SETC Convention, It's Over and We're Chillin

(Back row left to right: Chris, Ben, me, Quiana. Front row: Justin)

SETC Convention, Friday - Part Two

After dinner at IHOP Chris and I returned to the Convention Center and he sprinted to the Lexington's Children Theatre so he could give Angela his coat. (One of the Assassins cast members was wearing his coat as part of her costume.)I stopped to call Quiana, Hardy and April to see if they were planning on seeing the show. Quiana was having dinner with her mom and would not be joining us. April said she might attend and I couldn't reach Hardy.

The show wasn't until 8:30p and as it was only 7:50p I was surprised to see the LCT already overcrowded with students. I was excited by the turnout for Angela's sake yet worried that I wouldn't be able to get in. So for the second time I used the power of my purple badge. I pushed my way through the crowd and as the side doors weren't guarded, I entered the theatre. Vivian Snipes was sitting at the top of the stairs and she was just as surprised to see me as I was her. I quietly asked how much longer they were going to rehearse. She advised there was no rehearsal; there was a one-man show going on. I was so embarrassed! Chris was texting me but I was afraid to check my phone! Finally Vivian left to consult with Larry about a video feed for Assassins.

Chad had to interrupt the one man show's talk back since he was running over his time. There were only about 12 people who were staying for Assassins so Chad requested them take seats in the middle. As we prepared to open the house, Angela found me and gave me Chris' phone. Since I wasn't answering his texts he decided to search for me in the lobby. I poked my head out the door and the first person I saw was Zack Brown, who I know from Theatre Alliance. I asked him to find Chris and it was a wave reaction of heads turning as each person communicated my request. Finally Chris came up the stairs and I related how I had gotten into the theatre by accident.

Hardy and April were able to make it into the theatre, as did Justin. The theatre seats 300 and LCT worked to seat another 100 in one of the rooms with video feed. Those remaining in the lobby could also watch the live feed. Angela was understandably nervous for her cast and Chris had a difficult time keeping still.

About 15 minutes into the show April, who was sitting right beside me, started to snore. I woke her up and reminder her that Angela was standing right beside her videotaping. Five minutes later I again had to wake April. I felt so bad for her as I knew how tired she was!

I've had the soundtrack forever but had never seen Assassins. It was good that I was familiar with the music because the canned music, at times, drown out the cast. Still the show was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

After the show Justin and I headed over to Beth's suite, nicknamed the Juice Joint, for a private reception. We met up with Quiana and Ben and decided to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Chris joined us a few minutes later. After about an hour we all decided to head down to the hotel bar. My drink for the night was Kentucky Ale and quite a lot of it I did drink. We had such a good time, laughing, drinking, talking and laughing even more. I didn't return to my room until 4 am!

SETC Convention, Friday

I met Hardy at 6:30 and he introduced me to the Undergrad Audition staff. The Auditions Director, Assistant Auditions Director and Stage Manager all greeted me in the same manner. While they each shook my hand with beauty pageant smiles pasted on their faces, their eyes regarded me with unconcealed suspicion. Pretending not to notice the frigid temperature Hardy explained that I would be around and available to assist them in whatever capacity needed. The Director nodded her head as if to say "okay" and turned her back on us and began conversing with the other two women. Talk about rude! I attended her student briefing and couldn't believe when she made a negative remark about SETC. I mean, hello? Did she not realize she was supposed to be representing SETC? Then during the College/University briefing she offered an apology for the tight quarters... "Evidently Hardy didn't order enough tables." My mouth dropped open. The tight quarters was beyond Hardy's (or even SETC's) control. About an hour later, Steve, one of our Exec Board Members, was introducing me to some of the undergraduate auditions volunteers. The three ladies were talking at the other end of the table. After the introductions Steve says aloud, "So, I understand you will be running these auditions next year." The 3 ladies (who I nicknamed the Bitches of Eastwick) whipped their heads around to stare daggers at me. I fought for the words to explain that I didn't know what my responsibilities would be but that there was a chance that I would be somehow involved. I then quickly retreated. I attempted to return a half hour later to see how things were going and the Bitches of Eastwick made it very clear that I was not needed nor wanted.

So I did what any normal red blooded American girl would do....I went shopping. The Commercial and Education Expo were down the next hallway from auditions, so I decided to soothe my psyche with the help of Craig Pospisil at the Dramatist Play Service booth. Like last year, DPS was offering scripts for $5.00 and Buy 3 Get 1 Free. I plunked down $30 and got 8 scripts - 6 plays and 2 musicals.

The Rest Of The Night
Colorado
Great Falls
Animals Out Of Paper
The Hallelujah Girls
'Til Beth Do Us Part
Romantic Poetry
Gone Missing

Still in need of retail therapy, I headed to the Samuel French booth and picked up 3 more scripts.

Out Of Sterno
Wedding Belles
Elephant Sighs

At 2pm I started begging Chris to release Ben so he and I could attend Tituss' keynote address. Chris finally acquiesced and by the time Ben and I arrived there was a sea of folks waiting to get in. For the first time ever, I used the power of my purple badge and Ben and I got in early. (SETC Central Staff, Dream Team, Job Squad and Pro Aud Staff have purple name badges which allows unrestricted access.) We did help usher and I worked with the hotel staff to open the airwalls to the adjoining rooms. Luckily Ben and I had saved ourselves seats in the front row; the place was packed!

Tituss was an informative and gracious speaker. While it took some coaxing, he did perform two numbers and was then whisked away by April and Jasmine so he could make his flight home.

SETC Convention, Thursday

For the most part the first day of Professional Auditions went well. Due to the large number of auditionees (780!) we are trying a new 40 person/1 hour block. You see, most auditionees will act and sing and they have 90 seconds to show their stuff. If all 40 auditionees take 90 seconds, it should take an hour. Unfortunately, there is no account for the time it takes an auditionee to walk to the stage, up the stairs and take a mental moment before beginning. As such, we ran 5 to 6 minutes behind for each block. If it weren't for the auditionees who didn't show up for their audition, we would have run right into the 5:30p Dance Briefing.

The majority of the auditionees are undergrad students who passed their state's screening audition, and I was very surprised by the poor quality of some of the auditions. Auditionees are supposed to use the same material for Pro Auditions that they used for State Screening and if that indeed was the case, I questioned why they were even passed! Lisa felt the same and communicated her concern regarding some of the adjudicators.

We had a bit of a snafu during the initial stages of the dance call. I was running around trying to grab staff and volunteers to alleviate the issue. Within 20 minutes all was running smoothly. Unbelievably we finished dance call at 8:15p. Last year dance call ran until 10:30p each night because the pro companies called back so many folks to dance. They obviously learned their lesson! I let the staff go to enjoy a successful first day and the early night and I stayed to close the Callback Room.

I met up with Quiana and Ben, who were attending a Theatre for Youth reception at the Lexington Children's Theatre. While at the "bar" waiting for a cold Kentucky Ale I inadvertently entered into a conversation with a person whose gender I could not determine. I finally glanced at the name badge and inwardly chuckled. I had finally met the infamous Mr. Bryant. (Well, infamous to the Central Office.) I caught Ben's eye and pleaded for my liberation. With the reception winding down and none of us having had dinner, we decided to eat at DeSha's again. Mark joined us and we rescued Jasmine from her self-date. We spent the next hour discussing, debating, and solving all of SETC's organizational hindrances.

We all headed back to the LCT where we met up with Justin, Sam, Hardy, Chris, April and Betsey for Tituss Burgess' midnight concert. Due to a very early morning, the unspoken plan was to stay for a couple of songs and then head back to our respective hotels. Once Tituss took the stage, we were all enthralled. What an amazingly talented performer! He began with "King of the World" from Songs for a New World and I was breathless. Quiana was excited to hear him sing "Under The Sea" from The Little Mermaid, and of course he did "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" from Guys and Dolls. He related conversations he had backstage with Liz Minnelli at the Tony's and with Bette Midler during a fundraiser. And he talked about antics on the set of "Jersey Boys". He started singing a ballad and the words were so familiar to me. I finally realized it was Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone" and man, as a slow ballad it was hauntingly beautiful. Tituss entertained us for slightly over an hour and watching him in what is clearly his element was well worth the loss of sleep.

SETC Convention, Wednesday

SETC's 61st Annual Spring Convention officially started today! Quiana, Chris and Mark were pretty busy at the Registration Desk. April was busy with her Job Contact and Hardy was with Liz Lerman for our K-12 Institute. I spent most of today drafting the rotation schedule for the Professional Audition staff. I picked up lunch at Arby's and spent the next hour bugging Chris, whose help I desperately needed to print numerous documents.

I was able to meet with Lisa Leonard, the director for our Professional Auditions, after lunch and we discussed plans for the next three days and the staff schedule. She's a bit nervous that she's losing me on Friday and Saturday; she's soooo good for my esteem! I love working with Lisa and the two of us just click. I'll admit that while I'm sad to be leaving Pro Auditions, I'm very much looking forward to actually experiencing this year's Convention. As I discovered last year, when you're on the Pro Aud staff you don't have time to enjoy the Convention. (Last year in Birmingham, AL, we worked 16 hours each of the 3 days of professional auditions!) I also met my roommate, Susan Phillips, who is the manager for the Institute of Outdoor Drama at UNC-Chapel Hill. I liked her immediately!

Since auditionees were scheduled to see the audition space at 8p, I headed up to Bluegrass Ballroom One at 7:30p. Some of the Pro Aud staff were already there, and hugs and laughter abounded. Save one, all the folks who worked Pro Auditions last year returned. They are such a hard-working, professional group of young folks! They immediately got to work circulating amongst the auditionees to be available for the inevitable questions.

After the walk-thru we had our Pro Aud Staff meeting. Lisa asked that I present the rotation schedule, which was new to this staff. I then took everyone on a tour of our facilities, pointing out our Warm Up Room, Holding Room, Callback Room, and the rooms for the Dance Callbacks. (Thank you Betsey for our January field trip!) After the meeting they headed up to Beth's for the Volunteer Reception and I helped April with Job Contact stuff for about an hour.

I popped by the reception, which was breaking up just as I was arriving. I'm now back in my room trying to type quietly so as not to wake Susan!

SETC Convention, Tuesday

I cannot pinpoint the last time I stayed out (practically) all night drinking. I can tell you that the massive headache I had upon waking stirred the edges of very distant memories. My cell phone alarm went off at 8a and I must have dismissed it instead of snoozed. I awoke with a start at 8:30a and rushed through a shower, etc. By the grace of God I somehow made it to my 9am Pre-Con meeting. I was slightly comforted in that I was not the only one suffering from the late night/early morning. I muddled through my "Hi, I'm Cheryl Ann..." introduction with just a tiny slurring of my name and even managed to keep down the yogurt, fruit and granola parfait offered for breakfast. As soon as the meeting adjourned I headed back to my room for a few more zzzz's.

Perhaps it was the war my stomach was waging with the yogurt or my worry over missing the hotel maid, but I just could not rest. I finally got up and with the help of the hotel staff I accessed my free internet. I spent the next several hours reading and replying to the numerous emails sent to our general mailbox.

The rest of my day was spent catching up on my work email, unpacking and ironing all my outfits, as well as a 30 minute power nap. Around 5p I met up with Quiana and more members of the Dream Team for a mandatory briefing and at 6p we headed up to Beth's suite for a reception that included the Dream Team, Job Squad, Central Staff and numerous Board members.

Piling into available cars we headed to a 7:30p dinner at Ramsey's. Chris, Quiana, Hardy and I grabbed a table by ourselves. This time I ordered the meat loaf with mashed potatoes, fried okra and apple fritters. The meat loaf was pretty spicy, but very good.

The four of us headed back to "the office" around 9:30p to help pull tickets for Tituss' concert. The wrong date was printed on the tickets and we had to find and fix each one. I sent Quiana to her room after an hour. Our previous night of drinking and her full working day were starting to wear her thin. April came in to assist and by 11p we had accomplished our task. Fifteen minutes later I was ensconced in my very comfortable bed reading the first few pages of the Nicholas Sparks' novel I bought for the trip.

SETC Convention, Monday

This time our drive to Lexington, KY was absolutely beautiful as the sun was brightly shining. We decided to forgo Bob Evans hospitality and stopped for lunch at a Travel Plaza, which housed a variety of fast food restaurants. Quiana and I went with KFC, while Chris and April ordered from Burger King. Hardy and Mark, who were taking turns driving the Penske truck, joined us 10 minutes later.

We arrived in Lexington a bit after 5p. By the time the truck pulled in we secured a flat bed cart from the LCC and Dream Team members Ben and Claire joined us to unload. It took us about an hour to get everything off the truck and stored in the appropriate places.

Since we had about an hour before we were scheduled to meet for dinner we all checked into our rooms. I am staying at the Hyatt this time. The bathroom isn't as nice as the one in the Hilton and since I'll be sharing my room beginning Wednesday night, I don't have a king. Still, it's nice and cozy. I had to laugh, though. Usually hotels offer trial sized body lotions, shampoos and conditioners, and the Hyatt was no different. In addition to these staples was a trial sized tube of Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste - the exact same kind I bought at Wal-Mart for this trip!

We met in the Hilton lobby and walked across the street to Desha's for dinner. I ordered a glass of pinot grigio and a pasta dish. The pasta was delicious, even though no one at the table could identify the peculiar shaped, cheese filled pasta. (A cross between farfella pasta and crab ragoon.) Quiana ordered the fish and chips and finally learned that the french fries were actually the "chips".

At 9:30p we left the restaurant and I fully intended to return to my room to relax. Justin, Claire, Ben, Quiana and Chris were headed to Cheapside, where Mondays offered $4.00 martinis. Chris and Ben invited me and I was so flattered to be asked to join the "young people" that I agreed. I did add that I would only stay until 10p.

Five hours and 10 Flirtinis and Lounge Lizards later, our waiter and bartender finally kicked us out after a final round of shots, on-the-house. We all decided to continue the party in the suite Justin, Ben and Claire were occupying for the night. (The suite would be turned over for Tituss Burgess on Wednesday.) We somehow managed to obtain a bottle of red wine and the drink-a-thon continued. Quiana left then returned 10 minutes later, chocolate cookies were discovered and then devoured, and a great deal of wine ended up decorating my white sweater. I eventually returned to my room, at 4 in the morning, a mere 6 hours later than I originally intended.

SETC Road Trip, Day Two

We began today at 8:30a meeting up with Bond Jacobs, Director of Services for the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau, who acted as our cruise director. Outside it was snowing. Accumulation wasn't supposed to be but about an inch. The snowfall was beautiful.

First up was a tour of the Hyatt facilities with Senior Convention Services Manager Amy Lett. We viewed the ball, board and meeting rooms where we will hold our numerous workshops in March. Amy also took us through their Presidential Suite, which may be the week's home to Beth Harvey, SETC's current President. While the suite had a nice comfy, homey feel to it, it also smelled. There was not bar area per se, which is important since the President's Reception will take place in her suite.

Bond next took us over to the Lexington Convention Center where we met Natasha Stamper the Event Manager. The LCC is where I will be spending 90% of my convention time - Thursday and Friday I'll be working Pro-Auditions as Assistant Director and on Saturday I'll be working Graduate Auditions as the Director. The Commercial exhibits and Education Expo, one of my current responsibilities, will also be in the LCC. Chris' registration desk, April's Job Contact Services and Hardy's Undergraduate Auditions will also be at the LCC. It is wonderful to be able to experience the spaces before we hit the ground running at Convention. We've got a month to visualize the layouts and work out any potential problems before hand.

Around noon Bond introduced us to Erik Maikkula, Director of Catering and Convention Services for the Hilton. He took us on a tour of the Hilton facilities where we will hold more workshops. Chris and I like their Presidential Suite much, much better. It does have a bar area and, once again, the bathroom is spa quality. We took pictures and Beth will have to decide.

For lunch we were treated to a taste-testing. Our job was to determine the menu for the State Luncheon on Friday. After completing stuffing ourselves we settled on a mixed salad, almond seared chicken with red pepper risotto and green beans, and white/dark chocolate mousse for dessert. (I personally adored the raspberry chocolate cake, but others felt it was too heavy for lunch. I was able to snag an extra piece as a takeaway.)

After the glorious lunch we walked to the Lexington Opera House, which is where the High School Festival will take place. I was awed by its beauty. The house was recently renovated and the red velvet seats are not only gorgeous but comfortable. They have a portrait gallery in which hangs pictures of famous people who have played at the Opera House. Downstairs is Pardy's Pub and a rumored ghost or two. April and I both agreed that the Community Theatre Festival should have been located here. While High School kids would dig the ghost stories they simply won't appreciate the space like community theatre folks would.

Our last meeting was with Dave Steinmetz, the TD for the University of Kentucky. UK will host the Community Theatre Festival. He's hosted the KTA State Conference so Dave will help make our jobs very easy.

After a two hour nap we all met and walked to Natasha's Bistro and Bar for dinner. (Yes, we walked, 6 blocks, in freezing cold weather.) I ordered the Pesto Bascilico, which was much better than the burger I had last night. While we were enjoying our meals we were treated to Jazz Pianist and composer Kokichi Tagawa and then Tom Green performed. Thoroughly stuffed from our earlier lunch and a great dinner we walked the 6 blocks back to the hotels. (It was still just as freezing.)

And now I will spend some time reviewing my lines for The Nerd.

SETC Road Trip, Day One

For the first time in SETC history, the staff (as opposed to the Executive Board) is going for a pre-con visit, where we'll meet the hotel and Convention Center folks we'll be working closely with in March. More importantly we will get to see the specific sites for our 61st Annual Spring Convention.

This morning April, Hardy, Chris and I piled into a 6-person van destined for Lexington, Kentucky. (Betsey and Quiana were already there.)We had a very pleasant trip through NC and VA. We stopped at Bob Evans in Beckley, WV for lunch and discussed with our waitress the corporate policy change of biscuits to the table before the yeast rolls. I had the new Border Scramble Biscuit Bowl, which wasn't as appetizing as it sounded. Back on the road we hit some rain and snow patches; the latter resulting in some minor tense driving. We finally arrived in Lexington a bit after 5pm.

Hardy, Chris and I chose to check into our Hilton rooms before our 6p meeting. (April, Betsey and Quiana were at the Hyatt.) Now, I love my job for many reasons - getting to stay in nice hotels is one. My room is awesome! I have a king sized sleep bed (my sleep number, by the way, is 35) with 5 fluffy pillows. The bathroom looked like one you'd find at a spa. The towels were big, fluffy and absorbent. I love the big screen TV (though it took me a bit to figure out how to access the local channels).

The Hilton, Hyatt, Lexington Convention Center and some downtown areas are connected by a pedway. So, if it should rain (or snow) during our Convention, with little exception, you won't have to step one foot outside. Most of you who know me are aware of my concern with bridges, and that concern now apparently extends to pedways. The only pedway I had a problem with was the one from the Hyatt to the Hilton. While enclosed (except for the side openings along the floor that were covered with the thinnest of chicken wires) it was directly over a high trafficked street. Seeing the cracks in the concreted walkway and hearing the cars pass underneath - well, it was all I could do not to run screaming for my life from one end to the other.

We used the pedways to meet Larry Snipes, the Producing Director for the Lexington Children's Theatre. (Sidenote: Lexington Children's Theatre was a finalist in the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook. They did not get the $1MM, but they were the top theatre in the contest.) LCT is one of our festival sites and will host Titus Burgess Midnight Concert. Larry is an absolute joy, and I've no doubt everything will run smoothly under his watchful and experienced eye.

Around 7:45p we all piled in the van and headed to dinner at Ramsey's Diner. Quiana went to UK and used to work at this American soul food restaurant. I had a hamburger which was meh. I did get to try, for the first time in my life, fried green tomatoes. Those were delish! For dessert I had a slice of Mayday pie from Missy's Pie Shop. The quarter sized slice was full of pecans and chocolate chips. It was sheer Heaven!