Well, we're on.
We opened last Thursday, December the 14th, almost exactly 11 months after the auditions were held. It's been a long, long journey, but now we have reached the destination.
The final preparations for the show involved a week-long period of techinacal and dress rehearsals - a considerable luxury for a company used to a single day to complete a get-in, fit-up and dry technical rehearsal, but boy did we need it!
The set itself is a monster, creating a whole new acting level around three sides of the Arts Centre space, with access via ladders, steps and a fireman's pole (much fun was had trying this out, but sadly I don't get to use it in the show itself). five extra entrance points have been created by this additional space, including two huge doors at the back which open up fully to create an extra, if very small, acting space which will be used for scenes such as Lee Scoresby's balloon and Lord Asriel's battle quarters.
It actually took us a week or so to get the set fully completed, including painting, and several large scenes had to be reblocked as new problems were discovered once in the space.
We had several dress rehearsals in this week, all completed in a space in various stages of completion, with painting, sound effects, and video projections being frantically finished for opening night. It's a bit of a cliche, but I am certain it is true that we performed our opening night with paint literally still drying on the set!
It was an intensely busy and stressful time, for everyone. John, the stage-manager, and a handful of other people put in unspeakably long hours to get everything ready. Yet through all this, what has been remarkable is the tremendous cooperative spirit amongst everyone, cast, stage-crew and technicians. This camaraderie and pulling together has been one of the most striking aspects of this whole adventure, and I don't believe I have heard a single voice raised in anger throughout.
As I write this, we have completed 5 performances, three for Part 1 and 2 for Part 2, and each one has been to a sell-out audience. This looks to be the case for the rest of the run, with only a handful of tickets left for one of the performances on the final Saturday.
Audience's have been making lots of positive noises after the show as well, which is always nice, but is possibly to be expected out of politeness. Nonetheless, one can't help picking up a tremendously positive vibe in the foyer, and it looks as though we might have actually cracked it!
The final preparations for the show involved a week-long period of techinacal and dress rehearsals - a considerable luxury for a company used to a single day to complete a get-in, fit-up and dry technical rehearsal, but boy did we need it!
The set itself is a monster, creating a whole new acting level around three sides of the Arts Centre space, with access via ladders, steps and a fireman's pole (much fun was had trying this out, but sadly I don't get to use it in the show itself). five extra entrance points have been created by this additional space, including two huge doors at the back which open up fully to create an extra, if very small, acting space which will be used for scenes such as Lee Scoresby's balloon and Lord Asriel's battle quarters.
It actually took us a week or so to get the set fully completed, including painting, and several large scenes had to be reblocked as new problems were discovered once in the space.
We had several dress rehearsals in this week, all completed in a space in various stages of completion, with painting, sound effects, and video projections being frantically finished for opening night. It's a bit of a cliche, but I am certain it is true that we performed our opening night with paint literally still drying on the set!
It was an intensely busy and stressful time, for everyone. John, the stage-manager, and a handful of other people put in unspeakably long hours to get everything ready. Yet through all this, what has been remarkable is the tremendous cooperative spirit amongst everyone, cast, stage-crew and technicians. This camaraderie and pulling together has been one of the most striking aspects of this whole adventure, and I don't believe I have heard a single voice raised in anger throughout.
As I write this, we have completed 5 performances, three for Part 1 and 2 for Part 2, and each one has been to a sell-out audience. This looks to be the case for the rest of the run, with only a handful of tickets left for one of the performances on the final Saturday.
Audience's have been making lots of positive noises after the show as well, which is always nice, but is possibly to be expected out of politeness. Nonetheless, one can't help picking up a tremendously positive vibe in the foyer, and it looks as though we might have actually cracked it!
posted by Cracked Actor at Wednesday, December 20, 2006
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