9 in a row!!!

Whew! It has been a while since I did 9 shows in a row... I am definitely older (not sure about wiser) this time around. It has been a great run here in Providence, and I have really enjoyed my stay. We said goodbye to Ginny, who was kicked in the side of the knee during Step in Time during the previews in Charleston. She is off for 6 months having surgery:( I can honestly relate, as I hd to leave Les Mis for 4 months when I went home for back surgery. No fun, but has to be done.
I realized that I spent the entire week taking off my clothes! Not sure there are any other careers that you can say that sort of thing without censure from the public, but I did it... about 19 times. That is probably the most annoying thing, pinning and unpinning my hair, and getting dressed and undressed over and over. But, if that is the most annoying thing, then I count myself pretty lucky.
Few things come to mind for future performers
1. It is considered rude to vocally warm up in a shared dressing room after half hour.
2. Like the previous, talking on the phone in your dressing room is rude, take it outside.
3. If you have stinky feet, bag your shoes:)
4. Be aware of dresser tipping rules- $10 a week is a base, but if your dresser is working really hard for you, with lots of changes, then it is nice to up it, or buy a gift to go along with the tip.
5. Everyone talks, so don't give out information you would rather was private. Also, be careful how much you drink around management, things come flying out of your mouth and can get back to the production team.
6. Nice piece of advice we were given by the director. "If you choose to pay attention to the good reviews, then it follows that you must then give credence to the bad ones, it is better to disregard them completely."
(I think that is so smart, negative reviews can really stick with you and can affect your work. However, I did read a review from our first week here in Providence which said I was "hilarious and had a good voice and great physical comedy"... Can't lie, I was pleased:)
We had interesting twists and turns these last two weeks, the umbrella tore coming in and was swinging wildly (nerve wracking), we had exploding faucets in the sink that miraculously didn't injure Blake when they went off, broken boots, lamps falling off the wall, nursery molding breaking, too much fog, too little fog, and my personal favorite... my duster molting allover the floor as I am gesticulating wildly... oh the joys of live theater!!!!
Grand Rapids here we come.
Cheers
MB