One For the Pot

When I auditioned for "One For the Pot" in the late Fall of last year I had never read the script. I was coming off of "Patsy Cline" and wanted to do something light and fun with amazing people. This fit that bill and so much more. 

When I got the part of Amy Hardcastle I was able to finally read the script. It was terrible. HA! But, I knew that with Ryan Simmons directing, his creative team and the cast that he had assembled, this would be much more than what was written on the page. 

He set the play in the 1960's instead of the 1940's. He added a live band and some musical numbers. He cut and added things to the script making it a show unique to the Hale Centre Theatre. Anyone who had seen a production of this before wouldn't fully recognize it. The basic plot was still intact but everything else was new, vibrant and exciting! 

I got to play two roles in the play. Amy Hardcastle and then Tina (I made up the name) the Lounge Singer. I had a solo singing "The Nitty Gritty" and then at the top of Act 2 the other ladies in the cast and I were the singing group "The Ten Pound Notes". We sang "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry", and the "Name Game". It was a hoot. 

I am glad I got to play Tina because Amy is a smaller role and it gave me more to do in the show. Plus the fact that I am a huge fan of singing with a live band and doing that each night took things to a whole other level.

Our cast was hit pretty hard with the COVID virus and injuries. It was January when we opened. There was a spike in COVID cases in Salt Lake City and around 6 of our cast members were affected. In my cast the female lead ended up contracting COVID during tech week and was unable to come back to the show. We thought she might be able to and from week to week it just didn't end up happening. It turns out she has long haul COVID. I feel bad for her. She is still suffering after months of being diagnosed. 

Another one of my cast mates fell and broke her elbow during tech week. She was also hopeful that she could come back to he show at some point, but it is a very physical production and the producers felt it was too much of a liability to bring her back when she was still healing. So, the two actresses from the other cast that were double cast with these ladies ended up being single cast and having understudies. It was a stressful situation but everyone was incredible and the production only had one canceled show because of the COVID. 

This is a photo taken opening week. Both of our leading men were out sick with COVD and our director stepped in as the lead who plays multiple parts and has too many entrances, exits and character changes to count! He had an inner ear piece through which the Stage Manager communicated with him on his lines and entrances, etc. IT WAS CRAZY! I couldn't believe he pulled it off. This is the theater world that we are in now. Understudies, Swings and yes, even sometimes the Director or Choreographer step in and keep the show going. It is happening all around the country. Theater is staying afloat because of these individuals and I am so grateful! 

Many people in the theater community were saying during the thick of the COVID pandemic that live theater may become a thing of the past. But, as we often do as 'show people' we find a way! We have come together more than ever in this collaborative art and we are making it work. 

This has been a long run. We had 99 performances over a three month span. It would have been 100 performances had it not been for that one canceled show. But, that's alright. I am so proud of this cast and crew for stumbling along and making magic every night. Especially those that went above and beyond to make it work. The single cast, the understudies and the swings. The doubles who came on nights not originally assigned. Everyone stepped up to keep the ball rolling. And as a result, the audiences could just laugh and be entertained for two hours. That is what we need right now. A shared experience where we can laugh, escape and be uplifted. Theater does that. It is essential.