Daily Archives: October 21, 2012

Monday!

Busy weekend leading into a busy week.  Great work today.  Hard work.  My thanks to all.

Looking ahead.

This Monday is our most crucial day.  We need to finish cue-to-cue and get in a run.  To do all that will require a very strict schedule, and we’re all going to need mutual support to hold to it.  It may mean that a few details get unresolved until Tuesday.  That’s okay.  The important thing is that we put in the rest of the major cues and then getting in a full performance.

The important thing about the schedule is that the start time of each event means that we are actually in place and starting that phase.  We can get a lot done, and it will require a lot of flexibility and self-discipline… and I put myself under the same standard.

This may be subject to change if design, support or tech specialists have specific needs. 

3:35-4:00 (if all goes as I think it will): food in the alumni room (thank you!)

4:05-4:15 notes in the front two rows of the Bishop Center

4:15-5:00 Crew/cast costume orientation… this includes identification, moving anything that gets put on in the middle of the show to the drama lab, figuring out what costumes are worn when.  That’s a big job.  As social as that might be, we need to be very disciplined and straightforward about it.

5:10-5:20 Body mic attachment and sound checks.

5:20-5:30 Check props.

5:30-6:00 Scene reworking.  Details TBA.  I’ll be doing this a piece at a time, through the week.  The more you prepare for the show to grow in positive directions, the more this is an opportunity.

6:00 – finish (I’m imagining no later than 7:00pm) cue-to-cue from Lucy’s bedroom to curtain call.

Then run the show!  That will probably be our latest, “non-performance” night, and it’s essential.  Parents are always welcomed as test audiences!!

Tweaking some of the scenes is necessary.  We’ve done a very good job assembling components.  Now it’s a matter of putting them together in the most interesting and satisfying way.  Your flexibility and help on this really defines a good cast from a great cast.

Last word on tech and dress…

If you’re ever at a loss about what to do during a tech, stay in the wings… perhaps near your next entrance… pay attention to what’s going on, and listen.  That makes a larger difference than you know.  Thank you!

 

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We’re out!

Hard word done!  Schedule for tomorrow forthcoming. Thanks!

Back at it!

Back from dinner dome time ago… working hard on the rest of the show. The big countdown is on!

Go!

Sounds checks and backstage changes made, we are ready to pick up where we left off with cue to cue starting now.

Full steam ahead!

Just wanted to extend a word a great thanks to everyone who worked so hard on the show yesterday.  We are making tremendous progress, and I am extremely proud of the work everyone is doing.

And no, my bathtub did not fall through my downstairs neighbor’s ceiling.  Yet, at least.

We will have food service again tomorrow!  (Thank you!!)  

Let’s think ahead about what we can individually do to be ready to go as close to arrival as possible.

My goal is to cue-to-cue the rest of the show, take a break to eat, and then get in the tightest run of the show possible.  Everyone is essential to a cue-to-cue.  Some tips on how you can help…

1.  Stay within earshot of monitors, etc.  If you’ll be away from them, let me or Sarah know, first.

2.  Think through the entire rest of the show from your own perspective.  What props do you still need?  We’ll keep a list at the foot of the stage.  (Let me know if we forget to put one there!)  What are traffic patterns backstage?  How can you help solve challenges before they even come up?  I saw great work today, and I am especially thankful when we had those moments of thinking two or three steps ahead.

3.  If you have notes, review them.  If they seem fuzzy or are contradicted elsewhere, grab me and ask.  If I look busy and your question cannot wait, I trust you completely.  Just say it’s a Code One, and you have me for as long as you need me.  

4.  Stay as creatively flexible as possible.  The more I see the show, the more I see new possibilities with it.  Just as your interpretations of the roles will evolve, so will what I think is possible with it.  I have rarely had a cast as talented at taking new ideas and running with them.  Thank you!

5.  Tend to your garden.  Bring homework.  Use time to the best extent that you can.  It may be less fun to squirrell away with some homework, but it will pay off several days from now as the show intensifies.

6.  A special note to parents….

a) Thank you!

b) Please come in and watch what’s being put together whenever you feel like it.  Especially if it’s near an end time.  When I dashed out to see if I still had a bathroom floor, I saw a parent waiting in a car, and it made me wonder if they knew they could come in.  By all means, come in if you like and see the “making of.”

c) For today, I have a pretty hard “eject time” of 8:15 at the extreme latest so most can get out the door by 8:30.  I am hopeful that we can get done much earlier.  I am going to make a strong effort to update this page as to our progress tomorrow.  If you have questions or needs as the day goes on, please do not hesitate to call or text me at 865 310 8668. 

Thank you, again!  I consider these two days the most challenging — and ultimately rewarding — days of my entire year.  I couldn’t ask for better partners.  If I may help you in any way, please let me know!