Another great day, and tomorrow I’ll be on my way home. Even so, it does feel like I’ve been here for more than a week, and I certainly wished I had time to experience even more.

I didn’t get much done today, other than the last dose of Blue Man Group for a while.

I met up with the stage production supervisor (I believe his name is Richard Herrick – at least that’s what the program says, and it sounds about right) at 14:45 (or 2:45 PM for you 12-hour geeks out there), a little over an hour before the show would be starting. He had been at the Stockholm show for some time now, as he was training someone to take over the production supervision for the Stockholm show while he went to London. He usually travels around a bit, and is involved in every Blue Man Group stage production all over the world.

He took me backstage, and was told I would get some secrets to things behind the production. Just that bit of trust kept me from taking out my camera and snapping shots like mad. I’ll share some trivia tidbits with you, the blog readers, but I’ll keep some of the secrets to myself, to avoid spoiling too much of the fun.

I actually got to know a little about how Chris, Matt and Phil (the original three Blue Men – last names are Wink, Goldman and Stanton, in that order) got started in their stage production. They got their start in New York, which is also where the Blue Man Productions global headquarters are located, an organization which I believe turns 20 next year. In the beginning, these three were performing every single show themselves, but when Phil hurt his hand bad, it prevented him from drumming, a major part of the Blue Man character. One of their regular drummers had learned much of the show to heart, and they decided to give him a chance at taking Phil’s place in the performance of the show. This went over quite well, and it showed that anyone, with the right training (combined with the right height and build), can perform as a Blue Man, which in turn opened up for what would later be a global expansion. Today, there are permanent shows (more or less) in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando, Berlin and Tokyo, with touring shows around the U.S. and around Europe (currently in Stockholm, but moving on to Vienna in November).

And as I figured out, the stage production supervisor is more or less like the director of the show, directing the pace of the show as it happens, and a direct line to each of the performers’ ears, to give directions and visual cues for the show elements.

I got to see the what the stage looks like before the show starts (mainly, what’s obscured by the big white screen when the audience is allowed to enter and find their seats), where I found some things I expected (like the “angel airpoles” seen as shadows at the very beginning), and some things that surprised me (I’m not telling). And a close view of the text board and the preparation of the cereal boxes. I got a closer look at the “main” PVC instrument (or, at least, one half of it), along with the props used in that exact half (several sets of paddles and lighters – yes, that half). I also got to see the paint drums up close, and the mechanics that drives the special effects associated with them (lights and the flow of paint). I even got to see the LED back wall up close (where some video is shown). Next, our focus turned to the prop room, which they take with them on the tour. This “kitchen” is where they prepare all of the props used in each show, along with a big fridge which keeps some elements cooled between each show. I got to see props for the shows, and one of the backpack tubulums, stored near the props station. I also got an unsold spin art from the day before, as well as drum sticks. These are the type of drum sticks used for the paint drumming. The soft spot at the end simply gets soaked by the paint, eventually to the point where the drum sticks are no longer usable, which was why I just got a pair.

Next, we headed off to the other side of the stage, where the TV heads, the other backpack tubulum, a few more props (close-up of the “gumballs”), and a make-up station for the Blue Men. This is where they come backstage at certain points to freshen up their blue make-up, and more or less vent at eachother (the Blue Man character doesn’t talk, so they get a chance to talk a little while there’s a video showing up on the large screen.

Another fun fact: for each show, the performers are assigned one of the three characters; left, center and right. Or Matt, Chris and Phil, as they’re also called (named after the original performers and founding members of Blue Man Group – not exactly in that order, but Chris was always the center one). Each of these characters have specific tasks during the show (which are usually improvised upon, depending on the situation). The original performers no longer perform at any of the shows, though, but they are more involved in the management and creative direction of the shows’ content.

The backstage tour was shorter than expected, but a fun experience. I was even introduced to several crew members as the backstage tour went along. The crew was from just about everywhere, some from Berlin, some picked up in Basel, Zurich, the US, just to mention a few.

The show itself was great as usual, but now it’s over for this round. Maybe I’ll be able to go the US of A again next year? You never know.

Now I just need to figure out how to get all of this with me back home…

Another day over, and it has been quite the Blue Man experience for me. 🙂

I had three shows lined up for the day, and I chose to wear the white T-shirt I got from Blue Man Group Las Vegas in one of their Twitter giveaways. After every show, the band and the Blue Men always come out to the lobby for photos, and after today’s first show, one of them spotted me in my white Blue Man Group T-shirt, and decided to give me a nice blue handprint on my belly. In paint.

Not this guy, though. I didn't get a photo of the one that made the handprint. But at least that's the white T-shirt.

After the second show, just outside the lobby, actually, one of the Blue Men (don’t remember if it was the same one) spotted me in my white Blue Man Group T-shirt with a blue handprint on it, and decided to give me an extra souvenir. He took an arm’s length distance, and went head-on into another blank spot on my T-shirt. Yep, I got myself a hefty face print as well.

At this point, my T-shirt was so full of paint that I decided to rush back to the hotel (in a taxi, to make it quicker – the next show was only about an hour or so away) and change to a different T-shirt. This type of paint takes a very long time to dry, so I had to change to avoid getting blue paint all over. After a quick cleaning and a new T-shirt, I rushed back to the theater for the third and last show of the day. Once again, an awesome show.

In the lobby afterwards, while I was talking a little bit to the band, I was suddenly approached by a man who identified himself as the production manager (or at least that’s what I thought I heard, it was so noisy in the lobby I didn’t even catch his name). They have apparently noticed me coming to every show this week, and wanted to do a little extra special for me. Today (I’m writing this on the day after, actually), I’ll be meeting him again outside the theater a little over an hour before today’s show, and I’ll get to go backstage (!) after they’re done with the soundcheck.

As it turns out, this vacation may actually get a bit bigger than I originally had hoped for. After grabbing a bit to eat last night, I ran into one of the band members on the subway, heading in roughly the same direction as me. Since the subway train he was going on runs past where I was going, we both got on the same train and had a small chat about his little part of the production (he’s the one on the far left in the above photo, btw).

I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures backstage (where possible) and upload them to my Flickr when I get home Monday night.

But first, a quick nap before I head out.

Oh my, what a day it has been.

I decided to start off today with a trip to Tekniska museet (the science museum). There certainly was a lot to explore, with just about every technical science represented (mining, energy production, cars, airplanes, metal work, inventions, space exploration, and much more). Although I didn’t have enough time for it, the museum also boasts to have the only 3D movie theater in Sweden. I’ll see if I can drop by either tomorrow or on Sunday before the 4 pm shows with Blue Man Group.

Speaking of which, I had two shows with Blue Man Group today. And again, they were awesome! I (almost) can’t get enough at this point! Then again, I’m glad that it’s just this week with shows. I don’t wanna get too full up with the experience. If Blue Man Group was playing in my town, though, I might get around to see them once a week, or at least 2-3 shows a month. I’m doing what appears to be overkill right now because I have to travel so far just to get access to these shows. The closest permanent show is in Berlin (Germany), and the closest English-speaking show is currently New York. I can’t exactly afford taking trips to either of these locations on a regular basis (at least not for the time being).

And so, for the Blue Man afficionados out there, here’s the complete set list for the Stockholm shows (I actually wrote them down this time – those who have been to more than one show with Blue Man Group knows what these mean):

• TV Song
• Paint drumming on canvas
• Opening Mandelbrot / Marshmallows and Gum Balls
• Text boards / Captain Crunch (or in the case of Sweden, Kalaspuffar)
• Tension 2 / You’re Late (“Ni är sena”)
• Modern Plumbing (“Avloppssystemet”) / Drumbone
• Feast Picking / The Feast (using Kinder Brioss instead of Twinkies)
• PVC IV
• Dance moves + Tributes / Time To Start
• Animation (without using zoetropes)
• Utne Wire Man (using a cyber café, but without light suits)
• TV Heads
• Klein Mandelbrot
• Chant Jam / Paper Finale
• Paint drumming finale

There, that should cover it. I’ll be attending 3 shows tomorrow – and I’m still looking forward to see it all again.

Second day is up, and what a day it has been!

The daytime was all open for me, and after considering the list of pre-selected possibilities, I decided to go for Leksaksmuseet (the toy museum) and spend a few hours. When I got there, I eventually found out that the toy museum was waaaaay at the back of Spårvägsmuseet (the railway museum), with a common entry ticket.

Since I already was there, I walked around the old trams and buses of past and present Stockholm. It was actually surprisingly interesting to basically see the development of inner city public transportation from the late 13th century until today.

This wasn’t just relevant for just Stockholm, though. It felt relevant for just about any city with a wide range of public transportation.

Next up, the Toy Museum. I know Mike Mozart would get a kick out of this one. 🙂 There was a large collection of old and new toys. Teddy bears (and other stuffed animals), dolls, toy cars, model ships, model airplanes, Meccano, trains, puzzles, board games, dioramas and much more. And, as one of the highlights, the museum was donated a rather large toy car collection back in 2008. It consisted of about 1400 cars in 1/43 size from all possible manufacturers, like Dinky Toys, Corgi, Schuco, Solido, Brum, Polistil, Rio and many more. The collection alone fills four huge display cases at the museum.

I took a large amount of photos from both museum sections (both the railway museum and the toy museum). The Internet connection at the hotel isn’t that good, so I’ll post the whole gallery to my Flickr account when I return.

I can absolutely recommend a trip to these two museums, but keep in mind that you might spend about 3 hours to get through it at a good pace. The entry ticket for both museums is 40 SEK (or roughly 6 USD) for adults, so it’s totally worth it.

After the museum closed, it was time to make my way to Göta Lejon for my pre-purchased pre-show dinner.

I had already bought a burger menu when I bought the ticket for the Thursday show. This was definitely far from McD or BK quality. We’re talking genuine gourmet burger here.

The show itself was awesome, as usual. Something I didn’t quite expected, was that all text was translated to Swedish. And the finale wasn’t the new one, as obviously first seen on the current North American tour (I’m guessing it will be a while before that one comes to the current productions around the world, then).

Aside from those two items, which were all about hightened expectations, I had a great time. I don’t remember the set list from memory from tonight, but I’ll post it after tomorrow’s shows.

And now, bedtime again!