so, no time to post on my neglected little blog this past fall because i was busy.
*B*U*S*Y*.
just a wee bit.
found out in august after my long hot summer at stagedoor manor performing arts camp in the catskills (where i did 13, and also BIG with richard maltby, jr. coming into rework a few things...) that i got my first BIG time professional gig MDing the national tour of in the mood, a music revue featuring the wonderful big band music of the 1940s.
we were all over the place. the west coast. the east coast. the midwest. on a bus with 23 people. 13 stellar musicians and six awesome singers (3 gals, 3 guys - one of each which made up the dance team) doing this great show for appreciative audiences (sometimes small, sometimes sold out). small venues, big humongous venues - we performed many places that were on the vaudeville circuit and also on a stage that frank sinatra christened (the cerritos center in cerritos, ca)! always playing that great music for two hours. eating deliciously catered meals before shows and seeing some beautiful places (and some no-so-beautiful places). lots of laughs and fun and sightseeing. and tons of pictures taken. some great hotels (we won't mention the not-so-great - whoops, just did!).
every show, we had the opportunity to go out on that stage to begin a show that came to life through the music and our entire company's talents which brought back beautiful memories for our audiences. brought a lump to my throat many times because you could look out in the audience (the band was on stage) and see and hear people's reactions. a rock concert for the older crowd and the young at heart. we were rock stars!
and to have my family see me perform with this caliber of show was thrilling in itself.
i'm so grateful for this opportunity and all i learned on this tour. i became a better, stronger musician and met some great people. i learned alot about others, mainly that we're all here together and whether we know it or not, we're all in the same boat, um, bus, heading in the same direction, more or less.
so . . .
we are now on hiatus until february when we begin our tour again and go until may. rumors swirl around that we are headed to austrailia, too? maybe, but another thing i learned on tour is don't count your chickens until they hatch. or you will go nuts.
looking forward to getting back on the road . . .
2 minutes before curtain at the cerritos center for the performing arts * cerritos, ca
our tour manager, art, sent us all the statistics of our tour. check it out.
In The Mood 2010 Fall Tour Stats
- 8 days rehearsal with just cast/MD
- 4 days rehearsal with cast/band
- 55 total days (not counting rehearsal days)
- 10,222.7 approximate miles traveled by bus (or an average of 185.86727/day)
- 622 miles - Longest city to city travel
- 57 miles - Shortest city to city travel
- 40 performance days
- 32 evening performances
- 20 matinee performances
- 12 days with 2 shows
- 11 travel days
- 4 days off (***YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY***)
- 30 different hotels
- 14 multiple day hotels
- 23 states and the District of Columbia
- Performed in MT, OR, NV, WA, CA, UT, AZ, NM, MO, IL, IN, MI, WV, VA, PA, NJ and NC
- Rode through ID, TX, OK, OH, DC, MD, and DE
We saw (or slept through) the “M”, Coeur d’Alene Lake, “Hot Poop”, too many opportunities to gamble, Donner Pass, the Pacific Ocean, Mt. Shasta (oops! In the clouds), trip to/and Crater Lake NP, Redwood NP, Humboldt Bay, Napa Valley, Sutter’s Fort, 2 bari’s ((H)Al), Hangtown Fries, Sequoia, Santa Barbara, the Grapevine, NY, NY, the Great Salt Lake, Virgin River Canyon, Kingman, “The Big Unit”, too many “Hooters”, Petrified Forest NP, dinosaurs, largest cross west of the whatever, the “Arch”, the Zoo, Chicago, too much of Ohio, Civil War battlefields, Washington, DC, lots of family, lots of great food, and lots of fun. All while performing a great show that touched the hearts and memories of many across the country.
- Unknown/Unable to compute: gallons/vats of alcohol consumed
SPRING TOUR BEGINS FEBRUARY 11th, 2011!
Hey Mike..your mum mentioned this to me...wow sounds soo great!! Well done..and if you make it to Perth Australia..I will be in the front row :) Merry Christmas x Marieka