Shannon Rules the Theatre

Shannon has been running the backstage for two years now, making everyone feel at home, organizing scene changes, resetting for shows, taking care of props and all manner of things that need getting done. She even had to go on for one of the supernumeraries.

Isn't she cute in her costume?!?

And of course she knits.

But last night she took over the stage management from David here. And she is taking it very seriously. It is a complecated job that involves a lot of responsibility, if anything goes wrong the buck stops with the stage manager. They are also the bridge between the front of house and the performing company. She has taken on all these aspects and more with confidence and vigor. Especially his love of the cheesy bread (peeking out of his back pocket above and she's modeling below).

She is did a great job. And she has seven more times to get it perfect.
She hasn't quite gotten to the supportive conversation with the actors point...
...maybe once she loses the deer in the headlights look. he he.
Silly photo of the day.

Have You Guessed the Show?

Sunday my mom came to see the show and having someone see a show is oddly stressful. Even though it is a good show, I am always distracted, and therefore didn't take any pics to post about. Luckily I have a couple in the backlog, so I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about the theatre, and some of my favorite parts.

I take the commuter train out of the city everynight and this is one of the high and low points of my day. I hate to leave the house and Mike, who may have just gotten home. But then once I'm on the train, I get out my book and I love that half-hour to myself. To leave behind the getting things done mode I have at home and just chill.

The women's club where the theatre is housed is a lovely building. I bet you can't read the show title, and a friend informed me I have neglected to mention it. We are doing Lion in Winter. Its a classic and this produciton is very good. Back to the building...
When you are backstage and go out the back door, you find this lovely patio and a yard where you can sit in the grass. This is a very unusual feature in Chi-town theatre, so it is a luxury I try and enjoy in the good weather.I LOVE being in the theatre before people get there. It is so peaceful and empty and yet full of all those memories and feelings. I have written essays about the beauty of an empty theatre. So I love getting in early and standing in the theatre.
Luckily this is part of my job, because every night we have to do light check. I stand on stage as I do for this and looking up towards the booth, where the stage manager will turn lights on, I say how many, and he turns them off and on to the next. It is tedious and silly sounding and if an actor is early, they love to join in with odd number calling too. Which is fun too.If we are lucky we have a little time for dinner and chill while we wait for actors to arrive. Here is David looking at the New York Look Book, one of the many books I check out from the library for people to puroose(how in the h*ll to you spell that?!?). And then I just go up to the booth and push buttons. But I love working is such a beautiful location this time of year. But as always its the people that make it special.

Post Two-Show Chill Out

The shows today were pretty uneventful. Best part was walking to Starbucks with Tiffany and Rawson between shows. Love those two.

Ever seen "Bringing up Baby"? The part when Carey Grant is in the girly bathrobe and the Katherine H's aunt comes to the door. "who are you?" "what do you want?" "who are you?" "who are you?" "why are you dressed like that?" "i guess i just went GAY all of the sudden!" Priceless. Tiffany and Rawson can do it so fast it makes your head spin. and its hilarious.

A highlight EVERY night, is after the show. Its time for drinks, conversation and however else we can amuse ourselves.

Fagan has taken up easy crosswords on line, a la USA today. With the help of whoever is nearby.

Michael, who's butt is on the right often mixes up some tasty mixed drinks for those interested. Love how Chris is checking out his bum. he he.

Oh and the guy in the center is stage manager sub Richard. Have loved having him up in the booth this week. And he lives nearby, so the rides are nice too. Best of all his cute irish wife came by. Thanks for hangin' Richard!

Rawson is manning the 20 questions, pushing the buttons for Richard, who is confused by such new-fangled gadgets. Usually the object of the ?'s is shared with the group and we all help answer, but Richard is old school and kept his object secret to the end. Rawson was convinced it was a coconut. 20? thought it was an orange. It was a lime. Richard was victorious.

And of course creamsicles. Told you I'd get a pic of the seductive power of the creamsicle.

I love hanging out and winding down, but by far the best part of the day is getting home, but no matter how tired I am, I am still wired. This is hard becuase Mike is asleep and I do not feel like being a lone and/or quiet. Mike is out of town tonight, so here I am writing and blaring the Lilly Allen. Its great.

Watch out for the Paparazzi

I have decided to try and record a little more of the day to day funniness/events. A little late seeing how there are eight days left, but I'll give it my best shot. Biggest obstacle, my short term memory and posting the next morning. Last night was pretty uneventful. A casting director came to see the show. Felt bad that he is not actually liked by people, not because he's not nice, but probably becuase he's just a normal guy. I bet they would if they got to know him, I mean how much time do you spend with the casting director? Well and then you have the power issue. One of our younger cast members was a little anxious as to whether he liked her, so there you have it. Anyway, on to happier things.

Apparantly there is a statue of Rob somewhere in eastern Europe. Well not ROB but a guy that looks just like Rob. Here he is demonstrating for us. Like I've said before a good looking kid, so I wouldn't doubt it.

Lea always eat a lot during intermission. Boys with high metabolisms need a lot of fuel to keep their energy up during the long show. But tonights seemed a little odd. BBQ Chicken, a pile of rice and two. whole. raw. carrots. Crazy. Apparantly he ate even more and felt a bit sick after the show. He said he'll be a little more judicious in the future. Good idea.

Beer and creamsicles after the show. Beer did not make me nearly as buzzed-happy as the wine did. Must buy wine to share. Creamsicles always make everyone happy, but they sure melt fast. I will try and get a pic of Creamsicle joy soon.

Thank goodness for the camera on the long rides home. I have about thirty pics like this on my camera. They are their paparazzi shots. The "get that f*cking camera out of my face!" pictures. This is my favorite. It was especially nice because they also managed to entertain a few Ravinia goers as well.
Fagan also got this shot of Kipp. Love it. He went around to each of us and said a word, we made a face and he took the pic. Very funny and yet exhausting. This was wink, obviously.

And Lea's was "Read." How in the world he can just block everything out and read is beyond me, I can only sometimes accomplish this sort of thing with music, only instrumental blocking out the crazies.



I leave you with my first video-in-post. This is my favorite video so far. It is Rawson doing his Irish/Canadian grandma. He really had this conversation with her. Love it. Although Mike didn't seem to find it that funny. So maybe you had to be there, well regardless, ENJOY!

So Great It Sucks

I love this pic I took of Tiffany the other day in Glencoe. So Idyllic. It sums up my pleasure at getting the job at Paper Source. YIPPEEE!!! No more worry. I can just enjoy each day. Until I realize that I will be leaving behind this life that I love. Oh theatre, I will miss you. I took all the rest of these pics yesterday. What a fun life.

There is a lot of love with this cast. Tiffany treats Rawson like a favorite pet, in the cutest way possible. I love piling in on the couch with everyone. After spending my day alone, I love coming to work with these peeps.

It was Shannon's birthday yesterday, so that increased the love-o-meter as well.

And snacks are always being shared and entertaining.
But the actors provide most of the entertainment.
I can't believe I'll be leaving, but not every cast is this fun. Sure am glad I got this one as my last though. Chris says I will never find people as interesting and stimulating as I do in theatre. Maybe he's right. I'll just cry in my wine like Laura here. Well at least the drinking makes the train ride home SO much more bearable.
And the friends I ride home with.
We crack eachother up.
Even if I don't know what they are talking about, it still makes me smile. This is a really great job, getting to meet cool people and hang with them almost everynight has made these some of the best years of my life. I know I will look back at them with rose colored glasses, but that's okay. I just hope that by leaving I will be able to form more lasting friends both in theatre and out. Becuase the downside is, the show ends, and everyone goes their separate ways. Sure there are reunions when we get a chance to see eachother's shows, or even work together again, but I'm looking for more than single serving friends. It's hard for me to have friends working 6 nights a week nine months of the year. I hope I can hold onto some of these guys in the months to come, they have been a lot of fun.

Who wouldn't want to be friends with this guy?!?

Yea for Shannon! Yea for boys!

It was Shannon's birthday on the 29th, So Jane and I busted out the yummy dessert The ricotta cookies with fruit topping were a big hit! And I think we did Shannon proud, ending the night with a round of happy birthday.
Tiffany really is singing and raising her mallet jovially, not about to take out Laura, so she can go on as Alais, really.

And what birthday would be complete without a little topless man dance. Ah theatre. Chris is pretty hot too.

No really, you are adorable Chris. I have been lucky to work one other show with Chris. He is a really amazing actor. In this show, he plays an extreme middle child syndrome prince. Never enough love and always plotting his revenge for it.

It can be very exhausting. he he. We have a few attractive boys in this cast.

Michael Fagan has a male model thing going on, perfect for our French Prince. Although sometimes he looks more like a muppet. he he. As I have gotten to know him, I can't believe how silly and funny he is. It's great riding the train with him. Oh and great book reccomendations!Then there is Rob. That's always how he introduces himself. Largely, I think, because his last name is Belushi. Yes of those Belushi's. His dad is Jim. He is very funny in a boy kind of way (lots of poop). I like him better like this. Asleep. He is awfully attached to his phone...
Oh don't worry kid, I do like you a lot when you are being a normal chill person. I've just never been into boy humor. Can't stand those movies y'all love. And he is a cutie.

Never underestimate the power of being cute, I always say. I guess he's recently lost some weight. Not sure he really knows how good looking he is. Oh well. I'm not going to tell him.

Oh and he's great as the pouty youngest son John. The charecters did exist in history. John is Little John, who was king during the time of Robin Hood, who is probably just a ledgend.
This deer in the foreground is Lea Coco. Great name huh? He is dating one of my favorite actresses, Audrey. He's the one that commissioned the sweater for his girl. She loved it by the way.
He plays the eldest son, the warrior/poet. That would be Richard the Lionheart, who was fighting the crusades while his brother, John stole his throne. And he's gay, in the show. Great on stage kiss between him and Michael Fagan.
Lea is very earthy and likes to cook, so he is always looking for advise on the subject. So we always have something to talk about. He also reads a lot. And watches good movies, so I have enjoys reccomendations from him too.

It's so nice when we have a cast that is so pleasant and interesting. Sure they are young and once in a group descend into poop jokes, but if you can just get them alone...I've had some good conversations with these guys. I'm glad I have gotten to do this show with them. Thanks guys.

Love Hurts

I realize we are almost done with the run, and I still haven't introduced the rest of the cast. So today let me present our love triangle.


Mr. Michael is our King. He is married to the lovely Shannon, both in the play and in real life, she's the curly headed one with the beautiful laugh. Just on stage, Laura, the young blonde, is his mistress.


Here is a shot of them on stage (with others). The King has just given his mistress to his eldest son. She's not to pleased about this, and so has pulled a concealled knife. I do love the ladies costumes.


Jane does a great job, putting in extensions for Laura and dressing Shannon's wig. Here they all are in the ladies' dressing "tent" (a curtained off section of the green room). She also has to tie them into her dresses, so she has gotten extra close to these ladies. Anyway, a little more about our three lovers. They have a very good backstage relationship considering the harm they commit to each other in the name of love on the stage. My hat is off to them for their performances and their professionalism. Just as people I like them very much.

Michael takes very good care of any floral arrangements that happen to be backstage, which is very nice as they tend to just rot. He does like the ladies, so if you are looking good, you can count on a compliment, or at least comment from Michael. And he makes a mean pulled pork.

Shannon has Michael wrapped around her little finger, in the cutest way possible, like she couldn't care one way or the other, but he is utterly devoted. She is enviously tall and slim, fabulous legs. But the best part is her physicality. Some tall girls are gangly and some have dancer like poise, Shannon can seamlessly go from one to the other. It makes her a great physical comedian backstage. You can always count on a good laugh from her. And I love how curly her hair comes our when she takes off her wig.

Laura is the baby of the cast. A mere 22, oh wait she had a birthday, it's 23 now. She tends toward gullible, and yet that is part of her dewey eyed freshness that makes her so adorable. She got this role right out of college, so it's a big break. We are proud of her, but really just love having her backstage. I especially do because she is almost as big a hamm as Rawson.

Whenever a camera comes out these two perk up and put on a cheesy or silly face.

Why are closed-eye pictures always so funny?

The circumstances don't matter:

Alone.

With a friend.

Or in a group.

She's the cheesiest.

Or peanuttiest.