Early is on time
“At the Stonebridge Park junction, turn left, take the A404 Harrow Road and turn right at the Wembley Triangle & Clock on to Wembley Hill Road,” Livi read the directions scribbled onto her notepad “Bridge? What’s the name of that bridge?” She rolled her eyes while waiting for a response, “No, no! Make a left turn if you still can...”
This was the third call this morning, the venue was harder to find for most drivers than Livi had anticipated. She had been busy all morning giving directions, and making sure the entire crew arrived on time. From the make-up artists to the audio managers to the actual artists themselves. Everyone on the crew had their essential part in the tour. This was Livi’s first time around as an actual stage manager. She had been a PA many times before, but never had she been given the change to take on the job. Rule number 1, early is on time, caused her and her PA, Kyoko, to have arrived first at the Wembley venue in London.
”Then you should hang up, and drive!” Livi rolled her eyes at Kyoko, who just walked in the hallway, carrying their daily dose of caffeine. Taking over the hot cup from her she continued, “Okay, see ya here in about five then! Ciao!”
“Directions?” Kyoko questioned, stirring her steaming hot cappucino.
“Yup.” Livi removed her headset, ready to enjoy her morning coffee along with her well needed cigarette. As she lit up, a grin appeared on her lips, remembering Kyoko’s very first interview for the job. “Remember you said you didn’t drink coffee?”
Kyoko smiled, looking up from her cup. “Yeah, well... I actually didn’t drink any coffee before I started this job. I became a caffeine addict ever since working on this tour.”
“First signs of stress?” Livi raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good sign you know, it would be wrong to have no stress, especially on the opening night!”
This was Kyoko’s first ‘real’ tour. She’d always been interested in the field of entertainment, it had always attracted her. She soon learned it wasn’t about the glitter and the glamour. It was blood, sweat and even some tears. Forget the some. Entertainment was drama! It was stress, it was underpayed but it was very satifying! Every show inspired her to do better, to achieve more and more. And even now, that she stood at the beginning of her career, she felt ready. Ready to work in this team, and be part of a great show!
The two ladies had arrived about an hour before the rest of the crew started dropping in. They made sure every little detail was arranged, from the food to the Prompt book. This evening would be the start of the European leg from the Backstreet Boys tour. It promised to be a full-on scedule. Working at least 16-18 hours a day in the beginning of the tour. There would be a lot of travelling between countries and cities going on. A lot of fans to deal with. There would even be some promotion going on, VH1 actually taping one of the shows. Livi had gotten used to working in a stressful environment, touring with the group before, a few years back, in the US. She was the PA then, which suited her just fine at that moment. Now she wanted more. More responsibilities, more involvement.
“So what’s next?” Kyoko asked. She sipped her last coffee as Livi put out her cigarette in the ashtray.
“Waiting for the trucks and busses to arrive, then we assist the crew with unloading, giving directions, things like that...” Livi shut down her notebook. “Then a speech, which I haven’t prepared so that should be fun to watch.”
“For the entire crew?” Kyoko’s eyes grew big.
“Uhuh. For the entire crew.”
