Elf on Tour: New Orleans, LA part 1
It was a normal travel and flying day.
We left the hotel via charter bus at 7:30am, and our flight was at 11am, direct.
It was a lovely thing to step outside and see the sun and feel that temperatures were NOT in the single digits!
No offense, Wisconsin :p
We were at the hotel quickly. I've been to NOLA many times, with the circus and with various tours, and it is not one of my favorite cities. There's a lot to see and do, but it is also so incredibly run down, the infrastructure is crumbling, and it's clear that a lot of the people who live here could use a hand. In other words, the place has never been the same since Hurricane Katrina.
Usually the touring group I'm with is put in a hotel directly on the touristy strip (Bourbon St.), and from there we'd walk to the Saenger to perform. I hated this walk. Feces and urine on the sidewalks, huge holes in the sidewalk or just dirt where sidewalk used to be, drunks fighting or scammers trying to shine your shoes, tourists overindulging and throwing up right in the street. And all of the stores selling alcohol or weed or cheap tchotchkes. It was only between 3-5 blocks depending on where we were staying, but it was totally disgusting and I hate, hate, hated it.
This time we are in a hotel on the OTHER side of the Saenger, closer to the highway. And while the strip is still right there, we don't have to actually walk through it to get to work. It is significantly quieter on this side, the theatre is only two blocks away, and I can tell already that for the first time ever in New Orleans, I'm not gonna have to dodge piles of shit and vomit to get to work!! What a joy!!
Ok enough badmouthing NOLA. I've been here MANY times, there's lots of culture and beauty in this city AWAY from the strip (Examples from 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, and this January!)
I did the usual thing of dropping luggage and walking to the grocery. I've been here so many times that I knew exactly where it was without directions. You have to walk through a residential to get to it, and I always enjoy the unique houses here and the big ancient swampy trees.
Stocked up as much as I could, knowing that we have extra shows plus I'll be doing transcription. Lugged the groceries back, unpacked, showered, ate dinner, typed this up, then two hours of transcription before crashing in bed.
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Tuesday I was up early for transcription. Checked out the hotel breakfast and they do grits instead of oats, which are delicious but are very low on nutrients, so I'm probably just gonna make my own breakfast here (I'll still steal the bagels and peanut butter though :p)
Most of my day was spent on transcription with a break for lunch and to hit Walgreens for a jug of distilled water for tea.
In the evening, a lovely short and uneventful walk to the Saenger.
It was shocking to realize that I've now performed in this theatre with THREE different tours: Tootsie, My Fair Lady, and Elf.
My phone automatically connected itself to the wifi, that's how often I've worked here!
The theatre looks a lot like a Fox, with plaster statues and columns framing a sparkling starry sky. It's a beautiful place to work.
The pit is a bit in front of the stage, so I can see a slice of what's going on, for once. Yay!
Also, one of the props is going to be coming up from the pit this week: a gingerbread fish used in the opening scene (I've posted a picture of it here before if you want a closer look; now it's got some sparkles added to the frosting bits too!) It's my absolute favorite prop because of A) how ridiculous it looks and B) how often I see it hanging out in random places backstage.
Here are some crew "testing" the gingerbread fish being "caught" from the pit!
The show went smoothly, personally I had a few weird moments because I was incredibly distracted, one because I could see the stage and kept wanting to watch, and two because there's a pre-audition happening in Orlando right now for the new Epic Universe theme park. They want a clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, and the audition packet is due on the 6th...which is VERY soon. I hadn't planned to take it but the pay is very good, and during the show I was getting badgered by other theme park musicians to at least submit, so I guess that's another thing to add to my to-do list this week. Anyway the show was fine and it was nice to be back at the hotel in minutes.
Oh, and I finally got to see the snow effect near the end! It's so cool!!
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Wednesday up early again for transcription and also to try and address this sudden-onset audition.
Plugged away hard at transcription until job 1 of 2 was done, sent it, ate lunch, and recorded the non-performing parts of my audition packet (an "about me" and a sample of my ability to produce a fakey French accent, of all things. Don't ask.)
When that was done I hunted down some old Busch Gardens footage of myself playing "Mix It Up!" on the Italy stage, figured out how to download it from youtube, and chopped it up into highlights of me dancing around and tromboning in my bright orange chef's outfit. This is because the audition notice said they needed to see us move around while we play, "a la Blast." "Mix It Up" was a Blast-themed show, so although my footage is incredibly old it's still evidence that I have done such a thing and could certainly do it again.
This took a really long time because I'm not good at video editing.
And then I ultimately decided to submit my whole application packet today.
Originally I was going to record more stuff on Friday, but Friday IS the due date and I don't want to risk it.
With the remaining daylight I got the trombone out and played through only half of my memorized Disney stuff.
After that I made the difficult decision to use a laundry service this week. It's very expensive and I hate doing it, but my time is just SO tight this week. Fortunately I got the best laundry person in the world; she picked up my laundry tonight AND returned it tonight!! I gave her the biggest tip that I could because that is incredible (typical turnaround for this service is between 24-36 hours)
Tonight's show went well. There are bubble machines attached to the outside of the Saenger theatre that simulate "snow," and after the show they were going crazy, I stepped outside and really thought it was snowing for a minute! Didn't get footage but maybe another night.
As expected, I haven't had time to do diddly-poo so far here in New Orleans. Womp womp.
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Thursday: Two shows and transcription before and between them.
Friday: One show so lots of transcription, a walk for god's sake, and possibly more Disney practice.
Saturday: Three shows, I will not have time for anything! They are giving us meals between shows though which is awesome.
Sunday: Two shows and packing up for the trip to Greensboro.
We left the hotel via charter bus at 7:30am, and our flight was at 11am, direct.
It was a lovely thing to step outside and see the sun and feel that temperatures were NOT in the single digits!
No offense, Wisconsin :p
We were at the hotel quickly. I've been to NOLA many times, with the circus and with various tours, and it is not one of my favorite cities. There's a lot to see and do, but it is also so incredibly run down, the infrastructure is crumbling, and it's clear that a lot of the people who live here could use a hand. In other words, the place has never been the same since Hurricane Katrina.
Usually the touring group I'm with is put in a hotel directly on the touristy strip (Bourbon St.), and from there we'd walk to the Saenger to perform. I hated this walk. Feces and urine on the sidewalks, huge holes in the sidewalk or just dirt where sidewalk used to be, drunks fighting or scammers trying to shine your shoes, tourists overindulging and throwing up right in the street. And all of the stores selling alcohol or weed or cheap tchotchkes. It was only between 3-5 blocks depending on where we were staying, but it was totally disgusting and I hate, hate, hated it.
This time we are in a hotel on the OTHER side of the Saenger, closer to the highway. And while the strip is still right there, we don't have to actually walk through it to get to work. It is significantly quieter on this side, the theatre is only two blocks away, and I can tell already that for the first time ever in New Orleans, I'm not gonna have to dodge piles of shit and vomit to get to work!! What a joy!!
Ok enough badmouthing NOLA. I've been here MANY times, there's lots of culture and beauty in this city AWAY from the strip (Examples from 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, and this January!)
I did the usual thing of dropping luggage and walking to the grocery. I've been here so many times that I knew exactly where it was without directions. You have to walk through a residential to get to it, and I always enjoy the unique houses here and the big ancient swampy trees.
Stocked up as much as I could, knowing that we have extra shows plus I'll be doing transcription. Lugged the groceries back, unpacked, showered, ate dinner, typed this up, then two hours of transcription before crashing in bed.
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Tuesday I was up early for transcription. Checked out the hotel breakfast and they do grits instead of oats, which are delicious but are very low on nutrients, so I'm probably just gonna make my own breakfast here (I'll still steal the bagels and peanut butter though :p)
Most of my day was spent on transcription with a break for lunch and to hit Walgreens for a jug of distilled water for tea.
In the evening, a lovely short and uneventful walk to the Saenger.
It was shocking to realize that I've now performed in this theatre with THREE different tours: Tootsie, My Fair Lady, and Elf.
My phone automatically connected itself to the wifi, that's how often I've worked here!
The theatre looks a lot like a Fox, with plaster statues and columns framing a sparkling starry sky. It's a beautiful place to work.
Click to viewThe pit is a bit in front of the stage, so I can see a slice of what's going on, for once. Yay!
Also, one of the props is going to be coming up from the pit this week: a gingerbread fish used in the opening scene (I've posted a picture of it here before if you want a closer look; now it's got some sparkles added to the frosting bits too!) It's my absolute favorite prop because of A) how ridiculous it looks and B) how often I see it hanging out in random places backstage.
Here are some crew "testing" the gingerbread fish being "caught" from the pit!
The show went smoothly, personally I had a few weird moments because I was incredibly distracted, one because I could see the stage and kept wanting to watch, and two because there's a pre-audition happening in Orlando right now for the new Epic Universe theme park. They want a clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, and the audition packet is due on the 6th...which is VERY soon. I hadn't planned to take it but the pay is very good, and during the show I was getting badgered by other theme park musicians to at least submit, so I guess that's another thing to add to my to-do list this week. Anyway the show was fine and it was nice to be back at the hotel in minutes.
Oh, and I finally got to see the snow effect near the end! It's so cool!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday up early again for transcription and also to try and address this sudden-onset audition.
Plugged away hard at transcription until job 1 of 2 was done, sent it, ate lunch, and recorded the non-performing parts of my audition packet (an "about me" and a sample of my ability to produce a fakey French accent, of all things. Don't ask.)
When that was done I hunted down some old Busch Gardens footage of myself playing "Mix It Up!" on the Italy stage, figured out how to download it from youtube, and chopped it up into highlights of me dancing around and tromboning in my bright orange chef's outfit. This is because the audition notice said they needed to see us move around while we play, "a la Blast." "Mix It Up" was a Blast-themed show, so although my footage is incredibly old it's still evidence that I have done such a thing and could certainly do it again.
This took a really long time because I'm not good at video editing.
And then I ultimately decided to submit my whole application packet today.
Originally I was going to record more stuff on Friday, but Friday IS the due date and I don't want to risk it.
With the remaining daylight I got the trombone out and played through only half of my memorized Disney stuff.
After that I made the difficult decision to use a laundry service this week. It's very expensive and I hate doing it, but my time is just SO tight this week. Fortunately I got the best laundry person in the world; she picked up my laundry tonight AND returned it tonight!! I gave her the biggest tip that I could because that is incredible (typical turnaround for this service is between 24-36 hours)
Tonight's show went well. There are bubble machines attached to the outside of the Saenger theatre that simulate "snow," and after the show they were going crazy, I stepped outside and really thought it was snowing for a minute! Didn't get footage but maybe another night.
As expected, I haven't had time to do diddly-poo so far here in New Orleans. Womp womp.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: Two shows and transcription before and between them.
Friday: One show so lots of transcription, a walk for god's sake, and possibly more Disney practice.
Saturday: Three shows, I will not have time for anything! They are giving us meals between shows though which is awesome.
Sunday: Two shows and packing up for the trip to Greensboro.