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**TOUR DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer.
This post covers Friday through Sunday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
FRIDAY
Was up too early again, with BATB music slamming through my brain on loop.
This is very normal for me on tour/during tech week. There's an OCD part of my brain that screams, "THIS IS IMPORTANT" and won't let me stop thinking about the music we're working on for a while. Once I feel more comfortable and am freaking out less it'll wear off.
As I was making breakfast, caught glimpses of my BATB lanyard and water bottle out of the corner of my eye, and each time had a little rush of "This is real, you're really here!" The last time I felt this weird excitement and exhilaration was when I first joined the circus. Knowing that you have a dream gig is different than accepting that you have a dream gig. It's gonna take a while to sink in.
Everything's gonna take a while. I'm impatient, but time is the only answer for a lot of things in life.
Rehearsal was much the same as yesterday except we went more slowly through everything, with a lot of time for clarifying articulations and dynamics, asking questions about this or that in our parts, trying out a few small changes for the MD and for keycomp, and generally just working on making the music BETTER.
I don't know how to describe to non-musicians how different, and refreshing, this rehearsal is.
We are on the second day and there's no question that we can all play the part. We could play the show NOW.
The combination of professionalism, discipline, and skill in the craft which we refer to as musicianship is on another level.
That's not to insult anyone. I'm saying that having worked primarily non-union tours up to this point, I can compare and see that there is a difference in how this tech rehearsal is going compared to others I've done.
Anyway, before I dig myself a hole or offend any fellow musicians,
We covered the entire show again and didn't quite get out early this time, but that's ok.
I ate dinner at the hotel and walked to a CVS for no reason other that exercise, logging about 4 miles round trip.
And that was the day. Oh, in the theater lobby today they added Belle's costumes! The "village dress" and the ball gown.
I took close-ups of the fabric. The blue dress looks like it's got embroidery but it seems to be just a print.
But the ball gown has some SERIOUS Swarovski going on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY
The time frame was the same, but this time we planned to do run-throughs.
We pretty much accomplished that, and just nitpicked and discussed the move to the pit for the rest of the time.
During lunch break I raided the Company Management office for candy (muahahaha) then went backstage and found some stagehands to help drill holes into both of my mutes. I think I mentioned this in a previous post but doing this creates less resistance and allows the mutes to sound better for some notes. I was hoping not to have to resort to this but here we are. Can't wait to try out Ilan's 3D-printed mutes after the layoff.
After the last chunk of rehearsal we packed up our things and moved them to the pit area.
For the first time in my tour life, I'll be on the side nearest the audience! Usually I'm at the far end under the lip of the stage. I kind of prefer that because I can get out easily if I need to, and I'm generally less visible. BUT from this new position I should be able to have a better view of the stage! I feel a bit dubious (humans fret over changes to established patterns after all) but am sure I'll come to appreciate my spot :) I'll take a picture tomorrow once my stuff is in place.
Of course it's also SUPER tight down there and I've NO IDEA how I'm going to juggle two trombones plus mutes!
But that is the clown-car miracle that must take place in every pit! LOL!
Here is my avoim (personal mixer.)
With this I can make my own "mix" of the other musicians' playing, and control how much of them I want to hear, as well as the actors, backing/sample tracks, and the MD's talkback mic. In general I prefer lots of bass and drums, with keys a close second and minimal levels of the remaining instruments. But this time we have no bass...or rather, I AM the bass! So I will probably want more of my own self in the mix, more of the keycomp software bass instruments, and more reed 2 because he's got a bass clarinet.
Here is the stand that's been built to hold the aviom. Normally it would just be mounted on a mic stand. This has got outlets AND USB/lightning connectors, which we are allowed to use!! Sweet!
And here is my fuzzy little mic :) I've never had one like this so no idea how it compares to what I'm used to, but that's an Audio Dept problem :P
While I was setting up my trombone stands, they were in full tech rehearsal on stage.
In full costume and full set pieces. I only got a few glimpses.
IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
It was apparent from a glance: this show is on another level.
Again, I CANNOT believe that I get to be a part of this.
And I will be praying to god every day and night with every breath in and out of my body that this isn't taken away from me.
Just, there really aren't words. This experience is once-in-a-lifetime. It's a treasure. It WILL BE a treasure.
Ok, ok. Enough sappy.
Our schedule had said "6pm-9pm: move to pit" so I'd thought we would be REALLY setting up tonight and maybe even doing a sound check. But we probably couldn't do that without disrupting the rehearsal on stage, so everyone just dropped their gear and vanished into thin air. I stuck around to gawk and feel my heart shivering over the magnitude of this show, as described, and eventually slipped out the stage door. On the way back to the hotel I happened past a metaphysical shop that was still open and popped in hoping for a candle (I like to make my hotel room smell nice.) They did have a good selection of locally-made soy candles, and I found a wonderful chai tea scent that was so strong I don't even really need to light it, just keeping it open in the room releases a soft comforting scent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY
Our call time was an hour earlier, but it wasn't a "be ready to play" call time, it was a "this is when we're allowed in the pit" call time. And what that REALLY means is, "This is when you're going to stand around for 30 to 60 minutes while a whole lot of setup happens around you, after which you may enter the pit," haha.
To the crew's credit, we only stood around for maybe 20 minutes while they got our space hooked up with big plexi shields and sound-muffling foam. As mentioned earlier, I am seated against the outer pit wall which is new to me. It's a bit tight, but everywhere is a bit tight for everyone. Quite normal for older theater pits to be small, and we make it work.
I ultimately ended up with both trombones to my left, instead of the tenor cross-body in front of me. I'd suspected that this would be the case at least for the tighter pits, and it's not a problem. Our French hornist wanted to be walled off from the trumpet and I, I suppose that's what she's used to but personally I found it a bit weird. The drum cage is behind me this time; I wonder if it'll be there usually or if it just depends on the pit. It's a REALLY nice drum cage, probably the nicest I've seen. I'll get pics at some point.
For now, here is my boring setup. I've got it on wide view so there is less space than you think.
Because the trombone is a long and thin instrument, my primary concern is always space in front of me for the slide, and space at the back of my head for the tuning slides to extend behind me. Everything after that is secondary.
Once we were mostly comfortable we did a sound check starting with drums. It's a tedious process of playing misc instruments slowly, in order, in front of each corresponding mic so that sound crew can get levels on each and every thing, and so that we musicians can adjust our mixes to what we want. I like to create three different mixes: One is panned to left earbud only, the other is panned to right earbud only, and the last is in both ears, but all three have the same general balance of instruments. I've found it helpful to have those choices as we perform in pits of different sizes, shapes, acoustic qualities, and seating arrangements.
After we'd all sound checked, we played through several show numbers. This helps sound to set levels that will be kept for each number of the show, and of course to continue adjusting us individually and as a group.
At this point I started getting pretty flustered with my playing. I hadn't gotten to warm up while setup was occurring, and was also not used to the new space yet. We got through almost the first 1/4 of the show before our rehearsal was over for the day. By the time we were finished I was outright irritated with myself. But also, I've been doing this for a long time and know that for as long as I am alive there will be days like this, where I feel inadequate and insecure. It's part of being human. So I let myself feel whatever I need to feel, then give myself a little pep talk about why I'm being silly, and then make sure not to carry any negativity into the next day so I can start over fresh.
Today's pep talk went like this:
Yesterday I was happy with my playing.
And the only thing that changed, from yesterday to today, was the performance environment.
My existing skill level did not change between yesterday and today.
Therefore I have nothing to be upset about.
It was such a reasonable argument that I couldn't dispute it and couldn't stay mad at myself.
I went outside and found that it was a lovely day with an adorable farmers market in progress!
I walked carefully through all of the stalls and by huge force of will, did not buy anything!
But it was a joy to look at all the fresh veggies and baked goods and handcrafted wares :)
Lunch at the hotel then an Uber to Target (the reason I'd avoided buying anything at the market.)
Now that I have a trunk the plan is to store a large packing cube of clothes in there, and that means I could pick up some extra clothes before the layoff in July. I found two comfy pajama bottoms, a thin silky bathrobe, two cheap t-shirts, and two niceish tank tops. Also got some supplemental tupperware and yes, a few groceries too. Back at the hotel I washed and folded all of my clothes, packed food for tomorrow, and relaxed with tea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: A pretty long day with sound check and rehearsal in the pit with "sound design," which I think just means "the audio department" lol.
Tuesday: A half-day that ends at noon. Maybe this will be my time to enjoy a Foodie Find!
This post covers Friday through Sunday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
FRIDAY
Was up too early again, with BATB music slamming through my brain on loop.
This is very normal for me on tour/during tech week. There's an OCD part of my brain that screams, "THIS IS IMPORTANT" and won't let me stop thinking about the music we're working on for a while. Once I feel more comfortable and am freaking out less it'll wear off.
As I was making breakfast, caught glimpses of my BATB lanyard and water bottle out of the corner of my eye, and each time had a little rush of "This is real, you're really here!" The last time I felt this weird excitement and exhilaration was when I first joined the circus. Knowing that you have a dream gig is different than accepting that you have a dream gig. It's gonna take a while to sink in.
Everything's gonna take a while. I'm impatient, but time is the only answer for a lot of things in life.
Rehearsal was much the same as yesterday except we went more slowly through everything, with a lot of time for clarifying articulations and dynamics, asking questions about this or that in our parts, trying out a few small changes for the MD and for keycomp, and generally just working on making the music BETTER.
I don't know how to describe to non-musicians how different, and refreshing, this rehearsal is.
We are on the second day and there's no question that we can all play the part. We could play the show NOW.
The combination of professionalism, discipline, and skill in the craft which we refer to as musicianship is on another level.
That's not to insult anyone. I'm saying that having worked primarily non-union tours up to this point, I can compare and see that there is a difference in how this tech rehearsal is going compared to others I've done.
Anyway, before I dig myself a hole or offend any fellow musicians,
We covered the entire show again and didn't quite get out early this time, but that's ok.
I ate dinner at the hotel and walked to a CVS for no reason other that exercise, logging about 4 miles round trip.
And that was the day. Oh, in the theater lobby today they added Belle's costumes! The "village dress" and the ball gown.
I took close-ups of the fabric. The blue dress looks like it's got embroidery but it seems to be just a print.
But the ball gown has some SERIOUS Swarovski going on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY
The time frame was the same, but this time we planned to do run-throughs.
We pretty much accomplished that, and just nitpicked and discussed the move to the pit for the rest of the time.
During lunch break I raided the Company Management office for candy (muahahaha) then went backstage and found some stagehands to help drill holes into both of my mutes. I think I mentioned this in a previous post but doing this creates less resistance and allows the mutes to sound better for some notes. I was hoping not to have to resort to this but here we are. Can't wait to try out Ilan's 3D-printed mutes after the layoff.
After the last chunk of rehearsal we packed up our things and moved them to the pit area.
For the first time in my tour life, I'll be on the side nearest the audience! Usually I'm at the far end under the lip of the stage. I kind of prefer that because I can get out easily if I need to, and I'm generally less visible. BUT from this new position I should be able to have a better view of the stage! I feel a bit dubious (humans fret over changes to established patterns after all) but am sure I'll come to appreciate my spot :) I'll take a picture tomorrow once my stuff is in place.
Of course it's also SUPER tight down there and I've NO IDEA how I'm going to juggle two trombones plus mutes!
But that is the clown-car miracle that must take place in every pit! LOL!
Here is my avoim (personal mixer.)
With this I can make my own "mix" of the other musicians' playing, and control how much of them I want to hear, as well as the actors, backing/sample tracks, and the MD's talkback mic. In general I prefer lots of bass and drums, with keys a close second and minimal levels of the remaining instruments. But this time we have no bass...or rather, I AM the bass! So I will probably want more of my own self in the mix, more of the keycomp software bass instruments, and more reed 2 because he's got a bass clarinet.
Here is the stand that's been built to hold the aviom. Normally it would just be mounted on a mic stand. This has got outlets AND USB/lightning connectors, which we are allowed to use!! Sweet!
And here is my fuzzy little mic :) I've never had one like this so no idea how it compares to what I'm used to, but that's an Audio Dept problem :P
While I was setting up my trombone stands, they were in full tech rehearsal on stage.
In full costume and full set pieces. I only got a few glimpses.
IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
It was apparent from a glance: this show is on another level.
Again, I CANNOT believe that I get to be a part of this.
And I will be praying to god every day and night with every breath in and out of my body that this isn't taken away from me.
Just, there really aren't words. This experience is once-in-a-lifetime. It's a treasure. It WILL BE a treasure.
Ok, ok. Enough sappy.
Our schedule had said "6pm-9pm: move to pit" so I'd thought we would be REALLY setting up tonight and maybe even doing a sound check. But we probably couldn't do that without disrupting the rehearsal on stage, so everyone just dropped their gear and vanished into thin air. I stuck around to gawk and feel my heart shivering over the magnitude of this show, as described, and eventually slipped out the stage door. On the way back to the hotel I happened past a metaphysical shop that was still open and popped in hoping for a candle (I like to make my hotel room smell nice.) They did have a good selection of locally-made soy candles, and I found a wonderful chai tea scent that was so strong I don't even really need to light it, just keeping it open in the room releases a soft comforting scent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY
Our call time was an hour earlier, but it wasn't a "be ready to play" call time, it was a "this is when we're allowed in the pit" call time. And what that REALLY means is, "This is when you're going to stand around for 30 to 60 minutes while a whole lot of setup happens around you, after which you may enter the pit," haha.
To the crew's credit, we only stood around for maybe 20 minutes while they got our space hooked up with big plexi shields and sound-muffling foam. As mentioned earlier, I am seated against the outer pit wall which is new to me. It's a bit tight, but everywhere is a bit tight for everyone. Quite normal for older theater pits to be small, and we make it work.
I ultimately ended up with both trombones to my left, instead of the tenor cross-body in front of me. I'd suspected that this would be the case at least for the tighter pits, and it's not a problem. Our French hornist wanted to be walled off from the trumpet and I, I suppose that's what she's used to but personally I found it a bit weird. The drum cage is behind me this time; I wonder if it'll be there usually or if it just depends on the pit. It's a REALLY nice drum cage, probably the nicest I've seen. I'll get pics at some point.
For now, here is my boring setup. I've got it on wide view so there is less space than you think.
Because the trombone is a long and thin instrument, my primary concern is always space in front of me for the slide, and space at the back of my head for the tuning slides to extend behind me. Everything after that is secondary.
Once we were mostly comfortable we did a sound check starting with drums. It's a tedious process of playing misc instruments slowly, in order, in front of each corresponding mic so that sound crew can get levels on each and every thing, and so that we musicians can adjust our mixes to what we want. I like to create three different mixes: One is panned to left earbud only, the other is panned to right earbud only, and the last is in both ears, but all three have the same general balance of instruments. I've found it helpful to have those choices as we perform in pits of different sizes, shapes, acoustic qualities, and seating arrangements.
After we'd all sound checked, we played through several show numbers. This helps sound to set levels that will be kept for each number of the show, and of course to continue adjusting us individually and as a group.
At this point I started getting pretty flustered with my playing. I hadn't gotten to warm up while setup was occurring, and was also not used to the new space yet. We got through almost the first 1/4 of the show before our rehearsal was over for the day. By the time we were finished I was outright irritated with myself. But also, I've been doing this for a long time and know that for as long as I am alive there will be days like this, where I feel inadequate and insecure. It's part of being human. So I let myself feel whatever I need to feel, then give myself a little pep talk about why I'm being silly, and then make sure not to carry any negativity into the next day so I can start over fresh.
Today's pep talk went like this:
Yesterday I was happy with my playing.
And the only thing that changed, from yesterday to today, was the performance environment.
My existing skill level did not change between yesterday and today.
Therefore I have nothing to be upset about.
It was such a reasonable argument that I couldn't dispute it and couldn't stay mad at myself.
I went outside and found that it was a lovely day with an adorable farmers market in progress!
I walked carefully through all of the stalls and by huge force of will, did not buy anything!
But it was a joy to look at all the fresh veggies and baked goods and handcrafted wares :)
Lunch at the hotel then an Uber to Target (the reason I'd avoided buying anything at the market.)
Now that I have a trunk the plan is to store a large packing cube of clothes in there, and that means I could pick up some extra clothes before the layoff in July. I found two comfy pajama bottoms, a thin silky bathrobe, two cheap t-shirts, and two niceish tank tops. Also got some supplemental tupperware and yes, a few groceries too. Back at the hotel I washed and folded all of my clothes, packed food for tomorrow, and relaxed with tea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: A pretty long day with sound check and rehearsal in the pit with "sound design," which I think just means "the audio department" lol.
Tuesday: A half-day that ends at noon. Maybe this will be my time to enjoy a Foodie Find!
