Tag: production

Here comes Tech Weekend!

There was a palpable energy in the theatre when I entered tonight. The cast was a buzz, the musicians were all present and the load in of some more last minute pieces were happening. More painting had happened, costumes were arriving and more details were being added to them. I’d stopped at Fabricland to pick up foam to repair a piece of furniture and all seemed to be on schedule. There was nothing particularly special about this night… but there’s something undeniable about the last rehearsal before tech. No matter how tired actors may be, they always want to give that little bit more in this rehearsal as they seem to realize that the focus for the next little while will be elsewhere – other parts of the show are needed to be brought up to snuff, really, really quickly in order to match all of their months of efforts.

Personally, I know it is one of my last chances to give my people on stage any more advice that I have left to improve their performances and I’m always reluctant to let go of the whole project, even though I know it is completely necessary and part of the process. It’s a very draining and energizing process at the same time.

Our production is a show within a show – a backstage story that examines the beginning and middle and end of things. That’s always the way of life, isn’t it? One thing starts and another ends… Just as my job is almost done, the show opens. Just when actors memorize their lines, the characters come to life. The performance itself has a beginning a middle and an end – each character in the story does as well. We cycle through it all and experience each phase.

Even productions as a whole… we finish one show, celebrate it’s ending with a cast party… take a little break and then begin the next one.

That’s the key, isn’t it – relishing the process and each phase along the way. It moves quickly, so you’ve got to pay attention, or you’ll miss it.

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4 Weeks! You rehearse and rehearse!

Here I am again… spending my evening in a darkened theatre preparing for an opening.

My job as the director is almost complete, but the final stretch is the busiest with all the tiny details coming together. It’s frustrating and exhilarating and you always wonder if it will ever come together. But somehow it always does – “it’s a mystery.”

i cant its tech week

In Kiss Me, Kate! a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew the cast sings of their nerves before the show opens.

Four weeks! You rehearse and rehearse…

Three weeks! And it couldn’t be worse…

One week! Will it every be right…

And out of the hat is that big first night!

So… soon it will be first night. Very soon. There’s always nerves involved and there’s always something that you wonder if it will ever work or ever conform to your vision, but time will march on no matter what efforts you may make to the contrary. So you do the best you can and you spend all your free time with your team and your cast and crew to get every last detail perfect. Each show has it’s own particular hurdles, be they technical or artistic and no matter what, you cross your fingers that the efforts of your team will be fully recognized.

Perhaps that’s why I feel the need to attend almost every performance of the shows I direct. I get so connected to the entire project and feel the need to morally support it right through to the end. I suppose if I directed shows that lasted a whole lot longer, I wouldn’t attend all the performances, but here in my community, most shows run for about 8 performances, maybe 10 and it’s over before you feel it’s even started. You’ve got to make the most of it.

That’s a good life lesson, don’t you think? Making the most of something because you know it isn’t going to last – no matter how hard you try.

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My share of the task/load/project

Everyone’s got to do their share, right?

They sure do and in theatre the share can be any size… but whatever you can give is worth it. Believe me.

Last night we had a mix up in our rehearsal. It turned out to be a great mix up as it meant we got to rehearse on our stage a little earlier than originally planned, but it meant moving a fair bit of stuff from one room to another and then packing it all away out of sight and mind to be safe from the Big Event that’s coming into the space this weekend. That kind of task could be unbearable or a heavy burden on one or two people, but that’s not what happened.

What happened was this, everyone volunteered to help move a little something. That many hands made all the stuff transfer and then disappear into protected areas in minutes. Something that would have taken the Director and Stage Manager hours to do on their own took minutes. That’s what happens in theatre – EVERYBODY chips in – even folks who can’t carry heavy things can help – and they do. Hold a door, pick up a coffee, turn pages for the pianist, whatever – it doesn’t matter what it is, every little bit really does help.

So, I’m asking you, right now, what are you going to contribute? I don’t care if it’s big or small or minuscule… just do it, okay? Someone will appreciate it.

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To sum up… What makes the best…? (Part 10)

Good people. That’s what you need more than anything is good people who are willing to give their time to a project. Then you got to let them run with it! Give them the tools to succeed, support them and believe in them.

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This community of theatre we work in is so accepting, so dynamic and so very, very rewarding. Take a chance on a new role in theatre. Push yourself to succeed and then give someone near you a push as well. You’ll never know what you can accomplish until you try.

The theatre needs you. It needs you to perform, to produce, to create, to direct, to sew, to dance, to sing, to sell, and most importantly, it needs you to attend and support the creative efforts of your community. So get out there and get involved. You won’t be sorry.

Share these with your friends and get them to join you in your love of theatre – they won’t be sorry either.

Part 10=People

Part 9=Actors http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-9/

Part 8=Directors http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-8/

Part 7=Music Directors http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-7/

Part 6=Choreographers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-6/

Part 5=Lighting Designers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-5/

Part 4=Costume Designers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-4/

Part 3=Set Designers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-3/

Part 2=Stage Managers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best-part-2/

Part 1=Producers http://www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com/what-makes-the-best/

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What makes the best…?(Part 7)

Music Director

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A good musician can play their instrument – well. They can interpret music and convey meaning to the audience to help them feel something during the listening. A good musician can even teach another musician how to do the same. A Music Director needs to have all of these skills and more. They need to be a leader and be able to guide others to their own level of excellence. A Music Director needs to know the show they are working on inside out and backwards, they need to be able to bring the music to life, while teaching those who may never have read music before how to convey what they are reading to an audience.

A Music Director is in the Director’s corner and has his/her back on the artistic decisions that affect the show. They know how to take that vision and translate it into the music and make it workable for the singers, dancers and the musicians. It’s not an easy task. It’s a lot of people with varying skills and levels of confidence. And a really great Musical Director – by the end of the show has made all of those involved feel like they’ve performed better than ever before.

Some Music Directors also assemble the band – most do, as a matter of fact. They source the parts for those musicians to play and sometimes even arrange or re-write those parts. Music Directors frequently deal with inadequate to illegible scores sent by publishing companies who seem to feel that music is less important and does not require any of their time or effort to make readable. It astonishes me the amount of times I’ve worked with a score that is rife with errors, typos, incorrect lyrics and musical “infractions”. While typos are bad, and really inexcusable from publishing companies, a typo in a music score has the potential to really derail any rehearsal – depending upon the level of confusion that the mistake can create. This can range from one note being out of place and deciphered by smart musicians in a matter of minutes, to entire songs having different lyrics and arriving in different keys for the instrumentalists who are playing or the vocalists who are singing the song! (And yet, the publishers still expect payment for these!?!). Here’s the deal, a really great Musical Director can solve all of these problems, or even head them off at the pass before the rest of the company even needs to deal with them.

It’s a big job – but somebody’s got to do it!

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What makes the best…?(Part 6)

Choreographer?

choreographer

There are lots of skills necessary to be a great Choreographer. Obviously a knowledge of and experience in dance is necessary and in my book, the wider the knowledge base, the greater the scope for creation. Skill as a dancer is also useful, but exceptional skill may not be necessary. Many great Choreographers have become so after dance careers that may have been less than stellar – but their passion for the art form has kept them returning to the craft and led them to find other ways to contribute.

Here’s an interesting article on that take: http://www.danceadvantage.net/2012/09/28/great-choreographers/

For Choreographic work in Theatre the skills are specific. The dance should, whenever possible, further the story or service the plot in some fashion. While the style may still be presentational, it should fit within the world of the play or musical. While I enjoy the acrobatics and technique of a superbly performed routine, I will always appreciate movement that tells us about character and storyline to showy moves. When superb technique is available and can be crafted and utilized to further the character and plot, then exceptional choreography is taking place and can be transformative for the audience.

Knowing when to keep it simple is also a great skill. There are times when the character or performer or moment in the story needs very little movement to garner a reaction with the audience. Knowing how & when to make use of simple movements to “move” and audience is an essential skill for a choreographer.

Speaking a language that the team can understand is vital. Dancers have knowledge of specific terminology and a shorthand that may mean nothing to the Musical Director or the Stage Manager or even some of the performers. A good Choreographer will have the skills to communicate their work and their needs for support in design and vision to the entire production.  For example, the ability to read music is essential for strong communication with the team.

The next time you are in an audience, ask yourself to analyse what the choreographer has assembled. Does it speak to you? Did it help you understand or appreciate the story or the characters? Did it “move” you? If so, then you were witnessing some great Choreography.

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What makes the best…? (Part 4)

Costume Designer??? Lots of passion for fashion – that’s for sure. But a passion for fashion isn’t enough. You may enjoy dressing yourself, but do you enjoy dressing others? In different time periods – perhaps real or imagined? Do you love thrift shopping? And sewing? Because all of these desires and skills are a must for a great Costume Designer.

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The best are creative and usually on ridiculously small budgets. Sure, Broadway and Stratford designers can buy the finest silks for their gowns, but for the regular theatre folk, scrounging,  repurposing and borrowing is essential to costume a show on a simple budget.

The passion for fashion will allow the great Costume Designers the opportunity to find and sew amazing outfits for men, women, children and sometimes creatures that you could barely imagine. They’ll make them in a variety of sizes to match a large chorus of dancing boys and girls and they’ll find designer gowns abandoned in Value Village and scurry them home to their personal storage for some future use – because they are certain that they’ll be able to use them in the future… for something.

They’ll deal with Diva actresses and actors who don’t want to wear what has been chosen for them. They’ll deal with directors who know exactly what they want and others who have no idea what people should wear in 1950, Victorian times or even today. They’ll deal with deadlines and schedule changes, missing actors and torn or soiled items and do it all with a smile. And when the show is over… they’ll take all the costumes home and clean them, fix them, sort them and store them lovingly away for the next time they are called into use.

Then… they’ll start again – on the next show!

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What makes the best…? (Part 3)

Set Designers are crucial the a show’s success. They are also crucial to the creative process of the director – at least they are to my creative process. No matter what the play or musical is about, if I don’t have a set design, then I can’t see the show coming to life in my head and in turn I will have difficulty in bringing that vision to the cast for them to give it life.

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I’m a pretty visual person, but I work kinetically on a play. This means that I need to be able to feel in my gut what is the crux of a scene and give it some truth in the physical relationships of the characters involved. That holds true if it is a musical number or a dramatic, tension filled scene and the spatial relationships of the players can really affect the kinetic feeling of the scene.

A great Set Designer will read the play. Then they’ll read it again and then they’ll talk with the director and eventually be able to give them some plans, either 2D or 3D – preferably both –  to help them show the entire team the world that they will be living and working in for the life of the show. The sooner a Set Designer can provide this, the better. If you don’t know the layout of your apartment, for example, how can you go shopping for furniture?

A superb Set Designer will solve script problems. Sometimes problems that you didn’t even realize were there. They’ll be able to give you solutions to scripts that read more like movies – many authors seem to forget that it is hard to transition from the dining room of a tavern to a seaside in a matter of seconds. Your Set Designer can have creative tools up their sleeve to help to tell the story in a seamless manner. They will also help to tie in the colour palate of your show and give the whole world a real sense of belonging.

Aside from knowledge of building and a good aesthetic sense, a flexible personality is necessary for a great Set Designer. They need to be able to take their artistic sensibilities and skills and apply them to the whole vision of the show. They will consider the movement of the actors, the potential difficulties of costumes and the location and operations of lighting and sound equipment. They can give a director levels to play on and moveable pieces to bring an imaginary world to an audience. And they will probably finish their design long before the other members of the crew will finish theirs. A good set design will inform the whole production – and the whole production’s process.

It’s a big job. And we always need someone to do it. Could that someone be you?

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What makes the best….? (Part 2)

Stage Managers are so vital to the success of a show. As many of you dear readers know, we have a little phrase we use to honour our regular Stage Manager, “No Joe, No Show!” And that literally came from the fact that without our talented and organized and discpilined SM, we wouldn’t have a show. But how do you know if you’ve got a good one or not? Or if the show you are watching had a good one? That can be tough, actually.

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It’s tough because if the show has a really good SM, then it’s likely you wouldn’t give the job another thought. Many young actors shy away from the responsibility of SM, some for their knowledge of what the job entails, but many for their lack of knowledge of the importance of the role. If anyone ever wishes to direct, then I say, they must first Stage Manage.

A good SM is disciplined, organized and creative. They know how to put their bible of the show together and how to keep track of all the minutia of details that can make or break a rehearsal. An exceptional SM has their binder ready before first rehearsal with media release forms, health and safety forms, extra copies of first rehearsal schedules, contact lists and whatever else might be necessary to answer questions and keep everyone on track.

A good SM can keep the cast AND the crew in line – this includes the Director. So, and exceptional SM has the respect and admiration of the director. They can work well together and the SM knows that if they call a halt to rehearsal for whatever reason, the Director will understand that it was for the good of the show and not meant as a slight to anyone involved. An exceptional SM will be that moderator, note-taker and interpreter of the Director’s vision. Often Directors and Actors (and other creators as a matter of fact) will get caught up in their creation and what they are trying to say or do – so caught up in fact that they may need a translator. If your SM is really good and has been really paying attention, then they already know what you are trying to say even before you say it. And they help make it happen.

In the end, the show belongs to the Stage Manager. It won’t happen without them. No calls are given, no audience is admitted and no curtain goes up without them. You hand over the keys and they control the destiny of the show, so find a good one, nuture them – and while you’re at it… find another one, because the really good ones get snapped up fast!!!

Do you want that kind of responsibility and knowledge of a show??? Then get out there and join a production to learn what it takes to be a Stage Manager!

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What makes the best….?

First in a series of opinion pieces about theatre personelle.

I’m always on the lookout for good people. Good people to work with on wonderful new productions. I enjoy it – the challenge of finding someone who I think, would be a great Performer, Costume Designer, Props Builder, whatever. Each role in the theatre production has inherent needs and a skill set that accompanies the role. Often, wonderful people will cross my path and I think, “Boy, he/she’d be a great Producer…” but if I ask them about it, they are frequently surprised or beg off and say… “Oh no, I could never do that. I’ve never done it before.” And I’m always thinking, “Well, then, how do you know you couldn’t do it?”

It can be a challenge to find new people who are willing to take on a behind the scenes responsibility and lately, I’ve had folks asking me, “What does it take to be a _________?” So, in pondering the question I thought I’d examine a few of the key roles on the production team – from my personal point of view.

Today, I’ll start with Producers.

Producers are tough, because no two are alike and no two see their roles the same. Some folks like be very hands off and others demand to be in the thick of the production. For me, a balance somewhere in between is the best. In my opinion, the best Producers are problem solvers and recruiters. Producers know people and enjoy meeting new people. They aren’t afraid to meet someone new and ask about their interests to find a way to get them involved in a production. Producers are good at finding the right person for a job and then empowering that person to do their best at it. They’ll find assistants and suppliers and cheap rentals and all on a tight timeline.

Producers solve problems. Non-stop. They solve everyone’s problems. Money problems, personelle problems, scheduling problems, construction problems, Diva problems – you name it, they have the confidence to deal with a difficult situation and not take it personally. They can smooth ruffled feathers and talk a beleagured director off the proverbial ledge. They can get all the actors, crew and peripheral people to come together in one place, at one time, for that commemorative photo and convince them that submitting their bio on time is of utmost importance.

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Producers also know where and when to shine the light on excellence. Their pride should rest in the success of others: The Director’s success in acheiving the vision of the show, the Set Designer’s success in building or creating something new, the Costumer’s success in staying in budget while creating the show stopping gown, the actor’s accolades from the audience… All of this the Producer is willing and proud to promote – for the overall benefit of the show.

If you are an office manager, if you’ve worked in human resources, if you enjoy seeing others do well and helping them acheive their goals and if you can do all this while balancing a budget and keeping smiles on faces – then YOU are a potential Producer.

I’ve worked with some great Producers – but I know there are more of you out there. What’s stopping you?

Don’t YOU Wanna Be a Producer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQyHdgvd1yo

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