Now this morning should have started and ended the same as it has for the last two weeks. Clock into work, turn on the heaters, take out two loads of washing and put in two new ones. Change the filter on the industrial tumble dryer and sign the dryer sheet.. Sort the clothes into piles for the tumble dryer and the heaters. Blah blah blah.
Unfortunately, the night before the main machine decided it didn’t want to work. So now i am reliant on my little machine. It’s going to be a long day, especially as it’s the last day of this run. I started at 8am and I won’t finish till gone 12:30pm.
Least I can log into the Wi-Fi on my iPad and put on whatever show takes my fancy. This week it is The Big Bang Theory. The short episodes means i can get through loads of them in my work time. As I have seen most of them before I have them on mostly as background noise.
An hour in to the shift I can start on sorting out the dried underwear into the little baskets for the actors. By now I don’t even have to look at the name labels on the items to know who they belong to. This happens when I’ve worked on a show longer than a week. And because it doesn’t take much brain power I can still partially watch the iPad.
Now let’s check the shirts and tops. All this back and forth between machines, dryers, baskets etc helps me clock up my steps. I can easily get 6000 in before I finish my laundry shift. I have most of the windows open as it is a lovely day outside which means these rooms get pretty warm. My hoodie has already been discarded and put in my bag.
Yes, nearly all are dried. The one thing I love about opening the heater box with the shirts in is that one of them always has the aftershave smell of the artist still on it. No matter how many times his shirts are washed, they still smell like him. As it’s the last time I bury my face into the fabric. The shirt is warm. I’m going to miss that smell after today. Although I will miss him more. Even though he has no idea who I am.
As it’s a two show day the touring wardrobe team come in while I’m still plodding along. I quite like this team. They are slightly mad. I wonder what damages from the night before needs fixing today. There is always rips, tears and repairs that are needed to be done. A few nights ago one of the artists split is trousers in the crotch. Maybe one day I will be touring wardrobe. Move from place to place, work in different theatres, meet different people and get to know the artists better.
Yes, shirts are nearly all ironed and hung up ready for later. A few I have had to iron and put back into the hotbox to finish off the damp edges. Now let’s tackle the last of the dried underwear, socks and tights. I don’t mind this job, least I can sit down for a bit. Now either my washing machine is eating socks or some of the actors forgot to put their washing in the baskets last night. Least there are spares. Although they are running low on them. Hope they remember to bring it all in after the first show today as another artist is down to his last pair of clean pants. Now if he doesn’t turn in his washing from the first show then he might end up going commando. He better not forget because his trousers wont get washed till the next venue.
Another cool thing about a two show day is that the actors come in early so that they can warm up, run through things and you can hear them sing. If there are new people or the understudies are taken over some roles then they can go through the whole show. They also pop up occasionally to the wardrobe room, sometimes to chat and sometimes because they need to try on some new outfits or shoes. The boots in this show are pretty awesome.
Unknown to me though. One of them will be popping up with a surprise that will make this day one of the best days of the year. And also the day that makes some jealous.