Up for Air
Fredonia NY – With a few minutes to spare I am coming up for air for a short post as Rocky Horror prepares to open this coming Friday. I left town on Thur. to visit my daughter who lives in the Boston area, spent Friday and Saturday touring Walden Pond, the King Richard Renaissance Faire, and getting cars repaired, and drove back Sunday for first tech. Since Sunday night I have been leaving the theatre at about midnight and getting back to work at about 10AM.
I am continually amazed at how much energy and peoplepower it takes to put on a full-scale production in a 400-seat house. Last night we actually blew a fuse somewhere, when just before the last number we were trying to run a fog chiller. It seems that, with a 9-piece band, full lights, a wireless sound system, and all sorts of other things, we still have to be careful about overloading the system.
I’ve been observing this process with a different eye, because in some sense all this is overkill. But, when you have a theatre program with so many students all seeking an opportunity to learn their stuff, you try to create as many opportunities as possible. I have a cast of 19, but I only really needed about a cast of 12. I probably only needed a band of 5, but we have 9 so as to add some horns. The set is large enough to fill a full-sized proscenium stage, with the two towers reaching 16-18 feet in the air (they tell me the bridge across the two towers is rigged to hold 3/4 of a ton of weight). You’re also trying to create a regional theatre scale production with students, because the space and capability it there. One interesting thing is that what we don’t have are stage mechanics for moving scenery, things like hydraulics and such, so every scene change has to be made by humans. The stage crew is pretty large, as we have two jackknife stages to move scenic units in and out, and a huge revolve in the center of the set to go from the castle exterior to the lab interior. So, are we doing too much, or is it just the circumstances of the space, the amount of students, the selection of show, or what, that causes so much frenetic energy towards the end? I had a brief discussion about this with some of my technical colleagues, and hopefully we can find ways to refine this process. -twl
I can absolutely remember the “frenetic” energy on the Marvel Stage as a play went into tech “hell” week. The technicians and actors, and gosh it’s a musical so the pit as well, all converged to put together their own piece of the production. It’s an exhilarating experience.
Although it is a bit overdone, I think an important lesson about the theatre is experienced by all of those involved – the reality of collaboration. Even if it could be mounted with a smaller cast, a 5 piece band and scaled down minimalist scenery, it’s a university production and your statement, “…so many students all seeking an opportunity to learn their stuff” is extremely valid.
Since most theatre programs in universities are following the pre-professional training model, is it not the departments responsibility to offer these opportunities for all of their students? And as your program becomes more popular and the university grows, how can EVERYONE get a chance to learn their stuff through application? I think the answer to that question can be seen in larger universities, and it’s simply this – THEY DON’T. The students in these schools will get a real taste of pre-professional training and come face to face with the reality of the business and NEVER get a chance to learn their stuff during a live production.
I can remember a student while I was at SUNY Fredonia who was about to earn their BFA in ACTING
and had never set foot on the main stage. I can remember the buzz in the department about this student and how sad the situation was, not to mention devastating to the individual. They got their chance, pulled it off and felt justified that they got their “chance.” But this was during a time when the department was very, very small. With the department of dance now combined with theatre at Fredonia, I can only imagine how difficult it must be.
If a school like SUNY Fredonia is having difficulties with this, one can only imagine what larger schools are going through. So what can be done? It is my opinion that colleges and universities that offer degrees in theatre arts are going to have to adjust their perspective on what professional means.
In the blogsphere there is a concern that the theatrical market is being flooded with students who all think they have what it takes to be the next movie star. And its true, young students who bought into the false promises of theatre programs across the country all expect their “opportunity” to make it big – thus creating an incredible percentage of unemployment among people who have earned their degree in theatre arts.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if the definition of “professional” meant more than “making it big”? What if the pre-professional model offered students a fertile ground in which to create their own work in order to create opportunities to learn their stuff? Would this not offer a possible solution for the rigid production schedule found in higher education as well as the mass amount of unemployed theatre artists? And is it possible that maybe this idea of “professional” would generate a different bread of American theatre artists that rediscover the social and communal potency of the theatre?
I feel that I can speak in this matter because you supported my desire to create my own work while earning my degree in theatre. Under your tutelage I was able to broaden MY perspective on what professional meant. And after graduating I have earned a yearly income primarily from the theatre. Partly as an AEA “professional” actor and more importantly from situations I created for myself.
In conclusion, I have always thought, “Why was the education I received so unique and special?” – “Is it not possible for all students earning a degree in theatre to have had the same experience?”
But as I read over this response and make some corrections to my ever failing grammar, I will say this: It’s always frenzied. Whether its a community theatre production or a million dollar Broadway piece, it’s always filled with frenetic energy. But as Geoffrey Rush starring as Philip Henslowe in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE sums up about the crazed atmosphere of the theatre and the inevitability of opening night, “It’s a miracle!”
Good luck with opening night!!