After a long drive from Hutchinson, KS to the St. Louis, MO area, we checked into our hotel to try and get some sleep. The goal was to be in bed by 10pm because we had to be up at 5am! We had a 6:30am arrival and 7am load in at the Florissant Civic Theatre for two performances – 2pm and 7pm. The weather turned bad around 8pm with tornado warnings and watches all around us and then the thunder storms and lighting.
We were up on time and at the theatre ready to go with the load in. The crew was there bright and early as well. Load in went smoothly because the crew worked hard. The show went up very fast – seems we’re setting lots of records these days with set up! I think part of that is because David is doing such a good job advancing the dates. Technical Directors know exactly what we need when we get there and, for the most part, it’s ready when we arrive. That certainly makes the day so easier and quicker.
This is a really nice theatre, intimate seating but very nice stage. We were able to get the full show onto the stage and all the scenery and drops. Kylie did an exceptional job with the intelligent lighting here and it really looked awesome. Cindy was experimenting with the new hazers that we just got from our wonderful tech guy – Tom Pitts at Thomas James Productions. We are the proud owners of the first two new Unique hazers from Look Industries (Germany) in the U.S. – new technology that will make the show better.
We had several of the local magicians attend the 2pm performance. I had the chance to visit with them briefly after the show before my next meeting. We always appreciate the support of the locals. After the meetings, we had to begin to reset everything for the 7pm show.
The evening show also went very well…with a larger audience than the matinee (which is often the case for us). But in both shows, we had great volunteers to help us out.
We loaded out, went to Waffle House for a quick meal and then back to the hotel. We were all exhausted! I jumped out of the bed around 3am when the storms came crashing through the area – golf ball size hail was smashing into our window and the wind was strong and loud. We thought it might be a tornado since there were watches and warnings out again until 4am. We finally got back to sleep around 4am only to be awakened again when the room phone rang around 5am – wrong number!
Today we drove to Terre Haute, IN where we had the chance to spend some time with Tom Pitts, pick up some new toys and supplies. It’s always a pleasure to come through here and see Tom. He keeps on show on the road!
Tomorrow, we drive on to Pennsylvania!