An electronic journal of my summer as a member of the 50th anniversary cast of ''Horn in the West''.

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Not much to report. Thursday, we were under rain pace most of the show and Cynthia substituted for Beth as Mrs. Stuart. Friday, we had almost everyone back. Kathy wasn't there (she had tickets to a concert at ASU), so I had to find people to be my "wife" through the show.

One good thing to happen was I finally got some sleep Friday. Good thing I talked to Jen and got our schedule changed around for next week. Which reminds me, I need to make a rehearsal schedule so we can all be on the same page next week.

It turns out I'm going to have to go to the Wilkes Heritage Festival after all. Darrell told me he has to be in Boone for Alumni Weekend registration, so I get to be Preacher Sims for the day. Hoo-ray.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Through July 18:
Rainouts: 2
Rain Delays: 1
Rain Pace calls: 7
Standing Ovations: 8
Understudy Substitutions: 3

posted by Clintster at 11:13 AM [edit]

Well, here it is Thursday already, and I have been so involved in other stuff that I haven't had time to account my adventures the last couple of days. Well, here goes nothing...

Tuesday was my show as Dr. Stuart. I was nervous as hell, of course, but once I hit the stage, I went in and did my job. It was kinda like riding a rollercoaster for the first time; it's nerve-wracking going up the hill, but once you crest it, it's a fun ride the rest of the way. Everyone wished me well before the show, and the regular principals were very helpful in helping me around the stage when I needed it. Afterwards, there were hugs all around and people from the audience congratualted me on doing so well. Many were surprised that I was an understudy, with some even thinking I was Michael Brogdon. Not a bad night, considering that we were missing five people (six, if you count my not being in my regular role). Did I mention we had our SEVENTH standing O that night? Well, we did.

Wednesday was another matter, however. Small crowd, and everything seemed to just fall apart. I almost had to go on again, as Michael was rushing to get back from Valdosta GA. He made it six minutes before I would have started to get ready. It was pretty sad; neither my cannon NOR my rifle went off during the battle. There were other things that went awry during the evening, but I'm trying to block them out of my mind. Improv was much better, though, as we went on as the world famous metal gods Keep Your Pants On. I even broke out my leathers for the show. Luckily, they fit quite nicely.

Nightmare has been going okay, although I have been worried about it. On the positive side, we've been able to use the Powderhorn for the most part during the day. The downside is that I've had to deal with absences. Jen was fired for about 20 minutes today, due to her absences and what I perceived as a lack of dedication on her part. She came in, and nearly cried when she assured me that she was a dependable person who had simply had a bad week. I brought her back into the cast, and she has offered to take the next week off to concentrate on the show. Hopefully that will be the final barrier to making a great show, aside from Adam's current state of illness.

Tonight, Cynthia goes on as Mrs. Stuart. I wish her all the best, if we get to do the show tonight. It's looking awfully rainy outside as I type this, and it seems little hope of abating anytime soon. I'm crossing my fingers though. This is the Summer of the Understudies, dammit, and we have a reputation to live up to. :)

BY THE NUMBERS:
Through July 18:
Rainouts: 2
Rain Delays: 1
Rain Pace calls: 6
Standing Ovations: 7
Understudy Substitutions: 2
posted by Clintster at 5:24 PM [edit]

Last night was a disappointing show, as far as audiences go. It was a small crowd, and those that were there seemed like they had been forced to be there. I was trying my best to get a reaction out of them, but nothing happened. :P

Following the show, Michael S. asked to see all the cast members from Midsummer. He let everyone know (in no uncertain terms) that he wanted everyone to be there for all rehearsals from now on. The poor guy is under a lot of pressure right now; I kinda know how he feels. I'm going to be going in as Dr. Stuart tomorrow, and I don't know if I'm ready. Guess we'll find out.

Not much to add. Maybe I'll do another edition of "Meet the Cast" later tonight.
posted by Clintster at 7:42 PM [edit]

Tonight's (Saturday) show was an interesting one. Act I ran as smoothly as it ever has, and in fact I think it went the best that it has all year. But then Act II had to follow it.

First Cynthia lost the skirt to her costume when it fell off right before she was to go onstage. Then a few minutes later someone else had skirt problems. Then someone spotted a black cat on the stage. Someone else swore that there were in fact TWO cats, but I can't confirm that. Then came the cluster of bad luck that was the battle. My cannon didn't go off (later found to be a short in the lines), and then Michael dropped his knife in his battle with Mark. Luckily Darrell was there to pick it up and give it to him before he stabbed McKenzie. To top it all off, Katherine was cold and nervous, and her solo on "Black, Black, Black" came out shaky. All in all, it was a pretty miserable time in the Horn in the West.

On the brighter side of things, I received some unexpected visitors to the show tonight. First, there was Cletus Griffin, a former castmate at Snow Camp. And then there was Drew Davis and friends from Aiken. It was good to see them, even though I was a little down from the Act of Horrors.
posted by Clintster at 1:59 AM [edit]