Tuesday, November 14, 2017
6:30 am Woke up without an alarm. I usually go to the gym for a functional fitness class at 6 am but decided I needed the sleep more. It’s a show day – which is always a long day.
6:45 am Checked emails and texts that came in overnight. Browsed Black Forest sale website – no good deals.
7:05 am While showering, I ran thru my daily schedule at work. Again, it’s a show day and a lot of details popping into my head. I had hoped to get more stuff prepared the night before but we had another event last night and the speaker went later than expected.
7:15 am Woke up my 17 year old son. Sent email to some friends about our Arts Expo on Wednesday. Cooked eggs for my son. Finished dressing for work. Made my bed. Filled my water bottle. Need to do a better job of consuming water, especially on long, active days.
7:45 am Left for work – trying to calm myself for the chaos waiting for me there. I still LOVE walking down McKinley Ave. on a show day, knowing there will be buses and trucks already on site. Such excitement on a “show day”. They are so much different than an “event day”!
8:00 am Cleaned up backstage area after last night’s event. The show will need all the spaces, including washers and dryers. Made calls to prep for Wednesday’s event. I always try to stay one step ahead of our event schedule but this month has been so, so busy. I get too many details in my head and it becomes a challenge to remember which detail goes with which show. Ugh!! Some days I feel like I could hang it up, but mostly I’m dreading when I walk away from this crazy environment.
8:30 am-12:45 Spent over 4 hours prepping for crew, cast and orchestra meals as requested by show at the last minute. This is not normal, and is not easy feeding 60 people with less than 24 hours’ notice and an event in between. The tour is struggling with timing and couldn’t break long for lunch or dinner. Also began prepping the Hospitality Suite for a reception tonight. Helped a few people wanting Elf tickets because no one was on hand yet in the Box Office. Answered a few emails and phone calls necessary for future event communication, i.e. ordered tables, chairs and tablecloths for tomorrow. Feeling tired and overwhelmed. It seems every day these past 3 weeks has been stressful and long, long days. Ready for a break!
1:00 pm Finally got away for lunch; Jimmy John’s is always my show day treat. Going to write another letter during this break to my niece who is in her 5th week of Marine Bootcamp on Parris Island. I found out late last night that she was promoted to squad leader. I write to her often and make sure she gets mail from me every week.
1:00 am Writing my final entry of the day from Steak n Shake while waiting for the post-show food order. This is a typical show day – non-stop for hours at a time. After 1:00 lunch post I went back into work and it went something like this:
• Put concession drinks in the cooler
• Set up tables for evening reception with Indiana Trust.
• Cleaned up after the Elf crew luncheon
• Reset area for the Elf cast and orchestra dinner
• Met with merchandise vendor to discuss his needs and our terms
• Set hospitality backstage for Elf cast and orchestra
• Recorded and processed receipts for Elf settlement
• Oriented staffs arriving at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00 with instructions for show and private reception
• Cleaned up Elf dinner
• Opened doors to public with over 3,000 in attendance
• Once the show began, I helped my staff manage late seating; went to my office to finish preparing billings for settlement; answered some emails for upcoming events
• Helped sell concessions at intermission
• When second half started, I had some members of my staff assist with breaking down the reception tables and chairs in the Hospitality Room and reset it for the next day’s reception.
• Sat in to watch 5 minutes of the show. The cast voices were wonderful and it looked like people were enjoying the show. The Auditorium was filled with laughter and happy people. This is why I love what I do! I closed my eyes for a couple of minutes to better soak in the sounds around me. Happiness!
• After the show we prepped the lobbies for the next day’s Arts Expo.
• After releasing my staff I went thru some more emails as I waited to pick up the post-show food from Steak n Shake.
• Headed to Steak n Shake around 12:45 am to pay for the order in advance and to make sure they were remaining on top of the order.
1:35 am Left Steak n Shake and brought the food back to the crew bus.
1:55 am Went into the venue to clock out and head home.
2:15 am Crawled into bed and let the satisfaction of a hard, busy, long, yet successful, day wash over me. Life is good!