At the end of last week, a long going minor sinus irritation decided to settle in and become a full on sinus infection - and with the beginning of a low grade fever I decided it was time to go see a doctor. Much to my surprise, the infection had not only taken over my nose, but had moved on into my lungs - a mild case of Walking Pneumonia.

After initially thinking that the doctor was crazy - I felt fine - I realized what he described was pretty true - and I was glad the weekend ahead I'd already been scheduled to be off, not to mention that for the next week my ops are running shows, and for the most part I'm in "administrator" mode.

But what it did make me think about, were the times where I and others had performed or run shows when sick. There are all kinds of events I remember or people have told me from summer stock, college, and all walks of theatre. The show, after all, must go on.

Here are a few high lights.

When I was an intern at the Utah Shakes, the intern in the other space, who was the mic wrangler for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, fell and sprained her ankle. She wasn't able to walk well, much less transverse stairs - and for the show in question there were upwards of 20 mic pack swaps all over the building. After the minor set up and prep for my show, I booked across the street and took over the changes that took place on the dressing room level, luckily with the help of a very understanding cast. The show had two back to back performances that evening, so I got a do-over that went that much better. The injured intern took care of on deck swaps from a rolling office chair.

Of legend that summer, was a sound operator some summers before, who had a violent attack of stomach flu just as his show hit the stage. After the opening sequence of the show, he tried to make a break for the bathroom or at least a backstage, but only made it just out the booth door onto the catwalk, where he puked spectacularly with audience members a few feet below him. He ran the entire show while off and on being sick into a trashcan - but he didn't miss a cue.

One of my favorite stories is from my sister - long out of theatre - but who as a child played in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She is very near sighted, and was asked to not wear her glasses for performances. One evening she got slightly separated from the other kids, and stepped right off the edge of the stage. A patron in the first row picked her up, and set her back on the apron, where she caught up and finished the performance.

One of the scariest stories I was a part of involved a spot operator who passed out during a show in college. She was in a spot deck accessed only by onstage ship ladder, and the excess heat and a cold had been too much. The stage manager sent crew to make sure she wasn't bleeding and stayed put, while a backstage tech called 911. Luckily, the show as nearly over, so by the time the paramedics arrived, curtain call was just starting. The cast was asked to do an abbreviated curtain and the audience asked to leave as quickly as possible. Luckily, other than being incredibly embarrassed - the spot op was fine and able to do the rest of the run.

So what's your own "show must go on" story? Got a good one? Post it!

Until next time, cats and kittens.

Cheers,

~R