Three Minutes of Hell and Other Sordid Tales

Most Esteemed Dudes (let's be honest, it feels good to be called a dude, does it not?),
I have quite the story for you. It is a true tale of woe. It will shake your sinews and infuse your very blood with fear.

Actually, it's not that bad, but it IS the worst thing that has ever happened to me on stage. In my show, there is a scene that very heavily involves a video. Basically, I talk to the video and then I dance while the guy in the video sings (he is the emperor of Storyland and is basically a the floating head of my coworker Jason, which appears to be on fire and there's a green background). Now, there have been times when, for whatever reason, the video has not come up when it's supposed to, so I've had to improvise for a few seconds until it starts. I don't mind this at all. One thing that's always drawn me to live theatre is the fact that you have to deal with any problems or mistakes right in the moment. It's incredibly invigorating and creative.

The morning of the dreaded incident, after a rehearsal, my understudy had voiced her concern over video, as she'd seen the show once or twice when it didn't start right away. "Don't worry," I had told her, "The video always comes up eventually, you just have to think of a few things to do or say in case it doesn't start right away." Little did I know that in making this statement, I was cursing myself.

Later that day, during the first of two performances, the video did not come on. I did what I usually do, I looked around, wondering aloud where I was and marveling at how much my surroundings looked like the pictures in my story book. The thing was, the video did not come up after a few seconds. Oh no, friends, we're talking minutes now. So there I was, on stage with only a broken castle wall and two trees to work with. I called out asking if anyone was there. I looked into what hopefully appeared to be the heavens but was actually the tech booth and pleaded for someone, anyone to help me. I did and said any number of things that I don't clearly remember at this point.

Finally, I said that I was going to go and try to find someone to help me and ran off stage, thinking that the tech folks could bring down the lights and we could communicate over walky-talky to decide what to do. When I got off stage, they did not bring down the lights. Instead a stagehand came up to me and very apologetically said, "Uh... Oh-lay-na? Computer... no. Computer no. One more minute?" I gave him the ultimate "you've got to be kidding me" look and headed back out on stage with a large stick (the only thing I could find on my way back out) and continued to improvise.

I could see my fellow cast-member who plays my father sitting in the stage-right wing laughing his face off at me. He couldn't have come out on stage to help me because that would have completely ruined the plot. I suggested at one point during the harrowing episode, that "maybe a dragon could come help me," but my friend who plays the dragon apparently didn't get the memo.

In the end, after what felt like about two and a half-lifetimes (which is why I estimate it to have been approximately 3 minutes), the video came on. At that point, I was almost angry with the video for prolonging my time on stage. I felt incredibly shaken for the rest of the show and of course at the points when I wasn't on stage, all I could think of were better things I could have done during the three minutes of hell.

I cannot tell you how terrifying this experience was for me. But hey, I survived and it's another notch on my belt of crazy theatrical experiences. Also, it's a good lesson that if I ever have to work with a video again, I had better think up a battle plan for this kind of incident in advance.

I don't have a picture of the incident...


So instead I bring you a picture of my bathtub exploding with bubbles. Things got a little out of hand while drawing this particular bath, but let me tell you it was truly the bubble bath to end all bubble baths.

So you know that part in the title about other sordid tales? That's pretty much a lie. I don't have much else to report and it's all good stuff. Work continues to be fun. Apart from the fateful 3 minutes described above, I am having a total ball doing the show. I just love it and have a great time every time I do it (we've done it 31 times so far!).

The other night I made Mexican food for about ten of my friends.


Here are a few of the lovely ladies who came over to partake. The meal was well-received and I had fun cooking and chatting.

After the food, a few ladies hung around to drink wine and watch The Other Boleyn Girl. We enjoyed the movie and were so inspired by the crazy house-like hats warn by the women in it that...


we made our own! In this picture we are trying to look fraught and scandalized. Well, some of us are.


A few nights ago the Edutainer ladies had a fun night of games and dancing. Here are a few of us breaking it down. I do love a good dance party. In fact, last night I stayed out dancing in Seoul until dawn. I hadn't had a full night of dancing and dancing and dancing some more in a long, long time, so it was refreshing and fun.

And that, righteous Dudes, is all she wrote.