HOOAH

Week 45: West Point, NY

We could not have picked a better time to visit the Hudson Valley. The mountains and rolling hills ablaze with autumn foliage are breathtaking, especially viewed from the spectacular location of the military academy at West Point. So why the heck are we at West Point? Well, I shall explain. As you may know, the "Spamalot" tour has been out for about two and a half years continually on the road. It has played most of the major cities in North America, some of them twice. When the Vegas company closed over the summer, it opened up the west coast to the tour and next summer we will play big engagements in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where the show has never been seen. However, in order to get there the show must continue to tour between now and then, and that means opening up new markets across the country for "Spamalot." There are smaller theatres in smaller cities that want the show but either can't afford the show at its present size or have facilities that won't accommodate the sets as they are now designed. So our physical production is being adapted to make these next several months of touring more feasible and cost effective. The Eisenhower Theatre at West Point is a hospitable place, close to New York, where the technical adjustments can be made and rehearsed.

The scenery is being redesigned so that three-dimensional pieces become flat painted pieces, some of the automation that moves the scenery around is being removed, and the number of trucks that transport the show will be reduced from eight to six. This means significant savings for both the production and presenters. With fuel costs what they are, fewer trucks mean less gas; with less heavy and complicated set pieces to unload, set up and break down, this means significant savings on labor. Our orchestra is being reduced slightly as well, and new arrangements have been created for this purpose. The best part is that the audiences will still get the same great, attractive show that we have always done. The original designers have come together to create this revised design plan, the original arranger is creating the new sound for our smaller band. So we are here to do technical rehearsals and staging adjustments with our new scenery and to rehearse with the new orchestration. It's rather nice, actually, as it feels like we are getting ready to open a new show, infusing us with renewed energy as a company. Also, we are only doing one performance this weekend so we can rest somewhat from the rigors of our usual eight show week. Once we have done our performance here, we will be laid off for two weeks while the new production is organized for our next engagement in Ottawa next month. Which means a two week vacation for me back home in New York City!




West Point is one of the largest school campuses in the world, occupying 16,000 acres on a gorgeous scenic overlook of the Hudson River.
A military outpost was established here by George Washington in 1778 during the Revolutionary War, and in 1802 Thomas Jefferson established the military academy here, where for generations "The Long Gray Line" of cadets have been trained to become army officers, and where many of our nation's finest generals have received their education. The academy itself is an imposing fortress perched high above the river, and arriving there it rather reminded me of the fantasy school of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The Eisenhower Theatre is absolutely huge and presents a full season of performance, including touring shows like ours, celebrity concerts, and performances by the United States Military Academy Band. It's interesting to be in this part of the world and at this historic site this week, as I have been reading the works of David McCullough--"1776," and his Pulitzer Prize winning monumental biography "John Adams." Important episodes in the American Revolution took place in the Hudson Valley, even in the little town of Fishkill, where the company has housed us this week.

Derived from the Dutch words vis, for "fish" and "kill" for river, the town of Fishkill was originally a Dutch settlement established on land bought from the Wappinger Indians.
Fishkill played an important role in the Revolutionary War when a vast military encampment was established one mile below the village to guard the mountain pass to the south. Signal fires lay in readiness on tops of the surrounding mountains. The Fishkill encampment became the main supply depot for the northern division of the Continental Army. The first 1,000 copies of the New York State Constitution were turned out on Samuel Loudon's press at Fishkill in 1777. None of this history is readily apparent in modern day Fishkill, especially in the strip of hotels and chain restaurants where we are staying this week and commuting from to West Point. Many of the company chose to carpool and commute to and from NYC this week but since I will be home for two weeks shortly, I opted to stay out here this week, which has made for a very quiet and uneventful time. I am getting a lot of reading done, and studying for my learner's permit test, determined as I am to finally learn to drive. It should be very amusing to be taking the test amongst a bunch of adolescents in a week or so!

Meet Chris, my West Point dresser.
Chris and I got to work together for a hot second, but she is a pistol! Such a great sense of humor and such a fun lady. We compared tattoos and enjoyed discussing all the things we have in common, including having been born in Pittsburgh. We will be performing there in several weeks and Chris has promised to come and see the show there from out front.

So, friends, "Spamalot" is giving us a two week break and I will be taking two weeks off from the blog as well. During the layoff I will be celebrating my birthday on October 26, catching up with some dear friends and loved ones, and enjoying autumn in New York, my favorite time of the year in the city.
Before I sign off this week, I want to send some love to the great folks who have been making magic in the Broadway company of "Spamalot." We were informed yesterday that come mid-January, the Broadway production will close after a successful four year run. This will mean that in 2009, with the London company closing as well, our tour will be the last remaining production of the show. While I am saddened that this great show must leave its home on the Great White Way, I am proud that our production will continue to roll, bringing the joy of "Spamalot" to thousands and thousands more people.

One last plea, to you and yours: PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE. This may be the most important election we ever vote in, and we have the opportunity to make history and bring new hope to our country. Do your part, and celebrate the fact that we as Americans have a choice!! Have a great couple weeks, and I will return with a blog post the first week in November when we will continue our adventures in Ottawa, Ontario.

Dear Old Syracuse

Week 44: Syracuse, NY

You can keep your Athens,
You can keep your Rome,
I'm a hometown fellow
And I pine for home,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
Though I've worn out sandals
And my funds are low,
There's a light that's burning in the patio,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
It is no metropolis,
It has no big Acropolis,
And yet there is a quorum
Of cuties in the forum.
Though the boys wear tunics that are out of style
They will always greet me with a friendly smile.
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
--Rodgers and Hart, "The Boys From Syracuse"

As we crossed the border into New York state, the bus was suddenly filled with tinkling bells and little tunes as everyone fired up their cell phones. Back in the USA! I must admit I did feel a little surge of pleasure being back in our country. We drove through upstate New York, past fertile fields and trees just touched with the first of the autumn colors. Syracuse is a quiet, pleasant college town; the kind of northeastern small town that brings back memories of my high school years spent in the Berkshires, or summers spent doing theatre in the Adirondacks. There is a combination of rustic, country living and intellectual, new age liberalism that forty years ago would have been referred to as "hippie-ish" but which I have always called "granola." The weather here has been crystal clear, the air fresh, the leaves turning red and orange. There is a vegan cafe down the street from my hotel, which serves breakfast all day and stays open late, a massage school offering inexpensive massage, and a holistic healing center, Health Pathways, where I am receiving my physical therapy this week. Granola heaven!

The Syracuse University campus is just beautiful, now especially, with the crisp fall weather and changing foliage.
It is a sprawling campus with eclectic and interesting architecture and sculptures. Walking through, I felt that I was being taken back in time to my own college years. On college campuses, there seems to be a timelessness; the students look the same as they ever have, with their funky clothes, multi-colored hair, hackie sack games, passionate discourses, and fresh faces. There was something comforting about being amongst them and in that little bubble of a world so removed from the depressing realities of our current world situation. My friend Tim and I visited the Syracuse University Art Gallery, which had a very interesting exhibit on Michelangelo.
The exhibit explored his life story, his myth, both in the times in which he lived and throughout history, and of course his extraordinary gifts, which encompassed drawing, painting, sculpture (in which he was self taught), poetry and architecture. There was a bronze casting of his famous Pieta, as well as some remarkable examples of his drawing, and a fascinating documentary. It was a treat to find this absorbing portrait of the great master here in Syracuse. I have always said, if you look for beauty you will find it, wherever you are.

Also a place of beauty is the Everson Museum of Art.
To call this contemporary art museum's collection eclectic would be an understatement. Everything from pop art, to furniture by Arts and Crafts pioneer Gustav Stickley (whose studio was in Syracuse), to a large ceramics collection are all housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei, which is a work of art in itself--a structure of concrete and pegged wood floors, with a monumental staircase like the inside of a nautilus shell.
During my visit they had an exhibition of early, whimsical, fashion inspired works by Andy Warhol, and a flamboyant installation of fashion inspired by Sofia Coppola's film of "Marie Antoinette," illustrating the influence of the doomed 18th century French queen on style through the ages. The latter exhibit was delightfully over the top and was like being placed inside an enormous Bergdorf Goodman window display. It was a real hoot.




Time for another of your questions about tour life.

Kimberly asks:

There are days when I go to work and the last thing I want to do is work. How do you as actors fight that and still make the show amazing every night? Also, I know you have mentioned your wanting to be on Broadway someday. How do you audition while on the road all the time?

Well, I can only speak for myself. I have always had an obsessive work ethic. I hold myself responsible for the quality of what I do and the kind of actor I want to be. Also, every night there are a couple thousand people out front who have paid good money to see the best show we can do. I know that seems cliche, but some people save up to buy a ticket to our show; they buy the tickets as a gift or surprise for a loved one, or they plan the night out, paying for a babysitter, buying a new outfit, making dinner reservations. I also tell myself that somewhere out in that audience there might be a young aspiring actor who has come to see our show from a love of theatre and a desire to be exactly where I am. But ultimately for me, the biggest motivator is gratitude. I think about the years of struggle I lived through in New York, hungry to work in my profession, holding down day jobs, experiencing rejection, living hand to mouth. And I am filled with thankfulness that I have the good fortune to make my living doing the work I love to do.


And yes, I do have a strong ambition to work on Broadway, and I see this tour as a powerful step in that direction. As for auditioning, well, that is a challenge, one that every actor faces--do I take a good job that takes me out of New York and the casting pool there, or do I stay in New York and try to hustle up that Broadway show or feature film? My belief is that work begets work. Many key opportunities in my line of work come from the relationships one forms with other professionals--directors, choreographers, producers--when working for them. I also believe that the right opportunities come at the right time. That said, sometimes one has to take a little time off here and there to fly back and be seen for big projects in order to compete. Patrick, who just left our tour, landed his "Gossip Girl" guest star job because he took personal days and flew back and forth to try out for the part. The hunt for the next job is a central theme in the actor's life, and our biggest fear is that each job will be our last. I remember when I was in graduate school Dame Judi Dench came and spoke with us in an unforgettable round table discussion. This Oscar winning star, who has played every leading role in Shakespeare, told us that with each project she does she has the terror that it will be her last--that people will discover she's a fraud and she won't get hired again! As absurd as that may seem coming from such a successful actress, it is a deep seated fear in most performers.

Marie is my Syracuse dresser, and a scrappy little lady she is.
Marie and her husband used to belong to a church theatre group, which was their hobby and her husband's passion. Her husband became a stagehand in the local union because he loved theatre so much, and did back stage work on the side. When he passed away, Marie decided she wanted to join the union to do wardrobe work and carry on the love of theatre that she and her husband had shared. The male dominated union refused to let her in, so she fought it, enlisting the help of the union in New York City, and with persistence she became the first female member of the stagehand's union in Syracuse. Go Marie!!

It has been a real pleasure performing in Syracuse. The house has been packed every night and the audience response has been rapturous. Such a nice change from the small houses we had in Toronto. Next week we go to West Point, where we will spend much of the week rehearsing with new scenery and technical adjustments which are being made to the production. I will explain all of that in next week's post; it should be very interesting. Meantime, I hope that the autumn weather is as beautiful where you are as it is here.

300

Week 43: Toronto, ON

Yep, this Saturday marks my 300th performance as Sir Robin. Of course it feels like the time has rushed by and this past ten months of "Spamalot" passed in the blink of an eye. Repetition is one of the central themes of a stage actor's life; it is a profession rife with ritual and routine. Most people are engaged in professions that require the execution of repetitive tasks and routine, and there is a certain comfort that comes with those familiar tasks. And then there are the times when one asks oneself, "This again??" As glitzy as my job looks from outside, some days are about artistic inspiration and some are just about earning that paycheck. But there are always ways to stay present and engaged. If nothing else, the audiences are always different. Going out in front of a new audience is like a blind date. You want to put your best foot forward and make a great impression, and you hope that they will like you. And sometimes the connection is delightful, exciting and fun. Sometimes you feel like they would rather be anywhere else and that you simply are not their cup of tea. Live theatre, like life, is indeed, as Forrest Gump said, like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. Here in Toronto that is especially so. On a weeknight we can have a small, small audience that is quiet and unresponsive but on Saturday the crowd can be large, raucous and enthusiastic. Regardless, the show must go on, shiny and funny and true to itself, eight times a week.

Then there are the changes in cast which can infuse wonderful fresh energy into the process, as a new actor or dancer steps in and brings his or her own special quality to the show. Syracuse next week will bring the debuts of two new showgirls and our new Lancelot, Matthew Greer.
Matthew is an accomplished actor who has appeared on Broadway in "The Real Thing" and "The Judas Kiss" and played Cliff in the Sam Mendes revival of "Cabaret." Interestingly, he was starring as Oscar Wilde in "The Fall of Constance Wilde" at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis while we were there earlier this year. Patrick Heusinger, as I mentioned before, is leaving us to ride the success of his latest good fortune on television in "Gossip Girl." Patrick is a fine actor and a great guy. He threw us all a party in the fabulous roof top function room of his Toronto apartment building on our day off this week. It was a nice opportunity for cast and crew to socialize together, enjoy some laughs with Patrick and welcome in the new performers. I wish Patrick all the luck in his future endeavors--his good looks and talent will take him far, and he will be missed.




We also say farewell this week to Tera-Lee Pollin, one of our wonderful dance captains, who you may recall taught me my show when I first started, and who appeared triumphantly in male drag as one of the knights during our run in Fort Worth. Tera-Lee is a beautiful dancer and a beautiful person who is nothing short of a breath of fresh air. She always has a smile on her face. I know that her positive energy will be missed also amongst the "Spamily."

And then there is the exit of my darling Bree.
Bree and I have been buddies since she joined the tour back in Orlando. She is half my age, literally, but we are kindred spirits. She is a supremely talented dancer, with a wonderful work ethic and a fierce ambition to do great work with great people. I admire her drive, her honesty, and her confidence in her abilities and her dream. She is stunningly beautiful, funny and a joy to spend time with and I will miss her terribly. She just got great news that she has been cast in the new Cirque du Soleil show that will be in development next year. It has been her dream to do a Cirque show and I am beside myself with happiness for her that her vision and her tenacity have paid off. I expect nothing but great things from the lovely Miss Bree Branker.

My leg improves daily, with the bracing, taping, icing, not to mention my daily gym routine and my physical therapy. Having never been seriously injured in a show before, I had not fully appreciated the enormous benefit of physical therapy to the recovery process. Truly, without the ministrations of my therapist Karen at Physioarts in New York, and Adam here in Toronto at Cornerstone Physiotherapy, I would never have been able to return so quickly to my performance schedule.
I was fortunate indeed to find Adam, who, with his business partner, just opened his wonderful clinic. He is a man of great skill and easy humor and has helped me to strengthen the calf muscle while working on the underlying soreness and stiffness of the scar tissue that has built up since the injury. It's amazing how quickly the muscle atrophied after the initial trauma and how much dedicated work it is taking to build it back up. But truly, I could not be doing this without my physical therapist. Thank you Adam!

So, Toronto. Or "Tronno" as it sounds on the lips of the natives. It's a nice city. Sort of a mini-New York in some ways. Very diverse, very liberal, and made up of lots of little neighborhoods mainly characterized by ethnicity--Greektown, Little Italy--there are even three Chinatowns, I hear. I regret to say that I have not ventured much beyond the downtown and midtown areas where I am staying, working, and doing my physical therapy. Mostly in the interest of not stressing my leg. I had set aside one afternoon this week to go to the Royal Ontario Museum, but after discussing it with the folks at the physiotherapy office, they steered me to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which houses more paintings and sculpture; more my interest anyway. I cabbed over there in the pouring rain only to find the place closed for renovations. By the time I had done that, the better part of my afternoon was gone. The remainder of the week has been dedicated to the gym, physical therapy, and rehearsing with our new performers. So, boo. Bad travel diarist that I am, I have not much to impart about Toronto and environs. But I can take a moment and answer another of your questions about tour life.

Liz asks:

How does the cast and crew travel between gigs? Are you on a chartered ordinary coach? a tour bus with bunks like a traveling rock band?? If verra long distance to the next stop on the tour, do you fly? Are travel costs charged to the cast or paid by the show? Details like these would be interesting to read.


We travel generally by plane or by bus, depending on the distance we need to cover between cities. The company arranges flights and chartered buses. The crew travels often via sleeper bus (which has the bunks you mention), but the company goes by regular coach. The company covers all travel costs, unless an individual chooses to makes his or her own arrangements. In that case, they can sometimes receive the reimbursement for the company flight and apply it to their alternate travel plan. However in those instances, cab fares and other transportation expenses are not covered by the company.

My dresser in Toronto, another wonderful helpmate in this process of reintegrating myself into the show, is Maureen.
Maureen has had a passion for fashion since she was a kid and a love of performing arts that started with an obsession with ballet. She works mainly on film and TV production, but through a dispensation from the unions, she and other of our dressers have been allowed to pick up work with us at the Canon Theatre. She is a very thoughtful and lovely person to work with and was a great help to me as I worked carefully through my first week of shows in Toronto. On Monday we return to the states for a week in Syracuse, NY. That week will mark the debuts of three new performers and our final shows with our existing physical production, which will be getting a complete overhaul. As the leaves change, change on our tour and in life comes as well. The only constant.