This time however, it�s like the incredibly easy time has been swapped for �the worst run of a show�ever!�

The following is a list of stuff suffered by the cast:
- Cracked ribs (The Sexy)
- Slipped discs
- Bronchitis
- Sore knee
- Concussion (me)
- Chest pain requiring hospitalisation
- More bronchitis (requiring hospitalisation)
- An all-encompassing throat, nose & ear infection turning the actor into a walking pharmacy

The last two on that list were what stressed me out the most last weekend...as it meant we were down one cast member (eep!) and very nearly down one Mark Antony.

On Saturday night at about 5.30pm I received a message from Octavia to say that she had to stay in hospital overnight and could I please play her part. When I agreed to be the Stage Manager the director said that she wanted a female stage manager in case any of the women couldn�t make a performance and I could just step into the breech. I didn�t envisage that I would actually have to do that.

So I went on with pieces of script to glance at and cast members to shove me in the right direction. It all went quite well (according to the cast and the audience � it was nice to have P and her sister and friend in the audience witnessing my last minute starring role) and then I relaxed in the knowledge that Octavia would be back the next performance. But she wasn�t! And that morning I received a call from Mark Antony asking if we could cancel the performance as he could barely talk or breathe due to the pain of the infection.

Oh boy.

He said he would go to the emergency room (my speech of �Make sure you tell the ambulance drivers to drop you off at the theatre first so you can do your performance and then be taken to the hospital to have your internal bleeding looked at� that I gave at the beginning of the season in a half-joking way about how really ill you needed to be to not be on stage was starting to haunt me!) and see what they could do for him.

Just in case I called my back up Tom to see if he could read the part of Agrippa while I thrust The Sexy into the part of Mark Antony (he knows most of the moves and half the lines � he was the best suited to the role...it has nothing to do with him sleeping with the Stage Manager � seriously! I spoke to the director last night and she said The Sexy would have been her choice to fill in too) and hoped for the best.

Luckily Mark Antony made it to the theatre [dead man walking] and we got through the performance.

Throughout all this tension it was nice to have a giggle when our sound tech bloke got up at the beginning of the performance to announce that �This evening the part of Octavia will be read by Mrs The Sexy. We hope this doesn�t effect your enjoyment of the performance�. I know what he meant (the appearance of a character on stage holding a script and reading it can be very distracting) but it came out hilariously bad sounding.

Octavia will be back tonight and Mark Antony is improving. Let�s just hope that the rest of the cast is fit and healthy...because I can only play one part at a time!

Tyd
11 April 2008 - 9:47 am

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