Gateway, Part 6

Building sets by day and running shows at night we got into a regular routine.

I even found time to read a few books.

Between fly cues I found an out of the way corner with a little work light and read The Hobbit and a Sci-Fi novel by Isaac Asimov.

I was nice to just escape a little from the busy day.

I was very surprised when during the second production when an actress came running right in front of me for a quick change.

She stripped down to just her panties, re-dressed and then ran back on stage.

Of course I was one very shocked 20 year old but managed to act professional, did not drool too much and helped her out when needed over the next three weeks.

Flash forward twenty years, I am now working on an outside production we had brought into the college Theatre.

One of my students was working backstage during the run and told me that the lead actress was naked backstage during her costume changes.

With my years of wisdom, and thinking back to working at Gateway, I told him to act professional and not to make an ass of himself.

After getting the play up and running I was in my nearby office during the run of the play.

One night my student ran in and told me that they were having problems with the actress’s wireless body mic.

So I ran backstage with a new battery and knelt down next to the nearly naked actress who was wearing only pantyhose and the mic belt and I fumbled and sweated a bit as I tried to fix it as fast as I could.

My student got a good laugh about it watching me trying to be cool and working under fire.

Back to Gateway . . .

It seemed obvious to everyone at the time that the firing of the original Technical Director was planned all along.

The new guy came in with designs and plans ready for the third play, Candide.

It seems that he had worked on the then recent revival in NYC.

He was a good guy, his designs and work were fine, I think everyone liked him and we just moved on.

Candide

Candide

I am sure that there must have been some talk but there really was not any time to worry about it.

It was three weeks later when the Costume Designer quit, and I do not think these events were connected.

The new TD seemed to get along with the producers better but we still did not have enough tools and supplies.

I do remember that when we built the last play, The Ritz, we chose to build the set with double-headed nails that we set all the way in.

We did not know it at the time, but they left the set onstage all winter and opened the next season with the same play.

After sitting onstage for 10 months the wood swelled around the nails and I heard from someone who worked there the next year that it was a bitch to get the set apart.

Hey if we had the right nails in the first place it would never have happened.

If you believe that I have this bridge for sale…...

I still have a few more stories of the people that summer.

Until next time . . .

Updated 12/18/18

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