We had a very busy weekend with performances from Indiana to North Carolina. After High Point, we drove on to Marion, Indiana for a performance at the Phillippe Performing Arts Center on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University.
Now, I grew up in Indiana and, if you mention pizza, Pizza King is a “tradition since 1956.” You can only find Pizza King in Indiana. It’s inextricably connected to my growing up so, it was only natural that I should seek out a Pizza King in Marion.
PHILLIPPE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER – MARION, IN
After a hearty dinner of pizza, we were off to the hotel to get some rest before the show on Friday. We arrived at the Phillippe Performing Arts Center around 11am to find Greg, Phil, and the crew ready to get us loaded into the theatre. This is a really beautiful stage and we had a Sold Out audience of more than 1100 people coming to the show that night. That kind of energy really carries you through the day!
Once everyone was briefly, badged, and signed in, the tasks of getting several tons of equipment from the truck to the stage began. Ethan was on the truck, Cindy and Alan on the stage to direct, Keith was dealing with technical issues, and me – I was just staying out of the way at this point.
The day moved along at a good pace. Cindy structured the show a little differently for this one because they didn’t want an intermission. “Straight through” performances are a bit of a challenge but she had this all figured out.
When it came time to open the doors, a large enthusiastic crowd found their way to their seats. You can feel and hear the excitement in the theatre. I always get such a rush of adrenaline when that energy hits the room. And from the moment we took the stage, the audience was fantastic!
It was great to finally get to work with Nancy and her guys at the Phillippe Center. We’ve been trying to find a date on the calendar for more than 3 years. This time, it worked – and we had a blast!
Several friends also made the trip to see us perform – I mean some people I’ve know since I was a kid (that was a long time ago). Karl English and his wife Susie were there. It was great to see them. And Joseph Jones and his wife, Julie, made the trip down from the “north” with their two kids to see the show too. Always great to reconnect with people!
Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to visit afterwards. Once the show was over, we were back on the road to make the 12 hour drive back to North Carolina!
CLAYTON CENTER – CLAYTON, NC
We drove late that night and then were up very early the next morning to continue the “journey” to North Carolina. We arrived in Clayton around 7pm and found our way to the hotel. Morning came very early! Our performance here was a 4pm matinee so we would need to be at the theatre at the crack of dawn.
Heidi, Steven, Cathy, and the gang were all ready to go as we pulled our truck to the loading area. One of the crew guys told me that there was a nice “buzz” in the community about the show and tickets had been selling briskly. As it turns out, we had another SOLD OUT audience in Clayton.
There was some creative backstage management going on for this show. There was a large room behind the stage where we could store illusions and cases but there was limited space on the stage. Cindy figured that, during intermission, the guys would move out the first half and bring on the second half. To do this, they had to move everything to a part of the stage that was a lift, take it down to the next level, change everything, and bring it back to the stage. It worked perfectly!
We had a great time working with Heidi and her team at the Clayton Center – good people, great fun, hard-working crew, and an amazing audience.
Two SOLD OUT shows this weekend…and now we’re home for a day before heading to Ohio and Michigan.