OK listen. I ain't no buzzfeed. But this has to be a list post, because it's the only way to share the roller coaster that I've just been on. That roller coaster being Happy in the Poorhouse, and that roller coaster being the reason that I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks.
Now I have to tell you a little about Happy in the Poorhouse. There are 11 characters. And I mean CHARACTERS. Each one larger than life. Each one amping the energy up onstage with every entrance. This show does not skimp on big entrances. Or big emotions. It's the story of a Coney Island clan and the all-American, sometimes absurd situations that they find themselves in as family and friends.Â
We, as a cast, became our own clan performing this show. It was like being at summer camp with all of your best friends. Of course this is not the first time that a cast has been connected this way; It happens all the time. But this one, being that it happened in the middle of a sweltering Charleston summer, with some of Charleston's finest performers, and the presence of the playwright made it something special. There were so many little things which occurred day-to-day that added new connections and new layers to the relationships we had, on and off the stage.Â
1. Late nights at the theatre and long rehearsals. Is there anything more romantic?Â
2. Seeing characters coming to life through a costume or hair/makeup and watching it over and over and over again.
3. Going to the same bars together every night.
4. Each actor claiming a space in the dressing room and seeing them live in it.
5. Seeing each actors pre-show routine and respecting it.
6. Drinking actual beer onstage during the show.
7. Someone always bringing cokes and candy-bars from the corner store before the show.
8. Derek, the playwright, seeking out each actor after each show and congratulating them.Â
9. Sitting on the couch center-stage 5 minutes before the doors open, watching all the candles flickering on the cafe tables in the dim theatre. Like sitting in a church.
10. The pre-show and intermission visits from our director.
11. 2 months of rehearsals for 4 performances.Â
12. Time spent in the dressing room pre-show laughing and talking.
13. Stocking the fridge onstage with beer and other assorted beverages and then getting to finish them all after the last show.
14. Derek Ahonen telling us we nailed it. And our Director Keely Enright being proud.
15. Speaking with a Brooklyn accent even after we've left the theatre.
16. Our dedication to the places bell.
18. Chick 'n' Biscuit crackers topped with Cheese Whiz.
18 1/2. Joey eating said Chick 'n' Biscuit crackers topped with Cheese Whiz out of Flossie's......cleavage.
These are the things I saw that I gave our little show such a big heart. And why, as always, the days following the closing of a show are always the hardest. Â
