly long day we put in, the angst and frustration we felt, and the murderous rage which welled up within us...(okay maybe that last one was just me, but back me up...) were not in vain. Cold comfort, I know. But with this weather, what more can you expect?