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The Bhaer Necessities: What to Pack for a National Tour, Pt. 2

Writer's picture: Mychal LeverageMychal Leverage


"Close, Try Again"


Back in late January, before we set off for Owensboro, Kentucky, I had absolutely no idea how to pack for my three weeks on the road. I felt like it would be just like an extended vacation and wouldn't need anything beyond the usual toiletries, comfy clothes, sources of entertainment, etc. I didn't think I'd have many chances for laundry, so I packed my checked bag with extra clothes and prepared the best I could for all manner of unpredictable weather. I was also optimistic that I'd spend my free time on the bus reading either of my thick books, playing any one of the dozen Switch games, or even having time to work on writing my play. The truth is, after just a few days of endless driving, the time spent on the bus started to feel monotonous. I was often sleepy and grumpy in the mornings, and I found it horribly challenging to ever get comfortable. Not only that, but I had packed several items that I thought would be essential, and they never left my suitcase. Once we flew back to our respective homes for our two week layoff, I had plenty of time to reassess and rethink how to pack for the tour.


A quick reminder, per most commercial airline restrictions, everyone working on the tour was allowed one large checked bag, a carry-on suitcase, and a stowable personal item, most often a backpack. Back in January, my large bag housed all of my clothes and toiletries, and came in at about 41 pounds. My backpack had everything I'd need to keep me busy on the bus or plane, like my books, laptop, and Switch, but also emergency care items like eye drops, chapstick, hand sanitizer, and so on. This left my carry-on as a miscellaneous catch-all, housing my daily drugs/vitamins, Magic decks, foldable laptop desk, some resistance bands, my Kindle, and a few extra electronics chargers. With that preamble out of the way, let's get into all the mistakes I made and how I corrected them for part two of the Little Women tour.


Clothing


The first time we set off, I was warned about not having access to the best laundry amenities. I went to extreme lengths and overcorrected, making sure I had extra clothes. Between my shirts, pants, shorts, socks, underwear, and cold weather clothes, I had 75 items of clothing packed away in my one suitcase. Turns out, all of our hotel laundry was perfectly adequate. I also found that I was pretty consistently wearing and washing the same clothes each week. After carefully laying everything out and making hard cuts, I brought it down to 43 items of clothing, which was a huge win.


In part one of this series, I provided some context with a full list of the clothes I packed. Here now, a revised list of all the clothes currently in my checked bag (with what we had last time): 10 pairs of underwear (20), 9 pairs of socks (21), 1 hoodie (1), 1 long sleeve shirt (2), 7 t-shirts (11), 4 gym shirts (5), 2 pairs of shorts (3), 1 pair of jeans (1), 2 pairs of sweatpants (4), 1 pair of pajama bottoms (2), 1 scarf, 1 beanie, and 1 pair of weightlifting gloves. The items that got the axe completely were a sweater, gloves, and my heavy winter coat, and they've been replaced with a swimsuit and flip flops (hello, Florida!). By cutting my wardrobe essentially in half, I opened up access to the other side of my checked bag, and had a ton more space to move around some essentials. More on how I used that space later.


Laundry


So... I was a big goof. Heidi and I have these laundry soap sheets that are environmentally conscious and don't take up a lot of space. I was so frazzled leaving in January that I forgot to throw a pack of them in my bag. Considering I was lugging around my massive collection of clothes, I only ended up doing laundry twice, and both times I had to spend money on single use packages of Tide. Also, for some reason, it was difficult to find quarters in Kentucky and Arkansas when I needed to do laundry. It wasn't major, but it was just annoying enough that I resolved to be doubly prepared. I now have $5 in quarters, laundry soap, dryer sheets, and a lint brush in case the dryers aren't on my side.


Toiletries


Once again, the toiletries I've packed are expected and uninteresting.


Food


I'm sure this won't come as a galloping shock, but getting food was the biggest hit to my wallet that I was not prepared for. I can say now, but between groceries and late night fast food delivered to my many hotels, I spent a little over $500. Rest assured, I am taking great strides to make sure I come way under that number this time around. Since I made the space with fewer clothes, I've invested in a collapsible cooler. It flew into Miami flat, and I've since opened her up and have been able to carry around more fruits, lunchables, kombucha, charcuterie trays - my usual favorites. I've also gotten a few collapsible measuring cups and scoops so I can be diligent with calorie count, and chip-clips to keep potential crackers and Goldfish fresh. Last bit was collapsible Tupperware, one of which has been housing some snack cashews which have been lovely. Last Tuesday, I bought $100 worth of groceries that will definitely last me until this time next week.




Exercise


I've grown very accustomed to our communal gym at home. We have a clubhouse with an elliptical, treadmill, stairmaster, stationary bike, and a cable machine that has proven very versatile. If there weren't gyms available at the hotels, I figured I could always rely on no-equipment exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, and I also packed a resistance band for a little extra challenge. As it turned out, every hotel had a gym of some kind, each location varying widely in what equipment was available. Every gym had your typical treadmill and elliptical, occasionally a cable machine, but more often a dumbbell rack. Each day, I had to adjust my routine a tiny bit, but even so, I was never without some option, and my resistance bands had to go. I also tried my darndest to make room for my yoga mat so I could do some stretching right after our long bus rides, or right before performances, but I just couldn't swing it.


Entertainment


As far as my sources of entertainment, everything has remained pretty much the same. I'm still chipping away at The Eye of the World, about 200 pages in, and loving it.  I also finished Robert Greene's The Laws of Human Nature over the layoff, so I replaced it with the much shorter Playwriting by Sam Smiley.  It was the very last unread book about writing on my bookshelf, so I figured I'd give it a go. The hope is to finish it by the time we get back to New Jersey, but only 20 pages in, it's already feeling extremely dense. I also have my Nintendo Switch for whenever I'm in the mood to game, but I most often find myself watching TV and movies to zone out between performances.


Learning that my roommate Elijah plays Magic: The Gathering was the best surprise I could have hoped for from this tour. I had packed two of my Commander decks last time in the hopes of teaching some of my castmates and the band, but we couldn't always find the time. During this leg, Elijah brought along his own Blue/Black zombie deck, and I brought four of my own decks so we can get in a wider variety of games. I also, unfortunately, removed my foldable laptop desk, a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. It provided some padding in the suitcase, and was a nice way to keep my small pill bottles and toiletry bag in place, but since it was one of the bulkier items that never left my suitcase, it had to go. With the lapdesk out of the way, I had ample room to pack a travel-size humidifier and a heating pad, along with my bonus collapsible cooking gear.


Bus Stuff


Boy howdy, I was not prepared for life on the bus. At all. I figured I'd be okay and have nothing but time to write and read and relax, but ten hours on a bus is as monotonous as it gets. Some days, we had to check out of our hotel as early as 6:30 AM, which meant trying to get a little more sleep curled up in the fetal position. This go around, I wasn't faffing about. I took some advice from the actresses on The Cher Show, another Big League touring production, and packed... stay with me... the backseat cover we use for our dog Atticus. I washed the thing twice and packed it into my checked bag, taking up about a fourth of the space. Even so, it has proven absolutely worthwhile. Using this thing like a hammock keeps me from falling off the edge of the seat, and my feet are comfortably suspended. Whenever I'm not sleeping, I unhook the clips closest to the aisle and push it to the side. It has a zipper down the middle so I can reach my bags of food with ease, and even has an inside pocket that I've been using for my books and wallet for whenever I need them. Using Spinaché the Sloth as a cuddle partner and my Little Women blanket that wraps into a pillow, I've had some of the most comfortable naps I could have hoped for. If any of you's reading this are actors and you ever book a bus tour, this is an essential game changer.



My backpack stayed largely the same, storing my laptop, books, journal, a few plays, my Nintendo Switch, and just-in-case items like tissues, aspirin, eye drops, chapstick, etc. I was also gifted a play set of Dungeons & Dragons dice by fellow castmate, and we plan to put together a campaign for experienced and new players. I'll finally be able to learn how to play!


Oh, and one more thing...


It’s about time I properly introduce you all to The Children.


So, my sister-in-law has a friend group that has stuck together since elementary school. To this day, they have an annual Christmas party, where they have a White Elephant gift exchange, with intentionally tacky gifts. Somewhere along the way, someone added a ceramic statue of these two little troll kids they found in Goodwill. They've been named The Children and became a tradition right away. Whoever opens the gift with The Children hidden inside, they get to stay with them for the year and are regifted at the next party. That was the idea, anyway; in reality, whoever opens The Children ends up hiding them in my in-law's house, until they turned up in mid-January, hidden behind some coats in the hall closet.


Last Christmas, Heidi and I attended this very Christmas party and, miraculously, I opened a wrapped hydro flask with The Children nestled in its cardboard package. By Christmas, I already knew I was going on tour with Little Women, and I was already telling my family about it privately. Since 2023 marked the 10 year anniversary of sorts for this Christmas party, it was decided The Children would come with me and see all of America. My first instinct was to have them hidden in various photos around the towns we visit, and then I would share those pictures at the end of the tour. I'm infamously bad at taking photographs, and I think I should start sharing what I have now. Knowing we have a crew in Arizona who want to see how their kids are doing, I'll be more proactive about sharing how they're doing. It occurred to us that since they've exclusively been referred to as "The Children," no one ever thought to name them individually. I left it up to my brilliant niece who came up with, honestly, the perfect names. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... Moon & Vulture.




Zipped Up and Ready to Go


And there we have it! We've only been back on the road for a week, and so far all of the changes to my packing habits have been remarkably positive. I'm sure I'll make more adjustments in the future, but hopefully now I have a pretty solid grasp on tour life. Until next time!


And scene.


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