Technically, the next week is called Tech week, but the name that I hear it called more often is Hell Week. Tech week will be different for each person, and I know that my experience in community theatre is different than the experience in professional theatre.
When I started acting in high school we did not have tech week. Rehearsals were typically during school hours. Then we went home. We did two shows; life was beautiful. I won't say that our production value was poor, but our light and sound systems were minimal. That made tech weeks (almost) nonexistent. What we lacked in fancy staging we made up in enthusiasm (I'd like to think we did).
After high school I gave up the scripted stage for improv comedy. This meant weekly practices that lasted two hours, rarely longer. Tech consisted of knowing how to play music clips between games. Okay, there was a little bit more, but not much. A solid ten minute training for the tech person would prepare them for their roll. We would show up an hour before performance time, set up, and then just roll with it. Two hours later we're done and headed home. Easy peasy.
Community theatre has been much different. It is a major time commitment. For a lark, I thought this post would step through my upcoming week. In doing this, I do not want to give the impression that I am unhappy or complaining about the week. Truth be told, I am quite excited. Eager even. Likewise, I am not trying to indicate that I have a worse week than anyone. I know many people will have had tech weeks much busier than mine will be. Many people will be busy without having a tech week. Please, don't play the comparison game; I am giving you a window into my life. Also, I like to predict the future!
Monday
6:30 a.m.--Wake up. I feel fortunate. I know people getting up much earlier. This will give me enough time to get ready and be at work on time. I'll work 8 hours.
3:00 p.m.--Go to the library. Monday is library day in my family. We're not perfect, but we rarely miss. It's that important.
Approx. 4:00 p.m.--We arrive home from the library. Now I have a chance to get all the daily things that I would like to do, but rarely accomplish. This list includes: help with homework, practice my mandolin, practice French and Spanish, exercise, write, sing, tidy up around the house. Assume that list needs to take place everyday. It doesn't, but let's pretend it does. Monday, it's not going to happen. I'll accomplish a few things before grabbing my costume and mandolin and leaving for rehearsal that night.
5:00 p.m.--I will be dropped off at the Orpheum Theatre after less than an hour at home. This is 75 minutes early for rehearsal, but my children have a school showcase. I am unable to attend rehearsal and the showcase which means I am missing the showcase. It's my son's first. To make sure they arrive on time I am early.
Note: Doing theatre at Christmas typically means that I miss school events for my children. I consider this the biggest downside to doing theatre. Break a leg son!
Fortunately, Monday night the Orpheum will be holding auditions for two shows so I will audition, then eat dinner (hope I packed one at 4:00!). If I have enough free-time I will do the writing I didn't have enough time for earlier, but more likely I will run lines with cast members.
6:15--Rehearsals start. This will involve getting into costume, fitted with a microphone, mike checks, handing out new props and costumes, and going over specific scenes that the director feels need to be tweaked/improved. The "scratch band" will likely be one of the parts we run several times. After this introduction we will begin running the show from top to bottom. There will be minor pauses throughout to fix light and sound issues. When I am not onstage I will be in a darkened backstage area unable to talk. I will go over lines myself, but most of the time I will be watching and listening to what is happening on stage to make sure I am ready to do whatever needs to be done.
10:30--Rehearsals will end. They might end sooner, maybe later, but this is a fairly decent estimate. I will get a ride home and go straight to bed.
Tuesday
Repeat, except the part about the library. I'll likely be kicking myself for not finding a moment to exercise during the day. I will resolve to do better today.
3:15 p.m.--Arrive home. I'll do some push-ups and sit-ups to make up for the lack of exercise on Monday. See the list above for all the other things I will try and do.
5:30 p.m.--At the Orpheum early again so that my oldest daughter can make it to her school festival on time. This is the second event of the week that I will be missing.
6:00--Rehearsals start. They'll run exactly the same: 4 1/2 hours of practice, tweaking, repeating until rehearsal is done for the night. It will be incredibly fun. It will also be amazing to watch the transformation of the show with all the special effects and costumes almost completed. There will be stops and starts as necessary, but fewer than before.
Wednesday
Repeat. Again. The toll of the first two days will start to build on me and I'll hope that maybe today I will be able to have a nap. It won't happen; worse, I'll make myself do some working out and end up more exhausted than before.
6:00--Dress rehearsal. Just like Monday and Tuesday with the exception that we do not stop. The show runs without interruptions like we are going to perform it. This will likely be the first complete performance. It will also be the only time we perform it this way without an audience. After going through the show we will probably be finished a little early, which means we will go over some rough patches. I will be home and in bed close to 11:00 p.m.
Thursday
Opening Night!
But first, another complete day of work. This one starts thirty minutes earlier than any other day. I will be exhausted. I might cry.
The show starts at 7:30, but cast and crew shows up at 6:00. We spend the time getting into our costumes, getting microphones on and checked, making sure props and set pieces are where they are supposed to be. Then we will try and get into character and wait for the show to start. Two and a half hours after the show starts we will be finished. We'll spend some time greeting the audience before heading downstairs to change out of our costumes, reset props and set pieces and leave the theatre.
There will likely be a gathering after the show. Being Thursday, I'll say the cast goes to Buffalo Wild Wings (now I'm just predicting the future). There's a large chance that I'll excuse myself in favor of going home and sleeping, but I'll likely get talked into going along. I'll hit bed around midnight.
Friday
Last day of work for the week! That will lift my spirits and help me muddle through. The day will run fairly identical to Friday after that. There will definitely be a cast gathering after the performance as most people will not have to work on Saturday. This time we will go to Applebee's. I'm not a huge fan of the chain restaurant so I politely excuse myself and go home to get some rest.
Saturday
A chance to sleep in. If the weather is good I'll rake the back yard which is desperately in need of it after snow brought down all the leaves off of the trees.
1:00--Arrive at the Orpheum to prepare for the Saturday matinee. Show starts at 2:30. We'll be done by 5:00. My children will be at this show so I will talk to them afterwards. There will be much excited family times. I will drive them home and immediately turn around to go back to the theatre for the evening show.
This time the cast will opt to go to Depot Grill. It will be a smaller cast party because everyone is getting exhausted.
Sunday
No time to sleep in, because I will need to go to Church with my family. I will present a lesson on Christmas to a small group of 5 year old children. I'll end church in time to go home and grab lunch before heading to the theatre for the final show.
Four hours later I'll be done with performances, but we will still have Strike. Fortunately, there are no built set pieces so we won't have to dissemble anything. Mostly, it will be collecting the prop and costume pieces that belong to each of us. The company putting on the show owns the theatre and this is (I believe) the last show of the year. That means no pressure to get things out so the next group can get in. With all hands on deck I believe that Strike will take less than an hour. That puts me home in time for dinner with a few hours left of the day to put in my weekly blog before going to bed.
Summary
As I look back, most days there isn't much happening. It's just the same two things over and over again. Work and show, work and show. However, it adds up to very little free time. Here's to Tech Week! Sometimes it is nice to have no time.
Note: I've received notice that the weather is turning bad. That likely means no raking on Saturday. It also increases the chance of no work due to poor road conditions. That could be a blessing. All other predictions stand.
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