"The show must go on"

[MRW Lights]

We've all heard it... we have all or we will all say it inevitably, "The show must go on".

I did some digging and found this post about working through it. It talks a little more about safety and the human aspect of calling out and I agree with its sentiment that "calling out" doesn't seem to be a part of what it takes to do our job. This is predicated today due to the large snowstorm in NYC and surrounding areas and that I've been "working through" a head cold for the last week. All schools in the area and a lot of businesses are closed today, but the show must go on. Here's why I do it.

If I call out from my show it's seemingly not a big deal. There are A LOT of other A1's, especially here in the city. It would have also have been great to have brought on a sub to cover for me when needed. This show is Off Broadway and a limited engagement run... so it's only me and I go to work.

Here's the bigger issue, I've been listening to the cast for weeks. Tonight is performance #20 for all of us. I can hear if they're tired, if they're under the weather, I can anticipate their moves and lines, I can support them so that they can give their best performance today. Sure someone else could still do a good job and yes we have people we can call who can be there when we need them, because we trust them. The cast trusts me to be there, they trust me to do my job.

The weather is miserable, I'm still recovering from a cold and a snow day netflix binge would not have left me complaining. However, crew call looms so I made some tea, packed some cough drops, dug out the snow boots and the show goes on.

Cheers to everyone for keeping the lights on, for breaking the leg and for making sure the show goes on.

 

[TheaterEd]

This begs the question though, how do you feel if one of those cast members who trust you to do your job then gets sick with whatever is making you ill? I'm all for working though what you can, but if you are risking spreading the show plague to someone who doesn't have an understudy then who are you really helping?

Also worth considering, would one day off be enough to get you back at 100%? Might be worth it to have one 'off' night rather than a series of mediocre ones.

As the person who runs all things technical at the high school, this is something that I wrestle with all the time. That being said, I can almost guarantee that I would do exactly what you are doing. Get well soon!

 

[EdSavoie]

The Friday before opening night this year I called in sick, I had been feeling a little more than worn that week and It was bad enough to merit some worried reactions from my cohorts.

Sure enough, I took one day off, and by the next morning I was feeling 110% and right back on my feet prepping the show.

Had I continued, there's a strong chance I would have killed one of the lead's voices with my sickness.

 

[MRW Lights]

Excellent points and I should clarify, while I was not at my best I did make efforts to keep my distance and over cleaned and sanitized everything often to try and protect others.

In this case I felt it would be more of a disservice and detriment to the integrity of the show for me to call out. Though it is important to point out that is a very fine line. There are lots of other factors that would play into it, but what I really wanted to express was the importance of what we do. Even a swing or a sub isn't a show at its best. It can still be great, but it will always be different.