Testing, One Two

The above could have saved us a lot of bother today, but in school one (as in many schools) we don't have time for microphone checks. This is usually not anyone's fault; the teachers simply assume that because a set has mystically built itself in the hall that this is their cue to usher their horde of young people in to watch us tread the boards.

Of course, had we done a mic check, it would have been obvious that my little black mouthpiece wasn't transmitting my velvety voice to the big black speakers either side of the stage. It became apparent halfway though the show, and since it was a small hall and there was no way to fix it quickly, we just went with it.

As I blog more and more you may notice less and less mention of the show itself, simply because there are only so many things to say, or things to (touch wood) go wrong. Today is the first example of such, because today I looked in the mirror and to my brain's astonishment uttered the words, 'my shoulders look great.' Odd thing to say, even for me, but they really do. I didn't even know shoulders could look lean or toned. By the end of the tour I'll be more like Chris Pratt than William Shatner, and I'm looking forward to that.

Survival of the Fittest

"Get the one at the back, she's a scaredy cat."
"Dindorf, you bastard!"
"Sorry Grace, survival of the fittest and all that, have fun!"

This was just one brief outburst which occurred when half of Team Tomato (Grace and me) plus special guests Charlotte and Ben took on the York Maze Hallowscream, which is very aptly named. (The remainder of Team Tomato, having spent a delightful day of eating, drinking, and merriment with us in York, had booked themselves a nice relaxed date night. I can't say I blame them.)

The York Maze Hallowscream event is a long-running institution with a well-deserved reputation for terror. Which it delivers in droves. I love it. Being a gentle giant, I don't get scared easily (unless you count spiders, falling, or certain video games) so it's great fun to lead the procession of wimps around a horror maze. At points I genuinely jumped out of my skin and without exaggeration one particular encounter caused me to cling to Charlotte to the point of causing her pain. It's a good thing she loves me.

It's Friday Once Again

Shows: good.

Post-show food, drink, and company: exquisite, if somewhat decadent.

Verdict: sleep now.

Along Came a Spider

Today a number of amusing things happened. The most interesting didn't directly involve me.

Grace, who manages to play five different characters in the show, demonstrated that all animals can co-exist, and even perform together, in harmony. Well, sort of. Unbeknownst to me, Tick-Tic the Crocodile stepped onto stage with what was described as a 'massive' spider on his head. This was made even more amusing as, during the following scene, Emily and I were backstage hunting for said spider amongst the discarded costume. Our efforts were in vain, and caused us to miss a sound cue, which was even more amusing because Grace and Joe were on stage dramatically listening for said cue.

Live theatre, eh? Bugs and all.

Put Your Hands Together

Lots happened today. It was Gemma's last day with us, which was a bit sad. We had a rather hectic couple of get-ins, but nothing Team Tomato couldn't handle. My personal favourite moment of the day was during the finale of our second show. Our closing voiceover asked everyone to "put their hands together for the cast of this magical pantomime!" Two girls near the front took this very literally, pressing their hands together as if in prayer and looking very confused when everyone around them began to applaud vigorously. Absolutely adorable.

And to top it off, Stardust is on Film4. Perfect end to the day.

Everything was Going so Well

And then it slowly starts to break down.. oh don't get your hopes up, the team are doing fine and I'm nowhere near throwing in the towel. The same may not be said for some of our equipment though. Wheels askew here, brackets snapping there, hooks falling out of things (thankfully not my character's namesake), it's all crumbling before my very eyes!

Do we despair? My dear minions, we are ac-tors (the hyphen is for exaggerated pronunciation)! When the going gets tough we roll up our sleeves, grab a roll of gaffa tape, proclaim that "the show must go on!" to no-one in particular, and knuckle down for the ride.

And damned if it's not a jolly good ride!

The Fifth Man (is a Woman)

Today, the group became hugely unbalanced in favour of the fairer sex. Joe, needing to take his leave for a couple of days, is being temporarily replaced by Gemma, a woman. Not that I'm complaining. Of course I do miss our Joe already, but things aren't so bad here. I mean yes we did have to do a run of more or less the entire show this evening, we have to do a couple of runs of the sword fight before tomorrow's shows, and heaven only knows what the dances will look like, but that's the fun of it! For a couple of days we move out of comfortable, happy, straightforward show and into panic, hit the deck, adrenaline-junkie show!

This gets better and better.