Opening night finally came and went and it was great! Oh sure, there were parts of scenes that were skipped and people forgetting lines or props, but that happens every opening night. Fortunately, the audience didn't notice the errors and the actors kept right on going. I kept a close eye on the prompt book to make sure I could give cues to people when their "normal" cues were missed so they could get onstage. We even had one actor stuck "upstairs" because his whole introduction in one part had been omitted. I found a spot for him to enter and we at least were able to get him where he needed to be. I'm very, very happy about the production we gave.
There were some non-theatre-related things that happened tonight that drove me insane. First, the doors weren't supposed to open to the public until 6:30 p.m. The place where we were having the play, though, has its doors unlocked until 9 p.m. every night, so people were coming in and sitting down without realizing it was a play. Once we got them to buy tickets, we were trying to figure out some rough sections but there were people in the audience and we didn't want them seeing what we were doing. I also had to get two of the actors' makeup completed and on the way into the building the shoulder strap of my kit had come undone and it flipped on its side. When I opened it, everything was mixed-up and it took me a little while to find what I needed. Being a OCD makeup designer and expecting to find everything "in its place" had me frazzled for a bit.
But the most irritating/stupidest things that happened tonight happened around Celeste. She was "backstage" (we didn't really have a stage so we couldn't have a "back," just an area where we would hide) and while I was organizing props on one table, one of the other actor's friends/family came back there and started petting her. Husband pointed out the "DO NOT PET" signs on her backpack and the people were like, "So?" He had to tell them to stop and go away before they would. Then -- and this one stunned all of the people standing around me -- our assistant director was sitting at the table selling tickets and eating her dinner. I'd seen her having some rice and something Chinese and trying to keep from making a mess before the audience arrived. While I was "backstage" again, two older boys came up to me and said, "We spilled some rice up front. Can we use your service dog to go eat it and clean it up for us?"
I (insert slang word for human excrement) you not. They really came back and asked to use my service dog as a Hoover to clean their mess. I was stunned. Everyone else around me was stunned. It was all some could do to keep from laughing and I could tell they wanted to but were afraid I'd be angrier if they did. I gave them a very terse "NO!" and told them to get away from me. I didn't care about being polite at that time. I was counting-down to the beginning of the show and couldn't believe the stupidity of the question. Of course, during the play when people would be "backstage" and drop something they'd tease me and ask if she could eat it for them. It's kind of funny as I look back on it. But the funny bit is really overshadowed by the ignorance and rudeness of what happened.
So, at least I survived opening night. If it was a complete bomb I'd planned to post the opening song from "The Producers" Broadway show (even though I never really thought it would be one). Fortunately, it was awesome and we've got another show Saturday night. Tomorrow I'll be having my brains scanned again, so maybe I'll get a nap. I'll let ya' know how it goes when I get home.
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