We arrived in Hays, KS the night before our show. Â It was beautiful when we arrived – sunny and warm. Â The weather did change, however, to severe thunderstorms (that’s the Weather Channel tour).
The next morning things were much more quiet. Â We pulled out of the hotel and headed over to Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the campus of Fort Hay State University. Â As much as we tried, the local newspaper (Hays Daily News) was not “kind” to us in the way of media coverage. Â The only item that did appear was in Thursday’s paper in the “Events of the Day” column – sad.
We pulled into the loading dock. Â The crew was finishing up a few last minute lighting issues. Â We found the pipes we needed for our backdrops, got everyone signed in and badged for the day…and then cracked the back of the truck to start loading it all in.
Cindy placed cases while Keith started working on the lighting. Â I was busy getting the intelligent lights out of the case and things ready to go once Ethan wrapped up load in. Â This was going to be a fairly easy day – it’s a beautiful venue and the crew is definitely professional and on top of things.
We were set up and ready to go by 5:30pm. Â Doors would open at 7pm and the crowds – mostly students – would rush in to get their seats. Â They requested no intermission for this show so we were doing lots of illusions with no break anywhere for Cindy and Ethan to reset. Â I’m sure it was crazy backstage!
In the end, the audience gave us a standing ovation and everyone was happy. Â We tore it all down, loaded it back in the truck, and headed back to the hotel. Â We were in bed by midnight and ready for the drive on Friday. Â We are heading home for a few days!!!