My alarm goes off at 7:45am. I hit snooze and lounge for 9 minutes before the alarm returns and signals me to get up and begin the day. Everyone else has vacated the house, it’s just me, so I stick The Lounge Kittens on for a bit of easy listening during breakfast, then switch to Bring Me The Horizon for something a bit heavier whilst I shave and shower.

Once dressed, I finish up the last bit of house-keeping before loading my van and saying farewell to Gloucester for just over a week. Opening my drive with The Darkness, followed by The Killers, I make my way to Worcester down the M5, singing (very loudly!) so much that for a brief moment I started to worry that I’d missed my exit on the motorway (this happens frequently, but luckily I hadn’t). I arrive and pull up to the tour van and quickly grab some paperwork that needs to be returned to Vamos HQ. I make a quick trip to drop off the forms and say hey to Rachael, Sarah and the Vamos Theatre team, collect some gaffer tape for Paul and make my way back to the tour van, where Paul and Tess have arrived and we begin loading personals and equipment.

Then we’re back on the road, me behind the wheel, making our way to the Artrix, Bromsgrove. We catch up about our weekends, what we’ve been up to, work we’ve been doing and shows we’ve been to see, and I take a moment to brag about seeing The Lounge Kittens on Friday night (because they were awesome!)

It was only a short drive to Bromsgrove from Worcester, we’re there in no time. We check out the stage, meet the lovely backstage team, Chris and Bryn, and sit down for a coffee whilst we wait for 11:30am, the official get-in start time. As we lay back for a bit, Sophia and James arrive, we all catch up and have a giggle, step outside for some fresh air, I play the steel tube instrument thing they have outside the venue (probably to the annoyance of the others…apologies guys), and then it hits 11:30am and we make our way back to the van to start unloading.

We’ve been on tour since February, so the process of a touring day has become a well-oiled machine: we know our roles, what goes where, who deals with what, etc. A smooth unload, an easy pre-set. Once the back wall of the set is up, me and Tess mark the floors for the doorway, teasing each other about silly things for our own enjoyment. Meanwhile, Paul is organising the hazer, projector and LED strips, while James and Sophia are prepping the side masking and black flats (usually Joao’s job, but today he’s coming a bit later).

Once we’ve set costume and props, it’s about time for lunch. Everyone scatters to the wind to find their meal. I take to the dressing room to eat my packed lunch and crack on with some admin work that needs tending to (and to make a start on the first half of this blog!) My chosen soundtrack for my lunch break: The Streets.

2pm hits and I’m in the theatre with Paul and the Artrix technical team, working away on my laptop whilst waiting for Paul to say “Could you stand over there for me, please Josh,” as he focuses the lights with me as his model. Fair play to Paul, he has to do this in every venue and also problem solve as every theatre space is different and offers a new vision and perspective for the show. An hour and a half later James steps in for me so I can take a walk into Bromsgrove and pick up some rags (I’ll explain why later) and grab something for dinner. Just before I set off, Joao arrives with his son, we all introduce ourselves and have a chat and laugh onstage.

The sun’s out, it’s a lovely day. I meander to the local Lidl to pick up the rags and stop off to pick up a pizza (I know I should advocate for healthy eating on tour, but when you’re craving a pizza…) I get back and sit with James and Sophia, feeling a little guilty because of their healthy meals and my deliciously tasty meal. We chat about nonsense, wise cracks and jokes. Anything to make each other smile.

Last few bits of prep: brushing the wigs on the masks, checking props and costume. We then have a quick meeting with Ali, our Production Manager, who has come to visit us and check in with how we’re getting on with the tour. The meeting takes place in the changing room so I can use the newly bought rags to buff the army boots while we talk (so, a few weeks ago an audience member suggested that the soldier’s boots aren’t shiny enough on the toes, and so I’ve made it my duty as chief boot polisher to buff the toes out so they’re nice and shiny, because…realism!)

Meeting wraps up, we each do whatever last minute things need to be done (in my case: sorting my hair, because I need to use a wig cap and hair pins to hide my ponytail), and we all make our way down to the stage to run ‘Scene 2’ and the ‘Pillar to Post’ scene, something we run every time before a show. They have specific routines, so it’s always good to practice them (though we’ve practiced them so much now that we can’t help but try to throw each other off, which usually means silly actions and voices, or in Joao’s case just pushing everyone when they’re about to move).

Paul gives us the 15 minute call. We all rush off to do final checks and warm up backstage. 5 minute call. I roll my shoulders, check my first mask, focus on breathing. Paul calls Beginners (means 5 minutes till we reach the planned start time). I quickly rush off to get a tissue for my nose. Chris the technician sticks his head round to us backstage and gives us the thumbs up. The lights go down, James walks onstage, and we begin.

66 minutes later, we’re all back out onstage, taking a bow. We take our masks off one by one, give our end-of-show lines, rush off backstage and myself, Joao and Sophia quickly don our masks once more for the night, grabbing feedback forms and pens as we make our way to the foyer. We hand out forms and pens, chat with audience members (we keep our masks on for a bit, but when people want to talk to us we do take the mask off), and catch up with any familiar faces we find. There’s always a lovely buzz in the foyer after the show, everyone is up for a discussion about the show content, the impact it’s had on them, and how they can relate to it. And it’s always nice to be given a compliment from an audience member.

When only a few audience members are left, I head backstage to get changed and clean up. Then straight back into the theatre to begin the get out. Paul and the technical team are already taking things apart onstage, and Tess is organising masks. I hang up all my costume bits, set all my props onstage for packing, clean all my masks, and start dismantling. With the 6 of us, plus the 2 technical staff, it doesn’t take long until everything is sprawled on the theatre floor and the back doors to the van are opened.

We say our thank yous and goodbyes to the Artrix Team, and say bye to Joao as he departs to drop his son off home, and then we too are back on the road. Only 30 minutes back to Worcester. I take the drive, I like driving at night. We pull up to the drop off and say quick goodnights before we’re all off in different directions: Paul and James to their separate accommodations, me and Sophia back to ours, and Tess opting to join us later as she wants to grab some grub first (and also grab us breakfast!) Me and Sophia hop in my van for the short drive home, with classical music coming through on the radio, not sure why my radio is tuned to it but Sophia says she likes it and to be honest I enjoyed the calmness of it after a busy day.

And so the day comes to an end. I mess about on my phone in bed, replying to a few messages, checking the social media feed and e-mails. Then I pop my phone on the bedside table, turn off the lamp and turn in for the night.

And that, dear readers, is a day in the life of.

I’d like to take a final moment to draw your attention to the fact that, as stated above, as a team we make a lot of jokes, we take the mick out of one another, we try to make each other laugh and smile. A Brave Face is a beautiful show, and its meaning is powerful and poignant. But such a heavy subject matter takes its toll, and the 6 of us on the road all feel it at different times. So, while the show is an emotional rollercoaster, we keep the time when we’re not performing light-hearted and fun, to lift spirits and remind ourselves why we do this: we love performing, we love sharing stories with people, and we love entertaining, intriguing, and moving an audience. This is what we do, we all absolutely love it, and I hope it’s an interesting insight for you guys.

Cheers for reading, folks. Until next time…

Joshua

P.S: James said he didn’t like my taste in music in the previous blog which he wrote (you can read it here), so feel free to listen to the bands stated above and you can decide if he’s right or wrong. Personally, I think he’s wrong, my music taste is awesome! 😉