Week Twelve - Week Fourteen
Tuesday,
24 May 2005
Heavens,
have I written nothing since 10th May!
We moved into Nexus last week, a relatively uncomplicated exercise.
At least we have a fridge now! The
actors can now get used to the fact that they only have certain places where
they can enter and exit, and what space they have.
Lines have been well learnt – a couple of people seem dependent on
their scripts still, but I think this is just “dependence”, I think they are
just too scared to put them down. The
songs have been learnt (and the singing is very good) and inserted into the
script and it’s all going remarkably well.
On the production side, Cheryl has done a great job – but then so has
everyone else. Jenny Lees is an
immense resource for the costume people, but Samantha is a tireless worker.
From some people being not very evident at the beginning, everyone is
working well together and contributing – cheerfully and energetically – to
the show. The feeling of joie de
vivre and esprit de corps (why is it only the French who seem to have the right
phrases for this sort of thing), while definitely generated by Jenny D and
Darren’s enthusiasm and support, also seem to be a product of the sheer sense
of fun that pervades the whole performance.
If that is communicated to the audience (and I can’t see why it
wouldn’t be!) then this show will be a runaway success.
Wednesday,
25 May 2005
Well,
all in all a successful morning. Learnt
how the flies work, started to throw my stage managerial weight around, and
discovered there is a rehearsal on Sunday night!
Kevin not too impressed, but it’s only two weeks and there’ll be the
reward of a break afterwards. Though
I may find myself hooked and volunteer to do the same job for a KADS production. Today’s rehearsal went well.
Act 2 is not looking too bad, though it was a pity about Stephen’s
wisdom teeth – left the pirates without rehearsing their big scene.
The singing is coming along very well, and most people seem to have
worked hard at their pieces. Still some script errors, most not important, but when cues
are missed it throws everyone off. Some
more voice is definitely needed for a couple, but I rather think that is
Darren’s job, not mine. I am to
have two assistants, Nicole and Cheryl. Chosen
by Jenny, and I am very grateful to have two of the most reliable people.
Monday,
30 May 2005
Well,
last night was an education yet again. My
first time with the headset, and I felt very self-conscious and rather hesitant
about cueing Aaron and Joe, as they seem to be so well-organised already.
However, I can see that it will help me, as well as everyone else, if I
just forget that and do it anyway. It
will be good to have the contact with Brad and Matthew, though, to get the scene
changes and curtains organised. I
walked back to the car park with Brad and apologised in advance for the fact
that I’m going to be reminding him what to do, even though I’m sure he will
know what he’s doing.
I’ve
written rather a lot of words in this journal.
Hope whoever reads it doesn’t get fed up.
Later:
Just
re-read Rhiannon Addams’ Stage Manager’s Guide and wonder if I have been
pulling my weight. Got together
some more stuff for the SM help bag. Now
to go through the prompt book and make sure everything makes sense and is
legible.
Tuesday,
31 May 2005
Not
at all a bad rehearsal last night. Need
to politely draw some people’s attention to lines they stuff up (though I’m
sure they know) – generally speaking the gist comes through, but in cases
where people speak in sequence, if the first person gets it wrong, it all goes
pear shaped. Nicole found herself
on the follow-spot and picked it up very quickly.
And Bradley was amazing as the only stage hand doing everything. He’s very organised and Marilyn was able to pick up a few
tips from him on following the script for her puppets. I think it would look better if the puppets flew in front of
the blacks, but it’s not my decision.
Friday,
3 June 2005
What
a rare week this is, what a rare mood I’m in.
It’s nothing like falling in love (if you don’t know the tune, I’ll
hum it for you).
I
am so glad we don’t have a rehearsal tonight.
Lots of people said to me last night, before we got started, that they
dreaded having to come in again tonight, so I think it would have been
counter-productive to call another rehearsal.
Considering how tired everyone was after the tech run, they performed
very well. I expect to see a huge
level of enthusiasm on Sunday night for the dress rehearsal.
Please, please, please, let everyone turn up and remember their lines.
I have to go through the prompt book today and make a working copy that
anyone can understand. Although,
given how on the ball everyone is in the production crew, I don’t think anyone
would miss me. Sunday night will be
the scary one for me, in the booth, working from the monitor instead of the
front desk, and having more people to cue.
But the people I have to cue do their jobs so well, it’s not something
that is worrying me. What does
concern me is having to follow every line, and do the cueing as well.
I’m sure I’ll forget something, or forget to prompt someone.
Roll
on tomorrow week. Or rather, roll
on Sunday week when I shall expect to be brought tea and the papers in bed and
taken out to lunch with champagne and smoked salmon.
Unless, of course, I screw the whole thing up completely, in which case
I’ll be wearing sackcloth and ashes and dining on the scraps thrown under the
table.
Monday,
6 June 2005
Well,
two runs at the dress rehearsal last night, the second time with me on my own in
the booth. And it went OK!
Everyone was so on the ball. And
of course, laryngitis meant I couldn’t even call anyone!
But they all knew where they were supposed to be when, and even though
backstage weren’t always “on cans” because they had to be elsewhere, it
went pretty much like clockwork. One
feels a little pretentious using the technical terms (it’s a bit like going to
sea as a passenger and saying bulkhead and deckhead) but I don’t suppose I’m
going to lose a life long’s self consciousness at my age.
Nice
to hear a pat on the back for the costume/make up people from the actors.
And nice to see no actors being prima donnas.
I actually think having Darren in the cast helps with that, as he is so
talented, yet so unassuming.
And
the best part, is everyone seems so happy, and willing to please – and I’ve
heard several people say they want to do it all again next year!
I think I said at the beginning what a wonderful team we have at the top,
and must reiterate that. From Jenny
down (and without wishing to indulge in effusive hyperbole) everyone who isn’t
a student has been unfailingly cheerful, helpful without being over-helpful,
encouraging, kind – oh, I could go on, and on.
Being
stage manager is a scary job, and I keep feeling I should be doing more.
If it weren’t for the fact that everyone is so disciplined and
attentive, I should have to do more!
I
feel sorry for whoever has to read this. It
just goes on and on. Darren
suggested I should be more critical – and I know he meant analytical and
dissecting, rather than picking holes in things – but I can’t believe how
much I’ve learnt, and in such a nurturing environment.
I can’t think of anything to nitpick about.
Oh, except to agree with Cheryl Y that perhaps the distinction between
actor and production personnel starts too early.
I know it has to, so that auditions can go ahead, script finished, roles
allotted. But sometimes you
aren’t sure where you want to be. I
also wish I’d had more of a go at the actor training – the singing skills
and the dancing. I’m not sure how
that could be arranged. We were all
supposed to do the dancing, and most people did, but sometimes there just
isn’t the time to do that and everything else as well.
I can’t immediately think of a way round it.
I
did have some ideas for next year’s play, though.
What about ancient Greece or Rome, using perhaps Jason and the Argonauts,
or the labours of Hercules. I
rather fancy a female Jason (so that you have male sirens and a male Circe).
And what about a female Hercules, and some modern labours.
A Hercules with brains rather than brawn?
Oooh, it’s quite got me going! And
chitons are really easy to make!
An
odd sort of day today, after the last two.
Monday night was exciting – our first real performance with an
audience. A couple of glitches, but
nothing too awful. I find it
difficult to physically call actors because I can’t move around with the
“cans” on. So far, everyone has
been well and truly ready. But I
have worked out that Nicole (on follow spot) can see for me if people are in
place on the balcony or in the auditorium, that whoever is on the “cans” in
the props space can tell me if people are in position back stage.
It’s also awkward keeping in contact with the backstage crew, as they
can’t wear their headsets all the time because they have to keep moving about.
In an ideal world, we would have ones that didn’t have cables.
I suppose they do exist.
Wednesday,
8 June 2005-06-12
Today
was odd because everyone seemed flat this morning, and not motivated.
Aaron suggested it was because yesterday was successful, so this is just
more of the same. Brien agreed, and
told us what it is like to do a long run. I
came away from today’s show with a headache and a “down” feeling, not
helped by poor Nicole’s problem with her Ed Pack.
She has worked so hard, been so focussed, and so helpful to me, that she
was devastated to discover all her work had been
- not destroyed, but spoilt – by the printers.
I suppose it wasn’t entirely their fault, and they probably don’t
even really look at what they’ve printed, it’s not their job to critique the
work, just print what they’re given. Ironic,
really, that Nic probably made their life easier by putting it all on disk,
whereas if she’d presented it to them in printed form from her own computer,
it would have been printed as she’d wanted it.
Or maybe not, I don’t know. But
it broke her heart, and nothing we could say helped.
Hopefully it will be sorted tomorrow, and she’ll be cheered up.
Sunday,
12 June 2005
And
so it was. And the rest of the week
went perfectly, and then it was all over. It
was the best unit I’ve ever done (and Kevin said I put more work into it than
any other unit). It was a steep
learning curve, from only having the vaguest idea of what a stage manager does
to being publicly praised by Brien at the end.
I hope they all had a ball at the cast party, but I really am too old and
tired to go to parties, well, parties where I have to travel for 45 minutes to
get home, so I can’t have a drink!
It
was wonderful to have our presentations at the end, and see that joy tinged with
sadness that always comes when a team splits up.
And we were a team.
If
I were to do this all over again, there isn’t much I would do differently.
It’s hard to be a student stage manager, as you are not privy to
everything that goes on outside of class, and while maintaining control over
what you are doing, are still in thrall to the executive.
I would listen in more to what goes on, even if it meant looking like I
am being a sticky beak. I don’t
feel I had a need to impose my will on anyone, but that may just have been
because we didn’t have any divas or disasters.
I would be more aware of who needed what in the way of single sided
scripts and make sure it was done straight away.
I would also ask for an electronic version of the script so that I could
print my own notes in another colour alongside the text, and highlight as I
went. I would definitely be more conscious of determining the
really reliable production crew as soon as possible, and delegating some jobs.
We could have done with at least one more production person, and a runner
would be useful because the SM can’t go running into the dressing room to
chase people. We made do, but with
having the puppets and the sign changes, we were a bit stretched.
While
it would be nice to have the full script to start with, until Jenny knows how
many people she has, and what they can do, she can really only write a draft.
I
haven’t made any comments about front of house, because Cheryl ran that like
clockwork. She did all the shopping
for the opening night “do”, and managed to get extra goodies for the cast
breakfasts with the allowance. We
definitely didn’t need 15 French sticks each day.
Ten would have been plenty. We
didn’t need the biggest jar of Vegemite, but we did go through the jam and
peanut butter, and more people preferred the low fat butter to the margarine. Having breakfast in the foyer was definitely the best idea.
I would invest in a large chopping board, bread saw and three or four
spreading knives (I took my own, but we could have bought them).
Most people drink low fat milk. Apart
from the tea, coffee, Milo and juice, I would have drinking chocolate for that
instant sugar fix. Honey and lemon
drinks were very popular, so it might be useful it identify someone with a lemon
tree at the beginning of the unit! I
brought in two bag fulls, which lasted us until the end.
Finally,
I loved doing this unit, even though it was exhausting, and if I could think of
a good reason, I’d do it again (though unlike Jessica, I don’t want to sit
around in a mermaid costume all night). I
know I could do a much better job next time.
I’m amazed at how much I learnt that was of immense practical value.
From hardly even knowing what the back of a theatre looks like, I know
how most things work, and how a show is put together, from all sides.
I have a very basic knowledge of how the lighting is programmed, and the
sound effects produced. I know how
to source costumes and props, and even how the follow spot works.
And I had the most wonderful time learning it all.
And
finally, for all those corporate trainers out there:
Forget rock climbing weekends and navel gazing.
If you want to do some real team building: PUT
ON A SHOW!
View other Your Work entries...
Val's Journal... Week One - Week Six Week Seven - Week Eleven Week Twelve - Week Fourteen
Jodie's Journal... Part One Part Two Character Development
...or view the... 2005 Ed Pack
Go to Children's Theatre: My Journal History Notice Board Your Work
Contact Andrew @ thechaseison@optusnet.com.au
This page last updated: 17th February 2006