Three-show days should be illegal.

There.  I've said it.

Had my first ever three-show day today and boy if it didn't kick my butt.

But allow me to rewind.  Opening night...happened.  I boned a sequence of cues by making the same mistake I had made earlier that afternoon, which REALLY made me angry.  So angry and embarassed that I almost didn't make it to the party.  But I bucked up and, enticed by the promise of free booze, trudged to the party.  A party at which I drank much Maker's Mark and even danced a little, feeling much more positive about life by the end of the party.

By the morning (read: "early afternoon") I felt much more of a "get over the past and get it right today"  So, I mixed a good show at 4 and a good show at 7.  Felt good.  Reassuring.

What DIDN'T feel so good was the 10 hours load-out the next day.  That will, of course, get faster with better planning and organization.  At least, I hope so, since the next load-out is tomorrow night...after a three-show day.  I won't feel like hanging around much.  Now, sound only took 5 hours to get on the truck, but obviously that doesn't hold any weight when the whole crew is getting on the same bus at the end of the out.

We piled into a charter bus around 9, headed from York to Pittsburgh.  It appears that we all had the same idea about this bus ride, as everyone had brought a 6 or two of beer.  We stopped after about 20 minutes on the road to grab some Wendy's (none of us had eaten anything since lunch break at noon)  However, Grant and I had just opened our beers (not our first beers...but the numbers aren't important.) and we didn't want to leave them on the bus...soooo we just carried them in.  I couldn't tell whether the cute girl behind the counter kept looking at me because she thought I was cute, or because I was holding my Yuengling...  Either way, just as I ordered my food, I got a call from the Production Manager asking me to ride with her, as she was driving alone to Pittsburgh, and the forecast called for snow.  So, I ate my dinner slowly, as the bus pulled away, and waited for Ana-Rose to pick me up.

We ended up getting into Pittsburgh around 1a.  Checking in, and climbing into bed...only to discover I wasn't tired.  Well, I was, but I couldn't fall asleep.  Didn't sleep well all night.  Woke up at 6:30 and was downstairs at 7:15 with the rest of the crew to sign contracts (finally!) and get union cards (for those of us who didn't already have them.)  Load-in began at 8a and went straight until 5:30, with a 4-hour block for cast, designers, and director to look at some transitions in the evening.  We did take a lunch break at noon, at which point I was able to meet up with to friends, identical twins, who live in Pittsburgh.  I hadn't seen Hannah or Jess in a good 6 years, we decided, so it was great to grab a quick bite and catch up a bit.  Longer would have been better, but alas, there was no time for that.

Today, though, began with a 9a showcall for a 10:30, a 2, and a 5p performance.  Quite the ordeal.  Three shows in one day REALLY takes it out of me.  All I did today was mix, eat, and nap.  Still drained by the end.  And, of course, after mixing three shows, we had to move into the crew bus (not particularly difficult: pack up most of your hotel room and put some luggage on the bus) and then we had a meeting in the hotel bar to go over truck pack.  Again.  Hopefully we'll get it closer-to-right this time.

Ugh, ok, bed time.  I'm looking forward to sleeping on the bus tomorrow.  I'm NOT looking forward to tomorrow's 3-shows-then-load-out.  That will suck.  Need my sleeps.