Week Four: Last Week and Tech

Today is the last day productions and load out day. The run has gone smoothly and without too much incident. The crew and myself worked well together to make sure that each show went well and according to plan. My involvement with this show has been full of satisfaction and enjoyment. I love this company and it is a fantastic show, and I am looking toward the future with this company and others. Sunday we only have one show ending around 3. AFter the show came down I along with the onther stage hand had to collect props and company property and return it back to the office or storage. That being a big enough task I was given a dinner break before I started helping Tony with strike and load out. The first order of business was the removal of the walls and molding to be thrown out or reused and loaded back onto the truck. The carpet, doors and windows followed and were to be taken to Tony's building partners place of employment. The most daunting task of the night was the strive and removal of that twenty some platforms the set rested on. each platform had to have its legs removed and stored on the truck. Strike went reasonably well, especially since there was four of us working together instead of the usual three or two. I primarly worked with Amanda, Tony's building partener, because we work well together and we can talk about what each of us is doing in our lives. When I work with Amanda, I feel a little more relaxed because I don't think I am being judged as much. Both Tony and Amanda are patient and good teachers but I feel a little more relaxed when I am building or working with Amanda. We loaded out the set, repainted the floor and took the truck to Amandas work. We had to load and unload the majority of the set twice and by the end of the night my wrists felt like they were going to give out. but they didn't and it was possibly the quickets load out I have been apart of.
Another succesful show, an amazing company and good memories. I feel like I am gaining the confidence and experience I need to be a good technician.

Week Three: The Running of the Show

It is the Friday of out third week running this show. It is a fantastic show, the actors are great, the show is really funny and it's only an hour long so the evening doesn't drag on forever. Even though the show has a lot of tricks, crew participation and is so fast paced, each show has gone without a hitch. Norman got hurt last week, his hand was bleeding everywhere on the set and all over his costumes, but once we were able to get a bandage on his wound, the show continued on as planned. My relationship with the actors is very professional, I have more contact with Laura than Norman and as a result I feel more connected to her than Norman. Make no mistake, he is cordial and respective, but we don't have a lot of contact. The other stage hand doesn't have a lot of backstage experience, but he is doing a good job backstage, he worries a ot about what I am doing and my jobs, and I wish he would just worry about what he needs to finish. I think that since he is trying to help me too much that he doesn't complete his preset list as fast as he could, resulting in our stage manager having to open the house a bit later than she would like. I am perfectly capable of completing my preset list and usually in past productions have no one else to help me finish it. My involvment in the show is more technical based, I have control over what happens backstage and how the other stage hands go about themselves, I feel that because I have been with this company for so long that I can speak my mind and take action moreso than if I was newer to a company. I feel comfortable in this company, that I am needed and respected and have never felt judged or looked over, everyone involved in each show makes me feel at home, and that is one reason why I love this company so much.
One more week of performances! One more season almost through!

Week Two: A Runthrough of My Duties

As Deck Chief of Barney and Bee it is my job to make sure that everything is working backstage and that everyone completes their preset and runs through the show smoothly. More specifically, my call is an hour before curtain where I vacuum the stage, sweep the floors, set the stage, make sure the prop tables have the correct props. That all the liquids are filled. That all the technical tricks the crew is apart of is working and the way I left it the night before. The biggest trick I have to look out for and maintain is the dining room table. It is set up to perform a trick that looks like all the place settings are going to fall to the floor. All the settings are tacked down and the plates are connected to a metal track underneath the table top. Each week I check the bolts and nuts making sure that the trick won't fall apart. There is a plaster drop that is also used during the show that must be refilled and cleaned before each show. It is important to keep it clean and maintained so that the trick works when my stage manager calls "go." During the show, I have to hand off props to the actors, catch props as they come running off stage into a quick change and be sure that I won't be seen by the audience when they come running through doors. Thus far I think the run is going well. The actors are nice and respectful, we have a good working relationship between us. During tech week the designers and technicians worked reasonable well and the fact that it was such a smooth run probably helped in that matter. My crew works well together, I have known the wardrobe person for awhile and we have worked on many shows together, so it's always a pleasure working with her. Having another person on run crew also makes my job easier; I have another person to help me with my preset, and post show, its nice to know that I have someone who I can bounce off of and we can help each other out.

Week One: Tech Week

I have spent the last three weeks building the set for Renaissance Theaterworks' production of Barney and Bee. I am working with Tony Lyons and Amanda Cervenka as their apprentice and all around helper. I constructed many flats made from 2x4s and luan in preperation for the production. Since the play takes place in a dining room of a British flat, walls and doors are the bulk of the set and we spent a lot of time making sure they could hold up enough door slamming they could take for four weeks. On Sunday we loaded in the twenty some platforms that the set will sit on. The set itself is raised about three feet and so it has to sit on twenty some 4x8 platforms. It took all evening to set up the platforms and when we were finally done it was already the wee hours of Monday morning and we called it quits. Early Monday morning we came in and worked a full day installing the rest of the set. I mainly helped put up platforms, walls and their support beams. I left early evening because I still had a full week of tech left. Tuesday Morning I came in and was introduced to all the props I would be looking after. I set up prop tables and the green room. I met the other person that I will be working backstage with and we waited around for the actors to arrive. With tech finally beginning things were going so smoothly, I couldn't believe it! We got through the entire show on Tuesday night! That never happens, and it was infact the start of a easy teach. Wednesday was our full 10/12 day, but being a technician I was there for at least 13 hours. We got through the show once more, worked out some acting that the crew and myself had to do. The arms of the crew members will be visible on stage throughout the show. This is my first ever acting gig, and so I was taking it very seriously. We had to work through out "lines" with the actors and reach a point were we both felt comfortable and could continue on. With two run throughs under our belts we made one final one and called it a night. Thursday was an easy day, we came in and ran through the show and had a preview at night. Friday we didnt have rehearsal and only came in four our opening night call! The show went very well, and it was well recieved by the audience, onto Saturday and Sunday!