Friday May 30, 2008, Saturday, May 31, 2008 and Sunday June 1, 2008
Days 13, 14 and 15
Things seem to be falling into a pattern as far as work. So, you ask, what exactly do I do? Well, at each city we get to the crew goes over to the theater to supervise and load-in all our roadboxes and equipment. Wardrobe (Maggie and Val), stage management (Les and Spencer) and I walk all around the theater examining all the dressing rooms in order to assign the rooms in a logical manner. Shanghai was difficult because all the rooms were spread out and Dennis assigned the upstairs “vip” dressing rooms to a lot of people. My room ended up at the bottom of a seriously long set of stairs that led to the stage. On one hand it was great that I was on the same level as wardrobe but it made for lots of trips up and down stairs. In spite of the stairs, I still think it was the best place for that particular theater. In the other 2 theaters there was enough room for me to be next door to Maximo and Karen – the 2 leads that I have to work on the fastest. Karen is the princess in Firebird and Max is the evil green guy, “The Immortal Kastchi” (at least I think that’s how its spelled). Fortunately, Ali and Maria (who switch off as Firebird) don’t dance in the first ballet (Firebird is always the second ballet) come to me at half hour for makeup and hair. When I’m lucky, if Karen isn’t dancing in the first ballet, she will come to me 10 minutes before Ali so I get 2 out of 3 done way ahead of time. Because Rudy and Ramon had passport problems they didn’t come and now Max has to dance in Serenade so he comes to me half way through that ballet. It started out that his makeup (which includes a bald pate, nose and chin appliance) took me 45 minutes….. last night I did it in 20. It really helps when Max puts on the green makeup too while I’m working on other parts of his face. Because it is so hot and humid here, it is difficult to get the glue to set on the appliances so I’m sort of always worried something might come off during the performance. Another minor worry among many. Once Max is done then I run (and I mean run!) to the girl’s dressing room(s) to check on my crew who are pinning and wigging the 8 captured maidens. The princess and maiden wigs are very beautiful and about 4 feet long so they take a special pin prep in order to keep them on. In addition they all have these wiry crowns with jewels on the ends which catch on anything they are near. Occasionally during the performance a maiden will get some of her hair caught in the crown (or even someone else’s hair!) and they end up with this mass of hair on their head. I call that “getting a hair bear”. Sometimes it will happen to Karen which makes her quick change for the happy ending a nightmare.
We have a couple of other dance programs which don’t include wigs so I don’t have anything do so for those shows except style Jing Zhang’s hair for the Introduction to Ballet item. This is a lecture and demonstration of the basics of ballet. Jing and Hao Bo (who are Chinese) stand at a podium and inform the audience about ballet. It is designed for school children and is followed by 2 short bits from Swan Lake and Nutcracker.
Yesterday we were scheduled for one but apparently there was a huge collision on the freeway and the bus of kids were going to be late – we held the curtain for 30 minutes, then had to cut the nutcracker and swan lake bits in order to keep to our work schedule. Apparently the bus never showed up. The coro girls were delighted – wardrobe was happy too since it meant not have to clean those costumes immediately. Let me just say a word about wardrobe – those ladies work tirelessly. So many bits and pieces to keep track of. The dancers are all really fun, nice people but sometimes I think its like herding cats to keep track of them and their stuff. Les also works pretty much 24/7. Amazing dedication and attention to detail.
So what do I do when not in a performance? Well, I sit in my hobbit hole (Bag End) and brush wigs …. And brush wigs….. and brush more wigs…. Each maiden wig can take up to 30 minutes to properly tidy, and that’s without taking it apart (God forbid!) but eventually I get through all of them to keep them clean, tidy and beautiful. I also spent an afternoon last week completely restoring the maiden crowns – some were missing jewels, some bent (they are made of wire) etc. The wigs have extensions on bias tape to make them longer and sometimes the tape will come loose and I have to sew it back together. There are also 2 “decrepit princess” wigs and assorted facial hair – which all needs to be checked, prepped and maintained. So once I get all the stuff ready for the performance, then I have to teach my crew how to pincurl, cap and wig the girls. This often takes hours. I have been extremely fortunate that so far all my girls have been smart, dedicated (sometimes too much so) and fun. They all happily correct my pronunciation and help me learn new words. I think they enjoy teaching me Chinese as much as anything. I am supposed to have 2 girls for each Firebird performance but “class” is such a hit with everyone that I seem to always have an audience of theater workers, other wardrobe people and anyone who walks by. In Hangzhou I was in sort of a main drag so everyone always had to stroll by for a look-see. I don’t mind generally but my brain does sort of shut down towards the end of the day. Once the girls learn the prep, then they are free to practice, practice, practice. I can’t seem to get across the concept that speed counts, not neatness. Oh well, so far we’ve made it but I do spend a few harried minutes in that fast change. The girls dance the first program, we have intermission (20 minutes) and they enter about 12 minutes into the Firebird – so we really have only about 30 minutes for all 8 (or sometimes 9 if Karen dances in the first ballet) to get it all done.
When we load out I have to pack my box as quick as I can because they like to put the wardrobe cases and mine on the first truck. Then we all help out rolling stuff to the trucks until the 2 trucks are locked and loaded. Then we party. We loaded out Dongguan last night and today is a real free day. We travel tomorrow back to Shenzen – which I believe is near Hong Kong for 3 performances.
All in all, I’m having a great time – lots to do, not much to see except the inside of a theater but walking over and back from the hotel is educational. The food in this hotel for breakfast, after the previous 2, is a disappointment so if you sit in the Starbucks next door, sooner or later you will see pretty much everyone of the company. We found a terrific Japanese restaurant (really more of a noodle house, kind of a blend of Japanese and Chinese) to eat at plus an old standby, McDonalds. I had their pork sandwich for dinner yesterday and it was really good.
We leave for city #4 tomorrow.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday May 27
Day 10
Sunday (sat for you) we drove to Hangzhou and immediately went to the theater to load-in. We worked til midnight and slept. Yesterday I spent the day teaching my Chinese girls how to pincurl. They learned well but I think they ultimately got bored with the project. They certainly were willing to leave when we were done. The show went pretty well. It is so humid and Max has to dance prior to Firebird so trying to get his appliances on and made up in 5 minutes was a joke, but it went ok this time. Got all the girls done on time and the show went pretty well.
We came back to the hotel and had a party in one room, got in trouble and moved the party down the hall. I finally left around 2:45 but I understand it didn't end until 5. kinda crazy -- very "kids on spring break" but no bad stuff.
I slept in and finally got up around noon and decided to have an adventure. While I was at the concierge desk Carol, our electrician came over and I invited her to join me. She and I taxied into the downtown area. (The hotel is on the outskirts of town where lots of new building is going on) and we walked around. The downtown stores could have been valley fair except there are tons of clerks who stand and watch you every second… not necessarily to assume you might be shoplifting but to be able to assist you in any way... very unusual. We took a taxi to what was supposed to be the silk museum but it turned out to be a silk store and we walked around that area which was a financial district. We wandered into a hotel which I think was run by a German company for directions. They helped us find the museum on the map and it was close to the city zoo. Carol and I decided to go to the zoo instead to see the panda bear. it is a pretty zoo but a lot was empty and it seemed very old. However, we had fun wandering around. Once finished we spent some time trying to get a taxi back to town. The driver didn't know where our hotel was (I had brought a map in Chinese but it didn't help) so we had him take us back to the Goethe hotel and then we were going to take another taxi back to the Tianyuan hotel. At the hotel the guy told us it was taxi shift change and we should wait for a while. We went to the lobby bar, had ice teas and talked and talked. Btw, the taxi back from the zoo made Mr. toad's wild ride look tame! When we left the hotel it was thundering and storming. I am now back in my room watching the lightening over the city. I’m on the 22nd floor.
We leave tomorrow to bus back to the shanghai airport for our flight to dongguan. Hopefully, I’m going out to dinner now, since neither carol nor I really stopped for lunch -- missed breakfast too for that matter. All in all it was a nice day.
Wednesday, May 28
Day 11
Well, up early to load the bus to go back to Shanghai Airport – about 3 hours. Fortunately, we have 3 buses so no one is crowded. Got to the airport and while I thought we would just go to the plane, no, had to go through airport security and baggage check. We got back on our beautiful plane with Maria as the Firebird on the tail and Karen and Rudy on the other side. The flight crew was waiting with apple and chocolate martinis, champage, well, you name it – and lunch. We thought we’d take off right away but because of the earthquake there are earthquake dams which may break and they needed the runways for emergency planes. We wait about an hour and finally took off for a 2 hour flight to Shen Yuen. We got to Shen Yuen and got our baggage and jumped onto buses for Dongguan. Another 2 hours. Finally got to the hotel and it is s very Chinese hotel – incense and décor – pretty nice actually. My bathroom has both a tub and a huge shower stall. We have been told that this location is the most risky and that we should travel in groups but the hotel is only about 5 minutes from the theater and it is s very busy part of town. So far I have eaten Pizza Hut twice, had McDonald’s last night (only thing open at 11:00 pm) and 2 Japanese restaurants. Had Chinese food in the theater canteens and it was very cafeteria food – plenty of it but pretty bland. The western economic influence is enormous. The Chinese people are extremely kind, willing and smart. Went to sleep and am getting used to the hard beds… finally. Certainly love the cotton duvets to sleep under, light and warm.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Day 12
Got up early to get over to the theater to start my maintenance on the 9 wigs. Pretty much have spent day getting the girls thoroughly tidied up. They are staying pretty nice, its just that 3 ft of wig takes a lot of brushing to keep up. Les and I had lunch in a very nice Japanese restaurant and I’m back at the theatre finishing up stuff. Our work visas are only good for a short time so we have to have our picture taken again for another visa. More details and rules & regs. The logistics of this trip are a nightmare. So much to think about. Getting people, baggage, sets and costumes from place to place takes a huge effort on everyone’s part. It is really amazing. The city of Dongguan looks like all the cities so far – lots of 1960s buildings, and most in need of repair. The air quality is horrible. I am always sweaty and steaming. I feel like I’m in a steambath 24/7. We had a thunder shower this morning and that reduced the humidity for a while. The hotel air conditioning only works when you have your room key in a special device that activates the electrical to the room. I think they turn off the air conditioning when the building is not in use because it was awful last night but now is s comfortable level. Carol is my “goddess of the day” because she went and got me not 1 but 2 small fans for my room to help Max dry off for the green makeup. I pay homage to “she-who-must-be-obeyed” on all things electrical.
Day 10
Sunday (sat for you) we drove to Hangzhou and immediately went to the theater to load-in. We worked til midnight and slept. Yesterday I spent the day teaching my Chinese girls how to pincurl. They learned well but I think they ultimately got bored with the project. They certainly were willing to leave when we were done. The show went pretty well. It is so humid and Max has to dance prior to Firebird so trying to get his appliances on and made up in 5 minutes was a joke, but it went ok this time. Got all the girls done on time and the show went pretty well.
We came back to the hotel and had a party in one room, got in trouble and moved the party down the hall. I finally left around 2:45 but I understand it didn't end until 5. kinda crazy -- very "kids on spring break" but no bad stuff.
I slept in and finally got up around noon and decided to have an adventure. While I was at the concierge desk Carol, our electrician came over and I invited her to join me. She and I taxied into the downtown area. (The hotel is on the outskirts of town where lots of new building is going on) and we walked around. The downtown stores could have been valley fair except there are tons of clerks who stand and watch you every second… not necessarily to assume you might be shoplifting but to be able to assist you in any way... very unusual. We took a taxi to what was supposed to be the silk museum but it turned out to be a silk store and we walked around that area which was a financial district. We wandered into a hotel which I think was run by a German company for directions. They helped us find the museum on the map and it was close to the city zoo. Carol and I decided to go to the zoo instead to see the panda bear. it is a pretty zoo but a lot was empty and it seemed very old. However, we had fun wandering around. Once finished we spent some time trying to get a taxi back to town. The driver didn't know where our hotel was (I had brought a map in Chinese but it didn't help) so we had him take us back to the Goethe hotel and then we were going to take another taxi back to the Tianyuan hotel. At the hotel the guy told us it was taxi shift change and we should wait for a while. We went to the lobby bar, had ice teas and talked and talked. Btw, the taxi back from the zoo made Mr. toad's wild ride look tame! When we left the hotel it was thundering and storming. I am now back in my room watching the lightening over the city. I’m on the 22nd floor.
We leave tomorrow to bus back to the shanghai airport for our flight to dongguan. Hopefully, I’m going out to dinner now, since neither carol nor I really stopped for lunch -- missed breakfast too for that matter. All in all it was a nice day.
Wednesday, May 28
Day 11
Well, up early to load the bus to go back to Shanghai Airport – about 3 hours. Fortunately, we have 3 buses so no one is crowded. Got to the airport and while I thought we would just go to the plane, no, had to go through airport security and baggage check. We got back on our beautiful plane with Maria as the Firebird on the tail and Karen and Rudy on the other side. The flight crew was waiting with apple and chocolate martinis, champage, well, you name it – and lunch. We thought we’d take off right away but because of the earthquake there are earthquake dams which may break and they needed the runways for emergency planes. We wait about an hour and finally took off for a 2 hour flight to Shen Yuen. We got to Shen Yuen and got our baggage and jumped onto buses for Dongguan. Another 2 hours. Finally got to the hotel and it is s very Chinese hotel – incense and décor – pretty nice actually. My bathroom has both a tub and a huge shower stall. We have been told that this location is the most risky and that we should travel in groups but the hotel is only about 5 minutes from the theater and it is s very busy part of town. So far I have eaten Pizza Hut twice, had McDonald’s last night (only thing open at 11:00 pm) and 2 Japanese restaurants. Had Chinese food in the theater canteens and it was very cafeteria food – plenty of it but pretty bland. The western economic influence is enormous. The Chinese people are extremely kind, willing and smart. Went to sleep and am getting used to the hard beds… finally. Certainly love the cotton duvets to sleep under, light and warm.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Day 12
Got up early to get over to the theater to start my maintenance on the 9 wigs. Pretty much have spent day getting the girls thoroughly tidied up. They are staying pretty nice, its just that 3 ft of wig takes a lot of brushing to keep up. Les and I had lunch in a very nice Japanese restaurant and I’m back at the theatre finishing up stuff. Our work visas are only good for a short time so we have to have our picture taken again for another visa. More details and rules & regs. The logistics of this trip are a nightmare. So much to think about. Getting people, baggage, sets and costumes from place to place takes a huge effort on everyone’s part. It is really amazing. The city of Dongguan looks like all the cities so far – lots of 1960s buildings, and most in need of repair. The air quality is horrible. I am always sweaty and steaming. I feel like I’m in a steambath 24/7. We had a thunder shower this morning and that reduced the humidity for a while. The hotel air conditioning only works when you have your room key in a special device that activates the electrical to the room. I think they turn off the air conditioning when the building is not in use because it was awful last night but now is s comfortable level. Carol is my “goddess of the day” because she went and got me not 1 but 2 small fans for my room to help Max dry off for the green makeup. I pay homage to “she-who-must-be-obeyed” on all things electrical.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
catching up -week one -so far
Saturday May 17
Day 1
At the airport – that was a trip down the red carpet for sure. The plane and flight crew were amazing. It was a regular cocktail party (at 10:00 am!) with the most amazing things to eat. Of course, it was too early for my stomach to handle much more than a chocolate covered strawberry. The plane is really enormous and my seat in “clipper” class was right behind the wings in the most stable part of the plane. There was plenty of room for everyone to move around and the flight crew kept feeding us stuff – including lovely white and red wine and Dom champagne. I actually drank several glasses of the champagne and it was an experience – no sleepiness or headache.
We took off around 1:45 pm and flew northerly and across the Pacific just below the Aleutian Islands. The funny thing was that it was daylight for the whole trip. We sang happy birthday to Ali Meier for Saturday and then again for another dancer on “Sunday” once we crossed the dateline.
Sunday, May 18
Day 2
We got off the plane at the Shanghai airport and it was raining. We were taken through a very quiet airport. It was about 5:00 pm so our flight was little over 11 hours. I was prepared for 13 so was quite surprised. I think we all were in “Wow, we are IN CHINA!” It was very unreal. Baggage came up promptly and dancers and staff took off for the Park Hotel. I stayed to help Les, our extremely competent stage manager, pick up luggage for some people who weren’t there. Consequently, our bus was nearly empty (there were 3) and we left the airport for Shanghai. Oddly, I didn’t realize (and I should have) that the airport was over an hour away from the city and downtown district. I was one of the last to get to the hotel and so I went straight to my room and went to sleep.
Monday, May 19
Day 3
This was load-in for stage and wardrobe. Once the rooms were assigned Maggie (head of wardrobe) and Val (head dresser) and I went to work. Those two ladies do the work of 20! Once my room was assigned (and the Shanghai Grand Theatre is huge) I unloaded my box and found everything as just Robin had described. She really thought of everything. My set up took a few hours but I moved very leisurely. We then had lunch in the theater “canteen.” It only cost 15 rmb (a little over 2 us dollars) and they served way too much. The food is very different from California Chinese cuisine. I rarely recognized anything so I tried just about everything. Its really hard to communicate since no one in the theater speaks English and I can’t seem to remember much more than “xie xie” which is thank you. It was a very tiring day. After dinner once I had everything set I just hung out since I didn’t know if I was supposed to stay in the theater or what. I kept falling asleep in my very hard chair. Reminder for next time – we need to send at least one high makeup chair since there isn’t one here. However, I’ll just make do since a high chair is never a priority for me. Finally, I got back to the theatre and an attempt to sleep.
The hotel is quite nice and breakfast has a mix of American and Chinese food. It is nice to have “comfort” food at breakfast. I have a room to myself which is great but a bit lonely. I haven’t been alone like this probably in my whole life. Quite different. Didn’t know how to get my computer working so just watched a little CNN and a local Chinese station that broadcasts in English to know what is going on. Watching the TV reminds me that I am in a Communist country that definitely controls the local TV. Because of the earthquake they have declared a 3-day mourning period and TV, theatre and entertainments have been cancelled. Since we did not have a performance scheduled, it didn’t affect us. The TV constantly shows pictures of the quake zone and relief efforts. Last night they showed some of the local cities with their mourning rights. They had a national 3 minute pause of silence in memory of the quake victims and the TV rebroadcast pictures of the various cities – showing everyone stopping at quake time to stand with heads bowed and hands over hearts. It was most inspiring. All those millions of people just standing and giving silence.
Tuesday, May 20
Day 4
I decided to bit the bullet and pay for a day of internet so I spent the morning checking and responding to emails.
Tuesday we continued load-in and started teching the shows. The stage crew have been working endlessly and while they have plenty of willing hands to help, its hard without enough translators to keep everyone busy. I decided not to call in my crew (all 1 person, hopefully 2 for Firebird) until Wednesday since I only had to fit one wig and practice a makeup. Since 2 of our principal dancers could not come on the trip because of Visa and passport problems other people have to jump into their roles. While rehearsing Carmina Burana it was decided that one dancer’s knee was hurting so we have to double one dancer in 2 roles back to back (one right after the other) so that’s another hurdle to overcome. However, as I have said, everyone has a truly “can-do” attitude and we’ll all “make it work.” It’s a mystery. I decided to leave the theater early and went back to try to sleep.
Wednesday, May 21
Day 5
I woke up at 2:30 am again and couldn’t sleep. I decided to check my email again and call home. Got to speak to Tim and felt much better. Finally went back to sleep and slept pretty well. Once I got up I decided to go shopping with a great lady, Sylvia, and had lots of fun. Got to see some of the city (about 10 blocks) but at least I am finally outside and seeing things. Shanghai is an interesting city – it reminds me of a cross between New York City and Los Angeles – the weather is like LA with lots of smog and the buildings are more like NYC. Some of the buildings are quite old and need refurbishment. The people seem like standard city dwellers anywhere – just going about their lives and not really noticing much else. It is amusing that at a crosswalk on a big street the people will wait patiently for a green crossing sign but eventually one person gets impatient and starts to cross and everyone follows. Safety in numbers. I was brave enough to try to find a 7-11 store one block up and away from the hotel and nearly got run over by a guy on a vespa. He frowned and then I smiled stupidly and he seemed to recover. Anyway, I’m still in one piece. Fortunately, it was a smaller street and seemed to be restricted to bikes and motorbikes. Had it been a regular street, I would have been toast! On my way to the theater I broke down and got an ice tea from Starbucks – I definitely needed the caffeine and home fix. Right now I’m in the theater while they are teching Serenade. Tonight we have a full dress rehearsal of Carmina Burana with the chorus and soloists. I really love this piece of music and the dance for it is really inspiring. I really hope the Chinese people who come enjoy it as much as I do – and I only get to see it from the sidelines. I am fortunate that my work room has a monitor so I keep track of what’s happening. I must admit that so far it has been really amazing the amout of work and attention to detail that everyone has put in to get this tour off the ground. So many people and so many, many details. It still boggles my mind.
So here I am missing my family, trying to learn a little Chinese and appreciating the entire event. I feel physically better but do miss the horses – 6 weeks away from the riding (my mental therapy) is hard to take. I take pleasure in the fact that Sabrina may go occasionally out to exercise Bailey for me. I hope it will continue when I get back.
Thursday May 22
Day 6
This has been a very eventful day. I slept better and got up and came to the theater to meet my two assistants. I had met Nana last night and while she speaks no English she is extremely smart, quick and helpful. With the help of one of our interpreters, Amy, she learned how to prep, pin and wig a blond maiden. She also learned to put the falls on the spring maidens for carmina and helped me put makeup on the swan. Since Hal Bo is not the swan, now its Seth and we went through his makeup for the first time. He has to be the devil immediately after and the costume change is a nightmare. However, they altered his costume and hopefully will work out at tonight’s first performance. The symphony sounds amazing and hopefully the chorus will put forth extra effort and sing well. Its very hard music. Our tenor soloist, Joe, was just in Three Penny with Samantha, the baritone was one of my Danilo’s in Merry Widow
at West Bay and Allison was my Papagenna for Magic Flute at West Bay. Small world.
Nana arrived early so she and I spent time with my computer program helping me to learn some Chinese. Now my brain hurts.
Willie Anderson came and told me he forgot his makeup in California. I did not have a base dark enough to Nana took me on an adventure to try to find some. It was a blast. We covered about 6 or 7 stores and finally found something that might work. There are some hair stores in a cluster and I wished I had time to look at the synthetic wigs just for fun. I did buy a pair of scissors for myself. We then came back and had lunch. After lunch her sister, Xie Jia arrived and we spent the afternoon playing and learning hair prep. Nana and Xie Jia were sweet enough to spend the time helping me learn more Chinese and took me to a lovely dinner at the mall up the street. Very Valley Fair – the fun part was it was billed as a Japanese restaurant. We spent the meal looking at things and the girls asking me to name them in Chinese. Then we would all laugh at my rotten pronunciation. I think I may have learned a few words to recognize but can’t seem to keep them in my brain long enough to speak them back. I’ll keep trying. Now we are on break before our first performance and I’m going to stop for a few minutes. ok, the show is done, we aren't sure how it was received since we understand the Chinese don't usually applaud a lot. I think we had a good sized house but can't be sure. anyway, the dancers were outstanding and Nana and I breezed through the whole evening and had fun fun fun. Everything was "how" (good).
Day 1
At the airport – that was a trip down the red carpet for sure. The plane and flight crew were amazing. It was a regular cocktail party (at 10:00 am!) with the most amazing things to eat. Of course, it was too early for my stomach to handle much more than a chocolate covered strawberry. The plane is really enormous and my seat in “clipper” class was right behind the wings in the most stable part of the plane. There was plenty of room for everyone to move around and the flight crew kept feeding us stuff – including lovely white and red wine and Dom champagne. I actually drank several glasses of the champagne and it was an experience – no sleepiness or headache.
We took off around 1:45 pm and flew northerly and across the Pacific just below the Aleutian Islands. The funny thing was that it was daylight for the whole trip. We sang happy birthday to Ali Meier for Saturday and then again for another dancer on “Sunday” once we crossed the dateline.
Sunday, May 18
Day 2
We got off the plane at the Shanghai airport and it was raining. We were taken through a very quiet airport. It was about 5:00 pm so our flight was little over 11 hours. I was prepared for 13 so was quite surprised. I think we all were in “Wow, we are IN CHINA!” It was very unreal. Baggage came up promptly and dancers and staff took off for the Park Hotel. I stayed to help Les, our extremely competent stage manager, pick up luggage for some people who weren’t there. Consequently, our bus was nearly empty (there were 3) and we left the airport for Shanghai. Oddly, I didn’t realize (and I should have) that the airport was over an hour away from the city and downtown district. I was one of the last to get to the hotel and so I went straight to my room and went to sleep.
Monday, May 19
Day 3
This was load-in for stage and wardrobe. Once the rooms were assigned Maggie (head of wardrobe) and Val (head dresser) and I went to work. Those two ladies do the work of 20! Once my room was assigned (and the Shanghai Grand Theatre is huge) I unloaded my box and found everything as just Robin had described. She really thought of everything. My set up took a few hours but I moved very leisurely. We then had lunch in the theater “canteen.” It only cost 15 rmb (a little over 2 us dollars) and they served way too much. The food is very different from California Chinese cuisine. I rarely recognized anything so I tried just about everything. Its really hard to communicate since no one in the theater speaks English and I can’t seem to remember much more than “xie xie” which is thank you. It was a very tiring day. After dinner once I had everything set I just hung out since I didn’t know if I was supposed to stay in the theater or what. I kept falling asleep in my very hard chair. Reminder for next time – we need to send at least one high makeup chair since there isn’t one here. However, I’ll just make do since a high chair is never a priority for me. Finally, I got back to the theatre and an attempt to sleep.
The hotel is quite nice and breakfast has a mix of American and Chinese food. It is nice to have “comfort” food at breakfast. I have a room to myself which is great but a bit lonely. I haven’t been alone like this probably in my whole life. Quite different. Didn’t know how to get my computer working so just watched a little CNN and a local Chinese station that broadcasts in English to know what is going on. Watching the TV reminds me that I am in a Communist country that definitely controls the local TV. Because of the earthquake they have declared a 3-day mourning period and TV, theatre and entertainments have been cancelled. Since we did not have a performance scheduled, it didn’t affect us. The TV constantly shows pictures of the quake zone and relief efforts. Last night they showed some of the local cities with their mourning rights. They had a national 3 minute pause of silence in memory of the quake victims and the TV rebroadcast pictures of the various cities – showing everyone stopping at quake time to stand with heads bowed and hands over hearts. It was most inspiring. All those millions of people just standing and giving silence.
Tuesday, May 20
Day 4
I decided to bit the bullet and pay for a day of internet so I spent the morning checking and responding to emails.
Tuesday we continued load-in and started teching the shows. The stage crew have been working endlessly and while they have plenty of willing hands to help, its hard without enough translators to keep everyone busy. I decided not to call in my crew (all 1 person, hopefully 2 for Firebird) until Wednesday since I only had to fit one wig and practice a makeup. Since 2 of our principal dancers could not come on the trip because of Visa and passport problems other people have to jump into their roles. While rehearsing Carmina Burana it was decided that one dancer’s knee was hurting so we have to double one dancer in 2 roles back to back (one right after the other) so that’s another hurdle to overcome. However, as I have said, everyone has a truly “can-do” attitude and we’ll all “make it work.” It’s a mystery. I decided to leave the theater early and went back to try to sleep.
Wednesday, May 21
Day 5
I woke up at 2:30 am again and couldn’t sleep. I decided to check my email again and call home. Got to speak to Tim and felt much better. Finally went back to sleep and slept pretty well. Once I got up I decided to go shopping with a great lady, Sylvia, and had lots of fun. Got to see some of the city (about 10 blocks) but at least I am finally outside and seeing things. Shanghai is an interesting city – it reminds me of a cross between New York City and Los Angeles – the weather is like LA with lots of smog and the buildings are more like NYC. Some of the buildings are quite old and need refurbishment. The people seem like standard city dwellers anywhere – just going about their lives and not really noticing much else. It is amusing that at a crosswalk on a big street the people will wait patiently for a green crossing sign but eventually one person gets impatient and starts to cross and everyone follows. Safety in numbers. I was brave enough to try to find a 7-11 store one block up and away from the hotel and nearly got run over by a guy on a vespa. He frowned and then I smiled stupidly and he seemed to recover. Anyway, I’m still in one piece. Fortunately, it was a smaller street and seemed to be restricted to bikes and motorbikes. Had it been a regular street, I would have been toast! On my way to the theater I broke down and got an ice tea from Starbucks – I definitely needed the caffeine and home fix. Right now I’m in the theater while they are teching Serenade. Tonight we have a full dress rehearsal of Carmina Burana with the chorus and soloists. I really love this piece of music and the dance for it is really inspiring. I really hope the Chinese people who come enjoy it as much as I do – and I only get to see it from the sidelines. I am fortunate that my work room has a monitor so I keep track of what’s happening. I must admit that so far it has been really amazing the amout of work and attention to detail that everyone has put in to get this tour off the ground. So many people and so many, many details. It still boggles my mind.
So here I am missing my family, trying to learn a little Chinese and appreciating the entire event. I feel physically better but do miss the horses – 6 weeks away from the riding (my mental therapy) is hard to take. I take pleasure in the fact that Sabrina may go occasionally out to exercise Bailey for me. I hope it will continue when I get back.
Thursday May 22
Day 6
This has been a very eventful day. I slept better and got up and came to the theater to meet my two assistants. I had met Nana last night and while she speaks no English she is extremely smart, quick and helpful. With the help of one of our interpreters, Amy, she learned how to prep, pin and wig a blond maiden. She also learned to put the falls on the spring maidens for carmina and helped me put makeup on the swan. Since Hal Bo is not the swan, now its Seth and we went through his makeup for the first time. He has to be the devil immediately after and the costume change is a nightmare. However, they altered his costume and hopefully will work out at tonight’s first performance. The symphony sounds amazing and hopefully the chorus will put forth extra effort and sing well. Its very hard music. Our tenor soloist, Joe, was just in Three Penny with Samantha, the baritone was one of my Danilo’s in Merry Widow
at West Bay and Allison was my Papagenna for Magic Flute at West Bay. Small world.
Nana arrived early so she and I spent time with my computer program helping me to learn some Chinese. Now my brain hurts.
Willie Anderson came and told me he forgot his makeup in California. I did not have a base dark enough to Nana took me on an adventure to try to find some. It was a blast. We covered about 6 or 7 stores and finally found something that might work. There are some hair stores in a cluster and I wished I had time to look at the synthetic wigs just for fun. I did buy a pair of scissors for myself. We then came back and had lunch. After lunch her sister, Xie Jia arrived and we spent the afternoon playing and learning hair prep. Nana and Xie Jia were sweet enough to spend the time helping me learn more Chinese and took me to a lovely dinner at the mall up the street. Very Valley Fair – the fun part was it was billed as a Japanese restaurant. We spent the meal looking at things and the girls asking me to name them in Chinese. Then we would all laugh at my rotten pronunciation. I think I may have learned a few words to recognize but can’t seem to keep them in my brain long enough to speak them back. I’ll keep trying. Now we are on break before our first performance and I’m going to stop for a few minutes. ok, the show is done, we aren't sure how it was received since we understand the Chinese don't usually applaud a lot. I think we had a good sized house but can't be sure. anyway, the dancers were outstanding and Nana and I breezed through the whole evening and had fun fun fun. Everything was "how" (good).
Thursday, May 15, 2008
almost ready to go
Well, its finally getting close – In spite of a huge earthquake in China we are still scheduled to leave this Saturday and should arrive in Shanghai on Sunday. We will be a week in Shanghai with 3 performances scheduled, 2 Carmina Burana’s and one Firebird among other smaller ballets. I continue to be amazed with the millions of details that everyone at BSJ has to pay attention to in order for us to leave. As Robin has done all the prep and packing of the roadbox, it will be my duty to make sure everything runs smoothly on tour.
Still lots of things left to do though. My bed is strewn with clothes to pack but I managed to see Madeline at Red’s Hair Salon and even dropped into Campbell Nails and Vivienne and Rose gave me one of the nicest manicures/pedicures I’ve ever had. I will definitely go back to the ladies there. See you in China …..
Still lots of things left to do though. My bed is strewn with clothes to pack but I managed to see Madeline at Red’s Hair Salon and even dropped into Campbell Nails and Vivienne and Rose gave me one of the nicest manicures/pedicures I’ve ever had. I will definitely go back to the ladies there. See you in China …..
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