Episode 12: Scott Duell

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

STEPHEN FALA: I’m Stephen Fala, and you’re listening to Pipe and Drape, the only podcast that spotlights the creative minds behind the theatre for young audiences industry. Every two weeks I sit down with a theatre professional to hear their stories about the audition, rehearsal, and development process of theatre for young audiences. Each of them have bridged the path from youth to adulthood while living in worlds created for children. My guests have mounted shows small enough to fit in a minivan to productions so big they travel by caravan. You can join the conversation by emailing PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com or messaging @PipeAndDrapeStories on Instagram.

This is Episode 12 and the Season 1 finale of Pipe and Drape! I’m closing out this first season with a conversation about A Christmas Carol. This story is not usually something that comes to mind as an example of a pipe and drape TYA show, but a majority of children’s theatre performers will at some point do a version of it to close out the calendar year, and most likely in tour form. There are almost as many versions of this story as there are snowflakes, and multiple versions of this classic story tour North America each year. The following pipe and drape story is a stone on my guest’s path that led him from a career as a teaching artist and TYA performer to entering a Master’s program for music therapy.

S: Today’s guest is Scott Duell. Scott was a part of the world premier cast of Neurosis at The Rev Theatre Company, performed and music directed multiple shows at the Palace Theatre in the Dells, entertained families at The Secret Theatre in Queens, Busch Gardens in Virginia, Jean’s Playhouse in New Hampshire, Dollywood, and Millbrook Playhouse in the middle of Pennsylvania and be baked pies in all of those locations. Scott The Pie Maker has has toured nationally with TYA companies like National Theatre for Children, American Family Theatre, and Bright Star Touring and as a result he saw some really cool theatres all over the country. Scott and I met while working as actors and teaching artists with The Rev On Tour in the Finger Lakes. We’d get up before 6AM to drive through the snow, Scott harmonizing with Lorde on the radio, to tour two shows and four creative writing workshops to students in Central New York. After work he would bake pies and I would fall asleep on his sofa. Scott is an avid reader, board game player, bow tie wearer, also he loves a good chip, and today he is joining me from his home in St. Louis to discuss his experience touring with A Christmas Carol. Scott, welcome.

SCOTT DUELL: Thank you so much for having me, pleasure to be here. 

S: I’m really glad that we get this chance to catch up. You have since moved. 

D: Yeah, the pandemic was a interesting time. I decided to move across the country and start grad school, you know, change the path a little bit. So studying music therapy, working with the kiddos—helping people, just in a different way.

S: Before you went on your path to music therapy, you performed a bunch of theatre all over the country, some for adults and some for kids. And before you were an adult performing for kids, you were a kid watching adults perform. Do you remember your first experience watching theatre?

D: I think it was in the third grade. They took us all to see The Nutcracker. So we went to the ballet in third grade.

S: Did you know what that you wanted to be an actor at that point?

D: I didn't, I actually didn’t…the bug didn't bite me until seventh or eighth grade because I was always a singer and I wanted to be a singer. Actually, I didn't want to be singer, I wanted to be Mariah Carey. And so I remember being in middle school and they were like, ‘Oh, you sing, you should go out for the musical,’ and I was like, 'I don't want to do that. I don't want to…I don't want to do shows.’ And then I finally decided (I think in eighth grade) I was like, ‘Okay, well I'll try it.’ And then I was like, ‘This is cool.’ Not only did that happen, but I remember going to see the high school's production of Guys and Dolls. And my brother was in it (like sports-player brother) got to be in the show. And I was like, ‘Well, I want to do that. He got to do that. I want to do that.’ So that's kinda how it started the ball rolling.

S: So did you end up studying theatre in college?

D: I did! I actually originally thought I wanted to go into music education and I was like, ‘Oh, theatre will be a hobby, you know, a pastime,’ and I got three semesters in before I was like, ‘Well, this isn't for me.’ And funnily enough, I actually had to observe a music therapist while I was studying music education. And I was like, ‘What's this, this is interesting. Maybe we'll put a pin in that and come back to it later.’ And then I went on to study theater and got my undergrad in music theatre.

S: So you graduated from Nazareth College and then you found yourself working in TYA.

D: Yeah, that was like…I got my start with American Family Theater. I went to New York on a whim (I wasn't living in New York at the time but I went to New York on a whim), auditioned for this one show, got it, and then I toured three shows with them and then I got into Merry-Go-Round because I started house managing for them. And then they had an opening in the spring. And so then I started working for Merry-Go-Round with TYA.

S: For our listeners Merry-Go-Round and Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre has since rebranded and it is now called The Rev or The Rev On Tour.

D: I can't even quite wrap my head around the rebranding. It will always be Merry-Go-Round to me.

S: So you worked at Merry-Go-Round (now The Rev) for two seasons (at that time)?

D: I only did one full eight-month contract. And then I did three, like half-month, spring contracts. I kept saying, ‘I am going out to do other things.’ And then it would be like, ‘Hey, want to come back?’ And I didn't have anything lined up, and I was like, ‘Sure.’ I think Auburn is still like, has a piece of my heart. Like that will be like a home place for me forever. And so it was just a very easy decision to say, ‘Okay, yeah, I'll come back.’ ‘Cause I just loved the people. I loved the work. It was a great place to continue growing and performing.

S: Shortly after that, you went on to do one of the tours of A Christmas Carol. How did you find yourself working on a national tour of this holiday classic?

D: I had previously worked at Jean’s Playhouse doing their summer stock shows, and then not that Christmas but the following Christmas they were casting. I got cast in it. And you know I had the relationship with that theatre which helped me get the job, which was great.

S: What was the rehearsal process for A Christmas Carol like?

D: It was a week, and the producer/director/the man playing Scrooge also wrote the adaptation. So it was his own creation based on the Charles Dickens story. A lot of what's funny is that I have read the story since, and he did a good job of taking lines directly from it and then sort of making it his own. We also had music in the piece that was all in the public domain, like old Christmas carols. And during the rehearsals he picked someone, he was like, ‘Hey, why don't you just teach everybody this music’? And that person was like, ‘Oh, okay, cool.’ And we sort of just kind of took what we were given and kept rolling with it.

S: Were you touring with a live orchestra or was it all canned music?

D: Canned music, and then even some of the songs were like Christmas carol a cappella. I know we did…I think it's “O Holy Night?” Yeahyeahyeah and we did that a cappella, which was…and I think I actually, I think I had to start that song and by myself, and then everybody would come in and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I hope it started in the right keeeey.’

S: Were there a lot of you?

D: I want to say that there were like eighteen of us? It was a pretty big group. ‘Cause we had one of the big sprinter eighteen-passenger vans and then two minivans and then the U-Haul or like big truck with the set in it.

S: And so you had some experience driving larger vehicles on various contracts beforehand. Were you doing any of the driving on this tour?

D: I did. I drove, I was a driver for both the mini vans and the eighteen-passenger van, but never the truck. I think there are only two people that were allowed to drive the truck.

S: Did you guys tour with a stage crew?

D: No stage crew. We acted as the stage crew. It was all a beast of a job. We've talked about theatre for young audiences, I know this is Pipe and Drape; this was not your typical pipe and drape, unfortunately. We had these huge flats that had to be screwed into the floor every day that would have projections put onto them. And we had lighting rigging that we had to put up. I was essentially the lighting assistant to the technical director who had to light everything. So I had to hang all the lights and put the poles up and it was a lot. And so we had people in charge of the wardrobe who would get out of the wardrobes, steam it, wash it. I would say load-in took two to three hours every time we got to a new space.

S: How often were you in a new space?

D: Quite often. I only think we had two or three venues where we did more than one performance there. That might not be true. I might be lying. I know there was one at the very end. We did like two back-to-back days in Colorado. And before that we may have done a matinee and an evening. We never did more than two days (I think) consecutively at any one space other than I think at the very end.

S: Did you have any experience working with lights before this job?

D: Very little in college. They, you know…and so it was all about learning on the job and screwing up and figuring it out.

S: What were your duties during the show on top of performing?

D: So during the show there was, there was definitely (now I'm remembering the whole thing!) there was…I had to (like in the scene where Scrooge is leaving the office) I had to stand behind the flat and pull a thing on the floor so that the chair would move and that something else would move, and then I had to lift up the brakes and move this whole big unit offstage. And so, yeah, we were definitely part of the scene changes, bringing in boxes for the fuzzy wig party. They tried to keep it fairly minimal because we had a lot of projections, but there were still quite a few moving pieces that we had to take care of.

S: So the show comes down and you load everything out. Did you immediately go to your next city or did you get to sleep?

D: Usually (‘cause we had the evening performances) usually we broke it all down and we would go to our hotel, catch some sleep, and be off the next morning very early. I remember for this tour in particular, it wasn’t…not that we did backtracking, but the locations were not super close together. And so we were just on the road what felt like constantly. As I was sort of looking over old photos today there was a picture and it was like, ‘Well, after a nine hour drive, we're ready to do a two show day.’ It was just like that sort of feeling of just constantly being in the car, putting up the set and doing the show, ripping it down and leaving the next day to go somewhere else. There was not a lot of downtime.

S: What are some kind of magical or unusual things that happened on tour?

D: Getting into Colorado in the middle of a snow storm. And we had to put chains on all of the vehicles during the snow storm because we did not prepare appropriately. And also that meant putting chains on the huge eighteen-wheeler. Numb fingers, everybody’s standing around like, ‘What…what are we…what do we do? What do we do? Oh my God.’ I do remember (because we had the two back-to-back days in Colorado and we were sort of in like this skiing community and it was at the very end—we were all exhausted, ready to go home and it kind of felt like this magical, like little snowy village in Colorado) we got to walk around the ski resort and go shopping. I, once again, I found a picture earlier where we were walking and we ended up like sort of being in a parade, but like, we were just walking and I was like, ‘Oh, hi, sorry, let me get out of your way.’ We were in the parade trying to get out of the way. 

HUNTER DOWELL (in the distance): I got to see you!

D: Oh Hunter just called out. He got to see us. I got to see…Hunter came to visit on tour. I actually did get to see quite a few people. I got to see Hunter. I got to see Katie Bruno and her mom came to see the show, I got to see a stage manager friend from the very first show I did with American Family Theatre. So it was really cool to sort of post on Facebook, 'This is where I'm going to be!’ and people who I hadn't seen in forever would sort of come out of the woodwork and I got to see them. I believe my aunt came to one of the shows in Florida. So it was really cool to get to see people and sort of like break out of the breakout of the tour life for a minute and reconnect with people who I may not have seen for awhile. When you're spending hours of your day together with no alone time, tensions tend to get a little heightened. When you have some sour grapes at the top of the pecking order it kind of makes things tricky for the cast. I don't really remember the inciting incident, but he sort of had a rage against several people over I-don’t-know-what (something was not done to his satisfaction) and it was so bad that several cast members refused to even ride in the same vehicle with him anymore. And so we sort of had to strategically figure out who was riding where, and who could drive what vehicle, because these cast members were like, ‘No, I refuse to be in a car with him, I can't do it. I won't do it.’ And so…and warranted, it was bad. It was not good. I don't blame them when it was not…I fully understood where they were coming from. What was great though, is that I would say as a whole, the cast sort of came together and we were each other's support system when things at the top were not great.

S: Did the company have HR or an office staff that could problem solve or mediate with the team on the road?

D: No. We had a stage manager and she was great, super efficient. Unfortunately, it felt like she kept being undermined by different people. And so she wasn't able to always do her job, which I know is incredibly frustrating to her. It was incredibly frustrating for us who were looking for answers and she was sometimes not able to give them to us because she was like, ‘Well, I apparently don't have the authority to help you with this.’ I'm trying to even think who would have even been in the office. And if there were people in the office, we didn't know who they were, we had no way to contact them. It was unfortunately a situation where it felt like if you had a problem, you just sort of had to deal with it. As a cast we all really banded together. And, you know, in the spirit of Christmas, which was really nice. And we did like secret Santa on the road. That was super fun. So we pulled secret Santa names and we would like sneakily give each other gifts. I honestly can't even remember who I had or who had me, but like, the spirit of giving was so much fun. And finding things at rest stops and then like putting them…you knew this was this person's bag, so you would just slip something into their bag and it would be really this special surprise. So that was a fun little thing. The cast definitely was the best part of the trip, and getting to meet so many different people, someone new, some new faces. So that was just so special.

S: How did the experiences you had while working on this piece, either on stage or on the road contribute to your growth into adulthood?

D: It was very much a learning experience in patience, and definitely hard work with putting the set up and taking it down, and I think dealing with the stress of being in close proximity to people and tensions rising and how to try to diffuse and be as amicable as possible to make it easier for everybody that you could. What was great was I got along super well with my roommate, he was the one that played Marley. And we were actually roommates the summer before when we were doing summer stock together, so we were kind of like, ‘Hey, let's live together again. We live together well.’ So that was really nice. We were a good sounding board for each other to air the frustrations that we had while we were on the road. And I think we trusted each other to sort of keep it between the two of us, which was really great.

S: Are there stepping stones from your time as a touring actor/TYA industry member/teaching artist that you have now taken with you on your music therapy journey?

D: Oh, I totally think so. I think interacting with people and talking with people, (sort of like I was saying) trying to be a voice of reason when tensions are high is (I think) something that I'm going to have to do in my career. I think that idea of helping to deescalate situations is going to be beneficial to me. It was always impressed upon us when working in TYA, ‘You know, don't talk down to kids. They're just little people and they know what's up, they know what you're doing, and so just talk to them like another person.’ And I think that was always impressed upon us. And I think it's such an important lesson that a lot of people, unfortunately don't know.

S: Scott, thank you for speaking with me today.

D: Thank you for having me. This was so much fun.

S: How can our listeners see more of your past, present, and future journey?

D: Yeah, I am on Instagram. I am @scottthepiemaker. I regrettably have not made a pie in a while, but I mean, Thanksgiving is coming. So there might be a pumpkin pie in my Instagram feed’s future. I don't know.

S: There was a pumpkin pie and it is on Scott's Instagram grid, so please be sure to check it out. I had mentioned that Scott and I met while touring with The Rev a few years ago. And just a few days after recording this interview, we unfortunately lost a member of our youth tour family. So our hearts go out to the family, and friends, and students, campers and audiences of Tommy Walker who passed away this weekend. His vocal talents and comedic gifts and chili recipe were all cherished among my youth tour cast. And he always left us laughing till our faces hurt. So thank you, Tommy.

The Merry-Go-Round (Rev) Youth Tour company 2013-2014

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

I’d like to thank my Season 1 guests Terrance Jackson, Alison Liney, Bobby Montaniz, Holly Marie Breuer, Matt McWilliams, Brianna Nicole Hill, Marcus Stevens, Jodi Snyder, Annah Jacobs, Arlee Chadwick, Rusty Allen, and Scott Duell for taking the time to share  their pipe and drape stories stories from tours small enough to fit in a minivan to productions so big they travel by caravan. I’d also like to thank Stephen Gordon for his pre-production and graphic design work and Melanie Shafer and Ellen Santa Maria for the recording equipment. Between now and Season 2 I will pop in with a few ten-minute Dinky episodes, so stay tuned, and share this podcast with your friends! If you are interested in sharing your pipe and drape story in a future episode, send me an email at PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com or connect with me @PipeAndDrapeStories on Instagram. Thank you for listening with me this season.

Find Scott Duell:
INSTAGRAM: @scottthepiemaker

Connect with Pipe and Drape: 

INSTAGRAM: @PipeAndDrapeStories

EMAIL: PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com

Host: Stephen Fala

Artwork: Stephen Gordon

Episode 11: Rusty Allen

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

STEPHEN FALA: I’m Stephen Fala, and you’re listening to Pipe and Drape, the only podcast that spotlights the creative minds behind the theatre for young audiences industry. Every two weeks I sit down with a theatre professional to hear their stories about the audition, rehearsal, and development process of theatre for young audiences. Each of them have bridged the path from youth to adulthood while living in worlds created for children. My guests have mounted shows small enough to fit in a minivan to productions so big they travel by caravan. You can join the conversation by emailing PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com or messaging @PipeAndDrapeStories on Instagram.

This is Episode 11 of Pipe and Drape. The following snowy tale from the Finger Lakes is about the crossover between theatre education and the performance. My guest worked on stage and in elementary school classrooms to weave creative writing and folktales into the New York State curriculum. Thank you for listening with me today.
 
S: Today's guest is Rusty Allen. His “Ruscapades”  have taken him to Barter Theatre in Abington, Virginia; Blackfriars Theater in Rochester, New York; and on the internet with Love at a Distance: A Virtual Shakespeare Cabaret with Newnan Shakes and Hold These Truths with Gensing Asian-American Performance Ensemble. About a month ago, Rusty finished the world premier of Shoyu Tell at Lexington children's theater in Kentucky. He and I met after he performed Romeo and Juliet with his company Madness Most Discreet in Philadelphia just before he made his way up to the Finger Lakes to travel with Rev Theatre Company On Tour, which we are going to hear all about. Rusty, welcome. 
 
RUSTY ALLEN: Hi, Stephen, thanks for having me!
 
S: Rusty we have played do-si-do with a couple of these companies actually. I feel like you did one and then I did one and then I did one and then you did one and we've been dancing all around. And now you are currently based in Chicago?
 
R: Yes. In the Chicago area, that's correct.
 
S: When you were a kid what kind of things were you doing on the playground in your backyard to keep yourself entertained?
 
R: You know, like a lot of people who do theatre, I was a total weirdo as a child. I'm not sure I grew out of it. But lots of make-believe, you know, lots of pretending I was someone I saw on TV or read about in a book. A lot of hitting my siblings with lightsabers, you know, stuff like that. Big sci-fi fantasy nerd. Loved visiting imaginary worlds, kind of still do to this day!
 
S: Did you always want to be an actor?
 
R: No, actually I thought I was going to be an elementary school teacher or a special education teacher. I kind of knew ever since I was little that I wanted to do some sort of service-oriented profession…But yeah, I thought it was going to be an educator and interned at an elementary school and high school and went to undergrad to study childhood and special education. And I got there and something just felt a little off, and I'd always loved performing since I was a kid: Christmas pageants, community theater, high school musicals, all that good stuff. But I didn't really understand that that could be a career. I didn't really have any perception of what actors could be other than like Hollywood. So I went to school to be a teacher and I just felt like something was a little strange. And I had some friends who recommended, I try studying speech therapy or speech pathology. So I was studying to be an SLP or a speech language pathologist, and that felt better. And I was still studying theatre on the side and acting and I was about to student teach in a school and again, I was like, ‘Huh, something doesn't feel right.’ And I did some digging and I realized what I really loved the most is theatre and performing, and I think that theatre is an active service in a way—just like in a classroom or a therapy session. But I think finding my way into the performing arts is still fulfilling that childhood ambition of mine, providing a service for other people, it's just for an audience instead of a classroom. So I kind of tried not to go into acting I guess, but it didn't work and here I am. So no, didn't originally think I'd be an actor, but that's what I am today.
 
S: You seemed to combine this world of education, children and theatre into a children's theatre pattern. Was this purposeful, did you seek out jobs in TYA?
 
R: Yeah, so I think that having such an interest in working with young people kind of naturally helped me transition into performing for them instead. And I think that there are a lot of really incredible companies like The Rev where you get to perform andteach. And I think that's a really special connection because like, if you visit a classroom and you say like, ‘Hi, my name's Rusty, and I'm here to teach you about like how you can have a career in the arts,’ or, ‘This is what a play is,’ and they meet you as yourself and thenthey see you as a character and they see you transform…there's just like something in that relationship that's special and unique. It's almost like the whole is greater than the sum of its parts somehow.So I loved the idea of teaching and performing going hand in hand because I do have a background as a teaching artist and an education, too. And I think also there are so many different styles of acting and so many different kinds of plays, but when you're doing plays for young people, they tend to be so fantastical, right? And I think that the magic and that fantasy element I was talking to you about before, it's not that adults don't get any of that but I feel like young people get way more of that. So I kind of did have like a natural inclination to seek out theatre for young audiences, yeah. 
 
S: How did you get connected to The Rev? 
 
R: That's a great question. So, I had attended the New England Theatre Conference, or “NETC,” when I was going to graduate and they were casting and out of there. And I also had friends who had worked there because they toured around where I was from in Rochester, New York. So had some perception of them as an organization before, and then I attended like a giant audition conference for the new England region and that's where I first met people from The Rev. I can't imagine I had more than ninety seconds to do my initial package. And I'm sure I did either two monologues or a monologue and a song…maybe it was sixty seconds, maybe it was ninety. But then as far as a first impression goes for a company in the callback, this was one of the most unique callbacks I ever had. And I think it showed me that the standard at this company is super high. And I think that there's this misconception that because…if young people are watching a play that you can get away with anything, right? Like you can phone it in, or you don't have to be at your best or all kinds of things that just aren't true. And it was a hugely challenging callback. And I remember Lisa who was the artistic director of the organization, was looking for actors who were super versatile and who could make big choices and embody a character and start improvising as them. And she would go down your resume and say, ‘Great, I see you played this role. Give me that person, give me that character, go.’ And then she'd let you go for about thirty, you know, however long. And you're terrified. And you're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I've never done anything like this,’ or at least I hadn’t. And then she's like, ‘Great. Now switched to this person. Great. Now switch to this person.’ And it was so terrifying, but it was also exhilarating. And they asked for that level of bravery commitment, fearlessness, you know, willing to do silly things at the drop of a hat. That was a great and very accurate first impression for the company. And that's the callback that I've never forgotten all these years later and I'll probably never forget. And I hope I don't have to do it, anything like that again, but it was so much fun at the time.
 
S: What were those first couple of weeks like at The Rev for rehearsal and training?
 
R: Like I mentioned before, The Rev has you not only performing but teaching as well. So you're rehearsing your show which is what we're used to as actors, right? But because it's a touring show, you also have to learn how the set operates because we'll be responsible for loading it into schools or venues unloading it. You're also learning how to teach workshops. So I remember we taught workshops about creative writing for the ECHOES creative writing competition and a pre-show workshop, too. So the first show I did for example is called The Magic Paintbrush, and it was a retelling of a Chinese folk tale, which was super special for me as a mixed-race Chinese American getting to tell a Chinese story or a piece of traditional Chinese culture to young people was deeply personal. And our pre-show workshop had anything from a few introductory words of Mandarin to familiarizing them a bit with the geography of China, some cultural touch points that would become relevant during the play, even simple things like familiarizing them with Chinese names that might be unfamiliar to their ears. So it wasn't just rehearsing a play. Although that of course is important too, it's learning how to teach, learning how to tour, all kinds of stuff in the first couple of weeks alone.
 
S: I feel like you must have thrived in that as someone who was an aspiring elementary school teacher for so long.
 
R: Yes, yes. It kind of felt like, ‘Oh, I didn't know this job existed, but it's actually exactly what I wanted.’And for me it was kind of my first big contract where I felt like, ‘Wow, I can really say I'm making my living as an actor.’ You know, before I had done summer stock or short term, like a workshop here of out-of-town contract here. But at the time my contract was nine months long. Right. So I was like, ‘Wow, I'm like doing the thing,’ you know, that I wanted to do and I got to teach, too? It was like the perfect combo for me personally.
 
S: You're in the classroom with these kids, the teacher is present, but it's not their moment to be in charge of the class. Did you face any challenges taking charge of a room that wasn't necessarily your own?
 
R: I think I was lucky in the sense that I did have more of an education background than a lot of actors do. But I will say, Stephen, that I think it takes a kind of courage to embody a character and step out on stage; I think it's a lot scarier (at least it was for me) to enter classrooms as myself. And part of that might be like, I think a lot of us who come to the arts might have been perceived as other or different growing up. So I don't know, there's kind of the sense memory, like you walk into school or like a gymnasium. Like I had a lot of instances of bullying in school as a young person, especially in gym and you're doing your show there and it's like, oh gosh, like it can bring back those feelings. So it's kind of like this full circle moment of revisiting these places that, as a young person, there were hard times, there were amazing times and stepping into the classroom kind of reclaiming it and trying to be that accessible adult or role model or educator for the students.And I think leading with that mentality, I guess of like, ‘I am here for you and I want everyone in this classroom to feel seen and heard and invited to participate,’ I think helps. I think students pick up on that and that energy. So that would always help me if I felt like maybe I was walking into a classroom that could be a little bit more challenging.

S: Speaking of challenge, typically with theatre for young audiences you don't have a lot of time to put your show together. And there are not a lot of people in the show either. So you tend to be carrying a lot of the weight, either in text or scene changes or costume presets for someone else. What was it like learning these shows?
 
R: I did two shows during my time, the first show was four people and the second show was three people. So pretty small casts. And luckily I had done some smaller scale touring before that with a similar setup. So I was used to kind of that workload/how things could be delegated. But like you said, sometimes you have to do heavy lifting and sometimes it's literal, right? Like, you're literally responsible for this heavy thing. But I think that it also can help form this sense of ensemble, too, you know, that we're all like working on these tasks together and there's no artificial like, ‘Well, we’re are the actors and you’re the tech,’ so everyone's always working on the same/towards the same goal, which is to put up this piece of theatre for the audience. So I think it helps bond everyone, but also there are extra challenges in very high pressure situations along the way, too. A lesson that I really had to work on, and I'm still working on it today, is collaboration. And when you're working in such a high-pressure situation, like preparing for a performance or even performing itself, that's very stressful. And when there are different personalities in an ensemble, you can be at odds together even though you're working towards the same goal. So that's an instance of how doing this play or this job didn't just make me a better actor; it also showed me like, ‘Hey, there are some things you could work on in your personal life too.’ So, some painful lessons, yes, but some lessons that I'm glad to have started learning and I'm still working on them
 
S: You're doing these workshops, you're doing shows. Can you take us through a day in the life of a touring actor with The Rev?
 
R: I would love to. First thing: you wake up very early, right? If you think back to how early an elementary school or middle school schedule runs, and that's the type of group you're visiting. So you wake up and you meet at your van, it could be as early as 5:00 AM and you get into the van and then someone has to drive the van to the first school. You may or may not have had to scrape snow off the van. Probably yes because it's an upstate New York or central New York. And then when you get to the school, you need to check in with the office because security's important and they can't just let anyone wander into the facility. Then everything that you need to do the play needs to be taken from the van and put into the venue and set up. So your costumes, all of your props, your set pieces, yourselves, all of that needs to be taken in and set up. I feel like I'm making it sound so simple, but it's not. [Laughter] And any like magical, beautiful technical element: there's physical prep that needs to go into that. Then after that you go into the classroom and you teach some of the workshops I was referencing before. So for The Magic Paintbrush, there was that workshop on Chinese culture that lasts around thirty minutes. And then if you're done teaching, you go change into your costume and then you do your play/you put on your performance and then once that's done, you have to clean up everything that you've set up and put it back in the van. Rinse and repeat. What we used to say is, “Every day, twice a day,” so what I just mentioned about ten times per week. And that's the gig. I think one huge advantage to me at the time was the consistency. And everything that I'm describing was a perfect fit for me, but a lot of actors have different needs. And so, for example, I love to teach but a lot of actors don't and I totally respect that. And a lot of actors would prefer a shorter commitment. At the time I was like, ‘Great, I would have a job, I would have stability for nine months.’ I also love that it was a company where you got to do multiple shows. So you got to be challenged to play different characters which is a great creative opportunity. Like the first show I did, my characters were much more comedic relief. And then the second show I did, it was more of like a protagonist who kind of had a big lesson to learn. So, I felt like I got to really stretch my artistic boundaries while I was there. I also think that there's a really great sense of community there. Like when you're doing these crazy things, waking up early, having these wild experiences at school—that's really bonding. And so even when you're not necessarily working with a person or on the road with them or in the van with them, when you're all home at the end of the day, it's like a great sense of community. That was really special.
 
S: What are some adventures that you had up in the Finger Lakes?
 
R: Well, something that I loved about being in the Finger Lakes is that it was kind of close to home to me. So it was kind of a new region of the state to discover. But we had people in our ensemble from all over the country. So, getting to treat them to a classic upstate New York autumn, for example, like apple picking, orchards. A lot of people would…when you say you're from New York they think the city, right? And I'm like, not…that's not up here, you know? So showing people that there's more to this state than just the big apple itself, I guess.
 
S: How has this experience propelled you forward as a young adult?
 
R: That is a great question. And it's so funny you ask that because when we were kind of catching up I talked about how actually the last play I got to do was another play for young audiences with a different company. So it's fresh on my mind, how getting to do theatre for this specific population affects me. And I think that doing theatre, doing really anything for young people is so selfless because they're so unpredictable and they're so honest and they do everything with their hearts and they’re so funny. And I think we all, every human being is in danger of getting so wrapped up in ourselves. But I think especially in our industry, right? Like it's so easy to just fall into or get stuck on the hamster wheel of like, ‘Oh God, my audition and my show and my performance and my career,’ right? It's tough to be an actor and so I feel like it leads us to this mentality of scarcity where it's like all we can focus on is ourselves. And, like I said before, I think doing theatre is not about us, it's about the audience. It's an act of service. So what more demanding in the best way, challenging, fun, joyous population than young people? I think it's very humbling to do plays for young people. And I personally am someone that could be humbled/should be humbled at least once, twice, ten times a day. This might sound like so corny, but I think it makes me a better person. And I think that's even more important than being a good actor.
 
S: Rusty, where can our listeners go to see more of your work?

R: You can go to my website, which is www.rusty-allen.com.
 
S: Awesome. Well, thank you for speaking with me today.
 
R: Thanks, Stephen. It's been so fun.
 

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

S: You can join the conversation about theatre for young audiences and find more Pipe and Drape content including photos, quotes, and TYA news on Instagram @PipeAndDrapeStories. And please be sure to rate and review Pipe and Drape wherever you listen to podcasts! Each star given or review submitted helps future listeners to find the show. Be sure to tune in every other Tuesday to hear theatre for young audiences creatives share their pipe and drape stories. Pipe and Drape is created and hosted by Stephen Fala and distributed by Anchor. Artwork for Pipe and Drape was created by Stephen Gordon and music was composed by Stephen Fala. Thank you for listening with me today.

-

R: But I do remember once in a middle school, when a teacher thought I was a student and I was confused because I was a twenty-five-year-old man. Sometimes, kids say the darndest things that is true, but you know who also says even darndester things? Their grownups.

Find Rusty Allen:
WEBSITE: http://www.rusty-allen.com

Connect with Pipe and Drape:

INSTAGRAM: @PipeAndDrapeStories

EMAIL: PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com

Host: Stephen Fala

Artwork: Stephen Gordon

Episode 10: Arlee Chadwick

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

STEPHEN FALA: I’m Stephen Fala, and you’re listening to Pipe and Drape, the only podcast that spotlights the creative minds behind the theatre for young audiences industry. Every two weeks I sit down with a theatre professional to hear their stories about the audition, rehearsal, and development process of theatre for young audiences. Each of them have bridged the path from youth to adulthood while living in worlds created for children. My guests have mounted shows small enough to fit in a minivan to productions so big they travel by caravan. You can join the conversation by emailing PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com or messaging @PipeAndDrapeStories on Instagram.

This is Episode 10 of Pipe and Drape. Puppetry is a major part of theatre for young audiences and my guest today shares stories from her journey as a dancer, to a Henson and Tartaglia puppeteer and freelance puppet builder. Thank you for listening with me today.
 
S: Today’s guest is puppeteer and puppet designer and fabricator Arlee Chadwick. Arlee has puppeteered Off-Broadway, nationally, and internationally in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean, Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train Live!, That Golden Girls Show! A Puppet Parody, multiple live shows with Sesame Street, and she’s danced regionally in productions all over the country. Arlee’s work as a puppet builder and costume designer and stitcher was seen in New York and across North America in shows with Rockefeller Productions (such as Paddington Gets in a Jam, That Golden Girls Show, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show), the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, New York City Ballet, Summer Theatre of New Cannan, and Theatre for the New City. She shares her building and performance gifts with us on her channel Puppets by Arlee, which you can find in this episode’s show notes. Arlee has taken a break from creating, teaching, and performing to sit down with me in my Washington Heights apartment to discuss her work as a puppet builder and costumer in New York City. Arlee, welcome.
 
ARLEE CHADWICK: Thank you for having me.
 
S: How are you on this autumnal day?
 
A: Very excited to be on this podcast because I am a long-time listener, first-time guest.
 
S: So Arlee and I work together at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park. And we spent some time in the pub immobile together, bringing free theater out to all five boroughs of New York. And during that time we have caught up with each other, caught our lives up a little bit, but I never found out: what kind of things you were doing when you were a little kid? What games were you playing? 
 
A: As a little kid I would…my parents have a great big backyard. And they also watch a lot of PBS. So I remember as a little kid going out into the backyard and pretending and playing Masterpiece Theatre in the backyard. I pretended to be British; I would practice my British accent walking around in the backyard, playing in the dirt. So I guess that's one of my earlier memories of theatre as a young, as a young theater person.

S: I love that combination of backyard dirt and theatre. That's so raw. 

A: Yeah. 

S: Did you want to be an actor when you grew up?
 
A: I either wanted to be a comedian, a veterinarian, or a dancer. And my mom told me that two of those don't make a lot of money, and then I never really decided until…until…I’ve still not decided.

[Laughter.]
 
S: Do you remember seeing theatre when you were in elementary school?
 
A: I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and there is a pretty successful, locally owned dinner theatre in there called the Boulder Dinner Theatre. And actually Colorado in the 90s was kind of a haven of dinner theatres. There was a lot of dinner theater activity. And I remember my first show was in…I was probably like early elementary school. My folks took me to a production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown there, probably 1988 something like that. And I had been to several shows there, but I don't know if it ever translated that I wanted to do it, but I did really enjoy going to those shows.
 
S: Do you remember what you ate?
 
A: Why yes! They have a (and there's they still have it) they have a really (and all dinner theaters should have this): the chicken cordon bleu. You can buy them frozen, and then when you heat them up they're delicious!
 
S: You heard it here! I want to hear about your experience making costumes for marionettes. At the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre most of our marionettes are about a foot tall(?)
 
A: Yeah.
 
S: And there are so many of them because there are so many different shows and they need clothes to wear. What is it like designing clothes for a LiTtLe WoOdEn BoY?
 
A: If you're being official about it you'll make a sketch, but sometimes things are moving…things are behind and you don't do that, but I usually do make a sketch. And then the next thing you do is you have to drape it, which means you take two pieces of fabric and you envelope the puppet inside of it. So that way you can find out what the diameter, how to find pieces of fabric that will fit all the way around this specialized body. ‘Cause you have to draft your own patterns each time. So, okay. So you drape (that's called draping, when you sandwich the puppet inside two pieces of fabric) then you trace where it would go together and then you cut it out and then you do something called truing the pattern where you lay it down one side and trace it, flip it over, lay it on the other side and trace it and then take the in-between. And then that's how you get a symmetrical shape of what you need to find a pattern piece that will fit equally around this puppet shape. And this is the same process when you're costuming any weird shaped puppet. And then you build the costume piece from like a sewing perspective. You use the same type of idea when you make little pants and making blazers with collars, and then you continue to so like normal. I do take a few short cuts because they are so small and things won't necessarily show up, but yeah, that's the process of how to get started. And if you want to see how to do this process, it is on my YouTube channel. You can make your own jacket and vest for a marionette and you can make puppet pants.
 
S: Time are you usually given to create—
 
A: Not enough. When I'm approached I usually ask for what the scope of it is so I can kind of judge. The simplest thing to make is like a puppet prairie dress. I can do that in about a few hours, but if it's more intricate, like there's collars and sleeves and more details, that'll take more time—a week, two weeks, more weeks, more weeks are better. I like to know beforehand. Yeah. So when somebody approaches you to make a costume that's what you should, you should ask: what is the scope of the project and when do you need it by? I think one of the scariest things in our industry is signing nondisclosure agreements. Have you signed those?
 
S: I’ve a couple. 
 
A: Yeah?
 
S: I had to sign one for an audition recently.

A: For an audition?

S: Yeah…
 
A: Sometimes as a puppet builder you have to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to tell the client if you're able to take on the build or not because they have their project that they want to keep secret until they're ready, but you can't tell them if you can build it until you have to…so you have to sign the agreement so that they can show you what their project is that they need built. 
 
S: Wow.
 
A: Yeah. 

S: Have you ever had to deal with that then? 

A: I mean, it's not a huge deal, but yeah. Yeah. And then you can say, “This, this is too much. No!”
 
S: But then you walk around with that knowledge…
 
A: You walk around with that exciting knowledge that you know what show is coming up and you know you're not building it.
 
S: At the cottage…their shows have a lot of puppets. Do they ask you to make costumes for all of them?
 
A: I mean, if it's a new show and I'm the one that's building the costumes, yeah you'd costume the whole show. And the thing that’s specific with marionettes: they don't do costume changes as well at all because their strings are through. So you have to build doubles if you need a costume change in a marionette show, I have been asked to refurbish costumes ‘cause they get gross and old. And that's a little easier because you can take apart the previous costume lift the pattern, like trace the pattern pieces. So that saves time.
 
S: What are your resources for fabric?
 
A: My resources are (are you writing this down? Okay.) My favorite fabric stores in the city are: for cheap Save-A-Thon in Harlem on a 103 Street and 3rd Avenue. The problem with Save-A-Thon is if you need to rebuild (like with Paddington, I've built it several times, the same costumes, and I need to have the same exact fabric each time) you can't go to Save-A-Thon for that. They get what they get from wherever they get it and when it runs out you can't get more. So if you want to…if it's a thing you might have to build multiple times, don't go to Save-A-Thon. My other favorite place to go is Elegant Fabrics in the Garment District. They're nice because they have a little code that you can write down and then they can always bring back the same exact fabric that you bought from them previously. So for all the Rockefeller stuff, I try to go there. And then if it's like a specialized wool or something for suiting then I'll go to Mood. You know, if possible, whenever I'm building, try to get a resource where you know you can buy the same exact thing again, because it needs to be the same each time you rebuild something. We don't encounter that at the cottage very often, but at Rockefeller Productions where they're making licensed characters yes, they need the exact same thing because the publicity photos have to match whatever set are coming in. So it needs to look exactly the same. 
 
S: Did you study costuming?
 
A: I did not. When I was a kid I was in 4-H and one of the projects in 4-H is sewing. And my mom, she's a seamstress and she, through the 4-H program, she taught me how to sew. I even learned how to tailor wool suits as a kid. And I used to be in these competitions called the Make It With Wool Contest. They are fashion shows that happen at local malls put on by the National Wool Growers Association to promote people sewing with a hundred percent wool and I made like several suits. And, you know, if you win you can win fabric and scissors and really glamorous stuff like Pendleton fabric, like really nice 100% wool. And it’s gotta be a hundred percent wool. And how you find out if a fabric is a hundred percent wool is you take strands of it and you put it in bleach overnight. And if it's all disappeared by the next morning, it's a hundred percent wool. If there's still strands of plastic leftover you can't use it. So that's a good test for any of you who need to find out if you're using a hundred percent wool or not. And for when I was a teenager at the last Make It With Wool competition I made a hundred percent wool gown for prom. I made a wool gown and I did wear it to a high school dance and it was hot. So that's my sewing journey. And it’s proven to be helpful cause I've gotten several seamstress jobs.
 
S: Were you a puppet builder and costumer for companies like Rockefeller and the cottage before you were a performer or vice versa…
 
A: No, my degree is in dance. And then I worked for Sesame Street, Live!and I got a foot injury. And then I was so distraught cause I moved to New York to be a dancer. You know, I wanted to be Ann Reinking or whatever and so I came, I couldn't renew my contract on the last, you know, I had this terrible foot industry injury and I was like, ‘Oh God, what do I do?’ And when I'm in crisis I go visit my friend, Wendy and in Austin, Texas. And I went to her and I was hanging out with her and then she had to go to some event and there was a fortune teller at the event. And so I went to this fortune teller and I asked him, I said, ‘Will I ever dance again?’ And he puts out all the tarot cards and he said, ‘Yes, but you'll have new legs.’ I was like, ‘[Gasp] What does that mean?’ And then two weeks later I saw the audition notice for the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. And then I went to it, and I have Sesame Street on my resume. Does it…it says the words (it's a dance job, it's a separate company) but it says the word “Sesame Street” so I think that's why they thought maybe I might know anything about puppetry and they hired me for some reason. And that was my first puppetry job. And since then I've been slowly doing more and more puppetry. And that's how I got into it: by accident.
 
[Laughter.]
 
S: You also worked on a massive show with dinosaurs.
 
A: Yeah. I was on Dinosaur Train Live!, that was a show produced by three companies: Henson and Gables Grove (which was John Tartaglia’s company) and Mills Entertainment, which handled the road show aspect of it. 
 
S: How was that? I mean those things are huge.
 
A: You know, we had top-notch puppets, but with puppet design you can't predict all of the things that may happen to a puppet as it performs on the road for like ten shows a week. So we tried to keep the puppets together as much as we could. They were well-made but all puppets break. And that was one thing that we struggled with on that show. At Hungry Caterpillar we had (and children's theatre shows do this a lot) where they either sell it as an extra incentive or just invite all audience members up to come on stage afterwards for pictures. And some, and I I've done it with adult shows with the Golden Girls show, but Hungry Caterpillar…parents always think that they need the kids to have snacks. And then the kids, they come up with the Cheeto dust on their hands and they want to touch the caterpillar and you know you're holding it and you're like…you try to keep the sticky fingers off of them. It's a process. 
 
S: Oh my Gosh. 
 
A: Because it can't be like washed. You have to like, you use shout wipes to surface clean it, but you know, you don't want your puppet that's very expensive or like takes a lot of like three months to build…you don't want Cheeto dust on your puppet—on the star of your show.

S: Were you the one that built the caterpillar?
 
A: There's been several renditions. 2017, I led the led the build of the Off-Broadway production for Rockefeller Productions. It was seventy-five puppets and I built, and then I rounded up fabricators to also help with the build, and then there were three more productions because they sell productions to other countries and other theatres, so I've made three sets of the actual caterpillars. And so that's like the baby caterpillar and two hero caterpillars, the fat caterpillar, and the butterfly.
 
S: Were you working directly with the designer, or were you just kind of given instructions and they were like, ‘Good luck.’
 
A: That is something that the head of the company would navigate, because when you're working with a licensed character you have to be sure that their design shows up in the puppet that's made. And there's kind of a learning curve when you take a 2D picture and then you create it into a 3D object. And sometimes when you're using artwork like the Eric Carle artwork that he makes that's all crazy and from different angles, it actually isn't real, you know, like one illustration would be one shape 3D and another illustration would be…‘cause sometimes the eyes are on the side of the face or sometimes they're here. So you have to like navigate what they want to combine all of those looks into. Like what they decide should be the 3D look. And sometimes it is hard to find what the client wants when it becomes a 3D object and it's their property; they have to approve it. They’re on the line if it doesn't look like the essence of the character. So that's tough, that is a process that you go through and at Rockefeller Productions they do a great job navigating the relationship between the companies that own the characters and how it comes out in the puppet design.
 
S: What is the coolest thing that you got to do because of children's theatre?
 
A: You know what, one of the most magical children's theatre experiences I've ever had was: I've done many shows for deaf and hearing impaired. And so they bring…even in ImaginOcean (which was a show that was completely in the dark) they gave our sign language interpreter these bright neon yellow gloves, and she would sign for the kids on stage with us, like off to one side of course. And I've always thought that was really cool. But one time at a random theatre in Virginia somewhere (?), I don't know, we did a show for visually impaired kids and it really changed my perspective of who deserves to enjoy theatre and how kids can enjoy theatre. ‘Cause we did the show and then we went and we took the puppets (his was for Hungry Caterpillar by the way) we took them into a meet and greet and we showed the kids the puppets and it was so neat. The kids would…I'd walk up and I would say, ‘Who would like to touch the purple cat?’ You know, kids would raise their hands, then I'd take their hands and put them on the puppet and then…yeah, and it was a really amazing experience and it taught me that I don't necessarily know who deserves to enjoy theatre depending on who they are. And that was a really special show for me.

S: I love children's theater so much,
 
A: Nothing is more magical than getting to perform in another country in another language and then still have the audiences understand and respond to you. That's a magical experience. I remember for Sesame Street Live!, I got to play Rosita in Mexico City and she's a big star there and it was fun. And it's so neat to see like how other countries respond. Like all throughout Asia, it seems like everyone's very, very quiet and polite until (and you think, ‘Oh Gosh, they must hate the show’) and then at the end they roar up. It's neat. I love it. Also magical: go perform My Little Pony Live! in Casper, Wyoming. People will love it! Or perform in Laredo, Texas people…the audiences all throughout Texas are amazing because you know in Texas they always want to make it a party. They buy all the merch and it's a big to do. I like performing in Texas a lot.
 
S: What was it like performing in a different language? Did you have to mech the puppet to a track in another language? 
 
A: Yes.
 
S: How was that for you?
 
A: You just learn the other…you just relearn the show. 
 
S: Wow. 
 
A: Well, you practice with the track and then for Sesame Street Live! you train your hand.
 
S: I like children's theatre because…
 
A: I like children's theatre ‘cause it's all the fantastical things: talking animals and crazy situations and fantasy situations and those types of things. It's either extreme boredom or extreme excitement or extreme anxiety. Those are the three emotions you can have on the road.
 
S: How did you navigate those feelings when you're on the road?
 
A: I don't know. Probably not in a healthy way.
 
[Laughter.]
 
S: Tell us, tell us everything! We want to know!
 
A: I do find, I dunno, being on the road with people, it feels almost like an army buddy type of relationship. And once you've been on the road, you know, I don't trust anyone until I've been to Ohio with them. Nothing important about Ohio, but the theatres in Ohio, you know…you get pulled through it. But yeah, people you're on the road with…you form an interesting bond, and maybe not friendly, but still an interesting bond. I'm sure you feel the same way. Right?

S: Oh yeah. ‘Cause you're sweating with these people. You are working with these people…
 
A: You’re in Ohio with these people. There are a lot of theatres in Ohio. 
 
S: There’s a lot of corn.
 
A: There are a surprising amount of theatres in Indiana. And I’ve performed in all states except Alaska. But I do have Puerto Rico.
 
S: Did you perform in Hawaii? 
 
A: Yeah. 
 
S: What?! 
 
A: Yeah. 
 
S: What show?
 
A: Two productions of Sesame Street Live! It’s amazing, they’ve got a great theater in Honolulu and another one in Maui.
 
S: What else did you do there?
 
A: Oh, I mean, all kinds of things: went snorkeling, went to the beach, went on hikes, went to a luau type of thing. Yeah. Like a dinner theatre type of performance with hula dancing. Hawaii’s awesome. I love it.
 
S: I can't believe you got to go there for work.
 
A: Yeah. It was a highlight. Definite highlight.
 
S: Was that a big part of your tour: just getting there and then getting back?
 
A: Yeah. 'Cause you, oh, that's true, here's another thing: when a road show has to go across the ocean you have to wait for a week for the set usually to be shipped, ‘cause it's usually too expensive to fly the gear. It needs to be shipped. And Sesame Street Live! had enough money that they would leapfrog sets so they could send one set early while you performed with the other set and then by the time you arrived there the other set would be there. But that's only for companies that have enough money to have multiple sets. Oh! When Hungry Caterpillar first went to Hong Kong it was too expensive to send the set over so they did this bad-ass thing where they sent the plans for how to build the set and they built us a set and then trashed it at the end. It was awesome.
 
S: Was it identical to the set you're used to? 
 
A: Yes, of course. 
 
S: Wow. That's so cool. 
 
A: That is cool, right?
 
S: How has your work in this industry propelled you forward as an adult?
 
A: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We are all addicted to theatre. We're addicted to it and we just, at least this is my mindset: you just want to get the next job. It's not a healthy relationship, but it's the relationship I have. So I've never been like, ‘How does it…’ you know, I'm always just trying to get the next show, get gradually more glamorous and fabulous. So that's how I approach my (this is not advice) but that's how I approach it
 
S: Arlee, thank you for speaking with me today.
 
A: Well, thanks for having me!
 
S: Arlee, how can people find more of your work and reach out to you?
 
A: Well, you can reach out to me at PuppetsByArlee@gmail.com. You can find me at Puppets by Arlee on YouTube. And those are the preferred ways of you finding me. I want to end the list there. That's how to find me.
 
S: All right, everyone, go find her.

[Pipe and Drape theme plays.]

You can join the conversation about theatre for young audiences and find more Pipe and Drape content including photos, quotes, and TYA news on Instagram @PipeAndDrapeStories. And please be sure to rate and review Pipe and Drape wherever you listen to podcasts! Each star given or review submitted helps future listeners to find the show. Be sure to tune in every other Tuesday to hear theatre for young audiences creatives share their pipe and drape stories. Pipe and Drape is created and hosted by Stephen Fala and distributed by Anchor. Artwork for Pipe and Drape was created by Stephen Gordon and music was composed by Stephen Fala. Thank you for listening with me today.

-
 
S: Then you ended up working at one of these dinner theatres?
 
A: Yeah! I worked at the Carousel Dinner Theatre. I was in a production ofCats. That was my favorite one that we did. And this is one of my favorite stories. Our stage manager came backstage and he said, “Everyone, please watch out. There is a pepperoni on downstage left.” And we didn't serve pepperoni at the dinner theatre, which means that somebody came to the dinner theatre with pepperonis and then threw one on the stage. And I tried not to…I did slip on it and I made a huge grease stain across the stage. But, more questions about my glamorous life as a theatre professional? And Hungry Caterpillar (‘cause it's all kids) for some reason the stage would get coated in raisins. There would…and I'm not sure why this is, either parents are bringing raisins as snacks for kids and then their kids are just like leaking raisins all over and it gets smeared…Like we had to clean raisins off…And the problem with raisins is when it gets smeared onto the floor, it doesn't look like raisin anymore. It looks like poo stains. So yeah, our poor stage manager she seriously had to mop after each like photo meet and greet because of the raisins. That's a problem. So watch out you young theater creators. Watch out for the raisins. You will have to clean those up.

Find Arlee Chadwick:
EMAIL: PuppetsByArlee@gmail.com
YOUTUBE: Puppets by Arlee

Connect with Pipe and Drape:

INSTAGRAM: @PipeAndDrapeStories

EMAIL: PipeAndDrapeStories@gmail.com

Host: Stephen Fala

Artwork: Stephen Gordon