We asked our cast and crew of In This World to share what’s been going on while they’re on tour. We’ll be updating our blog each week with their adventures!
Oyin Oladejo and Meilie Ng having fun before a show.
Day 1, Morning: After a fantastic (and cushy) week of evening performances at the Tarragon Theatre, 7:30am comes early on our first official day of touring. After a small truck fire (new brakes can be tricky) we made it to our first school – Jean Vanier CSS. It feels so rewarding to hear the teens’ laughter and reactions! That’s the crowd this show was meant for!!! By 10:45 am it feels like 4:00 pm with the excitement of our first show leaving us exhausted. Then it was off to our next school and some lunch.
Early Mornings Are Hard. Meilie Ng and Oyin Oladejo are up EARLY to start their days on tour. (Don’t worry, they love it!)
Day 1, Afternoon:
Who needs a gym membership when you’ve got periactos! Our performance space at Branksome Hall is up 2 flights of stairs and although our set isn’t heavy, there are many pieces which means there were many trips. We had some great help from a group of ladies who may have been anxious to get out of class for the setup.
We dubbed this show “Buns of Steel”.
Day 2, Morning: Our 2nd day of touring started a little late because Meilie had a nose bleed. We figured if it started again we can use it since her character Bijou get’s punched in the face and has her noise bleeding during the show :). Our performance area was a beautiful old theatre space that, despite it’s size, still gave us an intimate atmosphere. The students were incredibly attentive – but you would expect that from drama students! A huge thank you to our helpers. For future reference, if you want to move many large pieces of a set, it helps to have a future all-Canadian wrestler to help! All the best to the drama students at University of Toronto Schools and their upcoming play!
The “Bijou Bruise” Meilie Ng’s make-up application makes it look real!
Re-enacting “the punch” behind the scenes. Meilie Ng and Oyin Oladejo.
Day 2, Afternoon: After 2 days of Meilie begging to stop for lunch, we found a great place in Mississauga for some fulfilling PHô. After stuffing ourselves into a ‘carb coma’ we made our way to The Woodlands School in Missisauga. Our student helpers were as efficient as they were professional. They took direction well, knew their stage right and stage left, were handy with tools and just dove in. It was the fastest load in and load out yet – we almost loaded the students with us to go on tour. Day 3, Afternoon Our last day/show of the week and with a lunch time start to our day, easy traffic, beautiful weather, and lots of laughs enroute, it was a good way to end our first week. Right from the moment we entered the school, we knew we were in good hands. Positive energy from staff and students put smiles on our faces. A large, beautiful auditorium and confident helpers made for an efficient setup and strike and a great feeling of accomplishment as we drove away at the end of the day. On to our next week of adventures!