Week 7: March 16-22

When you get reminded of the rehearsal process:

Monday went really well. I was in Lady from the Sea rehearsals today and we’re really moving along. There was one scene we were working this morning between the leads and we did a bit of work on it last night, and on our second go at it this morning the actors were so committed and moving in the scene, I got a little misty eyed. It was really touching and powerful. In that moment I was just so excited to be part of this story. I’m here witnessing this process and sometimes I forget about this part. It’s truly a beautiful thing to watch.

This week in the land of Office Management:

Monday evening, Théa, Sara and myself were all scheduled in the office. It was actually wonderful to be sharing the office again because it gave me a chance to step back and take the time to organize things and discuss how to make our office life more efficient. There have definitely been a lot of mistakes on the dailies recently and I’ve been trying to brush them off, because as Alison said on our first day-we’re all human, mistakes will happen. Let them happen. I’m starting to get sucked into this terrible mindset of ‘now everyone has this impression of me doing a bad job.’ I just got this feeling of ‘maybe I don’t belong here’. I got a chance to spend the afternoon looking at how to make things better, easier to manage and create a system where fewer things will fall through the cracks. 

Office music: Irish folk songs.

This week in the land of being HANGRY:
Tuesday there was a huge company introduction. It was the season’s first huge introduction. They call it ‘Meet the Pizza’, and people also share events they will be doing at some point during the season that everyone can partake in-such as joining the cricket team and having a giant clothing swap later. I arrived 45 minutes late because I was distributing the daily and when I got there, introductions had already happened, most of the events had already been shared and there was about 5 small squares of pizza left (there were about 8  other people who arrived late as well..) so I was very hangry. I realize I’m sounding ungrateful, but I just felt like I missed so much and I was introduced to everyone before I even got there. It sounds stupid, but I just wanted to be present for that moment, I wasn’t there to feel the recognition, to get congratulated for being part of the company, for all the hard work I’ve done that got me here. I just wanted to feel that, and I missed it. I’m also suffering from slight cabin fever, mixed with this incredibly hypocritically ‘middle child syndrome’ combined with ‘I want to be alone’ mood. It’s like “Pay attention to me, but also leave me alone so I can deal with my self-esteem issues”. It’s not helping anyone.

This week in How to prove you need more dressers on the Musical:

Wednesday: This morning I did a few hours in the office and then spent the afternoon helping out for the Sweet Charity run through. There are so many costume changes and both ASMs have quite a bit to do in rehearsal that one of them just needed an afternoon to be able to watch the run and take timings for all the costume changes. That’s where I came in. I took Leigh’s place ‘backstage’ and helped Annie move props on and off stage when necessary, and slowing down rolling desks as they get shoved off stage etc…so that Leigh would have the time to get the right numbers for everything. The SM team has asked for an extra dresser for this show, but they won’t get one until they prove they absolute can’t do the show without. (A dresser is someone backstage who helps actors get in and out of costumes). To prove that, Leigh has made a document of all the costume changes, what backstage area they will happen in, and how long each one will take. There are a few moments in the play were simultaneously 6 actors have about 12 seconds to change costumes. The show looks fantastic, and this is watching the second run through from backstage left of the rehearsal hall and trying to pay attention to Annie so that I can assist her with making the scene change smooth. The choreography in this show is incredible. The energy and set… I’m so excited for them to add costumes and see the show from the front as an audience member.

Stage Management 101:

Thursday we had our first (of 2) 8 hour rehearsal day for Lady from the Sea. I got so used to the 3 ½ hour days that 8 hours felt very strange. We got a lot done, but there were also parts of the day that were super slow. We’re also currently working through some of the heaviest subtext for this show. It’s really deep and complicated-it has its Hemmingway moments where so much is said in the silences and the disruptions. It’s all quite beautiful. More and more the suggestion to use the Little Mermaid songs as scene transition music is being tossed around and I’m beginning to fall for the illusion that it will actually happen. I love being in a room where that’s a conversation.  Today especially I took note of how efficient the SM team I’m apart of is. The ASM has such an amazingly simple and easy to reference way of tracking props and costumes. This show is very light on the costume and props so it’s been easier to track everything, when I look at her book and I look at my own I definitely could just take her book and hand it to a stranger and they would know what’s going on, my book isn’t there yet. I’m so used to being by myself as a stage manager that I’m used to taking my book home and cleaning up my notes at the end of the day. Here, I’m leaving my book at work and walking away from it, which really opened my eyes to how much I was doing at home, outside of hours, that I could actually get done in the hall during hours. On each page that there’s a prop change/move or a costume change she has a post it on the script page indicating exactly where the ‘action’ happens, she writes who, what and where. (Blue post its are for when something is entering, and pink is for when something is exiting). She also writes on her opposite page the what and the where. At the top of her opposite page she has a list of all the character names and on that list she writes the what and the where beside whichever character has the prop or the costume bit. The post its on the script page really help indicate the cue line and the direction something is happening in, the information on the opposite page has a lot more detail about what is happening and the information beside the character legend at the top of the page really clarifies who. It might not sound like it’s easy to understand, but it really is.

Here’s what her Character legend looks like (the character name is first, then in brackets it’s the actor’s name):

___Ellida (actor name)___

___Ballested (actor name) ­­­___

_NT_Bolette (actor name)_USL w/ 2 books__   (Bolette enters upstage left with 2 books)

___Hilde (actor name)___

___Lyngstrand (actor name)___

___Arnholm (actor name)___

___Stranger (actor name) ___

___Wangle (actor name) ___

 In her blocking page below this it would look more like this:

BO NT USL w/ 2 books, X DSC, (down arrow)  + reads    (Bolette enters Upstage left with 2 books, she crosses downstage center, sits down and reads)

This information gives you a lot more detail about what she does with the books and where she has them in a still position. This information is important if you start working a scene midway through and need to get the stage set for that particular moment.

I can’t really illustrate what the post it on the script does, but it is really there to indicate on exactly what word/line Bolette enters with the book. This is important for someone backstage to know what to expect back stage and how to help an actor by placing their prop in the right spot backstage and possibly handing the prop to them moments before entering the scene (if for example the actor exits on the opposite side of the stage and has to re-enter with the book on your side, you can be ready with the book so that when they run over it’s fast and allows them to focus on the scene)

The ASM also has a props list where she writes everything above beside each item. Who uses it, which page in enters the stage, from which direction, what page it exits the stage, who exits with it, what direction and if it’s used again If it is used again-who uses it and does it need to be moved to another location backstage for the next actor?

This is also something I tend to do after hours because I don’t have the time in rehearsal when I’m not on a team, but it can easily be done when you have the right kind of support during rehearsal hours. Especially if the director and actors start discussing the scene, it’s really easy to update this kind of paperwork while still having an ear open to their discussion.

Also…having the right kind of chair to sit in all day is so fucking important.

In Other News:

Brandon Roy came to visit me at the end of the week! We had dinner at the Irish Harp and it’s definitely my favorite place so far. The atmosphere and service and food is so good. There was a live band, but it wasn’t too loud. I got to catch up with Brandon, it was so nice to have a visitor.

I also biked to the Valu Mart in virigl today. It’s a good 25 minute bike ride and the valu mart has way more selection than the one in town, but the prices aren’t that much lower. I filled my saddle bags with groceries and biked home. It will be a much nicer ride once the weather get’s better. I think it was -6 today,  but at least we don’t have snow.