Performance in Chicago

October 29, 2004 at the Art Institute of Chicago

It was quite an experience in Chicago. Accented by the dancing of Tara Hughes and hornplaying by Ed Valfre, Joe delivered fresh, compelling work. And to see two of his short films on a wide screen was a real treat. After surviving a harrowing week of preparation, we were very happy to settle into our seats and drink in the show.

Maybe it's because immediately after arriving in Chicago we were so interested in whether or not the Red Sox would win the third game against the Cardinals (especially Joe, a long-time Sox fan), that we made our way straight to the hotel bar before heading up to our rooms. The entire next day Joe had set aside to make final revisions to the show.

That morning at about 5:00, we hit the ground running after learning that we had forgotten a piece of proprietary equipment (very hard to find, by the way) vital to the completion of the final script for the show. From there on, Murphy's Law operated in full effect:
"What can go wrong will go wrong."

Luckily, one of Joe's long-time friends who lives in Chicago bailed us out by miraculously furnishing the missing gear and therefore our oversight caused only a minor delay, but not before putting everyone on hyper-alert. We just had a few hours before the show when Joe caught up - despite our failures - and we all began to relax.

Too soon. We arrived at the Art Institute for dress rehearsal 4 hours before the show. Joe, Tara, Ed, and a couple of us bag carriers were immediately turned away by security citing that we did not have the proper credentials to enter the hall. We were told to walk around to the other entrance "just around the corner." Well, that turned out to be a very, very long trek - with each one of us, carrying equipment, bags of scripts, CDs, costume changes and a flugelhorn. When we showed up at the other entrance, we were told that the show had been cancelled!

Well, after a few frantic phone calls, we finally got in, went through tech rehearsal (encountering more obstacles), got back to the hotel to change clothes, rushed out to catch a cab 20 minutes before curtain. And we zigzagged our way over to the Art Institute (which was just a few blocks away) because the cab driver didn't have a clue how to get there. After we arrived, the meter displayed an amount equal to about three times what we'd been charged on our previous trip. After looking at the meter, Joe calmly said to the cab driver, "How much do you think we should pay you?" We thought that was brilliant.

It was a fantastic show - which concluded with a standing ovation - and it's all the better because the whole unique experience (tech rehearsal, performance and backstage debriefing) was captured on digital video by Director D.P. Carlson and his crew, Mike Weber and Andre Shane from Film Foetus. Can't wait to see that footage.

Many thanks to Johanna Zorn of The Third Coast International Audio Festival 2004, and Mary Sue Glosser with the Art Institute for sponsoring and helping to make this event a success. Thanks also to Phil Eickhoff, the Production Coordinator, Clay Taylor, Audio Engineer, Chris Ash, Lighting, Will Weinand, Video Engineer and Art Institute A.V. Dept. representative. We hope to see you all again soon.

More reportage on this show coming!

--The Joe Frank Team