We arrived at the Lehman Center for the Arts promptly at 8:45am for a 9am load in. I have been very excited about this show for quite some time. We were met by Mark Torchia, the technical director, who gave me directions to the loading dock. Once I was backed into place, the guys from the local IATSE 1 were our crew for the day. Load in went from the trailer to the elevator and then down to the stage. It took three trips but was well organized and very smooth.
Everyone on our team kicked into gear quickly. Matinee performances come rushing at us sometimes. The stage is good size, lots of space, and it was very clean and clear. We have to shift some soft goods around in order to get all of my scenery in the air but no one here was afraid of a little work so it went well. By first break, we had the intelligent lighting hung and all the scenery. Keith had our light board patched and much of the sound set up. Cindy was well on her way to being done backstage and the guys had the illusion unpacked a mostly assembled.
After first break, we had two hours to finish things up and get ready for the 3:30pm doors. The only big challenge we hit was with my microphone. All of the channels that we have access to were “dirty” and we couldn’t find one that would work for us. Thanks to the ingenuity of Donovan, one of the guys from Local 1, he and Keith managed to “create” something that worked incredibly well for the show!
As you can see, the Lehman Center is a huge venue – about 2300 seats. We had a fantastic crowd – not sold out, but very enthusiastic and responsive. The show moved along very well with great volunteers to help on stage and exuberant responses from an appreciate audience. I had so much fun on the stage with this audience. Meeting them in the lobby afterwards was a great way to wrap up the show…and my day.
We were back at the hotel by 7:30pm, grabbed dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, and called it an early night.