Hell: 2 inches high and rising...

After a good night's sleep and hanging out with some buds last night, I thought today was going to be an improvement. I mean, after what we 4 have been experiencing for the past week so far really gets more and more unbelievable every day. J had to go shopping today with LD who is now the chauffeur (We can't WAIT until he turns his mileage receipts in.) I was supposed to have 2 stitchers today. Early in the morning I learned they weren't coming (See story later).

Phone call #1 (on way to MCPA Warehouse)
J's phone rings:
J: (sigh) Hello?
Douchemonkey (D): Just wanted to let you know the schedule's changed. We will be giving the actors off tomorrow because of the storm, but tech will still be coming in. This is primarily for our costume designer because stitchers will be coming.
J: Well, I don't think Costume Designer will be coming either because there will be 3 feet of snow...
Douchemonkey: OK, just telling you.

Phone call #2 (Just 1 minute later)
Me: (Sigh) Hello?
Douchemonkey: Just wanted to let you know the schedule's changed. We will be giving the actors off tomorrow because of the storm, but tech will still be coming in. This is primarily so that you can have a day with the costumes without actors.
Me: But if the actors are staying in because of the storm, isn't the storm bad enough that we should all stay in?
Douchemonkey: (pause) Well, it may not be that bad, and tech is still expected to work
Me: Isn't it a bit unethical to say that one group of people should be safe and not come in, but other should have to brave the storm and come in? In three feet? With 30 mile per hour Nor'Easter winds?
Douchemonkey: (Pause) OK. Just telling you.

Upon realizing ourselves expendable, we arrive at the warehouse finding it mostly empty and mostly locked but for one door and one human: Douchemonkey. J ran up to him and said, "What's the story morning glory!" with a big stupid grin on her face as I said, "Hey there MISTER!" and made a bee-line for the wardrobe room/greenroom/dressing room/kitchen/very very cold space. J's theory is that she's going to be so nice to him he can't be mean to her to her face. I can't handle it and I don't care.

So J and LD abandoned me (well, not really, but they DID have to prop shop...) and I was left alone with the clothes. I proceeded to stitch for 9 hours. Who else is going to do this shit? Ms. Parole was taken off my show and then given back to me from 2-4. Another woman came in and helped for 2 hours. She went to Mass inbetween--I asked her to put in a good word for us. I was told I'd have a person who could machine stitch for 8 hours, and have the supervisor hand sew. D took the supervisor and, well, I had two eager folks stitching for me but kinda slowly and for only 4 hours total (one of which pinned for an hour...I really don't want to complain about them...they just aren't what I'm used to.)

I did learn one thing--that I've pre-judged Ms. Parole, and whatever she did, well, despite it she truly loves her children and her family. She's trying to get her life back on track to help her boys go to college if they want to. She thinks one who loves Dinos will be an antrhopologist. I think that's wonderful, and I hope she can do it for them.

Well, the second stitcher must have prayed her ass off at church, because god sent us a snowstorm. I mean, J loses a shit ton of time in addition to losing 2 days already due to the truck breaking down. It's just depressing.

Here's more depressing: at about 2 PM this afternoon, while dragging the ass-end of a 1973 Chevy out of a salvage yard, she received the dreaded cell phone call. Between her and LD's phone, it was grand central station.

Call #6:

J: Hello (imagine, slightly ticked off)
GM (Sheepishly): You knw, I didn't have the debit card when your rain curtain got approved, and it MUST have slipped through the cracks. (Giggle, giggle).
J: OK.
Hangs up phone.

Call #7 (5 minutes pass...)

GM: Hey J, I was thinking, why don't you mock up some muslin drops for all the soft good we didn't order yet?
J (internally): Why don't you suck my ass?
J (Actually): That's a waste of time. We'll rig the real goods when the get here. We have so little time and money I don't want to waste it by making fake stuff.


Call #43 (to me @ 2:43 PM)

Me: Yes?
Producer: So Mallet said that you have two people there stitching...
Me: No. He lied. He keeps lying. I'm the only one who's calling him out on this and no one is listening to me.
Producer: Well, I don't think he's intentionally lying.
Me: I do, I'm here, and no one else is. PRODUCER, you know, last night at 7:30 PM M, my stitcher was vomiting in buckets backstage at his show. He saw Mallet and told him that he was sick and couldn't work today. Mallet talked to me at 9 PM and said that M would be in at noon. M called me this morning to relay the story about Mallet to say he was not coming in, and no one had actually called him to tell him he was supposed to stitch, IN ADDITION to calling a show that went up at 5 PM (While vomiting)
After a long discussion, they finally got me the two people for like 3 minutes.

What else? J and LD trashed the back room of a Kmart looking for the 2 lawn chairs that were supposed to be there...I made the world's worst breakaway pants because the woman who pinned them for an hour cut them wrong...P spilled coffee all over the costumes, and I only had a mild reaction which came out in a minimal sigh...which he ran to clean the table, J pulled up the fabrics, and I just sat there finishing the hem on the very badly made ripaway pants. I did manage the energy to shake off the ugly halter top with the "relax" of "Frankie Says Relax" in sequins. J Managed to jam the sewing machine 3 times in 5 minutes while making curtains. Actress asked for a bra fitting while I was eating for the first time in 7 hours.

Long story short, we are all fucked. LD got his order placed but will probably have to commute from Rochester to Tonawanda for the next week when he's in tech...finally. J has no time to dress the set because Monday and Tuesday are actor rehearsal days, and Wednesday, we load in in Tonawanda. I am sewing the costumes myself. I have a master's degree. J has a master's degree. We work on Broadway. We are reliving a hell we haven't lived in years...(J's was a show called "Dusty", mine is a tie between AMDA and the bee at Barrington.)

A brief note on Douchemonkey's rehearsal report from this evening:

Set: A few major set concerns. We still don't have the right lawn chairs. We need 2 pairs of handles on the Motel door. The rehearsal camera has disappeared? The flan box may be too heavy and tends to sag on the actress. Other prop notes have been discussed and are working.

J: "A HANDLE ON THE DOOR? REHEARSAL CAMERA DISAPPEARED! I don't think those are major set concerns." Her email response: Jay just called. He has secured 3 chairs, in the look I want, that are in great condition. He will bring them in on Monday. The flan box issue can be fixed- Lindsey has actually been a cigarette girl and spoke to Pete about how those boxes are rigged- so it will be adjusted to fix the sag.Jay and I shopped a lot today. The stroller is the last large concern.

Douchemonkey's costume notes:
Costume Designer was in today working through. Two seamstresses were present to help. The cast worked with some costume pieces that were ready. Work will continue Monday and Tuesday. Any additional help that can be found would be useful.

Me: (In email format:) I would first like to thank who was available for 2 hours today and who also volunteered for about 2 1/2 hours. Thanks, , for getting them to me even though they were able to only be there for a few hours.

I just couldn't let them think that Mallet actually did his job.It sounded, in the report, like he did. And I had to nicely point out the real situation. J's email continued to say how ridiculous it was that now she has no time to do anything.

On a happy note: Tomorrow, we will have Chili that my husband made to keep us well fed. We went shopping today and got hot cocoa, wine, and various insundry items to get us through the storm. And, about 10 minutes ago:

Phone call #7,683

J: (audable sigh) Hey......
Enemy: Just wanted to let you know, I got my hands on 3 aluminum chairs with green webbing, in perfect condition.
J: I love you.