Our time in Spain has been simply amazing. We have worked with some of the most professional people and made many new friends. It’s hard to believe that we have only one more show before we leave for Italy. Last night, we were at the beautiful Riojaforum in Logrono. I had a good press conference here on Tuesday. This photo is from the Riojaforum’s website after the media blitz.
When I checked the online box office for the Riojaforum, tickets were selling very well – and that always gets me excited! I cannot thank all the people at Serrano Productions enough for their hard work and commitment to this tour. They have been fantastic! By showtime, people were flooding into the theatre. There were so many families and the excitement thoughout the theatre was audible.
The Riojaforum is our furthest venue from Bilbao – about a 1 hour 30 minute drive. Ander picked us up in the lobby of the hotel around 10am. He has been a lot of fun to be with these last few days. He has a great sense of humor, is very funny himself. He is also very professional and has taken great care of us while we have been in Spain. We arrived at the venue around 11:30am and the Transluminaria truck was waiting at the loading dock. After moving past security and dropping off our things in the dressing rooms, we met the stage crew…and then started unloading the truck.
We moved as quickly as possible during the set up. This is a large stage but Alaine had adjusted our light plot to fill the area. We needed some additional masking on our scenery but, in the end, it all came together very well. Our entire team kicked into gear immediately with audio (thanks to Keith and Mikel), lights, and props so we could be ready for the first break at 2pm. I left around 1:30pm to go over to the Bureau of Tourism where they broadcast one of the most important and highly rated radio programs in Spain. This would be similar to NPR in the states and being a guest on All Things Considered. We sat around a small table, each with a microphone, and chatted for about 10 minutes. It was a great opportunity for us to get the word out about the show in San Sebastian on Sunday night.
This is a picture of the street where the studio was located in Logrono…and a bit of the local artwork. Every city has had it’s unique atmosphere but all of them have been spectacular.
After the interview, Ander escorted me back to the Riojaforum where everyone had taken lunch break. Cindy and I enjoyed some quiet time and relaxed. When everyone returned, it was back to work! Oh, I forgot – this is the poster on the front of the theatre!
Elena, my translator, arrived at the venue at 6pm and, within minutes, Ander informed us that one of the two major television stations in Spain wanted to come to the Riojaforum and do an interview and tape some behind-the-scenes footage for a feature on the national news. This was another amazing opportunity to promote our final performance in San Sebastian but, on a much larger scale, increase visibility in all of Spain (again, thank you Serrano Productions!).
Showtime – wow, what an audience! We have had some great audiences but this one was the most responsive we have had during our time here – gasps, laughs, applause, and great volunteers to assist on stage. When the show was over, there were so many people in the lobby…including some of the area magicians who had come to support the show. Ander was kind enough to snap these pictures with his iPhone. He even got a video that I’ll upload later.
After the show was down and packed back into the truck, we started the 90-minute drive back to Bilbao. Unfortunately, we hit some road construction that sent us on a detour on unfamiliar roads. Just as we were finding our way with Ander’s GPS, the batteries died. As we came down one of the local roads, the Civil Guard waved us over…and then they escorted us to the highway entrance! It was perfecto! It was an exciting way to end the day…tomorrow, we rest on our day off!
