Okay, so I haven't blogged all week. Let me explain myself.
So my "day job" as you may already know, is being a theater technician. This used to mean load ins (putting up the set for a show) or load outs (taking down a set) and the occasional show to run. In the last two years I have been lucky enough to work for a venue rather than as a freelancer. This means that they keep me around as their "Deck Carpenter" to run shows backstage. I am ever so grateful because one of the hardest parts to being a theater tech are those weeks or months of no work at all. Now I'm fairly confident that every few months I'll be on a new show.
There is a lot to getting a show viewable for an audience, and this is by far the hardest part of any technicians job. Of course, the very first step doesn't involve me (unless I'm a stage manager which I do as well at times) which is the rehearsal process. This usually means the cast, director and stage managers are in a rehearsal hall somewhere, learning the script, blocking and choreographing while the set is being loaded into the theater. The next step to any show's life is the hardest, whether it lasts a day or a week. It's called "tech". Often referred to as hell week.
When running a regular, equity show, we can have up to 5 "10 out of 12s). Well, the 10 really only applies to the actors because they are under a certain contract where their time is limited. However, the techies often come in hours in advance to take care of notes and cleaning before the tech rehearsal begins.
What is technical rehearsal? It's when all the actors, designers, directors, stage managers and technicians join together for the first time and start to add all the technical elements to the show. What are the technical elements? Lights, sound, props, set pieces, costumes and sometimes pyrotechnics, sfx and a band. We pick up from the top of the show and usually hold every new pose the actors make for what seems like ages while the designers get all the lights right, sounds right, etc.
As an example, this current show I'm working on, Act I took 4 days and Act II took 2. We had 5 days of 10 out of 12s which meant we left at 1130. Then after that, we worked mostly the same hours but had to be released at 10pm
So as you can see....long days. From May 1st to today, we worked every day (except Monday) all day. I left my apartment around 10 every morning and got home around 1230am. It is truly exhausting and all we can do is hope and pray that audiences actually appreciate and enjoy the show we put so much time, love and drama into. Yeah, drama, I won't even bother getting into that now.
Just don't forget that all of us are in pretty tight quarters and forced to be around each other all day, every day except when we're home sleeping. Naturally there will always be someone who doesn't get along with someone else, then add the exhaustion/stress factor.
So anyhow, this is why every now and then, for about a week or maybe more, I completely fall of the radar. I do bring my computer with me to work which does allow me to do things like flickr, blog, etc, however, we all often find ourselves either waiting for a cue all day which means you can't get distracted, or so tired that doing something like typing up a blog entry sounds like climbing Mt. Everest.
So please forgive me every few months when I have to disappear like this. Granted, not every show is as difficult as this one, but most techs are just a pain in the ass, no matter how simple the show.
We're done with tech rehearsals now and had our first audiences this weekend for previews. BUT... until we open the show in June, we still have rehearsal every single day. So I'll still be at work every day, however it should be far less hectic.
Whew.
Oh, and check out the photo above to learn more!
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