Running Around with my Head Cut Off

Abraham Lincoln is a man that lives in the thoughts of millions of people every single day, whether you want him to be there or not.

At least, that’s what I was told last night by some friends before coming home, and so far it’s rung true. Have you ever noticed the awkward lull that occurs when there is a group of people (5 or more) having a long conversation? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, pay attention the next time you’re with your friends; you can’t miss it.

As it turns out, every time there is a strange silence, someone in the group will suddenly begin thinking about Abraham Lincoln. There’s no reason to, and the discussion hardly ever moves onto a topic concerning him… it just happens. My guess is that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy; because you’ve heard this, you’ll suddenly think of him every time it happens (ever hear of The Game?). Of course, being the type of person that I am, I’ve been constantly thinking about our 16th President since learning this fact – awkward silence or not.

Thinking about the awesome things he did was probably what kept me partially sane today as I ran around the theatre again, preparing for the show that was about to start and getting myself ready for another show that I had promised to attend. If you hadn’t already caught me on Twitter or Facebook, I’m the house manager at Playhouse South for all three weekends of ‘Rent’, and it’s been quite an… unreal, experience. Not to say it hasn’t been fun, it’s just been hard.

Very hard.

Tonight was no exception. I just got home 20 minutes ago, and it’s now 2:45 AM. Granted, I stayed after to talk to some fellow volunteers for a while, but that’s still late, and I’m still tired. Tomorrow morning it all starts again, but in the early morning, and will last until at least 6 PM; when I will suddenly be granted the liberty to come home and work on paying jobs before going to sleep.

My friends, it looks like I’m going to be giving up on the night shift soon. I’m lonely, I’m bored, and quite frankly I’m annoyed that I can’t play music very loud, thanks to the sleeping dwellers in the house. I’m also not getting very satisfying sleep during the day, since the sun shines through into my bedroom at an angle that illuminates everything to the fullest (including my face).

Don’t let my complaints fool you, though. I am enjoying what life is throwing at me. The high energy that comes with managing a theater filled with  several hundred people is something that I’ve lived for. As I run to the back office to find a mop for cleaning spilled pop, I am stopped by a dozen guests who need help finding their seats, buying refreshments or turning in their ballots (for awards at the end of the year). I check to make sure programs are being made one minute, and then am rushed out to hand the driver some money to buy more ice.

It has made me come to greatly respect (and envy) the people who do this for a living. At one time in my life I would have looked at someone in my position and laughed, thinking they were just delegating all of the tasks out to others, and not doing the tasks themselves. Maybe I’m not doing the tasks, but tonight I had to make sure the dozen people under my lead were getting their work done the right way, and that takes a TON of energy.

What if the programs weren’t lined up? What if seats were double filled (we’re solving the ticketing issues)? What if we run out of water to sell to the guests? What if someone leaves staples on the stage by accident and a cast member steps on them (this happened tonight during the show – she played it off well).

What if our lights operator doesn’t show up?

Well… in that case, you learn how to run the lights 15 minutes before the show, and you learn it with a smile and excitement. Because everyone else is already doing something, and they’re counting on you to take responsibility for the house so that they don’t have to. It’s what I did last night, and until intermission I was not only in the tech booth running lights, but I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to open the doors fast enough to let people get to the bathroom, or find the ushers to take care of concessions.

I say all of this to make a very simple point more clear: I’m tired, and I think that I deserve to be. For any of you that are wondering why I haven’t been performing very well with my web development projects, this is the reason why. It’s still no excuse, though, and I made my commitment to you, too. So trust me, I’ll get to you as soon as possible.

To those of you whom I am not working for, or who might not be busy tomorrow (or next weekend): would you mind stopping by the theater and giving me a hand? It would make a tired man just a little bit less tired, and would make you the satisfied owner of a free ticket to see the show.

Interested? (I bet Abraham Lincoln would be…. )