Last Days of Divine Comedy

This week is somewhat of a milestone for me. On Saturday night, I will work at my last Divine Comedy show. I suppose I could sit here and try to count how many shows I've worked, but I'm sure I'd forget some of the extras, so you can just imagine whatever large number you'd like.

Someone asked me to explain what my role in Divine Comedy has been, so allow me to share the story. In 2001, my sister took me to one of their shows, and I was captivated. Those guys were absolutely hilarious, and I was hooked. Since that day, I attended every show they performed at BYU (clarification: I attended once every show weekend, not all four or five shows each show weekend), and some performances off-campus. I became what we call a "super fan," learning everything I could about the group, getting excited if I ever saw one of the cast on campus, and showing up to each show at least an hour early to get in line.

I did this until 2004, when one day, I was reading the DC website (which I'd already done a million times) and saw that they said they were looking for someone to help with videos, graphic design, and PowerPoint. "Well, well, well," I thought. I happen to count PowerPoint as one of my talents, so I sent an email to the crew expressing interest. I received an email back almost immediately that said they'd probably be okay doing their own PowerPoint, but they'd keep my contact information in case they ever needed help with anything. "Sure thing," I thought. Much to my surprise, a few days later, I received another email from the stage manager asking if I'd be willing to help sell t-shirts at the next show. I said I would, as long as I still got to see the show! He said I could come to tech rehearsal that Thursday night before the shows.

I was SO nervous. I had no idea what to expect, but the thought of actually working WITH Divine Comedy was like a dream. I showed up for tech rehearsal (as a point of interest, that was the first time they'd ever had a tech rehearsal), and it was pretty neat to be there. I got all my instructions from the stage manager and came back the next day ready to work. I got there early for the pre-show dinner and figured it was time to meet the cast before people started wondering who that weird girl hanging around was. The first person I found was Will Rubio, who looked at me like, "Who the heck are you?" Then Laura came up and introduced herself, which was very reassuring. Then--the most exciting moment ever--Joel Hilton came over to meet me.

Allow me to explain. I'd had a huge celebrity crush on Joel Hilton for a very long time. (I still kind of do, even though we're good friends, he has a wife, and he's no longer IN Divine Comedy.) Both Laura and Joel were incredibly friendly, and I actually talked to Joel for a long time about a mutual friend and about our ties to The Hundred Hour Board. The actual selling of shirts was pretty unremarkable. We sold a few. Yeehaw. The next night I brought cookies to the show, starting a tradition that continued until 2006.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up selling shirts at the shows for the rest of the year. I loved getting to work that closely with everyone, and they were all unbelievably friendly to me. Over time, I noticed things I didn't like about the way the Guest Services people were handling the lines to get into the shows. People were cutting; no one knew where to go; and the Guest Services crew pretty much did nothing. As one who had spent many hours waiting in line for Divine Comedy shows, I was very bothered by it all. One day, Peyton (who was DC president at the time), said to one of the GS people, "[Miss Berrie]'s in charge, so do whatever she tells you." WELL, now! That changed everything! I'd been holding back, because I wasn't sure of my authority, but with that kind of endorsement, I went right to work. I found new ways to have people line up. I implemented the early passes system. I made DC Fun Pads for people to work on while they waited in line. And I started making the Guest Services people actually work while they were there.

The next year, Joel--as new president--made me an official crew member (with the title of house manager), which was honestly a dream come true. (Maybe you'll think that's lame, but I'm not embarrassed.) I helped order the new shirts and came up with new ways to market them. And I fine-tuned all the ideas I'd implemented the year before. All the while, I made wonderful friends with the members of Divine Comedy that I'd admired for so long.

I have loved my role in this group. There have been a lot of frustrations and discouraging times, but I've made so many friends and had so much fun that I wouldn't trade any of it (except maybe that chewed-up gum I picked up at the last show). We interviewed for my replacement last week, and at the end of the interview I told the girls that if they're interested in the position because they want to be popular or be up on stage and get recognized, they're going to be sadly disappointed. If they're interested because they honestly love Divine Comedy and want to be a part of each success or failure and do whatever they can to support the cast members who work so hard, then they'll do just fine.