My first accidental research

I picked the Annie Russell Theater as my topic because I live in Rex Beach, and the implications of living in Rex beach are that I will be spending many hours erecting sets, and maybe even performing in that theater. If I am going to spend so much time there I should at least have a vague idea of what has gone on since the building’s first performance, and learning a tiny bit about its architecture couldn’t hurt either.

While they do seem to have files and files of memos and reviews from the Annie Russell Theater down in the archives, my first truly interesting and inspiring bit of information was a Rollin’s urban legend. The story goes that one day a techie was rewiring some lighting, late at night, by himself, in the Annie Russell Theater. He messed up the wiring and accidentally electrocuted himself, falling onto the stage. About 15 minutes later a fellow techie found him lying there unconscious and called emergency services, giving them the situation and address. The 911 operator checked it out and told the techie that a patrol car had already been sent out 15 minutes ago and that some girl named Annie had called it in.

Whether or not this story is true is beyond my judgment but I did read a few memos concerning the electrocution of a male student who had been working on lighting, the conclusion of which was to hire a handy-man to teach students how to rewire things properly.