We left Saint John this morning around 9am. Â It was a short drive to Fredericton up Highway 7. Â The show tonight is at The Playhouse – a very intimate and great venue.
The rain had stopped and it was clear weather for the drive. Â When we arrived into the Capital City of New Brunswick, we knew that we would be driving into a “construction zone.” Â The city is building a new conference center next door to The Playhouse so getting into the loading dock would be a little tricky! Actually, the loading dock IS part of the construction zone.
Jeff, the TD, walked me over to the construction site manager. Â He walked me through the route I would need to drive the rig but not before I was outfitted in the proper attire.
After walking the route, I jumped back into the truck and started the drive through the construction zone to the loading dock where the crew was anxiously awaiting our arrival.
Once we were at the dock, load in was really easy. Â Cases came straight off the truck and into the backstage area. Â Things seemed to clip along at a good rate and the show went up very quickly. Â Keith has really done wonders saving time by using the new light board. Â Ethan has fallen into a pretty good routine of setting up the show. Â And Cindy, as always, handles all the details that keep things moving smoothly.
We have had great shows here in Canada. Â Tonight was another near capacity house with a very enthusiastic audience. Â Because they haven’t had the type of illusion production that we offer in these theatres, the audiences were genuinely intrigued by each of the illusions. Â I could see it in their faces or as they whispered something to the person sitting next to them. Â And once they experienced the “magic,” they responded with great applause and appreciation. Â And this wonderful audience in Fredericton gave us a standing ovation at the end of the show. Â I had the chance to meet many of them in the lobby afterwards.
The “meet and greet” continued into the lobby of our hotel. Â When we arrived to check in, a group of people who had attended the show were also having dinner at the same hotel. Â They were very nice, shared their favorite tricks with me, and I signed a few autographs. Â They made us feel very special and very welcome.
Tomorrow, Ethan and I will head to the Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Center for a workshop with some of the clients. Â I have to go to bed…it’s 1am!