From mediocre West Memphis, we trekked to Paducah, KY. Located at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers (i.e. where the two rivers meet), across the river from Metropolis, IL, this city hosts a population of about 27000 people and covers 19.5 square miles. Paducah began around 1815 as a mixed community of Native Americans and white settlers. It was named after Chief Paduke, who welcomed people as they travelled down the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers on flatboats, and served as a hub for the Illinois Railroad.
From our first rehearsal, the entire cast has been excited to visit Paducah. Sadly, Paducah does not have a Piggly Wiggly supermarket as we had hoped, but it is a beautiful, quaint city, nevertheless. Twenty blocks of downtown Paducah have been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. The city holds a yearly musical festival called ‘Paducahpalooza’. According to Wikipedia, Paducah is also known for its doughnuts. The founder of Krispy Kreme, Vernon Carver Rudolph was affiliated with a local Paducah doughnut shop. He turned his earnings from this shop and recipe for a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe into the Krispy Kreme dynasty. Several Paducah businesses serve doughnuts that are similar to the Krispy Kreme doughnut.
During our first night in Paducah, I received news from my fiancé John that our home in San Jose had been burglarized. I felt quite helpless, since I could not be home to comfort him and assess the damage. There is nothing more violating than having strangers entering your property, be it a house or a vehicle, and stealing your possessions. Thankfully, it appears that our loss was minimal (only the Xbox 360, some jewelry and our cash box) and our animals were not harmed during the event. Definitely not an experience that anyone wants to have happen when they are away from home…
But back to my Paducah adventure…
Located in downtown Paducah was our beautiful performance venue – the Luther F. Carson Center for the Performing Arts. This five years young theatre features 1806 seats, three tiers of seating and is absolutely gorgeous. The audience was only seated in the orchestra section and was almost full for one of our two performances. It was a strange sensation, heading back into performance mode after a few days away from the show. Unfortunately, our Paducah performances did not go without a hitch. Due a radio frequency issue, our sound system had problems and our microphones did not function properly. My microphone seemed to have the most trouble, cutting in and out throughout the shows. As a result, I performed with a handheld mike for the majority of our second show. It was pretty difficult playing a magical, musical character and having only one hand functional, but I managed to get the hang of it. An experience that kept me on my toes and allowed me to perform in ‘Strega Nona: The Rock Show’. =)
Following our performances, we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the local Olive Garden, where we had some of the best restaurant service ever and also met an amusing server named Mark, who fondly referred to himself as “a freak on a leash” and elicited giggles from our group. Jess and I made a short trip to the nearby Wal-Mart and then were followed in the parking lot and down the street by a strange man. As a side note, I have taken to not removing my show make-up after our shows in Texas, Arkansas and Kentucky. It seems my heavy stage make-up (rather than a natural face) fits in quite well in this region of the US.
Three of our tour members – Jimmy, Mike and Craig - have decided to absorb the Kentucky culture and have taken up pipe smoking. I enjoy the smell of their honey- and vanilla-scented tobacco and have made a promise to enjoy a “smoke” with the boys one of these days.
During my late night internet surfing, I discovered my picture on the OCPAC website, under their ‘Strega Nona Fun’ section. Check it out:
http://www.ocpac.org/home/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?NavID=739
We only have one more stop in this leg of our tour before we head home for the holidays and we are all bubbling with anticipation, eager to return to our loved ones, beds and comforts of home.
Next stop – the Loeb Playhouse in West Lafayette, IN. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
From our first rehearsal, the entire cast has been excited to visit Paducah. Sadly, Paducah does not have a Piggly Wiggly supermarket as we had hoped, but it is a beautiful, quaint city, nevertheless. Twenty blocks of downtown Paducah have been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. The city holds a yearly musical festival called ‘Paducahpalooza’. According to Wikipedia, Paducah is also known for its doughnuts. The founder of Krispy Kreme, Vernon Carver Rudolph was affiliated with a local Paducah doughnut shop. He turned his earnings from this shop and recipe for a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe into the Krispy Kreme dynasty. Several Paducah businesses serve doughnuts that are similar to the Krispy Kreme doughnut.
During our first night in Paducah, I received news from my fiancé John that our home in San Jose had been burglarized. I felt quite helpless, since I could not be home to comfort him and assess the damage. There is nothing more violating than having strangers entering your property, be it a house or a vehicle, and stealing your possessions. Thankfully, it appears that our loss was minimal (only the Xbox 360, some jewelry and our cash box) and our animals were not harmed during the event. Definitely not an experience that anyone wants to have happen when they are away from home…
But back to my Paducah adventure…
Located in downtown Paducah was our beautiful performance venue – the Luther F. Carson Center for the Performing Arts. This five years young theatre features 1806 seats, three tiers of seating and is absolutely gorgeous. The audience was only seated in the orchestra section and was almost full for one of our two performances. It was a strange sensation, heading back into performance mode after a few days away from the show. Unfortunately, our Paducah performances did not go without a hitch. Due a radio frequency issue, our sound system had problems and our microphones did not function properly. My microphone seemed to have the most trouble, cutting in and out throughout the shows. As a result, I performed with a handheld mike for the majority of our second show. It was pretty difficult playing a magical, musical character and having only one hand functional, but I managed to get the hang of it. An experience that kept me on my toes and allowed me to perform in ‘Strega Nona: The Rock Show’. =)
Following our performances, we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the local Olive Garden, where we had some of the best restaurant service ever and also met an amusing server named Mark, who fondly referred to himself as “a freak on a leash” and elicited giggles from our group. Jess and I made a short trip to the nearby Wal-Mart and then were followed in the parking lot and down the street by a strange man. As a side note, I have taken to not removing my show make-up after our shows in Texas, Arkansas and Kentucky. It seems my heavy stage make-up (rather than a natural face) fits in quite well in this region of the US.
Three of our tour members – Jimmy, Mike and Craig - have decided to absorb the Kentucky culture and have taken up pipe smoking. I enjoy the smell of their honey- and vanilla-scented tobacco and have made a promise to enjoy a “smoke” with the boys one of these days.
During my late night internet surfing, I discovered my picture on the OCPAC website, under their ‘Strega Nona Fun’ section. Check it out:
http://www.ocpac.org/home/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?NavID=739
We only have one more stop in this leg of our tour before we head home for the holidays and we are all bubbling with anticipation, eager to return to our loved ones, beds and comforts of home.
Next stop – the Loeb Playhouse in West Lafayette, IN. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
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