ActorQuest - Kristin Huffman Goes Inside 'Company' 24

In November, Kristin Huffman made her Broadway debut as Sarah (flute, piccolo and sax) in John Doyle's production of Company.  The actress, with a new series of tales that go inside the making of Company from an actor's perspective, starting at the Cincinnati Playhouse and on to New York, continues her stories about a 15-year career that has led her to the door of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

This is the twenty-fourth story about the "Making of Company."  If you haven't read the others, go back and do so and then rejoin us here!

TWENTY-FOUR:  SENSELESS

I thought I couldn't get any more tired.  I was wrong. Today we spent the day shooting the video of our show and the still pictures for the promotional department. It's not for advertising, but for reports about the musical on television or newspapers. So we did the hair, makeup and costume thing on the hottest day yet in the City and spend four hours filming and being photographed. 

It was hot enough but the lights were bumped up for the sake of photographers and we needed to start and stop each scene or song about four or five times.  I "karated" my stage husband at least five times. In between takes, the makeup and hair ladies would powder and primp us.  As the heat and humidity increased, we needed more and more help with hair and faces. During those interludes Matt, on the piano, would break into some heat related songs like We're Having a Heat Wave.  Bruce played Too Darn Hot on his clarinet. We did it to amuse ourselves and keep up good attitudes but after four hours we were getting cranky. Then I would think of Heather with her new baby operating on an hour of sleep each night and I manually revise my irritation at the heat index.

We all began to feel the aches and pains.  Fred pointed out that even though we don't dance in this show, it is physically the most demanding show he has ever done. I think we would all agree!  We are all on stage the entire show. We do our scenes, play during every song, switch instruments, spin in chairs, and then sit absolutely still under hot spotlights. That may sound easy, but the sitting still part is actually very hard.   Add to that the daily rehearsals, coupled with the photo shoots, and then the eight shows a week and you might begin to see why the aches and pains have made themselves felt.  Luckily Raul's room, which is large enough to double as a Green Room, keeps us supplied in Jelly Beans and M & M's.  I noticed that the supply was very low after today's shoot. 

The bowls of comfort food and a potential sugar rush coupled with exhaustion and a good audience make for an interesting show.   Tonight it was a little hard for me to keep completely focused in the second half even with the sugar boost.  I caught my mind wandering during a quiet scene in which I am not involved but where I am perched on a chair under a spotlight in plain view.  I started thinking about my shopping list. "Tampons and crazy glue" is almost something I said out loud. We are all very comfortable doing the show now.  Sometimes one can get too relaxed and the little devil on your shoulder wonders what would happen if, during a quiet moment, I yelled something stupid. Mostly I thought of this exercise to get my adrenaline going again, but I thought, what if during that intense scene with Bobby and Joanne, I yelled out "Tampons and crazy glue!"   I guess that would be the end of my career in theatre.  I would probably need to save myself by faking a convulsion and falling off the chair. Still…

These are some things going through my mind tonight in front of 1200 people in one of our previews on Broadway!  As I surreptitiously looked around at the rest of the cast, perched on seats in the spotlights, I notice every now and then an understandably dazed look. One cast member told me afterward that she thought she fell asleep a little at one point in the show. 

Tomorrow we have a rehearsal again from 1PM -5PM followed by the performance. Saturday we will have two shows.  By Sunday I can't speak in full sentences. But I promise, after a little down time, I will make sure I get excited about being on Broadway. At the moment, however, it is just very hard work.

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Photos: Raul; Matt and Amy; Bruce; Heather