Singing in the Bathtub

I got back from a show tonight in Terre Haute Indiana, a ninety-minute drive from Castle Saint-Germain--and don't you hate pretentious quacks who refer to their digs as "Castle so-and-so;" "Something Manor;" or "Blah-bling Estate" when you know full well they most likely live in a festering dungheap.

Back to topic, this was my two-hour show, a long theatrical stride, which means it was actually my four-hour show, since I have about a one-hour set-up time and a one-hour breakdown time. So from the beginning of my journey, to setup, showtime, breakdown, and return journey, you can count about eight hours. It's quite a stretch for a guy pushing a half-century.

But it's what I do for a living. And mostly it's quite a bit of fun. The audience tonight was terrific.

The most onerous part is unloading the car once I get back home. I provided sound for this show too. It's what we call in the business an "upsale," which means I got paid more for bringing it. So when I walked in the door I brought some of the load with me, sat for a while, heaved a huge, drama-queen sigh, went out and brought some more in. Tomorrow I'll put it away until next weekend, when I have three more shows.

I'm having some soup, then I plan to work on my G scale for a while before bed.