Afternoon Delight

It is so friggin' fun to see how all of this works. I've been an actor and in the band, and to see all the inner workings is awesome! So, I thought I'd share with you a little behind the scenes magic.

Let's start at the core: Peggy Gannon and Peter Dylan O'Connor - Commanders at the Base Camp. In the rehearsal room behind the stage, Base Camp lives and breathes 14/48. Peggy and Peter answer questions, work on the program, wheel around kegs and keep things hoppin'. There's food, tables, and plenty of props and set pieces being worked on. 

Just around the corner, the band plays, making Peggy a little nutty. It's hard to concentrate with Mr. Roboto blaring in the background. But it sounds so great, you don't even mind. I loved watching the band work. Their discussion goes a little something like this:

Troy: So, it's like beep, bop de do da.

Christopher: No, it's really more like... beep, bop de DO dah dah. You know what I mean.

Troy: Gotcha. On the upbeat? 

Chistopher: Exactly.

Me: Pardon? 

Meanwhile, Brendan is on the computer downloading songs fast as he can. On music stands, there's a mix of lyrics, lead sheets and music. It's amazing to me that the band learns SO many songs in one day! Most of the songs are figured out just by listening to the song after Brendan downloads it. 

After Peggy gave me a quick tour, so I wouldn't lock myself in the stairwell, I headed off to some of the "rehearsal rooms". I put that in quotes because by rehearsal rooms, I really mean, for the most part,  storage rooms and lobbies. I started in the lobby with Andy Jensen and Company: Show #5. I walked in on a VERY serious discussion of laughter. Oh theatre. I love ya. Only actors and directors would discuss the perfect laughter for a moment on stage.  

Next up was play #6 with director Nick Garrison. They were totally in a storage room/kitchen type thing. The freezer kept making strange noises and scaring poor Nick. That play in a nutshell: A period play. I'll let you decide what that means. Don't want to give to much away. 

Finally, I went to check in on play #1 written by Scot Augustson and directed by Christina Mastin. They have a fun little set up with an elevator dinging and opening every few minutes. I note these things not to complain, because ACT ROCKS! But more because I am amazed at the focus of these directors and actors. They don't even bat an eyelash as people walk right through the middle of their rehearsal. When I was there, they were working on choreographing riding on a bus. Like a dance really. 

Everyone else was on lunch break/scrambling to find costumes. 

I thought I'd do a quick interview with Anne Conte. We don't ONLY want to give shout outs to amazing actors, directors and the band. This festival wouldn't be anything with out people like Anne. First off, I wanted to know exactly what a Runner does for 14/48. So far this weekend she has gone to the store, gone to James' (stage manager) house to find props, played with his kittens (very important), and traveled to Theater Shmeater with Katie (props mistress). Anne said that she likes being a runner, because she gets to meet and talk with people she wouldn't normally get to know. It's not just running around. It's conversations with Katie, playing with kittens, getting dinner, laughing, lifting, moving... it's 14/48.

I love it.