Saint Shlomo, patron saint of stagehands, pray for us.
Well, so ends the first weekend of performances for Amateur Dramatics. Our crowds have ranged from a might 9 to a staggering 26. There hasn't been a single night we haven't had issues with our makeshift curtain, but it always brings the biggest laughs. The show is just kind of entertaining, no pun intended.
It all started when our stage manager (who is also in our sub cast) decided that the cast of twelve, who has multiple costume changes throughout the show, could act as our own stage crew. (Strike One.) Bearing this in mind, we can't get into the theatre until about 7:20 and the house opens at 7:50. (Strike Two.) And then add in that this girl is exceedingly rude and can be impossible to work with. (Strike Three.) During tech week, we almost had half the cast walk out because she wouldn't stop yelling.
So, we get into actual performances. My character doesn't appear until the second act, so I spend the first act helping out on the running crew and slowly getting myself ready. By the time the second half of the show rolls around, I can't help on the crew because I'm constantly on and off. Lately, I've been getting a little aggravated because by the time we get out of costume and put away everything, it's almost 11:30...and the show starts every night at 8. Not to mention we've had props break because she doesn't know how to care for them.
Well, last night was a sub cast night, so our stage manager was in the show, as was my sub. The night before, she told me that I was the closest thing she had to an assistant stage manager and was making me the stage manager for the night. I was both flattered and aggravated. It was my one night off and I had hoped to relax. No such luck. We all have to be there for all six performances.
I walked into the theatre last night with the go-get-'em attitude I always seem to develop when I'm on crew. I've been doing shows for years and I know that once we get into performances, the stage manager is really the one running the show. And a show cannot be successful unless the crew knows what they are doing. We got the set placed for the start of the show in record time, leaving me a few minutes to go talk to people. I walked up to fellow cast members, said, "This is my tech speech," and walked away. Literally. :)
I got the curtain open and the performance started. Ken, one of our main cast members, sat in the audience to watch the show, forgetting that he was supposed to do a voice-over. Thankfully, Irene stepped in and it worked just as well. I had two girls help Mrs. Perkins do her quick change so I could monitor the scene change for the second act. Once again, the second act started earlier than expected. So, Mr. Perkins comes off stage to get his hammer. Our hammer never makes its way into the prop box, but always to the tool kit. Two of my girls and I set out on a frantic hunt to find the hammer and eventually did. I ran it across to Mr. Perkins and successfully bumped my leg on the patent laundry table. :) Fun times, huh? lol
We got the set changed during intermission and it looked great. Since my character is featured throughout the second act, I do my best to make sure the set looks extra perfect. I went out into the house to watch my sub do my role and she did a wonderful job. It was nice to watch what the whole picture looks like and to be able to actually laugh at the jokes.
Then it was time for the last act. While we frantically changed the set, our director came down to set up our makeshift curtain. It's fabric that we duct taped to two PVC pipes that were glued together. It sits on metal rigging and works when a rope is pulled up and down. The first night, it crashed at the end of the show. The second night, it didn't work at all and we ended up using the theatre's curtain. Tonight, it was set up quickly and appeared that it was going to behave.
Yeah, right.
The first time Mr. Perkins was supposed to drop the curtain, it got stuck. Luckily, the cast helped keep the show moving by teasing him about it and our stage manager (Mrs. Perkins that night) came over to help fix it, telling her husband that "it worked perfectly this morning." The audience had a good laugh in the theatre and so did we, backstage.
Once I was reassured that I wasn't going to have to operate the theatre curtain, we started to clean up. I refused to spend half an hour putting things away after the show. We put away furniture pieces that weren't being used and put props away in the prop box, taking time to wrap them so they wouldn't break this time. At the end of the show, the crew came out and we took our bow with the cast. As the sub cast positioned themselves for a cast picture, I was relieved. Unlike the usual traffic jam of things to put away backstage, the only things we had left were the pieces that had just been used.
The moment the pictures were done, I became Wonder Woman. Set pieces that normally took two or three people to put away were being organized by only one or two. I was walking flats down on my own to let people remove the braces. I carried the eight-foot flats and put them away myself, allowing other people time to finish reorganizing props and furniture.
We were out of the theatre by 10:58.
...and everyone agreed that I was the hero of the night.
I would like to thank Saint Shlomo, the patron saint of stagehands established by the theatre club of Saint Augustine for blessing me last night...lol!! No, seriously, I'm not that vain. I'm just proud.
It all started when our stage manager (who is also in our sub cast) decided that the cast of twelve, who has multiple costume changes throughout the show, could act as our own stage crew. (Strike One.) Bearing this in mind, we can't get into the theatre until about 7:20 and the house opens at 7:50. (Strike Two.) And then add in that this girl is exceedingly rude and can be impossible to work with. (Strike Three.) During tech week, we almost had half the cast walk out because she wouldn't stop yelling.
So, we get into actual performances. My character doesn't appear until the second act, so I spend the first act helping out on the running crew and slowly getting myself ready. By the time the second half of the show rolls around, I can't help on the crew because I'm constantly on and off. Lately, I've been getting a little aggravated because by the time we get out of costume and put away everything, it's almost 11:30...and the show starts every night at 8. Not to mention we've had props break because she doesn't know how to care for them.
Well, last night was a sub cast night, so our stage manager was in the show, as was my sub. The night before, she told me that I was the closest thing she had to an assistant stage manager and was making me the stage manager for the night. I was both flattered and aggravated. It was my one night off and I had hoped to relax. No such luck. We all have to be there for all six performances.
I walked into the theatre last night with the go-get-'em attitude I always seem to develop when I'm on crew. I've been doing shows for years and I know that once we get into performances, the stage manager is really the one running the show. And a show cannot be successful unless the crew knows what they are doing. We got the set placed for the start of the show in record time, leaving me a few minutes to go talk to people. I walked up to fellow cast members, said, "This is my tech speech," and walked away. Literally. :)
I got the curtain open and the performance started. Ken, one of our main cast members, sat in the audience to watch the show, forgetting that he was supposed to do a voice-over. Thankfully, Irene stepped in and it worked just as well. I had two girls help Mrs. Perkins do her quick change so I could monitor the scene change for the second act. Once again, the second act started earlier than expected. So, Mr. Perkins comes off stage to get his hammer. Our hammer never makes its way into the prop box, but always to the tool kit. Two of my girls and I set out on a frantic hunt to find the hammer and eventually did. I ran it across to Mr. Perkins and successfully bumped my leg on the patent laundry table. :) Fun times, huh? lol
We got the set changed during intermission and it looked great. Since my character is featured throughout the second act, I do my best to make sure the set looks extra perfect. I went out into the house to watch my sub do my role and she did a wonderful job. It was nice to watch what the whole picture looks like and to be able to actually laugh at the jokes.
Then it was time for the last act. While we frantically changed the set, our director came down to set up our makeshift curtain. It's fabric that we duct taped to two PVC pipes that were glued together. It sits on metal rigging and works when a rope is pulled up and down. The first night, it crashed at the end of the show. The second night, it didn't work at all and we ended up using the theatre's curtain. Tonight, it was set up quickly and appeared that it was going to behave.
Yeah, right.
The first time Mr. Perkins was supposed to drop the curtain, it got stuck. Luckily, the cast helped keep the show moving by teasing him about it and our stage manager (Mrs. Perkins that night) came over to help fix it, telling her husband that "it worked perfectly this morning." The audience had a good laugh in the theatre and so did we, backstage.
Once I was reassured that I wasn't going to have to operate the theatre curtain, we started to clean up. I refused to spend half an hour putting things away after the show. We put away furniture pieces that weren't being used and put props away in the prop box, taking time to wrap them so they wouldn't break this time. At the end of the show, the crew came out and we took our bow with the cast. As the sub cast positioned themselves for a cast picture, I was relieved. Unlike the usual traffic jam of things to put away backstage, the only things we had left were the pieces that had just been used.
The moment the pictures were done, I became Wonder Woman. Set pieces that normally took two or three people to put away were being organized by only one or two. I was walking flats down on my own to let people remove the braces. I carried the eight-foot flats and put them away myself, allowing other people time to finish reorganizing props and furniture.
We were out of the theatre by 10:58.
...and everyone agreed that I was the hero of the night.
I would like to thank Saint Shlomo, the patron saint of stagehands established by the theatre club of Saint Augustine for blessing me last night...lol!! No, seriously, I'm not that vain. I'm just proud.