A Christmas Carol National Tour...week 1 (Omaha, NE)

it's been about 5 days since i arrived by plane to omaha, nebraska. i'm here to play the small but delightful role of Lucy in Nebraska Theatre Caravan's national tour of the classic dickons story "A Christmas Carol". so from now 'til dec 24, i'll be up to my eyeballs in christmas almost all the time...but getting paid for it, so i won't hate on it.

so far, it's been a much nicer experience than my last tour. the basic jist is the same...one show they do year after year for the last 30 years, the same way, with no wiggle room for changing the lines or blocking. but these people (all the directors and stage managers and such) understand that this is kind of a overly gleeful show and approach the directing from a real place. doest that make any sense?? anyway, it's better, and i haven't had the urge to harm myself or others...yet. :)



the show...

a very traditional version of dickons' story, but with traditional old-timey christmas songs thrown in there. the show is very classic looking, and the songs are beautifully arranged in 4 and 5 part harmony. (there's even a scene with sparklers) plus, it's an all ages show so the performances with be at night and no one has to be dancing a polka at a 7am dance call.



the cast...

a much bigger production as a whole than my last tour. 25ish actors (including 3 very talented small children), 10-15 tech. actors only act, tech only techs...it's kinda sexy. we're driven around in a coach style bus, the tech and musicans are in a sleeper 2 hours ahead of us, and the set travels in it's own semi truck. no actors have to schlep sets in load-in and out unless they want to and it's an emergency. the people are all really nice. no obvious divas, or super high maintainance drama queens. everyone is very well suited for their parts, and really talented. the tenors are true tenors, the basses have a nice full sound, the altos hold a confident harmony, and the sopranos don't sound flat...kinda awesome. i know my super cheery attitude will probably change a bit over the next few months, but i think even if it gets a little negative it'll be ending by that time. 2 months is sooooo much better than 6 months. (duh).

i haven't whipped out the camera yet to take tons of pictures, cuz i don't wanna scare people off. i've warned them i'm a picture-taker, and that time will come soon enough.

omaha...

yes, nebraska. enough fresh air to make you sick. :) the people are nice, and my host family (an elderly couple kind enough to house me and 2 other girls while we're in town) is delightful. ray and laura beth barr. these 2 have lived quite a life. they both have huge families, and have themselves have only been married 11 years. both were married for like 40 years before, and out lived their spouses. there are something like 5 tvs and a huge house we have the run of if we like, but no internet. so currently i'm camped out at a panara with my housemates (molly and jen- both are awesome) using the free wi-fi.

i guess that's all i have for now. the juicy stuff doesn't come til later...gotta get this freak show on the move before the "E! True Hollywood Story" version comes out...*sigh* there's a long way til christmas...