"Live Theatre--Gotta Love It"

So.  Sydera hung her wig on the 'hot lights' (we really should have put tape over that switch) and it melted.  The inside was blackened in several areas.  The blond hair fused together and turned dark brown in places.  When they brought it to me, it was still too hot to touch.  But a serious session with a curling iron, scissors and the addition of a feathered bow made of feathers from her boa and it was passable.  The show moved forward and she went on, just as hilarious as usual.

Trever went to pick up the kitchen chair for his 'lion-tamer bit', and the top of it just popped off.  He took it in stride, waving it about as if he were Charles Atlas himself.  Glad Rachelle wasn't there to see it.  That vintage table and chair kitchen set is a favorite of hers.  Chris entered moments later and point-blank asked him, IN the show, "Did you break this?"  Trever said, "I'm sorry!"  And Chris proceeded to try and put it back together as best she could.

Zane's phone, upside down and tangled in the legs of his ladder; and then, when it came time for him to stand, his foot got caught in the ladder.  Thank goodness he's already playing a doofus....  (<3 p="">
Then, during Trever's frenetic dash to try and get his mother's head out of the oven, the flat rolled a little and the refrigerator door swung open.  Dennis, our Safety Chairman, had us remove the latch so that no kids would ever get locked in accidentally.  The door just very slowly opened all the way up--180 degrees.  Glad I took the time to fill the 'never-seen' inside of it with a painted milk bottle, fruits and vegetables, bowls, and other stuff to give it that 'real fridge' look.  Trever eventually glanced over at it, gave one of his patented Trever-startle jumps, got up and closed it.

It's funny, that in theatre, we strive for the flawless, perfectly-executed performance, yet it's these stories--of which there are many, worse and funnier than these--that live in infamy.

• Geoffrey's inability to 'find Freddie'
• the picture that fell off the wall during 'the chase' and each cast member that ran by stopped and tried to rehang it, but then was forced to resume the chase sequence before the job was completed, until finally 'the mystery hand' appeared through the door and slowly slid it into place
• an orange juice glass that went flying
• Austin stuffing his mouth with the picnic cookies backstage during the final performance, forgetting that he had to come on stage and say a line immediately after
• Jesse forgetting his photographs 'in the bushes'
• pants that fell down during the dance
• a fake cigarette accidentally set on fire
• fog machines that set off the smoke alarm
• An 'F-bomb' dropped by the Catholic school teacher during the Lord's Day matinee 
• a missed entrance, leaving two 6th grade girls to ad-lib ten minutes of dialogue while sitting on a bench at the county fair--until they finally decided to 'call it a day' and go get a lemon shake-up

And many more....  Classics, now.  These are the things we talk about, late into the night at Steak n' Shake, remembering.  Laughing hysterically.  And me, the director, trying to frown, insisting that a mistake-free performance is the bar we're reaching for, but laughing in spite of myself all the same.

Live theatre.  You gotta love it.