Showboat

I have completed my second run with the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre.

The theme for this season is British Invasion. Shows written by, set in or about Great Britain.

I was hired to play for two of the musicals of this summer's season.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor™ Dreamcoat.

This theatre is a treat to play with. The actors and stage crew are top-notch, 

a professional company. Everything runs smoothly (usually. It is live theatre after all)

and everything is organized.

The theatre itself is a retrofitted riverboat. The boat is beached, with the 

characteristic boat features (paddlewheel, smokestacks) still intact.

Being a boat, the stage and spaces are small, but space is well-used.

In order to maximize stage space and audience seating, the band is

set behind the stage, miked, and run through the sound mix.

Which can make for a loud working place. (Observe the earplugs on the stand.)

 

Despite the longish commute to and from Clinton to get to rehearsals and shows, it's an enjoyable experience. The personnel (actors, stage crew and management, and band) are easy to work with and put reasonable demands on the (using my only frame of reference here) musicians.

It's a lovely spot on the Mississippi, and a great opportunity for see some outstanding local theater and I am grateful to be a part of it.

In conclusion, I would like everyone to be quiet for just 10 seconds and fully

appreciate David Bowie's outfit in this photo. If even one element is changed,

it just wouldn't have the same impact. The stripes, the jacket, the red shirt, the gorgeous smile.

Don't change a thing, 90s Bowie.