Weekend Of "Camelot" - Combustible Trucks

Left: Davis firefighters inspect the truck that erupted in flame during "Camelot" Sunday afternoon (apparently an alternator was to blame).

Audiences were larger this weekend. Second Friday went reasonably well. Jon Jackson has been ill and so 'Fie On Goodness' felt strange, being slightly different than practiced in rehearsal: Leighton Worthey was called to carry a bit more of the singing duties, trading off with Jon. Saturday also went well. Sunday was a bit odd. We traded a rent-a-settee for the Evita love couch because it looked like the one we had was going to break on stage - something that might surprise and alarm actors and audience alike.

Sunday afternoon at DMTC was more exciting than usual. At the start of "Camelot's" 'What Do The Simple Folk Do?' Kat Holder came back stage in a flustered state, asking where the fire extinguisher was: a pickup truck had caught fire in front of the theater. I thought we had a fire extinguisher back stage, but when suddenly pressed to produce it, I couldn't remember where it was. The fire extinguisher was right there on the wall, just a few feet away, but there were set pieces partly obscuring the view, and the lights were low because of the show, which also served to hide the extinguisher's location, so I blanked.

The song sequence of 'What Do The Simple Folk Do?' is quite long, and the hall began to fill with smoke drifting in from outside as the scene progressed. If the fire had been in the theater, neither I or anyone would have hesitated to stop the show immediately, but since the fire was outside, the audience was still safe. Nevertheless, people could rely on their senses, onstage cast and audience alike, and they KNEW that not all was right (particularly when sirens could be heard approaching from the distance).

There was the distinct possibility the audience might leave on their own, or even panic. I remember once, in 1999, when I saw "Peony Pavilion", a modern Chinese opera at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, I nearly fled across the stage in mid-performance, in front of an audience of thousands, because I smelled smoke (from a match used to light incense). I was in the first row, and I would have preferred interrupting the show rather than having to fight with thousands over the narrow exits. Here, the smoke was much thicker, and it wasn't a match and it wasn't incense!

So, the ensuing delicate diplomatic dilemma:

Do you stop a show to inform the audience that, contrary to all they can sense, that they are still safe? And what to do about players (like Morgan La Fey - Anne Marie Trout), who are in inconvenient places to be quickly informed?

Because Kat had come back stage, most of the actors were quickly informed regarding what was going on, but there were three exceptions: Gil Sebastian and Marguerite Morris, performing on stage, and Anne Marie Trout, who had already climbed into position on an darkened, elevated platform for her upcoming scene. Her location was awkward: she was in view of the audience, she could not leave her post without assistance and she could not easily communicate with others. As smoke drifted in, she tried to signal other actors, to give warning and also to try to fathom what was going on. In the dark, she surreptitiously waved at Jon Mounts, across stage in the wings. Jon saw her wave, and gave a jolly wave in return. So much for communication!

Towards the end of the song, Lisa Holder, Kat's mom, and the lightboard operator, finally stopped the show, announcing the outside fire and also announcing that everyone was safe. I heard words of relief from Marguerite: the actors had been growing increasingly anxious. I popped onstage and Lisa asked me to summon Steve Isaacson. Steve came onstage (Steve, Dannette, and others had been out front dealing with the fire with two fire extinguishers kept under the side stairs in the lobby) and announced that a blue pickup truck had caught fire, and (to some laughter) inquired if anyone had parked out in front of the theater in a blue pickup truck. The audience remained mostly in place, the side rollup door was opened, as well as some of the other side doors, in order to increase ventilation. Then, to what would have normally been unacceptable levels of wing illumination, we continued with the rest of the show. Marguerite and Gil performed 'What Do The Simple Folk Do?' once again. The rollup door was partially-closed for the subsequent Morgan La Fey scene. And we finished the show, about twenty minutes later than usual.