Last week we rehearsed "Marius" goo.gl/Vu5gYp Sunday night, 7 to 10 p.m., as usual, then on Monday, we arrived for a tech rehearsal at 6 p.m., but ended up waiting for the set to be built, swiveled on sticky casters, and painted, so didn't get to rehearse 'til late and we didn't leave for home that night 'til after midnight. Same call time Tuesday, then, on Wednesday, we had 6 p.m. call time for our 8 p.m. dress rehearsal, and we opened Thursday, August 8, at 8 p.m. On Friday, to make some changes to our scenes, David has us show up for a 5 p.m. rehearsal. Saturday night we showed up at 6 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show, and Sunday at one p.m. for the 3 o'clock performance.
I live across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco, the bridge is under construction at night, blocking at least two lanes, and most nights I had to drive one of the tech people home. So, I'd get home around 12:30 on a good night. One night I decided to drive home via the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges, just to keep moving - more miles, more gas, but, at least not stuck on a bridge. Also, I'd leave home an hour earlier than usual most afternoons, as there was an A's game for three nights and a day, which made the commute absolutely horrific - the little Miata surrounded by testosterone-laden SUVs blaring music. Meanwhile, I had a house guest, so had to prepare my home, you know, that catch-up vacuuming, the food shopping, and the other details that make it not too embarrassing to open the door. At least we didn't have a BART strike! At least my mother was out of the hospital! At least I found another place for my brother!
On Saturday night one of our cast members had her car towed in the Marina neighborhood, for lack of a neighborhood parking sticker - a $600 setback for her. She is from Russia and her boyfriend from India - how could they possibly understand the city signage without guidance from a local? The parking Nazis couldn't just give them a ticket?
On Sunday, having an early call time, I found that between the Fort Mason Farmer's Market, which was full, and the America's Cup Marina activities, there was no free place to park at Fort Mason Center, as usual, so I had to shell out $17 just to park near GenerationTheatre for the afternoon. This included having to run out between costume changes to feed the meter! This isn't as bad as the $43 it cost me to arrive four minutes late to find that ticket in Berkeley across from UCB last Saturday morning, after rehearsing one scene with my fellow actress.
So, the unpredictable costs - emotional, time-consuming, and financial - all add up for the actors as we work toward the goal of a perfect show. Are we totally insane to want to do this kind of work?
Imagine, then, our disappointment, when we looked out through the curtains one evening and saw that there was only one audience member for each actor! The 100-seat house has not been close to half full, and it made me want to cry.
I reached out to my online marketing guru, Andreas Ramos, and he emailed me clear instructions on what to do, centered on Twitter, and I forwarded this to our producers. I opened a Twitter account yesterday. Please follow me at Honorene@Honorene1 and share our showtimes with your friends.
Here's the website for "Marius" bit.ly/14kTT8e
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