Week 5:
A Dirty Rotten Week

June 21, 2016

Okay, the week wasn’t exactly dirty rotten.  But it was full of rehearsal for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The fun and bizarre musical opens this Friday and I’m really excited for opening night!  Although, I recognize it is probably going to be a lot of work to get there.  In fact, it already has been a lot of work to get to where we are today.

At the top of last week, we were still working in Helfin rehearsal hall.  Like Watson, this is another transition-heavy show.  But unlike Watson, the transitions can’t simply be accomplished by the crew.  Many of the actors are involved in the transitions as well.

We had rehearsals in the rehearsal hall specifically dedicated to transitions.  And though these rehearsals were helpful, of course everything changed when we actually started rehearsing in the space on Saturday.

Before we moved to the space, we had to make something called a spike map – something I have never done before, so it was a good learning experience for me.  During the rehearsal process, as the director decides where they want furniture pieces to go, the stage management team will use spike tape to mark these places on the floor.  This makes sure the furniture is always in the same place, rather than just having a general idea that the desk is stage right.  If something ends up really far off spike, it can have negative effects – the actors might have to adjust blocking and the lighting might not be focused in the right place.

So for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, we had all the spike marks laid out in the rehearsal hall, but we needed to transfer them to the actual stage.  A spike map makes this transition easy.  I made the spike map with Dana and Domingo, assistant stage managers for the show.  Dana sat at the computer where she was working on a chart that listed all the spike marks.  Domingo and I measured out where these spike marks are on the stage.

We did this using x,y coordinates like a grid.  We laid out one tape measure on the center line – this is the y coordinate.  Then we took another tape measure and measured from the center line to the spike marks (the x coordinate).  We put all the information into the chart and BAM!- we had all the coordinates so that when we got to the stage we could measure out where the spike marks should go.

The set for this show includes levels and stairs and doors and beds – all things we did not really have when we were in the rehearsal space.  So during our first rehearsal in the space, we really worked on transitions and getting it all figured out.

Some of the transitions ran smoothly… some did not.  Ultimately, the director ended up making lots of small changes to the transitions to make them go faster or to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Our first rehearsal on stage was largely dedicated to choreography.  The spacing in the rehearsal hall just wasn’t exactly the same as the spacing on the stage with the set, so the choreographer Ryan went through major musical numbers and adjusted anything that needed to change.

Our second rehearsal on stage was our first 10 out of 12 for this production.  Unlike Watson where we ended up being excused before midnight, I fully expected this rehearsal to go all the way to time, and I was right.

Stage management got to the space an hour before actors arrived to get everything ready.  My main duty was checking all the props and furniture with the preset check list.  The preset list includes every prop and piece of furniture and where it is at the top of show.  This includes anything that might start on stage, anything that starts stage right, anything that starts up stage, anything that starts stage left, and anything that starts with actors themselves.

I will admit, that at times here I have felt a certain lack of responsibility.  I have stage managed full productions before, and here my title is production assistant.  It seems most of the work goes to the stage manager and the assistant stage managers and though I am learning, I sometimes feel like I could be doing so much more.

So I decided I was just going to see if I could take some more responsibility, and it worked.  I asked Domingo and Dana if it would be okay if I was in charge of editing the preset check list since I’ve been the one mostly keeping track of it and they said okay.  So as soon as I finish this blog, I am going to make changes to the preset list to use for tomorrow’s rehearsal.  I am proud of myself for stepping up.

Although of course a 10 out of 12 is an extremely long day, it moved pretty fast for me.  It started out slow moving, but that is to be expected.  This was the first rehearsal where the stage manager was calling cues (lights, sound, and rail cues) and from my own personal experience calling shows, I have found the first scene usually takes the longest to get through.  You end up stopping and starting a lot and repeating things because you are just getting into the swing of calling the show.  We ended up working on the opening number for at least an hour and a half and for a minute there I was worried we wouldn’t even make it through all of act one before the day was done.

But by the time dinner break came around, we were almost done with act one and by the time midnight came around, we were almost done with the show.  That’s a pretty big deal for a musical.  Musicals usually have a lot more cues than straight plays, and with working spacing and choreography and transitions, I was very pleased with how far we got in the play during the 12 hour day.

In reality for this show, I will be running the rail cues.  That means I will be upstairs above the stage flying things in and out.  There is a chandelier that comes in and out and a set of twinkle lights that come in and out.  However, these pieces have not been rigged yet so I haven’t had a chance to practice yet.  I have never really worked a fly system before, other than opening or closing a main curtain, so I am very excited to get this opportunity.  Hopefully the system will be rigged by tomorrow so I can start practicing.

Because the majority of my transition cues are rail cues and I wasn’t able to practice them yet, I spent a lot of time backstage with Dana trying to organize and plan for the next transitions.  We would get set pieces close to the entrance so they would be prepped to go on.  We would clear space when something big was coming off stage.  Running backstage is kind of like putting together a puzzle, especially in repertory theatre.  In addition to all of the set pieces for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels being backstage, all the set pieces for Kind of Red are backstage as well.  We have to find places for everything while still allowing for safe places to walk in a mostly dark backstage area.  As rehearsals continue, we will continue to figure out the perfect place for everything and eventually have a consistent system down for performances.

As we move into the next week of work, I feel excited.  I’m excited to open this show.  I’m excited to learn how to run the rail cues.  And though it may sound silly, I am extremely excited to see my crew costume for this show.  The show takes place in a hotel, so the rumor is the crew gets to wear shorts and tacky Hawaiian shirts which I am definitely down for.  Additionally, because I have obnoxiously beautiful bright blue hair, I will get a wig.  It will be a very different looking Donna running this show and I can’t wait to see her.