Blackbirds of Broadway 1999 Tour
Living in Charlotte, North Carolina
In all likelihood, we will not have arrived in Charlotte when this page is first uploaded.
What we know is that we'll be with the Charlotte Reperatory Theatre and our performance space will be the Booth Playhouse at the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. This is located in the heart of downtown Charlotte, which is probably good from our point of view.
I'm told that no decision has been made as of 9/28/99 where we will be housed. One option is to have hotel rooms in the downtown area. (Actors Equity contracts require that performers be housed within a mile of the venue, or transportation must be provided) Another option being considered are temporary corporate apartments, which would probably be located in the suburbs.
There are two ways to look at the choices. If we are in a hotel, we'll probably be in walking distance of the theatre, which is only a couple of blocks from the public library and a lot of other handy things. The down side would be that hotels rooms aren't set up for cooking and it can get pretty expensive eating out all the time. It's also hard to practice wind instruments in hotel rooms. (Doc Severinson was once ejected from a janitor's closet at the Richmond Hyatt)
If we're in a corporate apartment setup, we'll still have our own rooms, but will also have access to cooking and laundry facilities. This makes our day-to-day living much cheaper. It's also easier to practice without disturbing other guests. The biggest down side of this kind of facility is that we may be located a long way from the theatre, grocery stores, libraries, etc. and may have to share the use of company vehicles or even pay for taxicabs.
We always have certain hopes about where we'll live, but each set of advantages comes with its own set of disadvantages. You have to watch what you wish for!
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