Set A Date Already

I have to pick a date.

Usually I do musicals in the last week of Nov, first 2 of December window, but this year the thought of competing with volleyball for the space is about to dictate the show dates. Don't get me wrong, I love volleyball and they obviously can't practice anywhere else, it is just a nightmare scheduling around kids' jobs, other activities, school events and gym use. Not to mention trying to get rehearsals in with the band who come from all over the territory it seems. So, maybe a January date looks better....

The problem with January (see, this is the neurotic part) is that it starts to get pretty close to rehearsal for competition/festival which I think is at the end of March. The kids are crossovers from musical to festival, so it makes for a packed late winter, then throw exams in for seniors at the end of January.

You see the jam.

Pros to the Jan show are more rehearsal time and possibly large rehearsals over the break, which is a bonus. Also, the 2 festival pieces as they stand right now are both short - 1 is 12-13 minutes, the other 20. So in the span of 2 paragraphs it's pretty sure I am going with January.

MTI is very accomodating with their dates in case I have to move them around a bit, but probably not going to be so accomodating over the fact that I was traveling all summer and did not return the perusals in the 3 week frame - or the six week frame :( I am going to have one of those asterisks ************!!! beside my name now.

A Perusal Felon. Theatrical Crime division.

In case you are still feeling sorry for me over the gym/slash theatre business - don't, it's not as bad as it sounds. The stage has a grid, 220 lighting, strand/leko/fresnels, kick lights, beautiful lighting board and sound system with 8 lavaliers - all computerized (alot easier to run if I could remember how the plugs work between musicals - this year I should get someone in tech class to make a easy manual for this, right?) I have 2 storage areas for costumes and props and a set storage area that is a bit challenging to get to, but well worth it when you do. What I don't have is a way to get from one side of the stage to the other if the set does not build one in, and no washrooms backstage. Nervous bladders are a perrenial problem here... although the guys have a solution which I will not blog about here.

The gym is baffled with acoustical panels and if the planets align and we have a huge audience, a gym full of room to pack them in. I think we can actually accomodate more people than we have in the whole town. Huh. I never thought of that before, no wonder we never sell out.

So January then?

It's beginning to look like Christmas'll be all about Somewhere That's Green.