When you do live theater at different locations performance, you have to anticipate glitches. Gordon's worst nightmare is technical difficulties with the sound system...I worry about a stage that is a big step up and down (bad knees)....Tim, hmmm, Tim's not much of a worrier....maybe he worries about the paperwork going smoothly----but even then, he's not a worrier.
Here are some of our funnier glitches....
Tim's computer (we have a power point running during the show) kept on trying to restart---so that little information box would pop up asking if we wanted to restart now or later....later, please.
Miami Florida show---the fire alarm in the hotel kept going off---so we would stop the show and everyone would leave the room---hard to keep the flow going---but everybody was cool with it.
Corpus Christi, Tx----yeah---Hurricane Dolly hit the morning of our show---but the show must go on.
Oklahoma City, Ok---our wireless microphones were picking up announcements from a conference in a different part of the convention center..fortunately we figured it out before the show started.
Fort Worth, Tx---this was just funny----Tim has a costume change that requires him leaving the room----but Tim also manages the powerpoint---so he leaves the room to go change---but neglects to change the screen---so I start bantering with the audience---and they are bantering right back about the slides being confidential (it was right after our confidentiality vignette)...Jasmine, my daughter, just happened to be visiting....so she runs to find Tim (in the men's bathroom---she just calls to him, thank you very much)....she comes back in with the clicker and gets the show on the road again.
each stage is different, the lighting or lack of, the sound system----all keeps us on our toes ---- and always makes for interesting adjustments in the show.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
ahhhh...this is the life....
We here at DancingMoose travel....a lot....some are just over-night trips to Austin or Houston or San Antonio---we are even developing preferred hotels and recognizing gas stations we frequent. Am I tired of travelling---nay----am I happy to get home----yay.
The hotels we stay in are varied----in Austin we performed for UT's Counseling Center....they got us rooms at The Mansion on Judge's Hill----wow---very nice---robes on the bed, glass showers...a restaurant so expensive we didnt eat there...found a cool mexican place down the street where Tim could use his Spanish. Austin also has the Austin Motel----each room is totally different from the next---its an old motel on Congress street---the rooms all have great tile floors Austin) is the Habitat...set back from the street, across from a mall....two story rooms with kitchens and living areas...with an amazing breakfast. Hot Springs Arkansas presented us with a hotel right on the water---what a beautiful drive that is. Chain hotels are very nice----you know what you are going to get----but occasionally its fun to try something quirky....DancingMoose loves quirky.
The hotels we stay in are varied----in Austin we performed for UT's Counseling Center....they got us rooms at The Mansion on Judge's Hill----wow---very nice---robes on the bed, glass showers...a restaurant so expensive we didnt eat there...found a cool mexican place down the street where Tim could use his Spanish. Austin also has the Austin Motel----each room is totally different from the next---its an old motel on Congress street---the rooms all have great tile floors Austin) is the Habitat...set back from the street, across from a mall....two story rooms with kitchens and living areas...with an amazing breakfast. Hot Springs Arkansas presented us with a hotel right on the water---what a beautiful drive that is. Chain hotels are very nice----you know what you are going to get----but occasionally its fun to try something quirky....DancingMoose loves quirky.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Marley and Me....and Max
Our second week of 'on the road' trips---a show in Amarillo (5 hours away) and then a short hop down to Lubbock (2 hour drive)---then home---another 5 hour drive....so we are off...
Gordon brings a book on CD for us to listen to---Marley & Me....by John Grogan---a book about a guy and his dog....its being made into a movie with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson....its a great story and we are all listening to it--makes the drive go a lot faster.
We arrive in Amarillo and check into our hotel---Fifth Season Inn---very nice, a little oldish---but nice. We relax a bit and then head out about 715 to find something to eat. Tim and I are walking to the car and I see a yellow dog, about 50 lbs or so, walking towards the freeway...and its raining just a bit....anyway--the dog....I say to Tim "That dog is trying to cross the freeway---he's gonna get hit". The hotel is right on the frontage road. We watch as the dog crosses to the median of the freeway---but its one of those concrete medians that you cant cross---so poor Mutt is confused and starts to walk against traffic on the freeway.
Gordon comes out and we get in the car---I look up and the dog is sitting in the middle lane of the freeway----we realize that he CANT stand up---his back end must have gotten hit---"We gotta do something" says Gordon---so he runs up the grass and crosses the frontage road and heads towards Mutt. Mutt can move his front legs---but can only drag his back legs---broken hip maybe? no obvious thru-the-skin type injury to be seen. You can imagine that Mutt is scared and in pain---not a good combination for a dog----Gordon is talking to him to calm him down....I've stopped traffic at the access road---Gordon is stopping the traffic in the near lane of the freeway---the far lane has traffic breezing by. Tim has gone into the hotel to find an emergency clinic. Gordon reaches for Mutt---who BITES Gordon right on the finger---left index! @%#$@ I'm sure---Gordon reaches Mutt's scruff of the neck and picks him and hightails it to the sidewalk by the hotel....blood everywhere---Gordon's blood. We get a towel under Mutt's head and Tim gets the vet's number off the rabies collar....but we only get the answering service....they suggest animal control or the police.
The hotel is helping us find an after hours vet place---Gordon is out on the sidewalk with Mutt...we get more towels---Gordon picks up Mutt again and puts him in the towel-lined backseat of our RAV4...and we are off to find a vet. I'm talking to Mutt as Gordon drives. We find the emergency clinic and Gordon takes Mutt in...Tim & I follow. The vet tech there takes Mutt and says Mutt will be quarantined for 10 days due to the bite. They will try to find the owners---but..... We give Gordon's contact information so they can let him know if the dog tests positive for rabies---but the collar charm says Mutt got his rabies shot 2007---so he should be fine. The tech offers Gordon some hydrogen peroxide to clean out the bite on his finger---one really good solid puncture wound. He wraps it up in some lovely bright green flexi-tape. We head out to find an after hours clinic for Gordon or at least a pharmacy.
We find a Walgreens type pharmacy---they help us look for an after hours clinic---which apparently there are only 3 in Amarillo---AND THEY ALL CLOSE AT 8! so Gordon gets some antibacterial bandaids and more hydrogen peroxide...and we head out to Outback Steakhouse.
Dinner conversation is, of course, about Mutt...and how ironic that we were just listening to Marley & Me. Gordon is our hero!
That is the end of the story---or so we thought.
A good show in Amarillo and we are off to Lubbock---Gordon's finger isnt too bad--tender but usable----we hit our hotel in Lubbock and settle in. Gordon gets a phone call. FROM MUTT'S FATHER/owner!
Mutt is Max---8 yrs old---been missing for 3 weeks from their home in south Amarillo (our hotel was in west Amarillo)---the clinic called the vet--the vet called the owners---they get to find Max---not sure he is going to make it---broken pelvis...but they get to at least say goodbye and know that Max isnt wandering around lost. The dad was so grateful and was crying as he was talking to Gordon.
What a great ending to the story----on our way home from Lubbock we finished the book.
Gordon brings a book on CD for us to listen to---Marley & Me....by John Grogan---a book about a guy and his dog....its being made into a movie with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson....its a great story and we are all listening to it--makes the drive go a lot faster.
We arrive in Amarillo and check into our hotel---Fifth Season Inn---very nice, a little oldish---but nice. We relax a bit and then head out about 715 to find something to eat. Tim and I are walking to the car and I see a yellow dog, about 50 lbs or so, walking towards the freeway...and its raining just a bit....anyway--the dog....I say to Tim "That dog is trying to cross the freeway---he's gonna get hit". The hotel is right on the frontage road. We watch as the dog crosses to the median of the freeway---but its one of those concrete medians that you cant cross---so poor Mutt is confused and starts to walk against traffic on the freeway.
Gordon comes out and we get in the car---I look up and the dog is sitting in the middle lane of the freeway----we realize that he CANT stand up---his back end must have gotten hit---"We gotta do something" says Gordon---so he runs up the grass and crosses the frontage road and heads towards Mutt. Mutt can move his front legs---but can only drag his back legs---broken hip maybe? no obvious thru-the-skin type injury to be seen. You can imagine that Mutt is scared and in pain---not a good combination for a dog----Gordon is talking to him to calm him down....I've stopped traffic at the access road---Gordon is stopping the traffic in the near lane of the freeway---the far lane has traffic breezing by. Tim has gone into the hotel to find an emergency clinic. Gordon reaches for Mutt---who BITES Gordon right on the finger---left index! @%#$@ I'm sure---Gordon reaches Mutt's scruff of the neck and picks him and hightails it to the sidewalk by the hotel....blood everywhere---Gordon's blood. We get a towel under Mutt's head and Tim gets the vet's number off the rabies collar....but we only get the answering service....they suggest animal control or the police.
The hotel is helping us find an after hours vet place---Gordon is out on the sidewalk with Mutt...we get more towels---Gordon picks up Mutt again and puts him in the towel-lined backseat of our RAV4...and we are off to find a vet. I'm talking to Mutt as Gordon drives. We find the emergency clinic and Gordon takes Mutt in...Tim & I follow. The vet tech there takes Mutt and says Mutt will be quarantined for 10 days due to the bite. They will try to find the owners---but..... We give Gordon's contact information so they can let him know if the dog tests positive for rabies---but the collar charm says Mutt got his rabies shot 2007---so he should be fine. The tech offers Gordon some hydrogen peroxide to clean out the bite on his finger---one really good solid puncture wound. He wraps it up in some lovely bright green flexi-tape. We head out to find an after hours clinic for Gordon or at least a pharmacy.
We find a Walgreens type pharmacy---they help us look for an after hours clinic---which apparently there are only 3 in Amarillo---AND THEY ALL CLOSE AT 8! so Gordon gets some antibacterial bandaids and more hydrogen peroxide...and we head out to Outback Steakhouse.
Dinner conversation is, of course, about Mutt...and how ironic that we were just listening to Marley & Me. Gordon is our hero!
That is the end of the story---or so we thought.
A good show in Amarillo and we are off to Lubbock---Gordon's finger isnt too bad--tender but usable----we hit our hotel in Lubbock and settle in. Gordon gets a phone call. FROM MUTT'S FATHER/owner!
Mutt is Max---8 yrs old---been missing for 3 weeks from their home in south Amarillo (our hotel was in west Amarillo)---the clinic called the vet--the vet called the owners---they get to find Max---not sure he is going to make it---broken pelvis...but they get to at least say goodbye and know that Max isnt wandering around lost. The dad was so grateful and was crying as he was talking to Gordon.
What a great ending to the story----on our way home from Lubbock we finished the book.
Monday, July 28, 2008
...on the actual road...musings
On the road again…we are headed to San Antonio to perform for the Veterans Administration----counselors and the like…we listen to NPR (National Public Radio) while Gordon drives…did you know that Al Franken got the Democratic nomination for Minnesota for the senate!?---do you know who Al Franken is? …Gordon also has a vast collection of CD’s….very eclectic taste---so I burned a cd of my favorites to listen to while I drive…
We are bogged down in downtown Austin on I-35----is there ever a time that it isn’t a traffic jam? We will make this same trip 5 times in the next 2 months---San Marcos, Corpus Christi, San Antonio 4 times (Corpus Christi trip is wedged in between 2 San Antonio trips).
I take the train from Hurst Bell Helicopter and get off at Medical Market in Dallas---which is where Gordon & Tim pick me up---whenever they decide to! Sometimes they are right there---last time was AN HOUR wait---but its okay---except when it is 120 degrees outside and there is a young man with questionable housing status that is chatting to me about having a pure heart and asking me for cash---that’s when I get a little nervous….and Hallelujah! My white knights arrive in the truck and we are off.
Tim has a son getting married in August---so we chat about weddings…Gordon and his lovely wife, Colleen, are big concert-goers (
We are bogged down in downtown Austin on I-35----is there ever a time that it isn’t a traffic jam? We will make this same trip 5 times in the next 2 months---San Marcos, Corpus Christi, San Antonio 4 times (Corpus Christi trip is wedged in between 2 San Antonio trips).
I take the train from Hurst Bell Helicopter and get off at Medical Market in Dallas---which is where Gordon & Tim pick me up---whenever they decide to! Sometimes they are right there---last time was AN HOUR wait---but its okay---except when it is 120 degrees outside and there is a young man with questionable housing status that is chatting to me about having a pure heart and asking me for cash---that’s when I get a little nervous….and Hallelujah! My white knights arrive in the truck and we are off.
Tim has a son getting married in August---so we chat about weddings…Gordon and his lovely wife, Colleen, are big concert-goers (
San Marcos and Herod the King
San Marcos
We performed for the hays Caldwell drug abuse and rehabilitation group---they were great! We say every audience is the best---but this group totally won! There were about 80 in the audience---a good mix of young old,m men and women,…some fit the exact stereotype of what you imagine a drug abuse counselor to look like…
First of all---tim was sick---cold, hoarse,….we havent figured out what to do in cases like this---we’ve just pushed through---so I mothered him a bit---telling him to stay quiet and hydrated and lozenged.
The facility is great---San Marcos activity center---has a pool, work-out area, a few meeting rooms…we are greeted by Sue (in her workout clothes)---we set up quickly and are ready to go at 830 a.m. from song one, they are right there with us----we have added in Amy Winehouse’s “Try to get me to go to Rehab” (now,if you know this song you are humming “I said no, no, no”…the went over terrific---Gordon does a good drunk.
There was a guy in the front row---his name is Herrid King (his parents had a sense of humor)---he is sitting there singing along with us---during one song, “I Think I Love You”, I pause for dramatic affect…and he kept on singing the next word ---it was hilarious…during the group sing-a-long for Supererrogation, a good portion of the audience was singing…and Elvis’s audience guinea pig cried when he brought her up!
What a wonderful thing it is to perform for a great audience. There has only been one audience (and I wont tell you who---because what if they want us back!) that was less than receptive---
And now we are heading back home-time enough to do a little laundry and hit the road again.
p.s. I am now a dedicated moose---I quiT my other job!
We performed for the hays Caldwell drug abuse and rehabilitation group---they were great! We say every audience is the best---but this group totally won! There were about 80 in the audience---a good mix of young old,m men and women,…some fit the exact stereotype of what you imagine a drug abuse counselor to look like…
First of all---tim was sick---cold, hoarse,….we havent figured out what to do in cases like this---we’ve just pushed through---so I mothered him a bit---telling him to stay quiet and hydrated and lozenged.
The facility is great---San Marcos activity center---has a pool, work-out area, a few meeting rooms…we are greeted by Sue (in her workout clothes)---we set up quickly and are ready to go at 830 a.m. from song one, they are right there with us----we have added in Amy Winehouse’s “Try to get me to go to Rehab” (now,if you know this song you are humming “I said no, no, no”…the went over terrific---Gordon does a good drunk.
There was a guy in the front row---his name is Herrid King (his parents had a sense of humor)---he is sitting there singing along with us---during one song, “I Think I Love You”, I pause for dramatic affect…and he kept on singing the next word ---it was hilarious…during the group sing-a-long for Supererrogation, a good portion of the audience was singing…and Elvis’s audience guinea pig cried when he brought her up!
What a wonderful thing it is to perform for a great audience. There has only been one audience (and I wont tell you who---because what if they want us back!) that was less than receptive---
And now we are heading back home-time enough to do a little laundry and hit the road again.
p.s. I am now a dedicated moose---I quiT my other job!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
/SAN mARCOS
San Marcos
We performed for the hays Caldwell drug abuse and rehabilitation group---they were great! We say every audience is the best---but this group totally won! There were about 80 in the audience---a good mix of young old,m men and women,…some fit the exact stereotype of what you imagine a drug abuse counselor to look like…
First of all---tim was sick---cold, hoarse,….we havent figured out what to do in cases like this---we’ve just pushed through---so I mothered him a bit---telling him to stay quiet and hydrated and lozenged.
The facility is great---San Marcos activity center---has a pool, work-out area, a few meeting rooms…we are greeted by Sue (in her workout clothes)---we set up quickly and are ready to go at 830 a.m. from song one, they are right there with us----we have added in Amy Winehouse’s “Try to get me to go to Rehab” (now,if you know this song you are humming “I said no, no, no”…the went over terrific---Gordon does a good drunk.
There was a guy in the front row---his name is Herrid King (his parents had a sense of humor)---he is sitting there singing along with us---during one song, “I Think I Love You”, I pause for dramatic affect…and he kept on singing the next word ---it was hilarious…during the group sing-a-long for Supererrogation, a good portion of the audience was singing…and Elvis’s audience guinea pig cried when he brought her up!
What a wonderful thing it is to perform for a great audience. There has only been one audience (and I wont tell you who---because what if they want us back!) that was less than receptive---
And now we are heading back home-time enough to do a little laundry and hit the road again.
p.s. I am now a dedicated moose---I quiet my other job!
We performed for the hays Caldwell drug abuse and rehabilitation group---they were great! We say every audience is the best---but this group totally won! There were about 80 in the audience---a good mix of young old,m men and women,…some fit the exact stereotype of what you imagine a drug abuse counselor to look like…
First of all---tim was sick---cold, hoarse,….we havent figured out what to do in cases like this---we’ve just pushed through---so I mothered him a bit---telling him to stay quiet and hydrated and lozenged.
The facility is great---San Marcos activity center---has a pool, work-out area, a few meeting rooms…we are greeted by Sue (in her workout clothes)---we set up quickly and are ready to go at 830 a.m. from song one, they are right there with us----we have added in Amy Winehouse’s “Try to get me to go to Rehab” (now,if you know this song you are humming “I said no, no, no”…the went over terrific---Gordon does a good drunk.
There was a guy in the front row---his name is Herrid King (his parents had a sense of humor)---he is sitting there singing along with us---during one song, “I Think I Love You”, I pause for dramatic affect…and he kept on singing the next word ---it was hilarious…during the group sing-a-long for Supererrogation, a good portion of the audience was singing…and Elvis’s audience guinea pig cried when he brought her up!
What a wonderful thing it is to perform for a great audience. There has only been one audience (and I wont tell you who---because what if they want us back!) that was less than receptive---
And now we are heading back home-time enough to do a little laundry and hit the road again.
p.s. I am now a dedicated moose---I quiet my other job!
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