When you are a Touring Spotlight Supervisor, calling cues for Local Spotlight Operators, you hear a lot of excuses along the way when they miss a cue or execute it badly. From time to time, you run into really imaginative spotlight operators, who elevate excuse making to a hilarious art form. They inspired me to start writing down the excuses, and in no time, the goal of collecting a book of 101 Excuses was quickly reached.
This book is a lot of fun, and it makes a great gift for any theater person on your list.
This book was inspired by a couple of visits to Philadelphia, which houses some of the most imaginative Spotlight Operators in the country. Those guys are true masters of the Art of the Excuse, but believe me, they have competition, both within the Philly local and elsewhere. The original book was made up as a closing gift for the guys on my Philly crew who had so generously contributed so much of the material.
I did a few extras, and they got passed around, and more and more people asked me for copies, so I gave in and printed up a few more. Eventually, it got popular enough that getting it actually published seemed to make sense.
Let me stress that all of the excuses in this book are real – there is no reason to make stuff up when such rich material is handed to you every day. With this book, ANYONE can come up with imaginative, tried and true spotlight excuses for any occasion. Why just fall back on “Um, I didn’t hear you say GO” when the much more exciting and less specific “SPIDER ATTACK!” is out there? I don’t necessarily buy these excuses, by the way. I just write them down.
I was pleased and surprised to find that even people who have never set foot in a theater seem to find this little book humorous. It’s perfect for opening night gifts or theater related gift baskets, and makes a fun little stocking stuffer.
Cover art by Meg Sump