When you regularly organise
shows like I do, far too much of your time is taken up with
logistics.
Such was the case
for me today, and primarily tonight. I have a preview in London tomorrow that I
organised, booked and promoted myself at a venue I’ve worked at previously,
which doesn’t have much of a tech set-up. Consequently, I’m taking most of the
gear there myself. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I had someone coming
with me to share the load, but sadly, a couple of people who’d originally been
hoping to do this had to pull out unavoidably. As a result, I spent most of
this evening with my brain zoned out, as I tried to figure out a feasible way
of carrying everything I need on my own in one go; if only I possessed a pit pony.
Part of the
reason for my brain freeze was due to spending a long day split between
rehearsing, organising, promoting, procrastinating…and other words that end
with ‘ing’. It can be hard to multi-task with such little assistance,
as in an ideal world, you’d shoulder the burden by handing over the admin work
to someone else, so you could prioritise on the show's content; I long for
the day when I can do this.
Thankfully, I
(sort of) got there in the end, thanks to the help of my unofficial unpaid
assistant: my wife. Without wishing to appear cloying, I couldn’t do it
without her; I wonder if she’d consider being my understudy too? She probably be funnier.