Chaos Attraction

Opening Night (Actually Happened)

2022-01-07, 9:54 p.m.

I'm glad I didn't agree to teach at the Craft Center this winter because THINGS ARE CHANGING AGAIN. They are limiting who's allowed to go, postponing classes...yeah, glad I didn't commit 4-6 months ago to anything.

As for my work, they put on our office webpage that we are closed to the public all month and then took most of the day to announce that we're all considered "potentially essential" and that guess what, I at least (not the rest of group) am going to have to come in to do the mail. Theoretically ONLY the mail, but still. I was looking forward to not having to get tested and GUESS WHAT. Supposedly they are limiting who gets to come in and/or younger part-time employees are mentioned doing mail, but apparently not MY mail. GRRRRRRR. I am cranky about this.

Other than that, at least it was quiet and I didn't totally hate work/myself all the livelong day.


Covid watch: so far nobody in the cast has it. However:
(a) Andi is going to be out of town the next few weekends, helping her grandma and she WAS supposed to be in some indie(?) movie that is filming in Vegas next weekend. She said it's on pause because a bunch of the crew came down with it and two people died of it. Who were vaccinated. One of them was 25.
(b) Andi's SO got exposed to someone who has it. And yet she's going to her 91-year-old grandma's tomorrow anyway.
(c) Ashley told me that she has it. :( I know that one was inevitable (see tomorrow's entry), but still. Tested positive that day. I told Scott. He sounded sad, but of course he knows with her heart issues...

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Last night's performance went GREAT, actually.

They did finally finish all the things we needed done on the set, even if some of that was being finished during the 7-8 p.m. hour. Monica was allowed to tape the doors and paint over the tape to hide the "Scrooge and Marley" names, another sign was made up for the Schubert Theater. (Sadly, no pull-down posters ever happened.) The birds are fixed and done, the coop is fixed and done. The cabinet of old lady photos is up and is quite weird/full/creepy with some people having multiple photos in there. Mine is in twice and I look quite weird, oh well. But it's funny.

Last night Sabrina covered her tattoos (especially the large back tat) with moleskine instead of makeup. Steve did not like that ("looks like you got injured"), so she had to go back to using not-that-great makeup again. I asked what the heck is different in the movies and various people said "better makeup, better lighting, special effects...."

The bottle dance: Scott and Isaiah, playing the drunk bums in "King of Broadway," were supposed to dance with bottles on their heads. If you think about this one for oh, a second, you should reasonably think, "Those things are gonna fall off their heads." This is absolutely true, there was no way to put a bottle on someone's hat and make it stay there without falling off (I don't know why "glue one to a hat" somehow wasn't a thing), so it was scrapped at the last minute. They asked Andi if she was fine with that and she was all "yeah, I didn't think it would work anyway, Steve wanted it in."

Dannette slept in but still made it before the show. Other Jennifer brought stars for the showgirl masks.

During intermission, Other Jennifer said she was concerned about eating indoors at the Woodstock's cast party after the show at this point, and I said "me too," and she was all "maybe we could just have pizza delivered here?" So when Jan came in I attempted to bring this up, but never got as far as the pizza delivery suggestion because she was all "We ALWAYS go to Woodstock's after, upstairs, Steve reserved it, and it's your personal choice at that point." Sigh. Why did I bother.

Before the show, Nate was talking about how (a) this reminded him of before a (sports, I presume) game where he wants to go hit somebody ("don't hit me!"), and (b) he wants to projectile vomit. I said if he does it, I'll do it right back on him. Ah, yes, we do have a bit of that kind of relationship :P I did try to talk him into auditioning for Urinetown, maybe...

Actually, things went really well during the show, I don't think I know of any major bloopers going on. I was slightly cheesed that the words "Neo-Nazi" did not perfectly line up on the heart backdrop this time (sadly you could see the Windows icons at the bottom instead), but that's about it. I like watching people dance around backstage, myself included, it's fun.

During the "I Wanna Be A Producer" scene, I'm supposed to be putting papers on people's desks. Before the scene, I got bored and started writing notes on some of them, like "There's no greater diktater in the land, Mr. Marks" and "Mr Marks can kiss my ass" or "Leo + Max 4 Eva" in a heart, stuff like that. I don't know if anyone noticed this, but it amused me. I go out there just depressed and chucking the papers at them on the first go-round and then lovingly distribute them in a vaguely snuggly manner on the way out (during the happier music). The guys seem to enjoy that bit. I note that Scott blew me a kiss on that one. Yeah, I know, means nothing.

I got laughs on smacking Arie down when he was going up my skirt, so yay there. No major flubups! Love this show! I thought "Hey, if everyone gets sick and we shut down tomorrow and nobody I know ever sees it AT LEAST WE DID IT ONCE," so there's that.

Oh yeah, and during the "Betrayed" intermission part, we all gathered round to watch the backstage camera. Eddie did his selfie with Bev the reviewer. He went for it!

People in the audience that I knew: Alexis from Coney Island (didn't get to talk to her, Scott monopolized that one, I guess she's back from Reno for break), Blonde Sarah and her brother John to see their mom. John was nice, we talked about a play he was in (Ranked) that I saw pre-pandemic. Nate and Sherilyn's kids were there and I'm told they had QUITE shocked reactions to seeing their dad in a dress. Nice kids, too. So at least some folks I knew. I really don't think anyone else I know is likely to go (see tomorrow's entry).

Afterwards, there was cake and champagne/cider (I ate mine by the open door, was the only one who did that) and various people hung out for like 45 minutes-ish at the theater, which was fun. Had some fun conversations about age and therapy and health issues--not feeling your age, not wanting to admit mine specifically (I have now admitted in front of Scott that I'm over 40, but what does that fucking matter now).

Andi had some kind of hypoglycemia attack on the last day of Titanic, couldn't stand up, and the stage manager put on her dress and went on for her. I was all, "They fit into your dress?!" because Andi is TINY. Apparently yes! I did meet that one (James's kid Sam) once or twice and didn't remember them being that small, but whatever works. Kari had a fun conversation with Scott about how well he sings--he claims "in the shower mostly" and "I used to go to karaoke but haven't in a few years." Said he still needs to listen to the rest of Urinetown before he decides on that one. Talked to Sherilyn about how she's excited to choreograph Urinetown and she usually does musical direction for her kids' theater programs, but she can't do that here because she doesn't play piano.

Afterwards I went to the Woodstock's hangout but didn't take off my mask or order anything or eat anyone else's food (there were offers). Dammit, I wanted to, but...y'know, watching everyone with theirs off...(I note that Other Jennifer was there, eating, but kept her mask on as much as she could otherwise. Some re-donned theirs, others not so much...I was quietly freaking out...) Scott went too and also didn't eat anything. I'm not sure what I am going to do tomorrow. Order takeout and then not eat it? At least I'd had cake so I wasn't as hungry as I would have been, and the food looked good...dammit.

Someone brought up the fires in Colorado--Michael's from there--and then it turned into a whole thing about how Jean volunteered to help with the Camp Fire and Sherilyn was working in Paradise when the fires started and her trying to get home for hours. I felt bad for Scott having to listen to that, he didn't say much about his other than it was really loud trying to escape and the entire development except for their barn went up.

I did hear some SUPER AMUSING stories out of people. Jean and Nate and Sherilyn were talking about their theater kids, and Jean talked about how her son John (there tonight) got roped into theater at 14 by being dragged into a production of Brigadoon. "And then he had to marry his sister..."

Sherilyn used to do beauty pageants and has a super...adjusted, I'll say...like very obviously adjusted...headshot of herself in the lobby that people commented on. She said she asked the photographer for a non-edited version and never got one, gave up and used that one. She also has a photo of her daughter in a fancy pageant outfit, doing fire poi. I assume this may also be ... adjusted?

Nate on his days playing water polo--this is all with one other guy during a match, mind you: "So I stuck my toe up his ass...." "I ripped all of his armpit hair out." "He ripped out the back of my swimsuit. I had on two swimsuits and I was swimming around bareassed." Water polo is apparently Quite Vicious.

I also asked how Nate and Sherilyn got together and they said they were in a service organization in college--she was a senior, he was a freshman (cute but immature), and they were the only ones not tanked at some event and his pickup line was, "Are you still sober?" (LOLOLOL on this.) "We went for a walk and a half hour in I knew I was going to marry her," and they were discussing kid names. WHY CAN'T I HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN TO ME, DAMMIT?

Walked back to cars with Scott, talked about the ick weather outside but at least it wasn't raining or super foggy, and he hugged me goodbye again. Went to bed at 1.


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