This is a small town – less than 1900 people – but it is nestled in a beautiful location and it happened to be on route from Blackfoot, ID to Austin, TX. When we were contacted by Blue Mountain Entertainment located here, it seemed like good routing and scheduling. But we had some major reservations about this performance tonight. We were concerned about the size of the stage and were unable to get much information about the technical capabilities of the venue before we arrived. Keith and Nolan made a trip over to the theatre last night and were able to give Cindy and I some idea of what was coming at us.
As we pulled in today, we found a group of volunteers who were willing to do whatever needed to be done to make the show happened. Cindy scoped the space and was able to put together a show with great variety of illusions in spite of the limited space. Nolan and the volunteers got the cases off the truck and on the stage and then, we dismissed everyone. This would be a day that only our team would be working to make it happen.
Keith and I had a great lighting system to work with – a new ETC lightboard and fixtures. Unfortunately, we were a new type of act for this venue and we were a bit more technically advance than what they were used to.
After a busy afternoon, each of us were able to get this show in the air ready for the evening performance. We even had a little time to walk down the street to the local grocery store. I found a new candy bar there that I had never seen or tasted before – Idaho Spud!
I actually bought two of these candy bars. I gave one to Cindy. She took a bite and gave it back to me. I took a bite…and came to the conclusion this is a candy bar for the “less discriminating” candy lover! But you gotta love the name!!
We came back to the theatre and found dinner waiting – homemade lasagna, salad, green beans, winter squash, and strawberry shortcake!
It was showtime before we knew it and doors were getting ready to open. The crowd started rolling in…and they just kept coming, and coming, and coming! The theatre was packed – standing room only. And, eventually, they had to start turning people away. Those that did get a seat, were a very appreciative and responsive audience. This was the biggest crowd they’ve ever had – and we were delighted to be the artists to bring them in and help expose a new group of people to Blue Mountain Entertainment.
In the end, we had a good day, a great show, and a wonderful audience!