We had our two Romeo & Juliet rehearsals today … in an OUTHOUSE!

Okay. Not really. But it smelled bad enough to be an outhouse. Something is dreadfully wrong at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; when it rains the creek right next to the hall rises, and I’ve been told the water table rises and we get this horrendous smell. The basement used to flood, and we’d have to walk on rubber mats to get to the pit. We don’t seem to have that problem (yet), but the stench was so bad today I thought I was going to have to leave for a while. I did wonder about the safety of the hall—if we are smelling sewage, might we be inhaling all sorts of wonderful things too? I wonder.

Trouble is, I don’t want to shut down the hall. I do love playing, I love this music, and of course I need the job! So complaining doesn’t really do any good. The hall is a city owned and operated place, so I think the solution would be to have our mayor and perhaps our city council folk come and sit next to us and see what we have to deal with.

Ya think?

Anyway, despite the misery the music is extraordinary. I love this work!

Tomorrow we add the dancers. Yeah … I guess they are sort of important to a ballet. 😉
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