Seattle, Washington

FINALLY we're in a cool city!! things may be looking up. actually, the good day was in yakima, washington...which, in my opinion, is a magical magical place and i didn't ever want to leave it. let me explain...

yakima, washington...

we arrived at the venue- the capitol theatre. what an amazing space. the ceiling alone was a work of art. hand painted, twice- the theater burned down in '75 and was repainted by the original artist- with immaculate detail. the walls dripped with rich gold detail, and red velvet seats. quite lovely. the crew was equally as wonderful. from the moment we set foot in the theater, they were eager to help, and friendly about it. i even got an assistant for costumes...her name was shelly. ah, sweet, sweet shelly. she made all our dreams come true. she took one look at us and saw how weary and beaten we were. she asked if we needed anything steamed, mended, or ironed...i looked at her like she was speaking latin. never had anyone offered such assistance! i said, not to my credit, "uh...uh-huh." she then smiled and said, "well what?" and i replied "um...everything?" she laughed and told me to make a pile and she would have it done before the show. WHAT AN ANGEL!! we gathered our tattered costumes, and she went to town. also, she had put fresh flowers in all of our dressing rooms, and even put presents in meagan's and my dressing room!!! she brewed us really good coffee so we didn't have to use ours, and made sure we had cold water so we didn't have to use our own supply. we all told her what a treat it was to have these kinds of spoils, but she said it was something that was "the usual" at that theater. the stage crew was great as well, and commented a couple dozen times on the poor quality of our set, and commended us on how we manage to put it off in spite of it. it really is amazing how taking pride in one's job has such a wonderful ripple effect on others...(i'm speaking of course of the people of the capitol theater).

seattle, washington...

we were all very excited to be in a real city again. as soon as we checked into our hotel, we hit the hot tub. after the space run to see how close the venue is, we took off to dinner. scot, meagan and i found a perfect little italian restuarant. we had a really good meal!!! now, this may not sound like much...be we don't eat well, so flavor and nutrience are somethings i like to make note of. :)


afterwards, the three of us went up in the space needle!!! woohoo!!! it was awesome!! also, some of us went down to the public market and did touristy things. the first ever starbucks, the place where they throw the fish ...i bought a new sweatshirt...yay!

back to work...

the next morning at the theater, things were not as rosey as they were in yakima. it was a union house, so they were extra condesending, and not very helpful. (shocker). also, we had to do the show for a soldout 2,200 seat house with NO SET. this isn't just a minor inconvience...this changes the entire show. now we knew about this in advance, but it doesn't lessen the headache. due to a mixture of miscommunication, negligance, and indifference, heaped atop a pile of keeping-an-unblinking-eye-on-the-bottom-line, the production office didn't cancel the show even when they were told that a "real" touring company, who was already in the middle of their run, had a HUGE set WELDED to the stage. as i have mentioned before, our stage manager quit. this was the first day with our interum stage manager, and she handled things like a pro. actually, kudos to all of us. without any rehersal, or advanced plan of attack, and with a brand new boss, we pulled off major ajustments, and mock specil effects in the moment, as they were being performed, and the audience never once caught on. we got our rockstar applause at the end (term first used by scot lee williams- i don't wanna plagorise), and were happy the unpleasant day was at an end...oh yeah, and my laundry got stolen out of the fucking hotel dryer. whoever you are, your karma is so bad, you're gunna get cancer.

the next day, friday for those of you who are keeping track, we piled in the car and drove from oregon to reno!!!! yes, please take the time to pause, go get a map, and see how long that drive is. we stopped for a few photo opps... (this is mount washington). saw the geiser 'old perpetual'...and nearly hit a managerie of animals (6 near misses actually, including a running cow...i got video of it). it took us 12 hours. it took the truck 15 hours. yuck. by the time i get back to new york, i may never want to get inside a car again. :)

tonight, we have plans to go out!! get all dressed up, gamble, go to a halloween party, go dancing...we'll see. this is one tacky town, and i plan on embracing it with open arms. wish me luck!