Hi there, my name is George. I'll be your guest blogger today!
So last night, I was able to sneak into The Apollo Studio to take a peek at how Hobo Junction's THE REGULARS was coming along. I had heard a lot about it and just had to see for myself.
I got there early, even before the stage manager, Amy, showed up. Took a look around the cozy space, then figured the dressing room would be a good place to wait for people to show up and action to happen. I heard some people arrive and then start to work out in the space, setting up a wall and then Amy was chatting with a pretty cool guy with a beard named Andrew Marchetti to get a second opinion on the lighting design. Sounded like a lot of fun! Pretty soon after that, Eli Branson came into the dressing room. He saw me, but I didn't want to get in the way, so I found a cozy corner to observe from. The night went pretty normally as rehearsals go from that point on. I stuck my nose out to watch the run of the show, but made sure that I wasn't disrupting and people didn't see me. It was fun watching it from backstage!
Once the run was over, Josh wanted to work a few scenes and finesse certain actions. When he started working on "Time Share" with Maddy, Jake, and Cyra, I wanted to see what was happening out front, so I tried to very quietly sneak out to the house. I forgot I have terrible stage fright, and the second I touched the deck and the lights hit me, I froze. Cyra saw me first, and then the whole cast was shocked at my appearance. Josh came over to me with a milk crate, maybe he wanted me to sit on it like Ashley's character, Sunny. Either way, I just wanted to see the show, not be in it, so I scooted along back to the tech booth where all kinds of interesting things seemed to be going on. During the "Time Share" song, Amy, Bryan, and Danelle were chatting with me, trying to get me to come out. I was so mortified and embarrassed that I had disrupted a scene that I just wanted to sit behind the BOCA ticket machine for a little while. Bryan said he was going to get me a Starburst, which I thought very hospitable of him, so I shifted to behind the amp under the sound board. Danelle and Amy heard me, and then I saw this sweet ride show up on the floor - hard black plastic, rectangular with some kind of thinner plastic lining. Looked pretty awesome to me, and my feet were a little tired anyway, so I hopped in. Turns out, it was Danelle who found such an awesome mode of transportation for me! After I got in, Amy escorted me out and dropped me off on Lincoln Ave. right outside the theatre. I guess it was for the best, I didn't want to be a distraction!
As I walked down the street, I thought of how epic this show will be for Opening Weekend as well as the free preview tonight. Lucky humans!
