Paris of the Plains

Week 30: Fort Worth, TX

In the theatre in which we were raised, it was taken for granted that one toured. To ask us if we like touring is like asking us if we like to eat. It is sad that younger actors have not had the experience of playing before different audiences in theatres of different sizes. It is part of the job of being an actor.
--Lynn Fontanne

I just completed the marvelous and inspiring biography, "The Fabulous Lunts" by Jared Brown, thus another insight from Miss Fontanne. I highly recommend this exhaustive and wonderfully entertaining book! The Lunts estimated at one point that they had performed in their time for over 1.2 million people. The greater part of their career was spent on the road, playing mostly one night stands in any venue that would accept them--high school gymnasiums, VFW halls, you name it--sometimes without sets, costumes or lighting. Their dedication to their craft and to bringing their work to any audience in America that wanted it is an inspiration to remember the next time I am grumbling about life on the road!

A great theatrical anecdote from last week's run in San Antonio. Our Lancelot, Patrick Heusinger, landed a guest role on a TV series and had to leave us on short notice. Now, the tour company has four "swings"--two men and two women who are responsible for covering all the ensemble parts in the show. When a principal actor is out, one of the ensemble men who understudies the role goes on and a swing moves into that performer's place. As fate would have it, at the end of last week one of our ensemble men, David, had to go away for a wedding, and he happens to be one of the Lancelot understudies. So Nigel, one of our swings, went on as Lancelot. Our other swing, Graham, had to go on in the place of another ensemble man who was out. Which left no one to cover David's ensemble track. So, the solution?
Tera-Lee, one of our female swings and our stellar assistant dance captain, had to go on in male drag and perform David's role. And what a trouper she was! Clad in chain mail, a mustache, and her high heeled dance shoes, Tera-Lee executed every bit of David's track with finesse. She was adorable, especially when paired with the lovely Bree in the finale who was at least nine inches taller than Tera-Lee in her heels! Ken, our droll and very clever stage manager, has named Tera-Lee's alter ego "Ted." This whole thing is further proof that when "the show must go on," theatre people, in the words of Tim Gunn, "make it work!" I doubt if anyone in the audience noticed that "Ted" was really a girl. The photo was captured from the wings by our stage manager Jovon.

Fort Worth began it's life as a military outpost, then evolved as a major cattle town along the Chisholm Trail, with a strip of saloons and bawdy houses so attractive to traveling cowboys that it earned the town the nickname "Paris of the Plains." I regret that I don't have a whole lot to say about Fort Worth. As has happened in the past, I am housed several miles outside of town and have pretty much carpooled to and from the theatre or to the gym, which is right next to the theatre.
The theatre itself, Bass Performance Hall, is a majestic building, and from what I understand, the crown jewel of Fort Worth. It combines modern design and technology with a nod to the ornate and elegant European style theatres of the past. An imposing facade with enormous bas-relief angels encloses a gleaming interior of polished marble, tromp l'oeil ceiling murals, and a house arranged in graceful horseshoe shaped tiers; the entire theatre is in ethereal shades of cream and dove gray with mauve seats. The angel motif extends to the domed ceiling, encircled with stylized feather "wings"--the feather pattern is echoed in the carvings on the plush seats. The venue is lovely, and the dressing rooms are very comfortable and spacious. After the raucous audiences of San Antonio, the Fort Worth crowds seem polite and sedate by comparison but are enjoying the show every bit as much.

Of course, I couldn't leave Fort Worth without seeing some art. You know my motto--look for the beauty everywhere you go. The Kimbell Art Museum has it in spades. Their small collection of European art is like a wonderful jewel box, containing an exquisite array of gems from some of art's greatest masters. Among them, astonishingly, is one of the most famous and most influential canvases by my favorite artist, Caravaggio. When I entered the gallery and saw "The Card Sharps" hanging there, I almost hit the floor. Caravaggio influenced generations of artists with his revolutionary approach to realism, light and shadow and this particular painting, which depicts a delightful, spontaneous human event was often imitated by many fine artists. What a thrill to see the painting in person. How fortunate for Fort Worth to have it, and how lucky I was to have been able to see it (okay, I'm a dork, I admit it). While I was at the museum I read a quote from Henri Matisse that represents a freedom and lightness of touch in creating art that I would aspire to, particularly in my work in "Spamalot:"

I have always tried to hide my own efforts and wanted my work to have the lightness and joyousness of a springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost.
--Henri Matisse


From the sacred to the profane, now... I'm hosting this week's "Shot Night" and have the perfect dressing room for it--it's even equipped with a wine cooler! My shot is western themed, and has an obscene name which I will omit out of consideration for those of you with delicate sensibilities. However, it consists simply of Irish cream and butterscotch schnapps. It's delicious, and if you want to know the off color moniker of this shot I will leave you to search the internet and find out for yourself! At any rate, I enjoy hosting shot night--it's like a little mini-party and a chance for the entire company to socialize for a few minutes together at the end of a long work week.


My Fort Worth dresser is Rhonda. She is married to a stage hand (a pattern for marrying into the backstage profession has emerged in my experience with various dressers) and when her children reached high school age she decided to pursue work in the theatre, settling on wardrobe work, which she has been doing for about eight years now. She is one of the most cheerful people I have worked with--always smiling, and with an infectious and bubbly laugh. Rhonda also has a charming Texas accent, and pronounces 'theatre' "thee-ay-ter."

Our company managers threw us a party this weekend to celebrate the successful completion of 22 one-weekers in a row. Our crew, a stellar group of people, have not had a day off since Boston (and if you recall folks, that was JANUARY). Vancouver will give all of us a chance to have a month of relative normalcy after the weekly grind of traveling from place to place. From all reports, I gather Vancouver is a wonderful city, surrounded by beautiful natural scenery and full of fun things to do. So, more from Canada next week, friends! Hope you are enjoying your summer thus far.