Week 12:
Watching the Audience

August 9, 2016

I’m about to embark on my last week of my fellowship journey. I will be leaving Creede exactly one week from today. I can’t believe how fast this summer has flown by.

It has been a pretty typical week for me at CRT. I had some performances of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence and also had to work a few changeovers.

One of the best parts for me of running Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is that for the majority of the show, I am on the grid above the theatre. This means I get a really good view of the first few rows of the audience.

Watching the audience can be truly magical. This was especially true for me on Friday night. In the very front row there were four teenage boys. This alone made me happy because often times theatre is not viewed as “masculine” and young boys can be discouraged from participating or viewing it. But these boys clearly loved it!

One of the boys in particular was having a spectacular time and it was so fun for me to watch. He was having extreme physical reactions throughout the show – turning to his friends in shock, slapping his knees, bouncing up and down in his seat. His face was full of  joy and it was clear a love for theatre was growing inside of him.

After the performance on Friday night, I walked from the main stage to the Ruth to try to get a seat at Boomtown, and sure enough, there were seats left. I was sitting in one of the side sections, which means I had a good view of not only the stage, but also a lot of the audience. Sure enough, those four teenage boys in the front row of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ended up in the front row of Boomtown and I got to watch the particularly excited one enjoy another show.

Theatre is a powerful thing. It makes people smile, laugh, cry, and bounce in their seats. It makes them want to talk about what they saw after the show. It makes them think. It’s really awesome to watch these reactions happen right before my eyes from the grid at Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

It will be hard to say goodbye to these shows I’ve been working on for so long. In particular, I think I will miss Watson.

Watson was the first show I rehearsed here and the first show I opened. It has been with me since day 1. I truly have fallen in love with this show. Even after so many performances, I never find the script boring. I find it beautiful, intriguing, and funny. As I stand backstage waiting to enter for transitions, I still find myself discovering new meanings in the words.

And now I only have one performance of Watson left. I only get to do all those transitions one more time. I will only have to prep all the consumable props one more time. I will only hear this wonderful cast speak these beautiful lines one more time.

I can tell Watson is going to be one of those shows that sticks with me – one that will come to mind when people ask about my favorite theatrical experiences. It’s definitely a script I would love to see performed again someday at a different theatre – and maybe I will even work on it again someday.

In addition to running shows and changeovers this week, I met up with my production stage manager Devon and an assistant stage manager Rachel to talk about ground plans. I have not had a lot of experience with ground plans, which I told Devon, so she made time to go over one with me. Rachel joined because she also felt like she could use some help with them.

Basically the purpose for a stage manager understanding ground plans is so that they can tape out the set in the rehearsal space. I have helped tape out a couple sets in my time here which already helped me feel more confident about ground plans, but this extra time with Devon was really valuable.

Devon brought out the ground plans for History Room and taught us how to use a scale ruler, which is an extremely useful tool. After she measured some points herself, she had both me and Rachel measure points and ask her for assistance if we needed it. I now feel confident that the next time I am handed a ground plan, I can figure out how to translate it to a taped out stage.

As I get ready for my final week of this fellowship, I plan to make the most of my last few days. I plan to enjoy the last few performances I have here and say goodbye to all the friends I’ve made. It’s been a wonderful experience, but it’s not quite over yet – here’s to one more week!