ActorQuest - Kristin Huffman Goes Inside 'Company' 28

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

TWENTY-EIGHTH: PINK EYE!

We recorded our cast CD on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  It was a challenging experience for the recording producer since we were singing and playing all the numbers like we do on stage.  You would not believe how many people asked me if they were going to bring in an orchestra to play our parts on the final CD!   Even though we have been playing these parts for more than three months on stage every night!  Most of the time we recorded the orchestra tract first and then the singing on top of that. But there were times, for instance, in the karate lead in to Little Thing" when I had to scream into one microphone in the booth and then, as the song started, I had to sprint to my chair in the big room where my mike was for my flute and begin to play. I took off my shoes so that you wouldn't hear the clomp clomp of my boots.

For the most part it was great and, Tommy, the producer was so on top of everything which made it pretty painless. I even recorded on my new video camera a kind of "mockumentary" of the event.   The pain part came later during the second day of taping when one of the cast members announced that she had pink eye!   The stage manager immediately sent her home, but not before the rest of us got a look at it.  That's a hypochondriac's worst nightmare; a disease you can catch just by looking at it.  In fact, the next day our musical supervisor contracted it.  Now we are all on edge.  

Today we received an email telling us to be sure to wash our hands a lot but they didn't have to tell me twice to be careful. The minute I heard she even contracted Pink Eye, I started washing my hands.  I used up a whole bottle of Purell last night and also a can of Lysol.  I used it like a body spray.  Bruce jokingly put on a surgical mask and gloves made out of tissues, and Raul filled his dressing room jar with pink M&M's, but I went home and took a bath in rubbing alcohol. You just don't joke around about some things.   

During the rest of the CD taping with our headphones on we could hear each other's comments and jokes. At one point I said quietly, "my eye feels funny", and Kelly turned to me and said "shut UP!"  So then we all started reporting diseases we recently had contracted over the headphones.  I said "I think I have Chlamydia, is that contagious?" Elizabeth said, "Only if you stick your flute up your p….." and the laughing continued.  I guess we were trying to make light of it all.

Now that there is a chance we all could get pink eye, I have a feeling that today's show will be a different.  I don't think I should wear the surgical gloves I bought on stage with me because it would be challenging to play my open holed flute with them on. (But I am considering it.)  The scary thing is that since the understudy for the original contractor of the disease is on for her, the other two women she covers can not get sick!  There is no one else to understudy them!  It would be an odd show with everyone having to wear glasses. I would probably stumble over and through the transparent cubes.

Just got a report that two of our understudies are now out with Pink Eye.  Do you think anyone would mind if I used one of the see-through cubes as my own version of the 'girl in the glass bubble' for a while?

 Kristin's column sponsored by:  www.gardengate.unfranchise.com   "Visit us for cutting edge products in health care, nutrician, weight management, makeup, skin care, website solutions and much more!"  THE ONE STOP SHOPPING EXPERIENCE! For more information also visit KristinHuffman.net 

Photos: Bruce; Rob, Angel and Leenya; Kristin