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Re: Pit Band Horror Stories

Author: DorMcD
Date: 2006-12-29 17:12

I've seen a few things go wrong over the years...

1. I've seen a woodwind player (no it wasn't me) knock a violin bow off a stand while walking by, and the bow managed to fall through a small crack around the edge of the pit floor to the no-man's-land below the pit floor. it couldn't be retrieved until the end of the run.

2. During a run a couple years ago of Smokey Joe's Cafe, one of the singers must have lost his bearings, because he kind of rolled right into off the stage and into the pit in a way that looked almost on purpose. Luckily, the orchestra was on stage, so he fell into an almost empty pit. Even more luckily, the pit was raised enough to not be too deep, and he landed on the piano and sort of rolled off of it. He was a little sore but OK.

3. During a large fund raiser last year, the mayor's wife lost her bearings and couldn't tell where the edge of the stage was. She walked right off the stage and feel into the pit. She ended up in the hospital for quite a while with some pretty serious injuries, but it could have been a lot worse. The fund raiser was a big review with different acts from town appearing one after another - a logistical nightmare/masterpiece depending on how you look at it. Just 7 minutes before she fell, the group I was playing with was performing in the pit. After we played, it was lowered for a quick load out, and then raised back up. This is the deepest pit I've ever been in - it must be a good 20 or 25 feet to the stage when it's completely lowered. If she had fallen before they'd raised it back up, she really could have been killed, and she probably only missed it by a minute or two.

4. One time I had my bassoon reeds soaking in a cup on the floor instead of clipped to my stand, and someone walking by in the crowded pit kicked it over with one foot and stepped on the two best reeds with the other. I don't leave them on the floor anymore.

5. I have seen someone have to go get stitches on his forhead after having a piece of scenery fall into the pit.

6. And one time the conductor let his baton slip out his hand and it flew back into the audience. That was funny enough, but to top it off, after the song ended, we saw the little baton come peeking back over the wall and tap the conductor on the shoulder to be returned by a kind audience member.

Dorothy

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Pit Band Horror Stories new

Gandalfe

2006-12-06 21:23