Elf on Tour: Charlotte, NC part 2 (End of tour)
Friday morning. My watch sleep app said I'd only gotten about 5 hours of sleep, sounds about right. Always have trouble sleeping after alcohol.
It bears mentioning that the unexpected inconveniences that struck over Christmas Eve Day--having to get a rental car, and my bass trombone arriving damaged--have been resolved only a few days later. The touring company is reimbursing me for about 75% of the rental car cost, and the bass trombone is repaired and working at no cost to me.
I'm taking this as a reminder to be patient and calm when things go "wrong," and not fly off the handle, because sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem and/or solutions are available that just need to be sought out.
Anyway, I walked to a CVS for some water but otherwise it was a nice slow morning.
Show 1 seemed to be kind of an understudy/swing show, which is good because swings and understudies deserve to make at least one appearance in the roles they've worked so hard to cover. It was also a packed house, yay about that. Between shows I spent a little time running through Disney music, and worked on Foodie Finds for my next venture, and had a nice cup of tea as it was cold and rainy out. Show 2 was equally normal. I thought the band played really well, not that my opinion matters.
Upon leaving the building I was startled to see that the sky was PURPLE.
After crossing a few intersections and craning my neck like a tourist for a bit, I discovered that the effect was from the Truist Center, which must have been lit purple, but it was also foggy so you couldn't see the top of the tower. The purple light was being dispersed in the fog, making the sky appear to glow in almost an ultraviolet way.
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Saturday, and because we've been doing two-show days since Thursday it feels like this is Sunday.
I felt restless, but it was rainy and crummy out. The usual breakfast and computer time, then checked on the rental car and took it out to fill with gas so that I can just peel out on Monday morning. Parking is expensive.
Guess I'll take this opportunity to apologize for being pretty lame on this tour. Essentially no Foodie Finds or exploring. This was primarily because
A) The tour was only two months long
B) I had to spend 15 hours per week on transcription in addition to the tour schedule, and
C) I had my Main Street Phil music to maintain and two unexpected auditions during this time.
Losing my job this summer lost me a lot of income, and then unexpectedly having to buy a bass trombone REALLY took a chunk out of the bank account (suddenly needed gear is just a reality of being in music.) I'm extremely grateful that I DID spend time working on this tour, even if it meant missing out on sightseeing and great eats. I badly needed to save money. As it is I'll probably break even, so I must have worked just enough.
Anyway.
The first show was...not our greatest. The audience seemed to enjoy it, but I was embarrassed to make a pretty noticeable mute mistake, and even the actors were struggling a bit. This is sort of the halfway point, with 4 more shows remaining, so perhaps we're all mentally struggling to stay focused and present.
Between shows I practiced some Disney stuff, had some hot tea, and watched part of The Emperor's New Groove to kind of decompress my brain with something silly. Returning for show 2, I found this adorable handmade magnet at my spot!
Lacey (ensemble) made them for us! How nice!
The second show went better for me, I felt unfocused but made a stronger effort to be in the moment and not make dumb mistakes just because my brain is jumping ahead to 2025.
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Sunday. The last day of tour.
I AM SO GLAD.
I've never been so happy to be done with a tour, and that's a shame. A lot of factors made this one particularly difficult for me, and rather than gripe about them here I'll just say that there are things that I need to keep in mind in the future before accepting a short holiday tour again. On the positive side, there were many wonderful things about this tour including great hotels, often getting my own dressing rooms, having our travel booked well in advance, and excellent reimbursement options for flights and travel. This is my first NETworks tour since about 2008, and I'm happy to see that they're a good production company to work for overall.
I spent the morning with breakfast, some packing, and making overnight oats to bring on the drive home tomorrow morning. Walked to Whole Paycheck one more time to treat myself to grocery sushi.
There are some familiar sights occurring backstage when a tour closes.
Usually there is a table where people pile "free stuff," which is anything from food to clothing to notebooks to cookware, etc, that people don't want to bring home or can't fit in their luggage. Along with the Free Stuff Table you can usually also find either programs or posters or both that people would like you to sign as a piece of memorabilia. In this case we had a lot of snacks at Free Stuff Table, and some programs, with the posters being lined up outside the production office where there was more room.
The road cases are lined up neatly in the hallways as usual, but shipping boxes and packing materials are all over the place as crew prepares to load out for the final time. A lot of costumes and props will go into storage, and will need to be packaged carefully to protect them in the event that the tour goes out again in the future.
A random picture of the Actual Backstage. A view that the band doesn't see often, but the actors and crew are very familiar with.
My final Trombone Princess dressing room, which is right next to the band boys' dressing room so it feels kind of silly. But I used it to practice this week, and appreciated the privacy of it.
And finally, my spot in the pit here in Charlotte. My mike and Aviom and stand where I like them. Looks pretty much the same on every show with the exception that typically I use my iPad for the music.
Before the final show the band was allowed a photo op on stage with one of the props, a sort of "elf car."
Here we are!
As we were leaving the stage I poked around and quickly found my very favorite prop, the GINGERBREAD FISH.
I politely begged a member of crew for a photo with it. Aaah, gingerbread fish, you brought me joy. I will miss you.
The final show went quite well. We knew that it was being recorded so that may have had something to do with it.
Afterward we packed up quickly, shook hands or hugged, and made our way to the black box for a champagne toast.
Some flowery words about how great this tour has been and what a privlege to work with each other...then, cheers!
It really has been a great group of people to work with, for the most part.
I am grateful for this experience, and for being able to play a really fun show for a lovely short run.
But I am also really, REALLY ready to hit the ground running in 2025.
So I chugged my champagne, said my goodbyes, grabbed my things, and scooted to the hotel to finish packing.
Thus ends Elf the Musical 2024.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: 8-9 hour drive to Orlando, stopping to pick up bass trombone, get groceries, and return rental car. Unpacking and cleaning before Jameson's surgery.
Tuesday: Jameson's surgery. Getting him there and home safely. Probably more cleaning while he rests. Happy New Year.
Wednesday: New Year's Day, so I haven't been able to make any appointments due to the holiday. Cleaning and probably sending lots of emails to jump-start non-tour life. Maybe even some practice.
It bears mentioning that the unexpected inconveniences that struck over Christmas Eve Day--having to get a rental car, and my bass trombone arriving damaged--have been resolved only a few days later. The touring company is reimbursing me for about 75% of the rental car cost, and the bass trombone is repaired and working at no cost to me.
I'm taking this as a reminder to be patient and calm when things go "wrong," and not fly off the handle, because sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem and/or solutions are available that just need to be sought out.
Anyway, I walked to a CVS for some water but otherwise it was a nice slow morning.
Show 1 seemed to be kind of an understudy/swing show, which is good because swings and understudies deserve to make at least one appearance in the roles they've worked so hard to cover. It was also a packed house, yay about that. Between shows I spent a little time running through Disney music, and worked on Foodie Finds for my next venture, and had a nice cup of tea as it was cold and rainy out. Show 2 was equally normal. I thought the band played really well, not that my opinion matters.
Upon leaving the building I was startled to see that the sky was PURPLE.
After crossing a few intersections and craning my neck like a tourist for a bit, I discovered that the effect was from the Truist Center, which must have been lit purple, but it was also foggy so you couldn't see the top of the tower. The purple light was being dispersed in the fog, making the sky appear to glow in almost an ultraviolet way.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, and because we've been doing two-show days since Thursday it feels like this is Sunday.
I felt restless, but it was rainy and crummy out. The usual breakfast and computer time, then checked on the rental car and took it out to fill with gas so that I can just peel out on Monday morning. Parking is expensive.
Guess I'll take this opportunity to apologize for being pretty lame on this tour. Essentially no Foodie Finds or exploring. This was primarily because
A) The tour was only two months long
B) I had to spend 15 hours per week on transcription in addition to the tour schedule, and
C) I had my Main Street Phil music to maintain and two unexpected auditions during this time.
Losing my job this summer lost me a lot of income, and then unexpectedly having to buy a bass trombone REALLY took a chunk out of the bank account (suddenly needed gear is just a reality of being in music.) I'm extremely grateful that I DID spend time working on this tour, even if it meant missing out on sightseeing and great eats. I badly needed to save money. As it is I'll probably break even, so I must have worked just enough.
Anyway.
The first show was...not our greatest. The audience seemed to enjoy it, but I was embarrassed to make a pretty noticeable mute mistake, and even the actors were struggling a bit. This is sort of the halfway point, with 4 more shows remaining, so perhaps we're all mentally struggling to stay focused and present.
Between shows I practiced some Disney stuff, had some hot tea, and watched part of The Emperor's New Groove to kind of decompress my brain with something silly. Returning for show 2, I found this adorable handmade magnet at my spot!
Lacey (ensemble) made them for us! How nice!
The second show went better for me, I felt unfocused but made a stronger effort to be in the moment and not make dumb mistakes just because my brain is jumping ahead to 2025.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday. The last day of tour.
I AM SO GLAD.
I've never been so happy to be done with a tour, and that's a shame. A lot of factors made this one particularly difficult for me, and rather than gripe about them here I'll just say that there are things that I need to keep in mind in the future before accepting a short holiday tour again. On the positive side, there were many wonderful things about this tour including great hotels, often getting my own dressing rooms, having our travel booked well in advance, and excellent reimbursement options for flights and travel. This is my first NETworks tour since about 2008, and I'm happy to see that they're a good production company to work for overall.
I spent the morning with breakfast, some packing, and making overnight oats to bring on the drive home tomorrow morning. Walked to Whole Paycheck one more time to treat myself to grocery sushi.
There are some familiar sights occurring backstage when a tour closes.
Usually there is a table where people pile "free stuff," which is anything from food to clothing to notebooks to cookware, etc, that people don't want to bring home or can't fit in their luggage. Along with the Free Stuff Table you can usually also find either programs or posters or both that people would like you to sign as a piece of memorabilia. In this case we had a lot of snacks at Free Stuff Table, and some programs, with the posters being lined up outside the production office where there was more room.
The road cases are lined up neatly in the hallways as usual, but shipping boxes and packing materials are all over the place as crew prepares to load out for the final time. A lot of costumes and props will go into storage, and will need to be packaged carefully to protect them in the event that the tour goes out again in the future.
A random picture of the Actual Backstage. A view that the band doesn't see often, but the actors and crew are very familiar with.
My final Trombone Princess dressing room, which is right next to the band boys' dressing room so it feels kind of silly. But I used it to practice this week, and appreciated the privacy of it.
And finally, my spot in the pit here in Charlotte. My mike and Aviom and stand where I like them. Looks pretty much the same on every show with the exception that typically I use my iPad for the music.
Before the final show the band was allowed a photo op on stage with one of the props, a sort of "elf car."
Here we are!
As we were leaving the stage I poked around and quickly found my very favorite prop, the GINGERBREAD FISH.
I politely begged a member of crew for a photo with it. Aaah, gingerbread fish, you brought me joy. I will miss you.
The final show went quite well. We knew that it was being recorded so that may have had something to do with it.
Afterward we packed up quickly, shook hands or hugged, and made our way to the black box for a champagne toast.
Some flowery words about how great this tour has been and what a privlege to work with each other...then, cheers!
Click to viewIt really has been a great group of people to work with, for the most part.
I am grateful for this experience, and for being able to play a really fun show for a lovely short run.
But I am also really, REALLY ready to hit the ground running in 2025.
So I chugged my champagne, said my goodbyes, grabbed my things, and scooted to the hotel to finish packing.
Thus ends Elf the Musical 2024.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: 8-9 hour drive to Orlando, stopping to pick up bass trombone, get groceries, and return rental car. Unpacking and cleaning before Jameson's surgery.
Tuesday: Jameson's surgery. Getting him there and home safely. Probably more cleaning while he rests. Happy New Year.
Wednesday: New Year's Day, so I haven't been able to make any appointments due to the holiday. Cleaning and probably sending lots of emails to jump-start non-tour life. Maybe even some practice.