Keep it simple

Last nights rehearsal was a one of those steps forward and backward. We have so much technical stuff packed into the Wizard of Oz that at times it can overwhelm everything else. Scene changes and special effects require lots of practice and timing. However we are still creating some of these effects right up to opening so the technical crew has almost no time to rehearse with the new effects. As a result when things go wrong they go really wrong. The sound system last night decided it was going to drive that point home to me with a vengeance. I moved speakers yesterday trying to get a louder sound for the cast to sing and dance to and yet not overpower the singing voices. This is always the point where I'm telling the orchestra to play softer! However with a digital sound it is the level I set. Last night we were too soft, too loud, non existent, etc.. Flash pots tripped breakers and went off early, at one point one of the munchkins pants fell down, one of the dancers hurt her ankle and tried valiantly to hop through the rest of her numbers. Jim accidentally incorrectly wired the wizard head so the it looked like a really bad carnival clown with a flashing nose instead of a scary wizard. The rehearsal ran so long that I had to let the cast go without notes and start tonight's rehearsal with the notes. I stayed until almost 2 am last night trying to fix all the sound levels. I began again this morning at 6 to try to sort out the video images that need to appear.

The performers are still improving. That is at least some consolation in this special effects and scenic nightmare that I'm dealing with. In the midst of the chaos the performers were the bright spot. I have several brand new performers who are still learning how to sustain the energy through an entire scene. That will be the focus of my work with the performers tonight. On the technical side today and tomorrow will be spent simplifying and fixing problems. As I began yesterday I was like that dog that chases its tail trying to fix the problems. I literally walked around the stage for about 25 minutes starting one project then walking to get something and stopping to fix something else and then walking to get something and beginning another thing and on and on. Today I will focus on one problem until it is fixed. Opening is 2 days. We will get there.