CARROLLTON, GA – TOWNSEND CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Wow, we have been really busy these last few days. Â After Florida, we drove to Carrollton, GA for a three day Artist in Residency project. Â We were working with the Townsend Center for the Arts on the campus of West Georgia University. Â We’ve worked with Robert and David before – and it was a great experience. Â This time, they expanded our stay with them.
Our first day was only a set up day. Â We arrived around 11:30am Wednesday and managed to get into the loading dock. It was a tight fit but, after jumping the curb and taking out a few tree branches, I managed to get in.
The crew was great and David had the stage ready for us. Â Cases started rolling in and we actually had the pleasure of a more relaxed day of setting us since we didn’t have a performance that night. Â
Tickets were selling well here through October and then things slowed down dramatically. Â We had a nice feature in last week’s local paper that started them moving again.
Thursday morning we had two short shows for Arts In Education students. Â These were a lot of fun and the audiences were energetic! Â After those shows, we had lunch and then Ethan and I were off to do a HOCUS FOCUS workshop at Carollton High School. Â We had a group of about 10 excited students who took 90-minutes out of their classes to learn a few new skills to improve their concentration, memory, frustration tolerance, and task follow-through abilities.
Friday morning, we had two workshops at Carrollton Central Middle School. Â There were a total of about 30 students in the two workshops. Â We had a great time working with these guys too. Â In the end, they managed to learn a few tricks and the teachers were intrigued by the way the process integrated into the student’s core curriculum.
We went back to the hotel where I made a few calls, answered some emails, gathered the team, ate lunch, and headed back to the Townsend Center to prepare for the evening performance. Â We were not officially “Sold Out.” Â There’s nothing like a full house to get everyone excited!
CEDARTOWN, GA – PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
On Saturday morning, we were up and made the short drive to Cedartown, GA for an evening performance at the Cedartown Performing Arts Center. Â We’ve also been here before. Â On our last visit, the town was hit by a huge ice storm that postponed the show from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. Â This year, the weather was a bit more cooperative – beautiful day!
Patrick and David were there to meet us, along with a very young and enthusiastic crew! Â I’m not sure we’ve worked with a crew this young before; that being said, they were excellent – full of energy and knowledgeable about the theatre. Â With all hands at the trailer, Ethan started unloading while Cindy directed the cases to the right place. Â We were off to a very smooth start to the day.
The show went up fairly quickly. Â Two hours into the day, the scenery and lighting were in place and we were ready for a lunch break. Â Everyone ate quickly and hit the stage one more time to finish up the lighting and start setting everything for the evening performance.
This is the first performance of the season where we truly felt the impact of the slowing economy. Â This area has been hit especially hard with double-digit unemployment and a 1/3 of the newspaper listed Home Foreclosures.
We ended up with about 400 people in the audience. Â While they had hoped for a larger crowd, they could not have had a better one! Â The audience was great! Â And, in the end, they surprised us with an instant standing ovation. Â Neither Cindy or I saw that one coming. Â It was a wonderful experience for us to work with these guys, to perform for this crowd, and to end our Fall 2008 tour on such a memorable note.