We arrived in Parsons, KS late Sunday afternoon. We decided to drop the trailer at the Auditorium because parking at the hotel was going to be difficult. The guys had already talked with the hotel about the parking situation and made arrangements to leave the trailer at the theatre. Besides, it’s less than a block away.
It wasn’t a bad drive from Houma, LA to Parsons, KS – 791.3 miles – but we had two days to make the journey.
Parsons is a quaint Midwestern town in southeast Kansas. We have been here before, many years ago, when we were working in colleges. We performed a couple of times at Labette Community College – at a small theatre on campus. The town is undergoing some “downtown revitalization.â€
Our hotel was downtown as well. It has the potential to be charming, it’s just not there yet. There are two restaurants in the lobby but neither of them was open on Sunday evening. One of them doesn’t open until Thursday. The rooms were small – almost like a YMCA – with similar amenities. There were very few electrical outlets in the rooms and the internet connection was difficult to say the least. It’s definitely not the place for a “business traveler†but a nice place for someone who is trekking across the country and would like a reasonably priced place to spend the night.
I was up early looking for coffee (the rooms had no coffee pots). I found two places on the Downtown Square – The Breakfast Nook and the Bake ‘n Bean. Neither one of them were open on Monday – CLOSED on the door. So, I never did find a cup of coffee this morning. That’s okay. We were scheduled to arrive at the venue at 11am anyway. I knew they would have a pot of coffee there.
We made a quick trip to the local McDonalds for lunch before heading over to the venue. This place has the largest sign I’ve ever seen! Really – it was almost the size of a house!
The crew here was great! Matt and A.J. worked to get the light plot hung before we arrived (we saw them on Sunday night when we dropped off the trailer). The rest of the guys were there, clearing the stage, and getting ready for us to bring in the cases. David and Cindy had to do some major re-thinking of the show. This performance did not include an intermission for a variety of reasons. We really wanted the show to move and we didn’t want parent’s to be concerned about getting their kids home in time for bed. The show started at 7pm and ended around 8:20pm. We did get in a lot of the major illusions though – Split, Spikes, Cube, Brick Wall, Final Destination, and the Milk Can Escape. I know David had to do some hauling backstage to keep things flowing – and it had to be tough on Cindy as well. The show came off well – thanks to the “backstage miracle-workers.â€
The audience – though small – was very good. This town reminded me a lot of Rensselaer, the town I grew up in. The people watched intently, every move, and listened to every word. Their reactions were more expressive than verbal – one of the advantages of being on the stage. You get to SEE their faces, even if you can’t HEAR their responses. I did get to meet many of them afterwards in the lobby and those that I spoke with had a good time.
Tomorrow we begin the drive to Jackson, TN. It’s only 552.6 miles – an easy 10 hour drive. It’s going to be a short driving day though. I have two interviews in the morning – one for an upcoming show in Huntsville, AL and another one for a summer show in Maryland. And then, we have to find a tire for our trailer. The last few thousand miles have been rough on one of them and you can see the steel ply in a small section. It’s not going to last much longer.
So, I’m off to bed…