The Aftermath

It was a late night for Mia and Jeff, meetings and press conferences to deal with the fallout from the tent collapse.  Miraculously no one was killed.  

The tent has been sealed off for an investigation.  Most of the damage is over the stage area as you can see in the photo.  Not wholly surprising as that section also supports the lighting and rigging trusses in addition to the roof.

Some of the air conditioning units were knocked to the ground.  I'd hate to have been standing next to one of them.

You can see that the roof is no longer as level as it once was.

This is where the rear of the tent meets the dressing area.  The rear of the tent used to be flush with the dressing tent; you can see that it has pulled away, and more on the near side than on the far side.

That's a lighting truss, basically at eye level . . . when it should be about 40 feet up.  That's a whole mess of metal in a place it doesn't belong.  If this all came down 5 minutes earlier when our cast was on stage, it would have been a catastrophe.

Back at the hotel: the show must go on.  We're going to move to the China tent and break up the show schedule so that we each do two shows per day in the one remaining tent.  This will certainly be interesting . . . and of course, much more work.  One big question is how much of our gear has been destroyed?

July 3rd, 2010: Part Two

Now when I say it was raining hard, I mean this was a pounding rain.  We got inches in minutes, and backstage we had to scramble to lash the sides closed to stop the water that was spraying in around the A/C units and through any other opening available.  Your proverbial torrential downpour.

We got some towels to dry the wings, and the finale went as smoothly as the rest of the show.  When the house lights came up, the crowd was slow to leave.  Most of the audience was not in much of a hurry to exit the shelter of the tent and enter a driving rain.  At this point, from some combination of wind and rain we lost the generators.  The lights went out and even though it would have been dusk outside, because of the heavy clouds it was very dark in the tent.  It might as well have been midnight.

Now, whenever I'm traveling I like to carry two things with me:  my LED headlamp and an LED flashlight which I use to find critters at night (with great success, see e.g. last week's toad).  I made my way out onto stage with my flashlight to help direct the audience.  Mia was coming the other way from the sound booth at the rear of the house, heading for the dressing area after calling the show from the booth (more on Mia's job in another post).  "Looks like you finally get to put that thing to work!" she said as we crossed paths.

At this point we still had over 1,000 people still inside the tent.  I was standing at the front of the stage using my flashlight to help people find the exit safely.  Jeremie (the Diabolo act, very good) came out to check out the situation.  I shook hands with the local promoter and said hello to one of the media people.

It's eerie how Hollywood gets disaster movie cliches so totally right.  They must have good consultants, because what happened next was EXACTLY like being in a movie.  From overhead came the sound of metal failing . . . snapping and popping sounds, followed immediately by the sound of eight or nine hundred people screaming.  I turned my light up and saw movement as the tent began to collapse.  I tried to dodge a piece of truss that swung down from the ceiling but was knocked to the floor.

Sidi (pronounced C-D, one of our lighting techs, and more on him later) pulled me out from under the metal and I got to my feet.  My flashlight was gone.  My jaw was numb and I wasn't sure it was in the right place, but the only thing I could think about was Mia.  I ran backstage and hoped nothing else would fall on me.  Mia was in the dressing area and so was the cast.  A couple of people had grabbed Mia and wouldn't let her run into the main tent after me (and god bless 'em, because it wasn't safe).  I was very relieved to see she was OK - unfortunately I was a bit of a bloody mess, so it took a few minutes to assure everyone that I was all right.

The dressing area you saw in other previous post is actually a separate, smaller structure attached to the main tent.  This one had not collapsed and if I recall correctly still had lights, or we got the lights back on in there.  Someone gave me ice for my face.  My lower lip was torn at the right corner, and the left side of my jaw was swelling up.

More sounds of collapse, plus some deafening thunderclaps made it clear we had to get the hell out of there.  Mia led the group back to the hotel on foot.  There was a rumor that the tent had been hit by lightning, and it was still raining like Noah's flood.  Speaking of which, we had to cross through a calf deep torrent of rain water mixed with overflow from the sewer to escape.  There were also hundreds of other people around and the scene was utter chaos.

It's a long slog back to the hotel in the rain, and there are tons of people making the trek by foot, car, scooter.  Everyone is trying to get away from the scene.  From the hotel, me, Mia, Weego and Freny (our local liaison/translator are headed for the hospital.  When Mia went upstairs to get our passports and wallets, I demanded that Weego snap a quick photo for posterity.

I have to say, this was the best emergency room experience I have ever had.  We were attended to quickly, the people were nice, and the guy that stitched me up was terrific.  I hardly felt a thing, even the needle for the anesthetic and the tetanus shot were done gently.  It was 6 stitches altogether, 4 outside and 2 inside.  From everybody's reactions I had been expecting much worse.  The first thing I had done after finding Mia was a quick tooth inventory - all there.   Now the x-ray came back clear: jaw intact.

There was another guy there from the audience with a gash to his lower back.  I heard there were two more people, a cleaner and an audience member, with more serious head injuries, but they must have gone to another hospital.  We were very relieved to see that the hospital was not full of injuries.

I was sent home with some pain killers, an anti-inflammatory, a topical anti-inflammatory and some anti-biotics.  The local organizers made sure that the hospital bill was paid for, so it turns out we didn't need to bring our wallets, etc. after all.  The doctor was good enough to take a picture with me:

I have to say I feel unbelievably lucky.  Six inches the other way and I would have been done for.  I think I came within a whisker of breaking my jaw and my right forearm - I'm actually shocked they held the way I was hit.  I managed to get out of there with all my bones and joints intact - nothing but cuts and bruises.  Lucky Ducky!  Good thing I have an adamantium skeleton.

Needless to say, the second show was cancelled - tomorrow, we survey the physical damage to our venue.  And just in case you've been skimming, the final takeaway is Mia and I are both totally fine!
(NOTE:  I have a couple of pictures to go with this post that I'll have to add later - the connection here in Nusa Lembogan is too slow - yeah - we're on vacation now and loving it - it's July 15)

July 3rd, 2010: Part One

I'm going to break this post into two parts, because the tone shifts dramatically about halfway through.

Saturday!  Friday was opening day, but today is the day we should see our first big crowds -  the weekend is upon us.   There is a lot going on in the park today.  Multiple events are being staged.

There are rows of motorbikes on either side of this sidewalk for as far as you can see.  Too many to count, and once again a picture simply doesn't do it justice.

The entrance to the tent, where nearly 2,000 people will line up to fill our first show.  We have some VIPs in the front row:  the Suharto family.  General Suharto was Indonesia's second president and ruled the country for 32 years.  While Suharto died in 2008, his family is still probably the most wealthy, prominent and powerful in Indonesia.

Backstage
Weego getting ready for the show surrounded by his custom designed costumes and assorted props.

Some of the dancers getting their game face on.  From left: Sam, Lara and Bianca.  In the far left mirror that might be a partial reflection of Laura.

Andrei (German Wheel) and Mario (Mime) are about to do makeup.  Beyond Andrei is the secret cave where the Garzas paint themselves silver.

Showtime
We have a packed house, with nearly 2,000 people on the risers.  The generators are finally cooperating and the air conditioning is on full blast.  After countless hours of tweaking, Mia and Ferry have finally gotten the lighting plots just right.

The show is firing on all cylinders.  The first day there were a few minor blips - but today every performer is right on the mark.  The audience is delighted.  For the trapeze act, Jeff and I and several of the local crew have to physically pull up Ivan and Carly (iCarly?) with a rope and then bring Ivan back down at the end.  The first couple of times were a little rough due to communication issues and general confusion.  Today we finally got it perfect.  The sound engineer has hit every cue.  The follow spots have found their groove.

Audience, cast, crew . . . everyone was in a terrific mood because we were putting on a hell of a show.  The Garzas are the anchoring act of the show (the last act before the grand finale where the entire cast comes out for their bows in a choreographed dance number).  They are a family act that does a truly impressive "living statue" hand-to-hand performance painted head to toe in silver.  The father, Everardo Sr. is a quiet slab of a man with an enormous upper body, and he works with his son and daughter Elizabeth.  The Garzas completed their act to thunderous applause and cheers from the house.

As the full cast launched into the finale number and curtain call, it began to rain outside.  Hard.

Stay tuned for Part Two.

Opening Day & More On The Cyclowns

Mia and I left the US on June 23rd and today is the first day the festival will be open to the public.  A few shots from early in the day as we get prepared.

I was running back and forth today and at one point hitched a ride with some of the Cyclowns.  That's Piero on the left.

People are filtering in for the festival.  There are various attractions and stalls with food and drinks.

Following the dragons, making noise, and presumably cleaning up the occasional dragon poop.

The bouncy house is apparently a universal truth for children the world over.  It occurs to me now that one of my earliest memories is of getting a fat lip in one of these things as a toddler.

Between shows, I caught some of our crew outside while having some coffee.  That's Omar, Bimo, Adif, Yasin, Freny, Nico and Hamdi.

Yasin and I switched places so me and my coffee could take a picture with the gang.

Late that night we grabbed dinner at the hotel and discovered the Cyclowns had taken over the stage for an impromptu jam session.  I wish I got closer for a better picture.  They are fun bunch to watch.  Yes, she is playing a guitar around the fiddle player.

And there was much rejoicing.  From left, Lara, Bianca, Jeff, Mia, a partially beer-obscured Weego, and Samantha enjoy the Cyclowning.

Thus ended July 2nd . . . smiles all around.  July 3rd . . . well, we'll get to that soon.  Cliffhanger post!

Product Endorsement

I searched in vain for Gold Bond and finally gave up.  A worker in one of the stores offered to help.  i said forget, I've looked everywhere and I can't find it.  When she persisted I somehow explained what I needed and she directed me to this.  The local equivalent, with much snappier packaging.  In muggy weather, this stuff saves lives.  Feel the tingle!

Dress Rehearsal and Opening Gala

July 1st was a big day.  Dress rehearsal at 10:00am, which was attended by several hundred orphans as a charity event.  A generator blowout and fire at the Shanghai tent led to some serious electrical issues for us:  most of the show went on without air conditioning, and we had some lighting problems backstage as well.  Now you might think that air conditioning is a luxury and not a big deal, and you would be wrong.

It is hotter and more humid inside than outside in the absence of A/C due to the greenhouse effect of the sun baking the tent.  But even more importantly, the lights onstage kick some serious heat.  The performers on stage are doing some strenuous activity, and for many of the acts a firm grip is important.  We improvised a tube to bring air conditioning through the rigging truss for the flying acts and generally to help cool off center stage.  But with the generator out, everyone is sweating profusely.

The Gala
The Governor of Jakarta, executives from our sponsors and the local organizer attended a Gala ceremony tonight with local celebrity announcers and select performances from Cirque Le Masque and from China Shanghai Circus.  At the tent gusts were greeted by couples in traditional dress.  I had a nice conversation with these two.  Later I met another of the women who studied near Chicago.  Everybody has been very friendly.

I ran into our follow spot operator Adif and his friend outside.

With the Shanghai Circus management and their translator Ayu.

A traditional dance number.

The Governor came to kick off the First Annual Indonesian International Circus Festival.

And so did the news media.

From left to right, the performers who entertained the Gala guests: Andrei (German Wheel), Samantha, Bianca, Lara (dancers) the Chinese hand-to-hand and flying acts, Elisabeth (dancer) Weego (Weego) Rachel, Laura, and Danny (cube juggling).

There were nothing but blue skies ahead!

(Todd, Greg and Anthony you might recognize that phrase from Dermot's AP Press essay).

Security

Security is a big deal here.  I mentioned there was a small army of workers putting the festival sites together.  There is also a small army of private security, Jakarta Polisi (state police), and well, Army here to provide security.  And for good reason:  in 2009, the Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotels in Jakarta were bombed.

Our hotel has constant security out front.  Every vehicle that pulls up to the hotel is stopped by two guards who give a cursory inspection and use a long handled mirror to inspect the undercarriage.  Taufik (below) is one of the guards.  At the door, there are typically two more guards and a walk through detector.

Just outside the fence of the festival is a police barracks.  Sometimes you'll see 30-40 of them doing drills.  We've had to walk through their space quite a bit but they've been friendly.

Every day, 30 minutes before each show we get a security sweep.  Several guards come through checking for explosives with a visual inspection, wands, and a sniffing dog.

Anyway, it's good to know that people are looking out for us.