1 post tagged “opening day”
Today was the public opening for the new Tempe Center for the Arts, a $66 million jewel of a performing arts facility. I am lucky enough to be in one of the resident groups so I was on hand for today's festivities. Our group, the Arizona Wind Symphony along with A Ludwig Dance, put on two performances for throngs of people eager to finally see what three years of construction and budget overruns was all about.
This morning as I was leaving my place to carpool with my friend Kay (bari sax), a little scorpion gave me a love sting on my right arm. It was taking a ride on my music bag. Bad words were said, bug was crushed instantly.
Great. I have a rehearsal and two performances on the docket. Kay freaked and being the mom that she is, made sure I had ice available to keep down the sting. I only hoped it wouldn't spread to my hand.
My buddies in the sax section at first showed concern, but when I told them I was more or less okay, I was accused of making an early excuse for sucking later on. Ha.
After our rehearsal with the dance troupe, we had an hour to kill before performing. Instead of hitting the free food outside first, I thought I would poke in on the Childsplay rehearsal in the main theater. The theater was pitch black and when I went to leave, I completely missed the step down to the landing. Head first down the steps. Splat. I landed on my left shoulder and banged up my leg. I stayed on the floor for a moment to take inventory on what may or may not be injured. Everything seemed to be in place.
I slowly made it to my feet and went into the lobby to find a place to sit and regain my composure. I began to wonder if I was going to make it through the day.
The performances were packed and the audiences enthusiastic. We played well and the dancers were fantastic. Out in the lobby and in the gardens, every resident of Tempe seemed to be enjoying the day. Other groups performed throughout the facility and I'm hearing from friends that they enjoyed seeing so much talent in one place. Yay!
I made it through the rest of the day (so far) unscathed and feeling pretty triumphant, if not a little bruised, battered and stingy. The pain never spread past its location - imagine a chemical burn under the skin - and now I'm just numb in that spot. I'm soooo lucky it wasn't worse. (The luck of actually having a scorpion sting can be debated).
Enough about me - the TCA was built as four separate buildings (Theater, Studio, Gallery, Lakeside) under one roof, ala Native American traditions. The building is soundproofed against the constaint roar of jet engines in the flight path of Sky Harbor Airport just a stone's throw down the river bank. It's a beautiful building intended to foster a feeling of intimacy with the arts. I think it lives up to all the hype and is worth the wait.
