In which Alcohol really IS the Answer.

That is to say,

So the other day, I was so excited about splattering paint, right?

That's all well & good when it lands & dries in its rightfully-intended proper place. 

The thing with this particular play is that we have paint for effect on costumes from Scene 1 through Scene 5. Then we have the priming ballet (as Mr. Director named it) of Scene 3 with real paint, red acrylic, as the two men get to work on a canvas in realtime. 

"Red"  Scene iii
~ Photo by Jay Paul.

Then there's the "suicide" paintwash of Scene 5, where Rothko sits with hands in a bucket. Scene V's paint was developed especially in order to wash out, being mostly finger-paint & which does so remarkably well. Scene III's paint - not so much & it was getting everywhere. 

No use crying over spilt paint? Oh how I beg to differ! It certainly made me want to cry by the end of Second Dress. Our two men are so Lovely but the word of the moment is most definitely Method. So when that paint & those costumes first met, the Method won out & paint was splashed in artistic abandon. As such, there was no knowing where the Evil Acrylic was going to end up next. 
   Turning up in places it should never have even had sight of: the inside of a Sc.V collar, the lining of a Sc.I jacket. Then there was the brand new $80 "Traveler" pants of Scene 5: we'd bought those as they were 100% Polyester so entirely wash-worthy (yes! way better than the woollen ones of before) & Scotch-guarded & anti-crease/wrinkle ... But not anti-acrylic, it seems. 
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It's been mentioned to me a few times that "it's just a ninety-minute show" - so shorter than a musical, just the 2 men, not that much of a workload. Sure, along with 45mins prep & 45mins strike for props & a whole lot of laundry to be taken care of...
   There was a wee bit of conflict in pre-production which hadn't helped either. The long & short of it being that we, the Rep, have produced one play whilst co-producing a musical. The musical emerged as a little bit of a monster & proven somewhat attention-seeking for time, energy, resources & publicity. My two boys have been tired & stressed 'beyond relief' from it, poor loves. Admittedly by holding forth on the mainstage, it should work to shift more seats to subscribers than the black box but still.  
   Work on the one show has sometimes been side-tracked by the other. I'm happy to build for both because I'm after all the building experience I can get but that for me is where the buck stops. If I'm running crew for the other, I've got to be keeping those white shirts white. That's my job.

Bleach. Detergent. Shout. Oxy-clean. Alcohol.  
__________

Sarah's wisdom - as she saw my face when we tried to problem-solve post-tech as to how on earth I'd be leaving the theatre before midnight each night, having scrubbed the remaining hours away. Soap & water hadn't worked on the red, nor the Shout; so far - nothing. - Sarah's wisdom was to say, "Second dress is always the worst."
   She was right. Sunday through Tuesday was for problem-solving of the obvious & immediate. But by Tuesday, things you thought you had down & fixed became superseded by a whole new set of problems. There's a lot of dual exiting to different places. Thankfully I have the Joey/Katie QC sensation to be my second set of hands backstage. Then the lack of structure & knowledge as to how to handle the laundry, what to focus on first, how best to keep the costumes clean & ready for a new show. 
 
I went home that night, opened a beer & hit up Google. 
I decided we were going to be smarter than the Red.    

"How does Red make me feel? What does Red mean to me?"   

With "tragedy in every brushstroke" ?

Distraught ... 

.... Determined!

Next morning I was back in with my List. Those pants were gonna be cleaned up & back in the show. We couldn't afford to be buying new clothes after every single performance.

How to get acrylic paint out of clothing?

Pine-sol.
Windex.
WD-40.
Alcohol.
Goof Off.
Krud Kutter. 

Plus a handy toothbrush & a whole lot of vigorous scrubbing.  

 
Wednesday's Tech was better. By Preview Thursday (with fauxpening drinks), the Joey/Katie + Myself were On It. 

Sarah's post-show thoughts that night: 

Tonight was the 3rd dress rehearsal for my newest show "Red" and I have to say it is a fantastic show! And it isn't as messy as it was 2 days ago, so hopefully my wardrobe gal won't go postal on me!

 
(I thought "going Postal" was sort of being AWOL - as well as a Pratchett novel. Turns out it's more about going violent on your work colleagues. No wonder she was relieved.) 
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The paint studio actually backs on & into the Rep's paint shop behind Theatre Gym, a false wall within the shop itself acting as the Vestibule. These walls don't have ears so I kind of miss the wings. We're learning to hear the play, to know timings for the QCs but it's literally a conversation, an unfolding relationship & a lot of red paint.

"Red"
~ Photo by Jay Paul.

It's happening. It's still messy at times but it's so much better than it was last Tuesday. 

I've got a laundering system in place now, plus the new tiger cat Tiger nail brush I purchased to scrub my troubles further away! 

OF #9 ... I thought given the antics of Sc 3, 
'Pirouette' was well-chosen indeed!

Red: Before & After  

                 (woo, for Lauren, Paint & Props!) & a lot of lovely audience feedback too. 

Also Richmond Family Magazine: 

"Sarah Grady’s costume work felt so authentic that I found myself wondering whether the cast engaged in an all-night painting party to acquire the perfect paint splatter accents. " 

#win 

  

Post from Joc which made me smile:  

 ____________

Words taught: 

Skanky.
Trollied.
Stropping (misheard initially as "Strumping", not quite so wenchly!)
Surname - "Last Name" being so much more the norm.  
The Gay Gordon after which Joey & I promenaded around the parking lot.  :)

Words learnt: 

Shiftstick, for when you drive & change gears manually with a gearstick.
I commented on my never having driven an automatic, "Oh, you're so European!" was the response.