Because I had nothing better to do (pause here while I get up from rolling on the floor laughing my head off), I spent a considerable number of hours at the River City Playhouse in Ilwaco last week helping prepare for the show opening on October 14th.
When I say “considerable,” I mean six or seven hours each day for five or six days, so let’s say I spent somewhere around 35 to 40 hours climbing up and down a variety of ladders, usually with a paintbrush in my hand.
I’m the gal behind the keyboard, remember? Before now, I’d never been a part of the actual backstage construction phase of getting a production ready for the audience. I’ve never seen how flats are stripped and rebuilt, covered in muslin, mounted on the stage, and finally painted to the director’s specifications.
Of course, I came home every day covered in paint and totally exhausted, and I’m afraid my Cape May t-shirt has now become my designated painting shirt. But when you see the show (that’s your part—attending the play) think of me as you watch Inspector Clouseau and Company perform on a stage of hot panther pink.
For a gal who doesn’t “do” ladders, I think I did quite alright!