Children's Theatre

I just spent the last 6 days helping out a children's theatre group. I've known a couple of the kids more than half their lives (or all) and I was asked to help stage manage the show. I got to tell you I haven't worked that hard in years. I wasn't being paid much but that's okay. (I was told I should have been paid a lot more. Nice hear.) I wanted to help out my friends and the parents. I do wish I could have seen the show.

The show was "Damn Yankees." And I never read the script before, but I saw it at the Old Globe in 1993 and met George Abbott when he came to see the show. He was 105 years old. The thing about this script is there are lots of really small scenes and a lot of people to move around from place to place. With sets, and props. The set changes were well planned, but getting 6-8th graders, 38 of them, moved around quietly was a trick. Normally kids from ages 11-14 are a bit flighty, but this group was generally pretty good. They did what me and the other stage manager asked them to do; sometimes we had to ask more than once for many things. Some of the kids were great. They had been in shows before and were very professional. One or two of the kids knew more about where things were meant to go and what prop ended up where than anyone else did. Which was very handy at times. Many of the kids were just kids. It was refreshing.

One person tried to give us the lowdown on which kids we would have to watch out for. We said we'd figure it out for ourselves. These kids weren't dumb or mean, but marched to a beat unique to themselves. Once you figure that out, dealing with them is easy. The show itself came together at the last minute in an amazing way. (Got to admit it was a bit scary.) It had it's freaky moments. Like 2 fire alarms going off in the theatre from the smoke machine pumping out too much smoke and the ventilation being shut off. Or just pumping out too much smoke. One alarm was before the show started opening night. The next night it happened in Act 2 as the other stage manager and I were moving a set piece. I was thinking as I walked thru the cloud onstage, "Too Much Smoke! Shut it down!!!!" When I was able to tell the booth the smoke was too much, seconds later the light started flashing with piercing sirens for accompaniment. They continued on like little troopers and the alarm was shut off rather quickly compared to the previous day. It's a story they will tell for the rest of their lives. Which is kinda cool.

We also had a loose tooth and one of the girls hurt her finger. It might be broken. She was upstairs in the dressing room with about 8 kids 2 adults tending to her. I had to run up and get the kids because the show was not over! It doesn't stop because of a injury unless it's to a lead, and in one show, a long time ago, I saw a lead go to a hospital and the understudy took over at intermission. She calmed down, got a makeshift splint on her finger and had an ice pack in her hand to go out for curtain call and the final song. Very proud of her.

After the show, I heard of one of the kids was going to quit the show in rehearsals because his homies were hassling him about the play and it wasn't cool to them. He stuck with it which I find admirable. He did it because he liked it. He did it because it's fun. I hope he keeps challenging himself.

I really liked the job. It was exhausting but very fun. I got thanked constantly by the kids. I hope they had a positive experience and I think they understood that when I was running around looking for this kid or that prop that my speed or curtness was because I wanted them to have a great show. I think they understood. It was a great show. Hope to see the DVD sometime to see what I missed.