The first thing people need to know about high school theater pertains to Murphy’s Law: everything that can go wrong is going to go wrong, just when you need it to work. During my junior year, a sophomore named Seth rushed into a crew meeting in boxer shorts and yelled, “Has anyone seen my pants?”. Over the span of four shows, set pieces broke, props got lost, and Seth misplaced most of his clothes. People tend to underestimate just how much work goes into being involved in theater, especially in high school productions. When trying to balance academics, after-school jobs, and the maintenance required of a healthy social life, it becomes difficult to allocate the time necessary to make a show great. Even among the cast, there seems to be …show more content…
In the weeks before a show opens, the crew works up to fourteen-hour Saturdays to build the sets, followed by clocking in another nine hours on Sunday. Work on the set pieces, the transitions between scenes, props, and costumes continue right up until opening night - and beyond. Somewhere backstage, the stage manager feels slightly overwhelmed and a lot like the slightly older kid that Mom left in charge. Under this new-found responsibility, I was learning how to engineer a scene change. No one outside of my brain seems to understand that the design isn’t something that just happens. The process of designing takes a lot of careful consideration about how to play up people’s strengths while minimizing their amount of weaknesses. Scene changes are well-planned dances where one misstep will add another ten seconds to the change. In the dark, those few seconds will feel like a thousand years, a century passing by in each tick of the clock. If something goes wrong, I’ve elected to feel personally victimized by it. I know that it’s not my fault when a candle sconce gets torn from a set piece, I just know that I have to get it screwed back in in complete silence. In the context of the theater, I’m suddenly a …show more content…
The importance of taking on this sudden responsibility moves me out of the comfortable role of “follower” into being an assistant director, prop master, crew chief, fly master, part-time babysitter, and a fearsome creature with more caffeine in her bloodstream than oxygen. This year is the first time I have to delegate responsibility, make sure I’ve asked off work, and spend every lunch and free period with my director alternating between workshopping my college essay and discussing the fourteenth redesign of the set. The incident with Seth’s pants didn’t even scratch the surface of an emergency. But in my first show as an assistant stage manager, I witnessed a true crisis. One rolling set piece caught a small hole in a curtain and turned into an eighteen-inch tear. Alexandra, our stage manager for that production, kept her calm and managed to plaster the rip shut before the grand curtain opened again at the end of the song. Puzzling through problems would be easy if if a step-by-step process existed. But since issues can range from split seams to split lips, there’s no hope of being fully prepared for any show. Climbing the ranks of the crew from usher to stage manager shaped so many aspects of who I am. The responsibility is what turned me into a leader amongst my peers, educated me on the importance of managing time properly, and jump-started my
Most people that work in theatre have a pretty good idea of what a stage manager does during rehearsals - at least, the things that can be seen. We take blocking notes, cue lines, keep track of the time, coordinate presets and scene changes, answer the questions, and solve the problems. Yet, there are so many things a stage manager does, so many balls constantly being juggled, that many elements of the stage manager’s job go unnoticed. So, in honor of the unseen, here is a sampling of some tasks a stage manager completes before rehearsal. Early in our morning, we check our phone.
Working In The Theatre: Costumes. American Theater Wing. 20 Jan. 2015. He also talks about he has to help the audience to know where to look. Long discussed about a time where he would have to make the leading actors the understudy so he can figure out how to make the other characters “pop” as
They operate, maintain and guard the technical assets of the theatre. This includes supervising the use of lighting, sound, communications equipment, and the use and maintenance of stage facilities. They are also in charge of supervising and assisting with set and stage construction and management. They are also the ones who monitor the condition of equipment such as the lights, sound. Finally, they are the ones who arrange for the repair and replacement within budgetary constraints.
Galens, David, and Lynn M. Spampinato, eds. Drama for Students. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Print.
There were make-up stains on the countertops along with trash on the floor. Quite often expensive costumes and personal belongings were strewn about. A few others would stay after the show with me to help clean up. The abundance of lost items in the dressing rooms sparked my interest to create a “Lost and Found” area. The director told me she appreciated my dedication to keeping things neat and organized. When our Sunday show awards ceremony rolled around, I watched the same people accept awards again, thinking I would not receive one. To my surprise, I received a ribbon and an invitation to be a Student Director for the remainder of high school. For the rest of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and throughout our spring show ‘Legally Blonde’, I worked hand in hand with our director and choreographer. I was with my fellow actors from 3:30pm to sometimes as late as 10pm. We would eat dinner together, talk with each other and do our homework. The experience of working as a team (similar to being in a close-knit family) gave me a sense of belonging and acceptance while striving to put on a spectacular production. I finally found my niche. The drama department was a place where I could be myself without feeling judged by others. For ‘Legally Blonde’ they used my design on the billboards, t-shirts and programs. I was so proud of myself that my hobby, graphic design, became something useful. This helped further boost my self-esteem and
Lazarus, Joan. "On the Verge of Change: New Directions in Secondary Theatre Education." Applied Theatre Research 3.2 (July 2015): 149-161. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/atr.3.2.149_1.
in rehearsal for a show, it is now even more critical to spend numerous hours on their
Director Adam Burke was born and raised from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He went on to get his Bachelors of Fine Art from the University and Arizona and his Masters of Fine Arts from Northwestern University in Theater Directing. Adam was the founding artistic director at Chicago Theatre for Young Audiences. In addition, he received a national Theatre Communications Group New Generations Fellowship; with this fellowship he spent two more years as an artistic associate at a local professional theater—Childsplay. Adam Burke had been living in San Antonio for the past five years until his move to Charlotte last June. He worked as an assistant professor in the theater department at St. Mary’s University. Additionally, he is the artistic director of the Scioto Society, which produces the drama “Tecumseh,” in Chillicothe, Ohio. Burke is currently working as the artistic director at the Charlotte Children’s Theater. Recently, our class had the tremendous opportunity to interview Mr. Burke with questions relating to his process in directing.
In high school, just a few weeks before the school year started, the theatre program had something called work week where everyone that had enrolled in the class would come in to clean up and reorganize the theatre while also getting to know each other. Within the first 10 minutes of introducing themselves, the theatre directors made it clear that no matter your age, gender, class, or even sexuality, this place was a home. The year went on, and I even ended up making the last show as tech. Rather than walk me through each step of my job, the directors trusted my ability, regardless of the fact I was a freshman. It was
In this paper, I will be focusing briefly on my knowledge and understanding of the concept of Applied theatre and one of its theatre form, which is Theatre in Education. The term Applied Theatre is a broad range of dramatic activity carried out by a crowd of diverse bodies and groups.
instance in our scene we had to enter a lift but to show this in a
In the seventies, we could do anything. It was the rainbow coalition, anti-Vietnam, all of those elements. And then we morphed over to where it became extremely straight-laced and non-risk taking. I think we are beginning to take risks again but within those societal norms.” Theatre only goes so far as society will allow it, as showcased by the Conservatory and it being influenced by the culture surrounding it. The mirror that is theatre reflects a culture and what it may want or not want to know, depending on how far it is allowed to
Recently, I attended a performance of The Northwest Whitfield High School Theatre Company’s production of High School Musical. Being a fellow alumni of Northwest Whitfield High School, I was aware of the company’s productions; I knew of the success and acclimations awarded to the program. In addition, I knew about the hard work and dedication the musical director Josh Reuben puts into his musicals, and the actors strive for perpetual success in their performances. Therefore, I found it obligatory to check out this musical. All in all, I was enthralled by the performance, and the students did a phenomenal job.
Set manager should also focus on entrance and exits the stage so the actors can be quick. Collaboration is an important key in any production. After reading the script, set manager should then collaborate with the director because he might have something to add or say about the theme of the play. This first meeting is very important because if set manager has any question he can clear out here. Do some research like find some photos that can help the director to clear his visions. If he thinks that you need help then he will provide designer, an architect, and
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.