Day 2

Hey kids! I was sitting in the laundry mat in Brooklyn MI, updating our checklists for the costumes and watching some Walker Texas Ranger (....oh the mullet...) when TADAH!!!! i got internet service!!! YAY!! soooo....update! Last night was amazing! it was our first audience and time really being on the road....words can't describe it. i love that i still get the giddiness of it all. pose and i were standing backstage waiting to go on (her parents surprised her last nite) and we were just grinning. she leaned over to me and said "this is our debut as professional actors." and the giddiness just grew. Great show, fantastical audience. Homestays were amazing as well. the only downside of the good home stays is that there are few good stories to tell. but that's really ok. Thanks to all of the people at Hopewell Church in Auburn, IN for everything.

things learned:
laundry neeeeeeeeds to be done at a laundry mat (and on that note, time to move the loads). it takes much too long to do at a personal residence and we don't have the time (usually) to do it in the set up time. (ok, the red headed mullet wonder just strapped on a backpack rocket and shot himeself to the top of a building where a dinner party was being held hostage....of course)

don't have the cast put the mic belts in the laundry, because then you have to sift through the smelly-wetness in order to find them all and make sure they are all present and accounted for.

last, don't slam the door of a dryer while the knob in in your hand. i think i just bruised a bone in my hand (people on this show don't know how to hold and fire guns, and the lighting in this show is horrible...) which is making typing really obnoxious and piano will be fun tonight.

side note: MY MOM AND GRANDPARENTS ARE COMING TONITE!!!

tomorrow: the great white north

oh no!! internet access...where did you go?

Officially on the Road

Well, we sent the troupe off with a prayer circle about 2 hours ago and they should already be at their 1st "official" tour date location! Hard to believe.

I "officially" finished costumes Sunday afternoon - at least I assume I did, I haven't heard of any problems since. A couple of shopping trips Friday, Saturday, and Sunday fixed the few problems I was having. Already had a pair of shoes blow out - not a good sign, but gives you a good idea of how much dancing they do and how much wear and tear their clothes are getting. Even with 2 separate outfits, in 2 1/2 months their clothes will be experiencing about the same amount of wear and tear normal "street" clothes experience in about 2 1/2 years. The wear and tear on the shoes is worse, since they are wearing them everyday (and most people don't dance a lot in their normal "street" shoes).

We had a "bon voyage" party for the cast & crew at our house last night. A good night of fun and relaxation - a lot of food, a lot of ping-pong, a little baseball, a medium-sized water fight, a broken window, and a collapsed ping-pong table - couldn't ask for more! It ended a little earlier than we thought it would, as everyone on the tour was trying to get back to their aparments so they could get their laundry done before they left this morning.

Not much else to report, the home-base will be quiet for a few weeks. Mike and I do plan on catching up with them out on the tour as our vacation plans just happen to line up with some of their tour locations. It will be neat to see them in different locations and at various points throughout the tour, and then finally back at home on the MCA stage.

Is it really over?

I realized yesterday morning as Conner and I worked at home that "boot camp" was nearly over. At this point, a small rehearsal on Wednesday, a few more devotionals, making sure everything is packed, and a cookout and I would be basically done with my part of preparing the team for the road. To tell you the truth, I was a bit saddened.

As I watched the show last night at Good Shepherd, I was hit with these feelings again. My good friend Dan, playing Jesus, brings things to the part last night that I was finally getting to enjoy, rather than stress over tech elements. Working with Noah again has been as fun, and his leadership, work ethic and joy has been a blessing. The rest of the company has become very close and enjoyable to watch and learn from. And the energy they have to tell the message of the Gospel is awesome. Its a God thing. That's about the only way to explain it. How else can 13 actors and 1 technician have energy to put on a great show after a gruelling load in? I don't know if I could do it. Conner wants to. Maybe in a few years, eh? But I am in awe of this company and their abilities. Beyond that, I am in complete awe of their attitudes during this. Pushed beyond their breaking point, with bruises and hurting bodies and minds, they still maintain a level of friendship and fun with each other that I don't know if I am capable of. I learn from them. The student has become the teacher.

I'll miss these guys. Its hard to push when there isn't much more room for them to go. But, through pushing them to do their best, you eventually get their best. I think we're there team. Sure, things will go wrong, but I believe we are at the point where its not because of a lack of trying. Sometimes it just happens. Even with the mistakes last night, it was still a good performance. Even with my mistakes last night...especially the one that plunged the stage into darkness, it still was a good performance.

You guys rock. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy each other. But most importantly, enjoy God's message, being told as only you can tell it. I love you all.


Mike

God is good...

i've been noticing the little things lately....seeing the things that i sometimes take for granted. tonight, while being swamped with crazy bugs and loading in the truck, i took a breath for a moment and looked up into the sky...to see a breath-taking image of the moon and clouds. it calmed my nerves and helped me gather my patience to finish the task at hand.

God is good...

also, last night, during one of the numbers, i got my right hand/wrist jammed up pretty badly. while this isn't TOO big of a deal for some people, it made tonight's piano playing slightly more taxing...but in that trial, there was a joy in the completion of the show. it could have been worse.

God is good...

i marvel at the many gifts that God has bestowed upon each of us. not just gifts like dancing, singing, acting, or playing instruments...but communing together. having patience with one another. and just loving each other. it's a wonderful thing to see smiles on my friends' faces. even though we may have had a hard day here and there. i remember thinking when i was first cast in this show that i would be missing out on family time. but i'm not. i have another family, consisting of some of the most amazing people i've ever met. "i'm so glad i'm a part of the family of God."

well, i'm becoming slightly delusional, and since most of the cast is getting up early to go to fort wayne tomorrow, i can't waste any more time. goooooooooodnight!!

a semi-audience

We had more than ten people show up tonight! It was in that sense like a real show. Anyways, we keep hitting our mics and it sounds bad, we should probably stop doing that. And don't breathe; it sounds bad over the system... No, we have to breathe, but mabye not so hard into the mics.
While everyone else is having a midnight (literally) snack I am here being lame and writing this thinking I should shower. Yeah, I need to get to that, smelling bad is not productive of anything other than stink.
So, we leave in two days for the open road. I'm not sure how I feel about that. There seems to be some tech stuff we still need to work out. Whatever, we're in theatre; the show must go on. We'll make it work somehow.
Ok, I'm out to shower and crash, and not join the cast party because I'm lame. Goodnight.

Fun Times

We had a great run today! Even though it was in one of the smallest spaces we will ever have (Recital Hall) there was just this sense of play through out the entire show. We were having fun together which seems to be happening more and more as this production gets rolling. So much so that after spending literally entire weeks together in complete exhuastion, we still chose to hang out with each other after a long rehearsal. By day, we hear about prodigal sons, secret gaurding cyborgs, hypocritial pharisees and the breaking of His body and by night we watch X-Men 3 or eat spagetti or laugh it up at A&W. We have formed a community in this show and out of it and we did it in record time. Now lets get on the road!
I wish I could express how proud I am to be a part of Godspell Summer Tour 2006!

Finally... a semi-day off...

Ahhh... After a restful night's sleep, it is finally a Sunday... and that means an easy day for us all.

Yesterday was both a very good day and very bad day. Here's the bad first:

1) We had to load up 1.5 flights of stairs
2) The air conditioning in the gym that we were performing in was not on
3) The front truss was set up too far forward, therefore limiting our stage to relatively small/medium size

And now... the good:

1) We had a better show than yesterday, even with the heat and cramped quarters
2) We loaded out in record time, even with 1.5 flights of stairs
3) We can fit everything into the truck (but we still have even more to fit in. No worries, though, we'll get it)
4) It was an extremely long day and even though we are and were very, very tired, we pushed through it and got done earlier than yesterday even with a 45 minute drive to/from Huntington

So now that it's Sunday, it's officially our day of rest before Monday and Tuesdays trips to churches in the area. Then Wednesday, we have another day of rest before we head for Auburn, IN on Thursday.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers concerning us and also thank you very much for all of your support. This is going to be an amazing trip.

-Eric

The W.S.C.

So, here I lie in the waning hours of the day, feeling like nothing short of a rock concert ran me right over. This may have been the longest day of my life.

Are you familiar with the recent revival of King Kong? There's a scene where the fearless seafarers come under the assault of hordes of elephantitis-stricken bugs, wherein one sad sack becomes the dinner of several creatures looking like prepubescent aliens from the hit movie, Aliens. Each appendage gripped in a toothy beartrap, he eventually disappears.

That's what today felt like. We had, by far, our most difficult load in of the show, one I hope not to repeat. The performance, though credited as a good one, took place in pure hot. Finally, the strike, though quick, required the exact opposite traffic pattern as the load in. However, as we have faced what one could consider our greatest challenge, it feels good. We've survived the toothy beartraps, and we are stronger for it. My body writhes in soreness, and I'm sure I won't maintain my bipedal status in the morning, but I will attend Good Shepherd for church, and I will be glad I did.

I'm going to bed. This is just ridiculous.
"Dan, if you're so sore and tired, why don't you just go to bed?"
That's an excellent question, but I'm still hurt by your tone. I sleep now.