From my journal archives -- February, 2013, while I was ASMing a show:
Last week a woman with waxy skin came into the lobby right before the show started. I heard a "help" from the house manager over headset and came out to see the woman, who didn't speak English but didn't seem to know she didn't speak English. She pointed at the show's poster, made a "pray" gesture, and kept talking in her language, clearly wanting to come in the theatre (to pray?). Somehow, the house manager (also a former bouncer) got her out, and we thought that was that. Then a couple days later, she came in with the production stage manager, who had heard the first incident over headset but had never seen the woman's face, and since the woman pointed upstairs when at the entrance door to the building, the PSM assumed she was going upstairs to the psychotherapist whose office is above the theatre (side note -- not a bad idea to have a psychotherapist in the same building as a theatre...). So crazy lady came in, talking in whatever language it was like we could understand, not trying to give us any nonverbal cues about what she wanted other than pointing towards the door to the theatre and the poster and making her "pray" gesture. The PSM and the house manager kept saying "no" and shaking their heads, but it didn't seem to be getting through at all. I was in the middle of setting the props and came out to see what the fuss was. I happened to be holding two swords and two daggers at the time.... The speaking stopped, she stared at the weapons in my hands, her eyes got big, she backed out of the building... and that was the last we've seen of her.... I wonder what the reaction would have been had I emerged holding the prop decapitated bloody head?.....
Last week a woman with waxy skin came into the lobby right before the show started. I heard a "help" from the house manager over headset and came out to see the woman, who didn't speak English but didn't seem to know she didn't speak English. She pointed at the show's poster, made a "pray" gesture, and kept talking in her language, clearly wanting to come in the theatre (to pray?). Somehow, the house manager (also a former bouncer) got her out, and we thought that was that. Then a couple days later, she came in with the production stage manager, who had heard the first incident over headset but had never seen the woman's face, and since the woman pointed upstairs when at the entrance door to the building, the PSM assumed she was going upstairs to the psychotherapist whose office is above the theatre (side note -- not a bad idea to have a psychotherapist in the same building as a theatre...). So crazy lady came in, talking in whatever language it was like we could understand, not trying to give us any nonverbal cues about what she wanted other than pointing towards the door to the theatre and the poster and making her "pray" gesture. The PSM and the house manager kept saying "no" and shaking their heads, but it didn't seem to be getting through at all. I was in the middle of setting the props and came out to see what the fuss was. I happened to be holding two swords and two daggers at the time.... The speaking stopped, she stared at the weapons in my hands, her eyes got big, she backed out of the building... and that was the last we've seen of her.... I wonder what the reaction would have been had I emerged holding the prop decapitated bloody head?.....
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