Sometime in mid-September, during the run of "Mamma Mia," a steel bolt broke in the ceiling above the UC Davis Anthropology Dept., which rents a space in the back of the same building DMTC is housed in. A truss slipped two inches, and a drop ceiling before partially collapsed, raining debris on the floor below. No one was hurt.
The partial roof collapse was eventually reported to the landlord, Buzz Oates. On October 10th, the landlord interrupted a DMTC-YPT rehearsal, ordered everyone from the building, and forbade any return except for occasional escorted visits, while they effected repairs and inspections.
Doing a Main Stage show without access to sets, props, lights, or costumes has proven a significant challenge. The YPT show ("Addams Family") was postponed until January. We understand we will get permission to return to the DMTC theater around November 30th, but in the meantime, we are thankfully at University Covenant Church (UCC) at 315 Mace Blvd. in Davis, which is near DMTC. UCC is allowing us to use their facilities.
It's been stressful doing "Gypsy" in two radically different rooms at UCC. The upstairs room, where we do Friday evening shows, has the virtue of being small enough to allow the audience to hear every word. At the same time, the stage is very cramped. In contrast, the Worship Center downstairs, where we do Saturday and Sunday shows, is very large, but the actors aren't miked, so performing is hard on their voices, particularly on Rachel's voice. Rachel plays Mama Rose, the lead character, and has to carry large sections of the show all alone.
There's some crude language in "Gypsy," which we've had to tone down at the church's insistence. Compared to other productions, our production was already pretty conservative, but we've had to make it even more so, because we aren't in any position to resist.
At the same time, there have been new, unmentioned challenges that I had never dreamed of occurring at the same time that have afflicted the theater company. Maybe we had gotten complacent, particularly after the great successes of the past year. I just hope we rise to the occasion and emerge a stronger theater company. At the moment, though, the stresses are real. I'm reminded of the cramped conditions under which we did "The King And I" at Capitol Opera in 1999. We are reliving memories of an almost forgotten past.
Maybe we'll tell war stories about all this a year or so from now.
Lexi beating - Paved walkway, probably near river (35.069207°, -106.656860°)
