The Show Did Go On

Tonight’s performance report is more than 2 pages. Here’s a shorter version of the highlights:

Preshow, I helped box office reseat a Great Dane PTSD Service Dog who was going to be seated in the front row and I have an actress afraid of dogs. He ultimately got 4 seats reserved for himself and spent a good portion of the show sprawled out in an aisle. He was also adorable and we were allowed to approach him (he’s also a pet therapy dog at hospitals). Two of my other actresses absolutely loved on him post show.

Erin Joy Swank with a Great Dane service animal in vest
Hanging out with Jefferson the Dog post show. Note, he’s not even full grown yet!

Just as I was in standby for Act One, we lost partial power for the building, including all houselights. Quickly determined all band instruments and singer mics and most of lights worked, so we carried on without much delay after telling the audience they’d be even more involved in the audience participation part with the emergency lights on them. We added in spotlights where needed during the Act, especially for several moments on stage right. They also acted as some houselight during intermission, along with crew flashlights.

Three minutes into Act Two we lost all power for 37 minutes. Luckily, the Artistic Director was still around so he could make the ultimate decisions as whether to call it/offer refunds/etc., and we made several calls to the electric company for updates.

Started 4 minutes after resuming power, with 112 of our 207 patrons remaining. They had a ball. After all, Nunsense IS Habit-Forming.