Roll me Dover, in the clover..

I'm back in Dover, DE, gentle readers, after a very interesting show in Hampton, VA. We performed today at a middle school that, I must admit, I was very worried about. The load-in was okay. We didn't have any students helping us, but it went pretty smoothly. But as we were setting up, I heard their morning announcements. Every single one started with the admonition that the kids should take the opportunity to behave their best during the day, and that there would be strict and swift repercussions for misbehavior. It was relentless. I started to feel as if I was Johnny Cash appearing in San Quentin and at any moment, a riot could erupt, with sixth graders rushing the stage, throwing garbage and setting seats on fire. But what scared me even more is that they start the day reading off a pledge for the teachers that basically said that the teachers pledged to treat their students like people and not slack off. What kind of burnout are they dealing with at that school that the teachers have to reaffirm their ability to actually do their job every morning? I was convinced we were going to be performing for the hardest-bitten of the hard-bitten, jaded, steely-eyed middle school hooligans.

I have never been so happy to be wrong. The show went amazingly well. The kids, far from being insane, out of control thugs, were enthusiastic, responsive, and polite. They were quite possibly one of the best audiences we've had on this tour. Which was very important, since the show itself was incredibly difficult to get through. The space was very small, so we had to cut the entire proscenium. Unfortunately, no-one decided to check whether that was necessary until we had gotten the entire thing into the space, so we had to bring the stuff back out and put it in the back of the truck right as we were wrapping up the load-in. Once we got into the auditorium, we discovered that there was ONE outlet. One. For the entire set of lights. Schneider suggested we cut the lights altogether, since we were going to have to cut almost all of the onstage lights anyway. He wanted to use just the front of house lights with the stage lights that belonged to the school. Apparently, Levitt decided he had his one accepted suggestion of the week yesterday when he said we could load somewhere other than the lawn, because she turned him down. So they set up as many of the lights as he thought the place could bear. Which, of course, meant that a third of the way into Sleepy Hollow, the lights all went out. We got their stage lights and house lights on so the kids could at least see us, but we also discovered that whatever breaker they had tripped had also affected the sound rack, leaving it unable to make any sound. Then they got the lights back. Then the lights disappeared. Then they came back. Then they left. Then we got them back, then the sound came back and every one of us heaved an internal sigh of relief. Turns out whenever they got the lights to work, Flo turned the sound rack back on and blew everything again. Finally they managed to rewire everything the right way, and we got the whole show back on its feet, just in time for the ride. On top of all this, the auditorium was in no way, shape or form air conditioned, so we were all sweating like me looking at a confessional. So by the time the show came down, and we re-entered the stage for the Q&A, (yes, a Q&A--the universe was determined to make sure this week lasted as long as humanly possible.) we all wanted nothing more than to find a place to wring ourselves out. But the kids had been so good during the show that we were (or at least I was) looking forward to it. And they turned out to be even better asking questions. None of them asked anything inappropriate or silly, and they all seemed very interested in the answers. Then we went backstage and were treated to lunch, which consisted of fried chicken (REAL fried chicken, too, none of that crappy CHAIN fried chicken. I could just picture a little old bent black lady in a hairnet making it for the school.) cookies, bananas, and popcorn. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but it tasted SOOOOOOOOOO good. And the load-out, while difficult because it was so freaking hot on the truck, went easier than the load-in because we had a crew filled with kids who had just seen the show, and who were really enthusiastic about helping, even if they weren't the most skilled. One kid, though had serious skills, because he was able to help load the truck while all the time dealing with the fact his pants were falling so far down his legs that yt he time he started pulling cases up the ramp, his ass was completely out of his jeans. Thank goodness for REALLY long t-shirts. One of the other kids was kidding him about it, and he said, "I didn't do it on purpose, they just fell down as I was runnin'" I then asked if we had any spare suspenders for him. Or maybe a ratchet strap. How he managed to walk around in those things yet keep everything covered in some way shape or form amazes me. Luckily he took it in he way it was intended, so we managed to forgo bloodshed.  

After that Levitt made all of our days--she drove the truck. It's amazing, the mood shift when she's not in the van. So no we are here in Dover DE, at a lovely Fairfield Inn with an empty hot tub. Apparently a hot tub that works is the next item on the list--the list of what must be done before this tour is over. (And no, the other hot tubs don't count because they came before I made this solemn vow...so stay tuned, gentle readers, and keep those fingers crossed!