When Patience Is Priority

The piano was supposed to be on the stage.  The recital was in the afternoon and as I sat it was 11 a.m.  I had other jobs scheduled for later in the day.  A return visit was not an option.

My view of the piano-less stage.

The Stage Manager was frantic.  The guy in charge of moving the piano knew that it needed to be on stage.

I waited.

And waited...for 45 minutes.

The guy wasn't showing up, wasn't answering his phone.  It was a no-go or improvise.

Did I mention that the manager was frantic (and very apologetic)?

Finally, I went backstage and located the piano.  The Stage Manager found me exploring the options for getting the piano from backstage to on stage.

He said that there was a ramp and I found it.  Then I located a power driver and some drywall screws.  I attached the ramp to the edge of the stage and the manager and I rolled the piano on stage.

Not without mishap, though.  Managers do not make good movers, nor are they used to listening and following directions from someone else.  I pushed and steered, he guided and pulled.  I said take it slowly.  He rushed and managed to yank the piano part way off its stage dolly.  The homemade dolly wasn't attached!  Thus, another problem...

Get the piano back on the dolly correctly so that it could be rolled across the stage.  With a bit of searching I found the necessary items to force things back in line. 

Finally, an hour and a quarter later.........ready to tune.  Much to the relief of the Stage Manager who offered to go get me lunch.  I settled on a bottled water, got to work and collected my pay.