Theatre First Aid Improv...

Once upon a time not only did a very hilarious incident happen during a children's play, it personified how no matter what, the show MUST go on.  Interestingly, this incident did not happen on Opening Night, but days into the run.😂🎭

Like many children's plays, this was a magical play with beautiful fairies and some trolls.  Our dear Maisie, not much taller than me, had the lead fairy role, costumed in bright blue with lovely large transparent wings.

Now many old theatres have what is known as the Crossover at the back of the stage, behind the Theatre Set.  Crossovers are there so actors and others may move from one wing of the stage to the other without being seen by the audience.  

Sometimes a play calls for an actor to exit one side, then reappear on the other, as if by magic.  Maisie's role as the leading Fairy called for her to "disappear" in bright Fairy Dust from one side of the stage, only to magically reappear in bright Fairy Dust on the other side, which delightfully astounded the young audiences every time. 

However, I would not be writing about another hilarious theatre story here if everything had gone...RIGHT, now would I?🤣🎭

So the time came for Maisie's grand disappearance from Stage Right for the amazing reappearance on Stage Left.  But you see our beloved theatre was ancient.  

How ancient??

As old as the Thirteen Colonies ancient.  

Sometimes the Crossover doors with the original wood could become warped in Winter and get stuck.  Not only that but all the ancient rusty hardware too could contribute to the Crossover doors becoming STUCK.

And why were these not repaired?

Well, we Children Of Theatre tend to be crazily superstitious in such matters since the birth of theatre.  Especially actors, but please do not ever tell any actors you run into that Adelaide said this.

How superstitious?

We/they (those actors) are so superstitious if anyone accidentally utters the word "Macbeth" inside a theatre, one must IMMEDIATELY rush outside the theatre.  NOT walking but RUSHING.  Why?  Because uttering THAT word brings doom upon the theatre or performance or actor or scene or lighting designers or even the resident cat of the theatre for untold centuries to come.

So after one has RUSHED out of the theatre upon uttering THAT word, one MUST spin around in a circle THREE times...NOT four or TWO.  You absolutely do NOT want to screw this NEXT part up.  After you spin THREE times you MUST spit.  Do NOT forget to spit because this spitting part is very VERY important.  How important?  SPITOOWEEE!😂🎭

Anyway, at our theatre built before The Revolutionary War, it apparently had been passed down through the centuries by actors, if those Crossover doors ever were messed with all kinds of bad juju would surely happen during a performance or even the play, thus one must NEVER tamper with those doors.  And so nobody did for all those centuries.

Now where was I?  Maisie's grand disappearance from Stage Right for the amazing reappearance on Stage Left.  

Poor Maisie.  The Crossover door to reappear on Stage Left was stuck and I mean STUCK.  Because the performance was happening on the other side of it, she could not bang on it.  No one could hear her yell too.

So being quick thinking Maisie did the only thing she could do in order to not miss her cue.  She tore back down the Crossover to the Stage Right Backstage Exit Door to do the Roadrunner to the Stage Left Backstage Exit Door to reenter the performance.

Only Maisie encountered this unforeseeable problem.  It was Winter.  The asphalt was slick with ice.  She told us she hit the ice flying.

As a Senior Staff member it was my turn to be at the theatre to make sure all went well and to lock up the theatre afterwards.  The Stage Manager no sooner told me Maisie had not come through the Crossover when there was Maisie, her leotards shredded at both knees as she was bleeding.  Her palms were bleeding too.  She was not about to miss her cue though.

"But Maisie, you're hurt!"

"I will be okay Adelaide!  You do not know how hard I worked to get this part.  Please let me continue?"

"All right but..."

Jeff, The Stage Manager read my mind and had retrieved the Backstage First Aid Kit.

"Sit down, Maisie!"

"Yes, Adelaide!"

In a race against time I cleaned up her wounds with antibacterial ointment.  There was a big box of bandaids.

"Jeff!  Help me get these on Maisie fast!"

Oh did we ever put a ton of band-aids on her! 

It was a miracle.  We were just able to get Maisie ready in time.

And then...AND THEN...

From the Stage Right wing Jeff urgently called me to come see what he was seeing.

"Ohhh crap, Jeff!"

Those Band-aids happened to be for children.  We are talking bright BRIGHT Glow In The Dark Band-aids.  For EVERY movement Maisie was making she had what appeared to be these huge glowing gangs of little fairies moving with her.🙄

"Adelaide, what if the kids get frightened seeing..."

Before Jeff could finish we could hear kids excitedly in sheer wonder point out all those Little Fairies flying around the pretty bright blue fairy!

We high-fived each other.

Following the multiple standing ovations and curtain calls this performance received, I had Jeff take Maisie to the ER to be sure her wounds were treated properly. 

They both thanked me MANY times later because this trip to the ER was the beginning of their romance and wedding later.🥰🎭

That was not all.

A local critic happened to be in the audience that night with his children.  Wrote such a glowing review the play was extended for weeks!

However, I did have to explain to our Lighting Designer and Artistic Director about the "extraordinary special effects" the critic raved about he had never seen in a theatre performance before.🤣🎭

So for the rest of the play's run Maisie was loaded up with glow in the dark band-aids.

There just is no business like our beloved Show Business.