Still Here

Well, I guess I was not one of the ones taken up in the Camping rapture tonight. None of my audience members were either. We diid our two shows today with very little input from the earthquakes that were suppose to signal the end.
It has been a very strange week however.
First it was the issue with the set opening night. We weathered that inconvenience and the show went up on time. Friday night presented a different set of problems. When we came to the theatre with two hours before show time John turned on the dimmer board and it was completely locked down. It was flashing cues from the previous show at the theatre and no button would react the way it was supposed to. John is a genius and if he can not figure out what is going on with a lighting board, then it is a serious situation. He said he had never seen a board react like that. It was as if it was haunted. There was a discussion that we might have to cancel the show since there was absolutely no light on stage. The board completely quit.
John was able to contact the manufacture of the equipment and they were able to give him a solution for turning it on, but the cues were not responding. Finally, he was able to program in the first few cues after a curtain hold of ten minutes and programed the rest of the show on the fly. He stayed a couple of scenes ahead of me and got the right lights at the right time... just in time. He was so good that I didn't even notice what he was doing, it was virtually seamless. I made an announcement after the show to let the audience know that John Ivy had been able to pull off what should have been an impossible task at the time I did not know how impossible it really was. It is very comforting to know that I am in such capable hands technically when I take the stage. Live theatre, it is like nothing that anyone can ever repeat. I know this show is blessed because it found John Ivy to be the keeper of the lights and sound.
It was also a weird show for more reasons than the lighting board. Squeaky, my main man and star of the show, decided to create an issue. Art Sieving, who created this amazing puppet, said, "The only thing you might need to replace some day is the cord that goes around the mouth pulley," That day came on Friday, May 20, 2011 which was 43 years after he was built. That cord broke at the end of his routine at the Friday night show. He finished his performance and only I knew from having my hand on the controls that something had happened. I assumed it was the very thing that Art had told me to be aware of.
I gave Squeaky the once over Friday night after the show and indeed it was the cord. I was up early and went to a near by Target store to get the supplies I needed and it was a fix that took no more than an hour. Easy to do because Art had made it so accessible. Squeaky is better than ever, and performed extremely well tonight. Because the first major repair to my friend came after 43 years of use speaks volumes to the craftsmanship with which Art created my partner. This show is a valentine to Art Sieving and I can think of no greater tribute than to know that he has been flawless for over four decades. Art I think you are watching what is going on each night... but I want to say publicly that you inspire me still and I will always be in your debt. Harry is well and living a retired life in Encino but wishes you were here with him to perform again, I am a poor substitute for you artistry my friend.
As you were,
Jay