I did it. I totally drove 12 hours to Wichita in one day. I didn’t think I could do it. I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to driving. But I started early and I just did it. Yay me!
And what did I find when I got here?
Well, my first impression of Wichita was that it reminds me a bit of Dallas. Dallas has Central Expressway, this road that runs below the city line, and there’s a part of route 400 here that does the same thing. Of course, all cities in the Midwestern area that were built after the industrial age are probably going to feel the same to me. But even the street signs along 400 are the same black metal rectangular contraptions Dallas uses. And I found out today that there are a Towne East and a Towne West Mall here, just like in Dallas.
Anyway, I found my hotel without too much trouble, and low and behold WGO has done something right. My hotel room has a KING SIZE bed, refrigerator, microwave, hair dryer, coffee maker, and FREE INTERNET. Plus a desk with plenty of room for my lap top and printer. AND there’s a (small) fitness room on the second floor. Hooray!
After sleeping almost 10 hours my first night, I went down to the fitness center for about 20 minutes to wake up and use my muscles after they were cramped in the car all day. Then I had a shower and breakfast and hopped off the office to meet the WGO folk. I met the GM, got a quick tour of the facilities and then went home to do some work until my meeting time with the artistic director. After this meeting, my assistant and I rolled an electric clavichord on a cart down the street to the hotel where we are having rehearsals because the Century II (also known as the Spaceship) has so many events going on there are no rooms available for us to rehearse in. I send my assistant home because it’s just a music rehearsal that night and I already have the admin assistant folks from the office lined up to help me set up chairs. Well what should happen, but the GM pops by the rehearsal, notices the admins setting up chairs and yells at me in front everyone who happens to be in the room because I’m not using my assistant. Micromanaging much? And the Artistic Director (who happens to be the GM’s wife) and I had already discussed that my “assistant” is mainly doing props, so she’ll be available for some but not all rehearsals because she needs time to procure props for the show. Apparently the right and left hand not only do not know what the other is doing, but don’t speak to each other very much. AND the GM decides to have a little chat with the chorus before the music rehearsal starts, during which he decides to assure them all that I much older than I look and have plenty of experience and am very capable. And yes, he announces my age to everyone. I don’t really care, personally, it was just weird that he felt the need to announce my age to everyone. It was partly because earlier that day when he was taking me around and introducing me to people, someone in the Century II admin office said I looked too young for my job and accused Parvan of hiring children. In a nice way; at least I think so.
My second day on the job has been less exciting, thankfully. Now that I’m getting the hang of the way things work around here I feel more confident. It’s also just a little cruel, I think, to schedule a rehearsal the same day the Stage Manager starts work in a new city. I knew that going into this job, but I guess I never realized just how important those first few days of getting organized are without having to run a rehearsal (yes, Liz, you told me so).
Tomorrow is our first production meeting. That will be very interesting.
