The last few days are kind of a blur. Â We had five shows in four days in Florida. Â I’ll do the best I can to recap those days!
LAKELAND CENTER
We started at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, FL. Â We’ve worked in this venue before but it was many years ago. Â I was especially excited to be heading back here to work with Scott and the crew. Â This is a beautiful space and we had two great audiences here last time.
We arrived the night before around 7pm or so. Â We had a few things to pick up at the local Walmart and then took Ethan for his first “Whataburger” experience.
Cindy and I love Whataburger. Â Keith says it reminds him of Burger King….not sure what Ethan thought!
We had a very early load on Thursday because we had a 2:30pm and a 7:30pm show! Â The marketing here was very strong and I was hoping for great audiences. Â Radio, television, and newspaper coverage…
As soon as we pulled into the loading dock, I ran across the street to do a live interview on WLKF “Mayhem in the AM.” Â Seth and the gang were great…and then I was back to the theatre to help get the show up. Â The crew at the Lakeland Center made the day easy and enjoyable. Â The show was up before we knew it and we even had some time to grab lunch before the first performance.
Clarke Aldridge and one of his friends, Rebecca, made it to the 2:30pm show. Â Clarke’s been one of our most avid and consistent fans over the years and always tries to make it to one of our shows when we are touring in Florida. Â This time was easier for him because he lives in Lakeland.
The matinee was directed toward the Adults at Leisure series so the audience was mostly senior citizens. Still, they were a great audience and we had a wonderful time.
The evening performance was a mixed audience of families, young adults, and seniors. Â This is one of our favorite crowds and we this audience did not disappoint us – great volunteers and lots of enthusiasm. Â After the show, in the lobby, I had the chance to meet tons of people including some of the area magicians who were there to support the show. Â We always appreciate these guys and it’s nice to make some new friends in the magic world.
After loading out, we had to hit the road. Â It had already been a long day but we needed to cover some serious miles that night. Â Our next show was a couple hundred miles away – close to a four hour drive. Â We drove to Clewiston and spend the night, finishing up the trip the next morning.
MIRAMAR CULTURAL CENTER
This is a very new venue – just opened in December 08. Â It’s a beautiful place and Mitch, Liz, Craig and the guys here made us feel like family. Â We were also set to do two shows here – a Friday night and a Saturday matinee.
We arrived promptly at 11:30am for load in. Â We had to clear a few things from the stage and move around some of the curtains before we could bring in the cases. Â After about 45 minutes, the crew had finished all the prep work and it was time to load in.
Everyone was helpful as Ethan coordinated which cases would come off the truck…and Cindy directed where they would live – on and off the stage. Â This is just one of the many “dances” that take place during the day – each person working in close collaboration with the other.
Keith was busy getting our light board patched, making sure we had DMX runs for the moving lights, and starting to get sound ready to go.
The day moved along well and before we knew it, it was show time! Â The show on Friday was almost a full house. Â The audience was young and excited – lots of families and young adults. Â The house is very intimate – about 800 seats – and the rapport I established with the audience made them feel like they should just talk to me on the stage…which they did quite often! Â Great responses from the crowd during the show and in the lobby afterwards when I had a chance to meet them.
The next day was a matinee – 1pm. Â This was another wonderful show with a small audience, but very enthusiastic! Â Afterwards, I met this group in the lobby as well. Â We needed to tear down and load out quickly – we had another long drive ahead of us to Clearwater! Â We almost took along a little visitor on our trip by mistakenly packing him in a case!
We had a GREAT time in Miramar and look forward to coming back here again! Â We were on the road around 4pm to make the drive to Lakeland.
(TO BE CONTINUED)