Techcersize

Ok kids, we are deep deep into tech rehearsals. We've been at it since the 15th and it looks like we'll finish the show before dinner tomorrow! Tech is always a tedious process, but every second is filled with something important. Being on the set now, we have to make sure all of our spacing works, tweak some staging, set the lights and sound, and of course practice flying. About that...

Yesterday was the first time we did Extraordinary Girl since way back in Charleston a month ago. I got to practice upside down girl on the first day but I really wasn't in the harness for that long. Yesterday on the other hand, I was in it for a while before dinner and for about 5 hours after dinner. I'd say I'm generally pretty tough but it got to the point where I almost wanted to cry. We had to practice taking the gurneys out for lobotomy and then run through the quickest change of my life all time into Extraordinary Girl. So here's the deal - I have to go from my army fatigues into my I-Dream-Of-Jeannie-esque costume (plus harness and burqa) and be ready to descend from the top of center stage in less than one minute. Luckily I have a team of dressers waiting in the wings to help me.

Remember those abs I wanted? They're getting there!

The actual sequence is going great though. Seems most if not all of our muscle memory has been retained. It really does feel awesome to be up there - somehow once the flying starts, I forget all about the pain I'm in. And fortunately we'll only have to be doing that once or twice a day for the shows. We started with the flying again today and we'll have a fly call every day for shows, but the hardest stuff is over. If we're lucky, we'll get a full run through in by the end of the day tomorrow!

It our very little bit of down time we've been discovering what Utica has to offer. Which is to say, we've been to Rite Aid a few times, and have made friends with the bartender at the hotel. There's a really great restaurant next to the gorgeous theater we're teching in, and that's about it! But we've been making our own fun. Tonight it was our music directors birthday so the company manager drove 25 miles to get vegan cupcakes and the cast and crew hung out in the hotel lobby. The bar and restaurant were closed but some people brought drinks and others brought more food. There was gambling (by way of a $3 buy-in dice game), eating, drinking, even some cross dressing, and tons of laughs. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be spending my time with while away from home.

It's way past my bed time. I'll leave you with this cryptic bit of information: There are no blonde girls in the cast. Yet.

Ow. And Wow.

As of today, I know how to fly.

Ok, I'm learning to fly. But the six of us who are here learning are catching on pretty quickly, I think! We all got into town yesterday and had a chance to hang out a little bit and get dinner together. Except for Gabe. I guess technically he got in today, 12:30am, because he had to fly from Florida back into Toronto, where he's from, so he could go through customs to then catch a connecting flight into Charleston. Insane.

After breakfast at the hotel this morning we all walked over to the theater where we're learning to fly. We got fitted into our harnesses and were told about how they work and how we aren't going to die (in so many words) and then we went up in the air! The first couple times were to make sure our weight was distributed properly and practice doing front and back somersaults. It was awesome. A bit uncomfortable - your whole weight is basically resting on your groin and pelvis - but really cool. Next we practiced the "Jesus spin", a part in the song when Ex. Girl and Tunny spin up and away from each other. It looks easy enough, you're just spinning yourself, but it's a lot harder than you'd think. For some reason almost everyone's center of balance didn't want to be where it should have been. That's definitely going to take some practice.

We had an hour for lunch and all went to a cafe around the corner that was pretty good. These Southern portions man, they're no joke. Light lunches are the way to go if you're going to be suspended in the air for 7 hours a day. When we got back we started learning the first sequence of the song. According to Krystina, who did the show for a while on Broadway, we've learned the hard stuff. Now it's a matter of perfecting them, learning the rest, and putting it all together.

Our shuttle and cab drivers will be happy to know that when we finished for the day, the six of us went to Jestine's for some soul food. There were about three places in town that were recommended to all of us so we figured we'd see if they measured up. All in all was some meatloaf, fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, and fried okra, and I think we were all satisfied. We got back to the hotel and the girls watched a bit of Jurassic park while the boys kept up with their fantasy football, then we all watched funny videos of animals on youtube and called it a night. Tomorrow after rehearsal we are going as guests of the production company to see In The Heights! So exciting.

I feel like I still have the harness on.