Last night was our most interesting performance to date. An East Indian Church was our audience. Originally we were supposed to be at their church, but the pews weren't movable, so they rented a community center. I don't think they knew what they were getting into. It was hot and bug infested. We spent a good amount of time cleaning during set up. The weather yesterday was well over 90, with very high humidity. No air conditioning at first, but at least they figured out how to turn it on before the show started. Scooping the rice from the kettle was torture!
The contact was late (probably because we set off the alarms in the building going through an unlocked door) and we were sweating like crazy. All of the girls turned their jeans into capris. We were told, when he arrived, that Indian women don't show leg, so we would have to roll our pants back down before we came into contact with the audience. We were worried because Balangaos wear skirts just below the knee, and in one scene I wear shorts playing a child. They said their congregation is somewhat acclimated to "Western Theater" and would understand that these are only costumes.
Then, we were short on circuits, so three of our nine lights wouldn't work. The air conditioning was loud, and our mics were cranked up, without much effect. Well, most of our mics were. Mine I turned off to run to the rest room, and forgot to turn back on. So I spent all of act one mute. I can project, but in a gym.....
That was the bad stuff, here's the good. The audience was one of our most responsive. Many of the congregation had recently moved here from India. They wore the most beautiful Saris (I think that's what they're called). They had two missionaries to India that they support, and the couple stood up and told of their experiences translating the Bible for the past 25 years. One man gave his life to Christ, and almost a dozen want to do missions work. One 8-year-old girl wants to be a missionary or a doctor. We told her she could do both. Afterwards, we got to talk with some of the ladies washing dishes. We had men standing around, but no one was sure if they would help in the kitchen, or take orders for a woman. They would, but we minced around that issue for a while. Julie said she did the same thing tearing down the stage. It was a very long night, and we got home well after midnight.
Tonight we're at a black church with 7,000 members. What a difference a day makes...
