Working in Theatre

Here is delayed update on my life. So, I arrived on the Cape and started my job. The first day I arrived, the theatre company was doing tech for their latest show. For those of you who don’t know, tech is the weekend before a show opens.

I often get questions about what tech is so I will explain. Tech is when all the technical aspects (lighting, sounds, and transitions-going from one scene to another) of the show come together with the acting. The actors will have been rehearsing and know all their lines and blocking-where they move from one place of the stage to the next-and then they will have to fully interact with everything. It’s also a time for the designers to figure out the looks/sounds of the scenes. Actors will also have access to all of their props, costumes, makeup, and set pieces, as this doesn’t always happen during the rehearsal period. Things can be struck during tech too.

Example: We really liked that couch but it doesn’t work in the scene, so we find something different.

Tech is also long because there are often holds. Holds can be called when something is going wrong, a safety issues arises during a moment or the director wants to see a transition again. It’s also long because programming and tweaking cues takes awhile.

Example: The lights come up on a five count but the director decides he wants it to be a long or shorter cue.

Therefore, I showed up during tech and was asked to be an ASM-Assistant Stage Manager. The Stage Manager-SM-is the one who’s in charge of the actors. He/She will setup the rehearsal schedule with the director, be the intermediary between actors and props/costumes, call the show, and basically it’s a thankless job. The ASM is the assistant, again a thankless job but both are important skills to know which is why I’m doing this even though my specialties are Performance and Lighting.

So, I showed up and was suddenly an ASM. The production was fantastic to work on, as the cast, director, and stage manager were all super welcoming. Moreover, it was an AMAZING show. The show, 9-Ball, is about two young men during the Vietnam War. Larry, the smart but socially awkward kid, has just been drafted and doesn’t want to go so he approaches Richie, the tough kid of town who can’t join the army because he has a criminal record, about swapping places. They switch but with the condition that in five years, they swap again. In the five years, Larry ends up going to prison and Richie goes to Vietnam. Five years pass and Larry is running drug swindles and has become a hardened criminal while Richie has become a decent person but suffered from a head injury. Through the play, the audience comes to love and hate the characters. The hard thing is that everything in the play is real and based off the director/writer’s experiences during the war.

So, 9-ball closed and now I’m working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It is a musical based off the Charles Dickens novel and big on audience participation. Every night the audience decides on who will be the Detective Datchery, the Murderer, and the Lovers. It’s a fun show and I’m enjoying it.