Y2 D88

I just had the most incredible 24 hours. I finally found a group of people with whom I fit! People who are insane, loud, crazy, young AND old, and accept me for who I am.

Let's start at the beginning...

My buddy and I rolled out of our area at 3am. We made the drive to Reno in 3.5 hours. Smooth sailing. We rolled into town around 6:30. Man what a dump Reno has become. We had breakfast then met up with everyone at the event center around 10 to setup. While we were waiting for the group to show, we walked around giving out free tickets. The event center is on the University of Reno campus and there were tons of students already milling around. I gave a pair to these two girls and after they hugged me and ran away giggling, I started to get an idea of just how big this was going to be.

We had from 10am until 11am to setup. Our director's stress level was through the roof. She was so tweaked out, but now having lived through it, I understand. We unloaded the van, marked stage, marked our after show donation request spots, etc. We were done around 11:30 and then I pulled out ice cream. I had brought with me about 14 small tupperware containers filled with ice cream. The cast went nuts. I was starting to put things away and one of the girls leaned over and kissed me on the head. "That was for ice cream". She then hugged me saying - "I love you for bringing me ice cream, I hate you for making me fat". Alrighty then. Works for me. Again, getting a sense of the group and things to come...

We then met up with another friend for lunch and to bum around Reno. That was pretty uneventful although I had my badge on for the show that night and a few people in town stopped me when they saw it. Wether it was that they wanted tickets, or to meet the cast, or that they had seen the cast in the hotel, everyone had a story they wanted to tell.

I now know why people become roadies...

We were starting to get bored and exhausted by around 3. Reno is not a very exciting city. Neither of us wanted to spend money gambling, we didn't want to drink, and we had no hotel room. So we headed over to the event center, parked in the garage out of sight, and took an hour nap. During that time, my other friend who lives locally called and met up with us around 5. At 5:30 or so we moved the car into the "performer's" area back around the loading dock. I went inside to get ready and they went to get in line. There was already a line forming by 6pm. I would say there were a good 50 people in line 2 hours before the show.

For about 1/2 hour we went through our final prep and then a bunch of us decided to go check out the line and get the crowd worked up. Wow. Insane. I felt so good. Like I was part of something big and fun. I started to get the adrenaline rush at that point. Around 7 they let the crowd in and same thing - here's where I had one of my shining moments - I started walking the floor as I could come and go as I please with my little badge. With the help of one of the other cast members, we got the crowd into a frenzy. I noticed at one point my two directors watching me. Later in the night, the wife told me that I was her new favorite person because when she saw me getting the crowd worked up, she knew it was a good thing I was part of the group. That made me feel good. Again, I finally found some place where I belong. A place where I could be as loud and silly as I want and it's a fucking GOOD thing.

The main fun started around 8 with virgin games, rules, and time warp instructions. From there it was all a whirlwind and blur. Move props, change sets, put things away, move cables; just non-stop until the end of the show. It was an energy level I can't even describe in words. I will say that the bond I felt between the five of us on tech crew gave me one of the warmest feelings. Plus as the actors came backstage to change and get water, I saw their energy which kept me going.

Side note - at one point it struck me how different theater people can be from outside folks. I have never hung out backstage at a show like this where I was part of the whole thing. Watching people throw off clothes and change and move like they did was amazing and impressive. Also how non-chalant people are around each other because it's about the show. I saw more of the cast's bodies than I have seen anywhere else in a long time. The girls throwing off their tops to change, the guys dropping pants to change, it was all just a normal thing. And funny enough, while I was conscious of these things going on, I was too fucking busy to care. That's when I realized, oh god, I am a drama person. But I liked it.

The show went perfect. Didn't miss a single mark, didn't screw anything up. That's all one can ask. When the show hit a certain point, all of us on tech and security ran off to our donation locations. We were there to ask for donations as people were leaving. Long story long, I made the most money out of our group which was driving one of the girls nuts. She looked over at me at one point and said "But I have boobs!" To which I responded, "yes, but I have a bigger mouth". 'Nuff said.

There were at least two after parties we knew of going on, one right across the street and another a ways downtown. The one across the street had supplied us with hundreds, literally hundreds of free wine or beer drink tickets. Guess where we ended up? I was still high on the show as we walked into the bar and I decided to have fun. As me and some of the tech and security folks walked in, I announced to the room "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN - IT IS TIME NOW TO MEET THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE FROM YOUR ROCKY HORROR SHOW! TECH AND SECURITY!!". The room went nuts. I couldn't believe it. At least 3/4 of the room had been at the show and many of them were in costume. People wanted to buy us drinks, they wanted pictures, it was crazy. Then I saw some of the performers pulling up. I did it again, I announced THEM to the room and all hell broke loose - cameras, booze, etc. We were there a couple of hours where some of the cast started getting pretty heated and we all decided it was time for food.

Off to one of the casinos. I should mention my two friends had kept up with me the whole time. The cast accepted them into our little fold and they were having the time of their lives too. That made me feel good. I wanted them to be happy. 20 of us, 1/2 in costume walking through a casino at 1am. Yeah we were a sight to see. What fun.

We ate and got in the car at 2. Drive straight home. I slept from 7 until noon. Now to pick up the pieces of my car, my voice, my body. I am exhausted, thrilled, excited, and drained all at the same time. I can't wait until our next show next saturday in the city.

Some final thoughts - I didn't screw up. I didn't make any drunken moves on anyone even though a couple of them did on me. I also didn't put my foot in my mouth or piss anyone off. This is big for me. I need this. I need this energy, this social group. I can't fuck it up.