May 4

Several people have mentioned that they read my blog and really like knowing what is going on behind the scenes at the theatre. Feel free to post comments at the bottom each posting with your favorite memories of tech day or anything else that comes to mind. I tried something new yesterday and today by carrying a camera with me and occassionally snapping off some photos.

We are in the midst of what in the theatre is usually called hell week. That defines the weekend before and the week leading up to the opening. It is a time full of long hours and a tremendous amount of work to get to the finish line- opening night. I've included several photos in the blog that I took today as a way to get a better understanding of what I'm writing about.



Friday afternoon May 2- I spent the day taking down lights and cable in the theatre's mainstage, then walking them across the street to the studio theatre to rehang and cable the lights in preparation for Zink. We had an electrician in to install a light on the side of our box office building so that people can see our banners at night. We also had the electrician rework our house lights in the studio theatre so they can be dimmed on the light board along with the rest of the stage lights. Up until now you had to have an actor turn the light switch off at the side of the room to turn off the house lights for us to start the show and the actor had to turn the house lights back on at intermission and at the end of the show. A couple of times the light board operator had to run across the stage after the show because after curtain call the actors forgot to turn the house lights back on. In the midst of carrying lights across the street and getting ready we had a couple of big thunderstorms with downpours. Our back door to the studio theatre has a small drain outside. In a downpour it overwhelms and floods the back of the theatre with water pouring into the building under the door. That always adds to the drama of the theatre when you drop everything and bail the back hallway.

Saturday- May 3, I worked on lights all morning and April held footlights classes. At noon we left and got ready for the 6th annual derby party which started at 3 pm. This years crowd was down a little from last year but still a good size group making for a great time. The food was great by Kirchhoffs. Max's did the bar for us and Maiden Alley provided the screening of the race. St. Mary and Graves County High School students provided a string quartet for the listening pleasure of Derby Party guests. Bill Brockenbourgh went home with the winning ticket by betting on the winning horse from our 50/50 charity raffle. He took home $150 and the theatre received $150 for our youth and outreach program. We packed up from the Derby party and went home only to change clothes again and return to the theatre to set light cues. April and I set the cues until about 10:30 pm Saturday night.

Sunday morning May 4. April, Jade and I arrived at the theatre about 9:15 with our breakfast from the drive through at McDonalds. I base coated the rock platforms and the tree. April worked on sound cues. Our daughter Jade brought her little DVD player and watched movies and rode her bike in the back parking lot while her parents worked. All Jade's friends tell her how cool it must be to have two parents who work at MHT. Jade just rolls her eyes. The poor kid has spent many a beautiful weekend afternoon cooped up in a dark theatre where "mom and dad" worked out the technical details on a show while she had to find a way to keep herself from going stir crazy. I think she would gladly trade sometimes for her parents to have more normal jobs.

The cast showed up at 1:30 pm and we did a technical rehearsal with costumes, sets, lights and sound for the first time. Sydney Hughes who plays Becky Zaslow, the main character, worked with her wig and bald cap today for the first time. She got her hair cut short so that it would work with the bald cap we purchased from creatures of habit. It takes her about 45 minutes to get it put on correctly and then blended in with her skin. Sydney then has to wear a wig over the cap so it can be removed during the show when she get chemotherapy. All of the Zebra's had their costumes today. The 4 adults who play Becky's parents, her teacher and a hospital nurse also had costumes today. We spent a great deal of time working on special lighting cues for when the predators attack the Zebras and when the Zebras jump from the African Savannah to the human world to help Becky out. We finished the run through about 5pm and then had pizza and ice cream courtesy of MHT board members Ann Counts (thanks also to her husband Phil) and Heather Dorr for providing the Pizza and Ice Cream as a way of saying thanks to the cast and crew for doing the show.

We wrapped up about 6:30 and I promised Jade I would ride bikes with her when we got home because she put in an 8 hour day at the theatre today too. Tomorrow we go back at it.