One of the finest countries anyone ever stole

166 Days ago 3 actors and a stage manager landed in America with an enormous amount of luggage, no idea of what they were about to undertake. 15,482 miles, and 134 shows later we find ourselves about to come home.

In the time we've been here Jesse Inman, Craig Gordon Hunter, Victoria Fradgely, Sarah Musk, Richard Bond, Julia Park Simmons, Gavin Bray, David Preston, Jennifer Farren Kerr, Luca Farren Kerr, Rodney Kerr, Toby Mitchell, Rio Mellor, Sue Yarrow, Alan Park Snr and Karen Park have all had Birthdays that I've missed. With Bondy and David turning the big 30. I turned 30 myself. Joanne Park and Julia Simmons got married, Chloe Preston and Jack Steppenbeck entered the world, and some lovely folks have left it. Newcastle had 4 points when we left and have 28 now. America has a new president trying to fix the old one's mistakes. The world is worth a little less making us value it a little more.

Over the last 5 or 6 months I've written my thoughts, rants and feelings on this page. I did not expect anyone to read it, but a few of you have and I hope I've kept you entertained. There is a lot to love about America and a lot that's just screwed up. Its been a fantastic journey, one which we will never forget.

Its now time to come home, put the feet up, and watch Match of The Day

I'll see you all very very soon. Love you lots

Alan

134 all out

In a tour that has taken us from North to South, Arctic to Tropical, Sunrise to Sunset we have now started the trip home. All 138 shows are done and dusted and we're currently 460 miles into the 880 mile trip back to Minneapolis to dump the van and head home.

The last few shows were strange ones in that we're all pretty tired, and mostly ready for home. It would be wrong to say I was pleased as its always sad to stop performing a show you love, but I am ready for a change and to come home.

It's been fun, but all good things must come to an end, and if we ever needed a reason to leave Nashville behind it's this...


See you Saturday

Alan

Honky Tonk Gruffalo

Our Saturday out "Honky Tonking" in Nashville is bit a blur in the back of my mind now, so here are some photos of bars that serve beer by the can, old country and new country (the difference between the two being that one has an old fella with a beard who sings and the new stuff has a cross eyed guy in a cap!)








Alan

We Walk The (double yellow) Line

Where to begin on an action packed few days. We have left the farce that was Pittsburgh behind and the less said about that the better (and the more chance I have of keeping my job!)

So from Pittsburgh to Nashville, a 500 odd mile jaunt South and suddenly we don't have to cover every inch of our bodies for fear of frost bite, or wear eight layers to walk 5 yards. No siree, Nashville is nestled in the +20c region and we like that. En route we felt we needed to immerse ourselves in some more American culture (and Karina was dangerously low on tat) so we followed signs to the birth place of Abraham Lincoln. Born by a sinking spring the place is a nice little piece of greenery with a huge odd temple thing, inside which dwells the ancient wooden cabin that is Abe's place. Except its not Abe's place. Its is "symbolic" birth place, so to me that makes it a hut in a temple. But its a very nice hut.


Having seen the hut that isn't Abraham Lincoln's birthplace we hot footed it the rest of the way to Nashville. Now, first things first. I love this town, the street of bars that tonight we shall frequent til we drop, the place oozes music as every tavern, bar, restaurant, hotel has a guy singing some country and western song about his girl running off with his best man or something similar. Its great. Upon arrival we went for a quick walk, as our hotel is incredibly central, and came across the famous Ryman Auditorium where legend upon legend has played. It doesn't look like much but this place IS music history


After that we had to restrain ourselves, with the prospect of a get in and show today we would leave the painting of the town red to tonight. This morning we came out of our hotel all ready to drive the van the few yards to stage door and begin loading in the set. Now when we arrived it was obvious to us all that the van would not fit in the hotel garage, so the nice hotel had reserved us a parking meter right across the street. We checked with the bell hop who confirmed we could park there, we checked with the reception who confirmed we could park there, so it came as quite a surprise when we exited the hotel today to find NO VAN!

A few frantic enquiries of the rather laid back valet staff confirmed it had been towed and we would have to pay to get it back. With a show in 4 hours we tried to press the point that it was not our fault the van had been towed and surely the hotel should retrieve it and bloody pay for the thing. In the end Cherie our booker from the theatre agreed to pay for the retrieval of the van and take it up with the hotel later. So I accompanied her to the lot and there was our little old van.


The fine paid, we sped back to the theatre, unloaded and as always the show went on. With a lot of time to spare to be honest as we had like a million crew!

So a little excitement but the van, the set, the costumes and more importantly my lip balm, were all retrieved. Now we just gotta work out where to park the thing for the rest of the week.

Tonight, however, belongs to drinking, music and more drinking

See you on the other side

Alan

Normal Service Resumed

Theatres. They are built for a reason, to host, produce, create and watch a variety of productions safe in the knowledge that there will be lights, sound, stage, seats, ushers, crew, etc... Alas over the last few days we've been deprived of such a building and our little show has found itself playing... schools. Now this is not a problem, I love theatreless theatre, whether it be a factory, car park or school, I am of the school (no pun intended) that Theatre can be, and should be performed anywhere. However, over the last few days in Pittsburgh a clash has occurred. Gruffalo started in schools, it works well in schools, but not U.S Schools. School halls in the U.S are not quite a hall and not quite a theatre, they are barn like caverns with a few lights, no PA and so are not really actor or story telling friendly. You can't perform a show with no mics as the place is too big, likewise the thing needs lit but there's no lights, and add to this a crew of moody 13 year olds and NO OTHER QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN and you get the last week. So it was with great relief and happiness that on Sunday we set foot in the Byham Theatre...


A beautiful snug auditorium with adults for crew, intimate seating, acoustics that work and a sold out performance of that cracking show "The Gruffalo". Add to this a piece of art on the ceiling that was painted by gay artists so all the women started as nude men and then got the cloaks, wigs and boobs painted on, and we were right at home.

Then add in Miss Minni, who goes on stage to teach children "the rules of Theatre". Imagine if you will the most condescending voice possible saying:

Never Be Late
And Talk Real Low
Don’t Rattle Your Wrappers
Don’t Run Around the Show
Learn To Pretend
And at the end,
Everybody Cheer and shout, “BRAVO!”

And you get the picture. Oooh and she had a cape that had the word "Theatricality" on the back. I was laughing so much I nearly couldn't start the show.



So normal service resumed. We don't mind school shows, but this US mix is not a good one. It has to be said as well that the show which follows us in the Family Series will be based in the Byham Theatre for the week due to the "technical requirements of the show". Shame we didn't pull that one.

A day off beckons tomorrow and I'll be hard pressed to stay away from the legend that is Primanti Bros. They make stunning sandwiches, the trade mark of which is that they are all topped with fries. And very nice they are too (couldn't get the image to rotate. Sorry)



So all is well again. Theatre. Sandwich. All good. Just the small matter of another school to go to on Wednesday, but after that its all go to Nashville, Tennessee and some partying Dolly Parton style!!

Alan

No Comment

I've nothing constructive or positive to say about the performances in Pittsburgh so I just won't. Here are some pictures from the last few days of amateur dramatics









Alan

Dropt from the zenith like a falling star

Having played 6 weeks at what we all consider to be the cathedral of children's theatre there was always going to be a certain amount of come down on this next leg of the tour. However, nothing could quite prepare us for the scale of the fall, and how far we might tumble. If we were the economy the markets would have crashed, the bail outs failed and the financial systems in tatters.

Our week in Pittsburgh comprises of several gigs in schools on the outskirts of the city as part of the family series, before we play the main theatre at the weekend. That much is fine, I quite enjoy playing schools, but what we have here are a set of shows that don't quite know what they are. We're not performing in the day for kids, we're in the evening, but regular theatre goers aren't coming, more parents of kids at the school. This gives the whole evening a sort of amateur, school play feel. A feeling only added to by the fact that the in house crew are a gaggle of 13/14 year olds from the school who, with the best will in the world, don't have a clue.

The show itself was alright, but scattered with the constant entering and exiting of audience, organisers, children, babies, janitors and the slight bewilderment of all wondering what had brought us all here in the first place. The feeling of the day was best summed up by the janitor who assumed, as we put the set up, that we were the latest school show and exclaimed "thank God, they've been rehearsing that show for months!". The thing was nobody knew what to expect, audience, actors, organisers, and the fact this was all being done a 20 minute drive from Pittsburgh's sate of the art theatre just added to the bizarreness.

Other cities' family series place the show at the theatre and bus the kids and groups in, here it seems the reverse is true, with the effect being it all just feels a bit half assed. Still we got given a nice dinner, and it allowed me to reminisce of my rural touring days. I daresay there is more chaos to come as this tour continues to surprise as we have played one of the world's leading children's theatres and a school lecture theatre in the space of a week. Its nothing if not interesting.

Oh, and in keeping with the US tour policy of not allowing any publicity image to actually contain pictures of the current cast (that would just be daft) the publicity photo for here has been dredged from The Gruffalo archives and even we're not sure who the girl in it is. Answers on a post card (PS. My costume looks much better than that one)


Alan