We all convened in the B&B lounge for a hearty breakfast. Most well-rested, certainly all with good appetites. I enjoyed the tasty little button mushrooms I had with brown toast, but was bewildered by the slice of fresh tomato and cucumber that was offered as an accompaniment to my breakfast. Tasted good though.
the boys with the trailer in the rain...
After stopping to get tape to secure the tarp over the set, we were on the road again, and sure enough the bus was resounding with song in a matter of minutes. These voices. These harmonies. I wonder if this is only possible in an ensemble that has been working together for as long as these guys.
I typed blog entries to the joyful music, frequently gazing up at the magnificent landscape, while Nox and Sisonke took turns at using my camera to take photographs. I knew I had to give them notes from the run yesterday, but postponed it as long as possible so I could continue enjoying the bus choir. They practiced the songs from R & J so that counts as work.
Later, Dion and I exercised our genius in completing several crosswords, including our second challenging cryptic one together.
Smooth sailing quickly turned to rough fare as the afternoon unfolded. And sadly, no camera battery left to document the dramas! After having re-routed a couple of times trying to find a faster road, then missing a turnoff and getting lost (subsequently invalidating our short-cut), the rain started to come down so fiercely that we had to pull over to the side of the road until it settled. I was wondering about the condition of the set in the trailer under such a downpour, especially as the wooded doors for the troupe’s other show ‘Door’, are in danger of swelling when wet, rendering them dysfunctional in performance. Also, the groovy treatment that Barati put on our crate walls is at great risk of being destroyed by the hectic rain. But no-one was talking about it. I suspected that the silence on the subject meant that we were all seriously concerned. Some beastly thunder and snaps of lightening. Misty outside upon the heath.
After some time, we were back on the road, driving carefully through the drizzle. I chatted with Matt, our fight choreographer and crew for the tour. Answering my question of how he came to be here, he told me his story – his parents are South African, but moved to the US when he was very young, so he refers to himself – and has a cool hat with the title- as HALFRICAN (say it with an American accent). Matt finished his theatre degree last May and wanted to spend a year volunteering, and combining that with visiting his second home. As his father had studied at Rhodes, he sent out an email asking around if there was any theatre-related volunteering he could do at the university. The email eventually found its way to Sarah, the company manager at Ubom!, where it was replied to enthusiastically. Now, Matthew is spending a year in Grahamstown as an intern for the company, teaching a community theatre group, writing and directing their shows, as well as running workshops at schools around town. And of course, being the wonderful fight choreographer for Romeo and Juliet. I am selfishly relieved he is with us, not only for the fights, but also as the doors are very heavy and cumbersome, and although I am stronger than I look ( I am), I’m not so strong that I can safely handle the doors. If the rain doesn’t damage them, I might. Matt’s strength and superior genuine positivity are a great asset to the tour. He must have twice the positivity I have, and I have a lot. ….. He probably has five times my strength. At least.
Matt and Miss Blog
At last we made it to Hilton college, an hour or so late for our tech call. We unloaded the trailer and surveyed the damage. The R&J walls need to be re-treated as the rain had washed all the paper and glue off. The doors, while remaining mostly dry, have several wheels broken off and some other chipping damage and need to be generally, cleaned, sanded, beaten and screw-drivered back into form. The glass on the over-head projector is shattered. While they teched Door (coping remarkably well with the mangled doors) I wrote a list of necessities and liased with Barati, and also asked around the school for whatever assistance possible. At least we have the morning tomorrow to make repairs before workshops begin at 2pm. I also worked through R&J scene by scene with ideas for lighting as I observed what its available to us.
R & J tech – our super technician Tina had lots of great ideas and was very quick with moving through our cues, but just when we thought the days woes were over, the combie got stuck in the mud as we tried to go home to a well-earned rest. Tragic. Innumerous attempts and different tactics. I wandered about hopelessly, thinking who to phone, trying to find help or at least things to put under the wheels for grip, wondering if my adding to the pushing throng would make any difference. Shivering in the rain in a quandary. With Dion behind the wheel, the cast were fierce in the muck, pushing and yelling instructions, sighing, swearing, and pushing again. Ilana fell in the mud and sustained a gracious sense of humour. All the while it rained. All the while I wished I had camera battery….
After half an hour of admirable effort and persistence by the cast, three more able bodies (the next 2 guys teching their show) had heard the grinding engine and our bootless cries and had come to help. At last, the combie emerged from the mud and on to safe ground. We departed in joyous revelry at the success all smattered in various degrees of muddyness, with Dion and I at the lower spectrum, and Ilana taking the cake. Of mud.
muddy hell
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