Things I Learned Last Night:

Things I learned last night:

The entirety of the Niagara-on-the-Lake region has ONE (1) gas station open after 11pm.

That ONE (1) gas station is a gaping hole in the ground while they renovate the tanks.

When the manual of your bike says the Fuel Reserve is about 3L. What it actually means is: The Fuel Reserve of your tank is about 3L.

You can't run on fumes with a fuel injected engine.

Pushing your motorcycle down the highway sort of sucks.

Pushing your motorcycle uphill down the highway definitely sucks.

My reflective safety vest works.

Getting escort flanked by a flashing Police SUV while pushing your motorcycle down the shoulder of the QEW is a bit of a hoot.

The back seats of Police SUVs don't have seat belts.

They also don't have door handles.

The Esso at Glendale and Hwy 81 is now a Petro-Canada.

The officer was just as surprised to see that as I was.

There's no point in buying 20$ of gas when you only picked the 10L jerry can.

Getting a lift back to your bike in the back of a cruiser is kind of exciting.

Next time you think "I'll fill it up before work in the morning..." punch that thought right in its dirty mouth.

Special appreciation also to the dear, kind old gentlemen with the kippah who stopped to try and assist me, though in that situation, I wasn't about to ask him to drive me around in circles because of my own hubris.

So in true chaotic electricity gods style, post-show I did one last unplug-replug of the network hub and OH LOOK IT'S MAGICALLY ALL BETTER.

The AC giveth, and the AC taketh away.

First show of the week.

Let's boot up the ETC system, head on down to the stage, weird, the remote won't connect, back up to the booth, weird, backup won't connect, weird, 1 Thru 30 @ Full. Nope.

Cue: Unplug, power cycle, replug, power down, unplug, replug, call department head, call other venue lighting operator, unplug, replug, deep clean, power cycle.

But did you unplug that one part?

But did you power cycle that part?

But did you power cycle and unplug this part?

Okay so the board is talking to the lights!

But. Not the DMX. But some of the DMX? Universe 2 is down! But we've already held the house going ten minutes.

Park Universe 2 off! The show must go on!

So I dashed to the Festival Stage to check in with our department head, and the wardrobe mavens back stage told me they had a battery catch fire during rehearsal.

"Let me guess, about 15 minutes ago?"

Yep. Right when we blipped.

It's getting warm out, usually at least once per season, everyone in town starts their air conditioners up, and the shitty infrastructure can't handle the sudden load, and transformers blow up or surge the lines.

We'll see!

Actors keep on acting!

It’s Liiiiiivvve Theatre!

So I’m doing an understudy track for Glass Menagerie, everything’s good, preshow went fine, up in the booth behind the board operator, half paying attention since it’s just a “Go” show.

When suddenly…

“Console has lost control of the system…”

Thankfully we run a parallel backup.

Except.

It’s not advancing the cues?

And now it’s “searching for master console…”

And the lights still aren’t changing.

And I know it’s terrible. But there’s a part of me that’s like. “For once… This happened to someone else…” Because I’ve been dealing with system glitches like this in here for years.

So we announce to the audience. Please stand by. Technical difficulties. We will resume shortly.

Turn on the works. Except we can’t access the Paradigm system. So we pop on the emergency lights. And reset the boards. They look good! Except still not controlling the lights.

So we reset the dimmers!

Which does nothing.

So we reset the network!

Which does nothing.

So now we’re waiting for intermission.

Thankfully the dimmers locked on in the last cue, and it’s a bright stage look, so THE SHOW GOES ON.

Liiivvvveeee theaaatrreeee.

People (Over 50):

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. GOT NO RESPECT. SO SELF CENTRED. NO CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS.

Also People (Over 50):

Not even starting on the just... Grossness of dropping all your shit all over the carpet... This isn't a concrete movie theatre. We can't just hose wash this floor down...

Nevermind the godsawful noise unwrapping all your damn candies would have made, disrupting the people around you...

Kleenex biohazards? C'mon... You brought that stuff in with pockets or purses. Put it BACK in same until you pass a trash can, of which there are several.

Unacceptable.

Baaaaddddd modem! Yay!!

So we can't use the remotes for lamp check until it's replaced, but we have control once again.

And the audience had a show locked in one lighting state.

Which got a good natured chuckle when the power is supposed to be shut off in the second act.

"My word, the lights seem to have gone out..." -fully lit stage- "We had best get the candles to dispel the darkness." /sigh

THE SHOW. IT GOES ON.

Honestly, I find quirks like that make the event more memorable, the audience gets a little extra for their experience, and brings out the bond of "we're all only human after all, telling stories to each other in the dark." Like living an outtakes montage.

It’s Liiiiiivvve Theatre!

So I’m doing an understudy track for Glass Menagerie, everything’s good, preshow went fine, up in the booth behind the board operator, half paying attention since it’s just a “Go” show.

When suddenly…

“Console has lost control of the system…”

Thankfully we run a parallel backup.

Except.

It’s not advancing the cues?

And now it’s “searching for master console…”

And the lights still aren’t changing.

And I know it’s terrible. But there’s a part of me that’s like. “For once… This happened to someone else…” Because I’ve been dealing with system glitches like this in here for years.

So we announce to the audience. Please stand by. Technical difficulties. We will resume shortly.

Turn on the works. Except we can’t access the Paradigm system. So we pop on the emergency lights. And reset the boards. They look good! Except still not controlling the lights.

So we reset the dimmers!

Which does nothing.

So we reset the network!

Which does nothing.

So now we’re waiting for intermission.

Thankfully the dimmers locked on in the last cue, and it’s a bright stage look, so THE SHOW GOES ON.

Liiivvvveeee theaaatrreeee.