As we walked up and down Main Street in Durango, I noticed that all of the storefronts had posters for Strega Nona. Since the population of Durango is only around 15,000, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people would turn up at our show.
Our performance venue was at Fort Lewis College, a two-tier, 600-seat theatre. Sadly, our one and only show had only 200-300 people in attendance and was one of our roughest performances ever. Due to the high elevation (Durango is at 6500 feet above sea level and Fort Lewis College is at 6750 feet), most of the cast experienced altitude sickness, including shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fatigue and dizziness. Oxygen tanks were positioned strategically in the wings just in case they were needed. Of course, being unable to breathe makes it extremely difficult to perform an extremely physical show, let alone a musical! Having lived and performed in Reno, NV, which is at about 4500 feet above sea level, I thought that I would have an easier time, but even the altitude got the best of me.
Following our performance and load-out, we enjoyed a nice evening filled with Himalayan cuisine (very similar to Indian food, but delicious nevertheless!) and pleasant Bluegrass music at the historic Diamond Belle Saloon.
We concluded our memorable Durango sojourn with a visit to Thru the Lens, an old-time photography studio located on Main Street. The studio was featured a couple of years ago on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', when Oprah visited it with her best friend, Gayle King, in a cross-country tour of the US. We had TOO MUCH FUN at the studio, participating in an Old West-style photo shoot of the Strega Nona cast and crew. The perfect end to an extraordinary and unforgettable trip to Durango, CO!
Next stop – Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, NM. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Our performance venue was at Fort Lewis College, a two-tier, 600-seat theatre. Sadly, our one and only show had only 200-300 people in attendance and was one of our roughest performances ever. Due to the high elevation (Durango is at 6500 feet above sea level and Fort Lewis College is at 6750 feet), most of the cast experienced altitude sickness, including shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fatigue and dizziness. Oxygen tanks were positioned strategically in the wings just in case they were needed. Of course, being unable to breathe makes it extremely difficult to perform an extremely physical show, let alone a musical! Having lived and performed in Reno, NV, which is at about 4500 feet above sea level, I thought that I would have an easier time, but even the altitude got the best of me.
Following our performance and load-out, we enjoyed a nice evening filled with Himalayan cuisine (very similar to Indian food, but delicious nevertheless!) and pleasant Bluegrass music at the historic Diamond Belle Saloon.
We concluded our memorable Durango sojourn with a visit to Thru the Lens, an old-time photography studio located on Main Street. The studio was featured a couple of years ago on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', when Oprah visited it with her best friend, Gayle King, in a cross-country tour of the US. We had TOO MUCH FUN at the studio, participating in an Old West-style photo shoot of the Strega Nona cast and crew. The perfect end to an extraordinary and unforgettable trip to Durango, CO!
Next stop – Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, NM. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
"I couldn’t help but wonder"....really Janine, really?
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