Week 3
Technical rehearsals
(OR there is no 'I' in team!)
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
I should begin by explaining that our resident blogger Charlie is having a few weeks off. He received some bad news earlier in the week and thus the onus falls on the director to hold the blogging fort until Charlie's return to us in Bath. Charlie we miss you and our thoughts are with you.
Before you can open a show to the general public first you must spend a few days locked night and day in a theatre (inevitable the sun shines gloriously during this period) adding sound, light and all the backstage cues for the stage management team. The cast have to adjust from having been in a rehearsal room without any set to suddenly having a working (hopefully) set complete with doors, windows and other surprises.
For this show we were given the luxury of working at the brilliant Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. If you have had the pleasure of visiting the theatre here in Guildford you will know that it is place that likes to do things properly. The ushers that show you to your seats wear smart bow ties and crisp white shirts, they serve great food and they employ fantastic people. From the front of house team to the backstage staff- it is such a luxury during a busy technical period to have the support of a theatre like this- and my thanks and admiration are sent out to everyone who helped us open our shows here.
(Siobhan posing in front of another picture of her posing at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre)
Monday was a day spent putting up the set (supervised by Hayley- designer in chief), rigging sound (Billy Connolly look-a-like- and sound guru Dom) the lights with Tony (Lighting Designer and father to be (due any day now!)), putting the finishing touches to our mammoth props list (the super Claire Auvache), fitting the costumes with wardrobe supervisor (and the best dancer in the company- Toni) and making sure everything would be ready to start the 'technical rehearsal' proper on Tuesday.
For me it's such an exciting day, suddenly the set which has for many months been just a small model comes to life- in a matter of hours. The vision which you balance in your minds eye of how the action will unfold against the cold backdrop of a barren rehearsal room- suddenly takes a massive step forward. Like a child in a toy shop, I spent some hours sat at the back watching our whole team working as the show began to take form.
Meanwhile some of the cast were upstairs with their suitcases working with Charlotte my associate director fine tuning lines and timing in a rehearsal room- which to make them feel at home- was even hotter than the one we had left in London!
(Rehearsing in the greenhouse on Monday with Rupert and Siobhan)
That evening we went for a bite to eat, actors and creative team all together- all excitedly speculating about what the next few days would bring.
The theatre full of the detritus of a technical rehearsal
...In fact before we get to the technical rehearsal itself- I should mention that The Theatre being run by such thoughtful folk (thank you Carmella) put some of the team up at a lovely hotel just up from the hight street- called The Mandolay- it had the big advantage of having a lovely bar with a terrace with a heat switch. This meant that we could retire and continue chatting long after the music hours- in the hub bub of rehearsals it is surprising how little you get to relax with your colleagues- it was one of the real pleasures of the week- that after long hard days to come back to a nice hotel, have a drink and compare notes. So thanks to The Mandolay (they do a mean Mojito)- your contribution to production week was small but perfectly formed.
(The view from the directors desk mid tech)
Then suddenly two days and 5 sessions later pass without a moment to think. A tech session is approximately 3 hours. So that sounds like 15 hours. That sounds a lot. It isn't. Even for a play as seemingly technically unchallenging as these ones...Two acts, Two locations, 4 actors...easy?...No. As Charlie mentioned we have a fiendishly complicated live set change which he spoke about last week to contend with as well as an amazing reveal at the end- all of which involve flying things on lines in and out- combine that with precision timed lighting and sound cues and lots of furniture moving and you have a recipe for a big director and production manager (Nick) headache. We got there. Just. By thursday at 12:30pm we had just about got the actors through to taking their bows...we had to rush through a few bits- but as with all techs you never feel you have quote enough time.
(Here is Mike, CSM, talking Rupert through something very important...probably)
During this time, Dom our sound designer consumed lots of beastly food and we all drank lots of coffee and we all got very tired and we all had lots of creative problems but what made me proud of the team is that despite all the stresses- to the outward eye- if you were to come and sit in watch from the back of the stalls- I can guarantee that you wouldn't have noticed anything untoward. What makes this group special is that they are all top pros, they knuckled down, they solved the problems and they moved forward. Thus despite the strains and lack of sleep by the end of the week the best way of describing the process was that of it being 'a team effort'. The words on everyone's lips. It's one of the joyous things about making theatre.
(Red. Nice and just over 500 seats and Steven Blakeley warming up)
We staged a dress rehearsal, we took some photos, we took notes, we gave notes, we had a drink at the hotel, we didn't sleep very much, we drunk some more coffee and then...then before catching your breath you hit the opening night...except it was 2.30pm and it was a matinee on a Thursday.
Odd. I have never had a show on a Thursday afternoon, but the audience were taking their seats and the house lights faded and the curtain went up and Rupert came on swaggering as Ted in The Private Ear and we were off. Owing to the late August bank holiday where we would normally get into the theatre in a Sunday, we ended up losing a day and a performance and so it made sense to open in the afternoon- and why not?
I was sat at the back. I confess to feeling a little more nervous than usual. During a dress rehearsal you can stop, you try not to, but there is a safety net- as soon as the audience come up- the safety net disappears. More importantly these plays have not really been seen in 50 years, there was no way of knowing how they would be received by a live audience. All these months of planning and hard work and now is the moment when you see whether they would work. Further more there is nothing you can do until the curtain comes down. As the director your trust and faith is fully in the hands of your cast and stage managers. So I sat, I held my breath and hoped.
It went well, the audience were maybe a little quiet, the shows were still a little too long- but it worked. The ending needed work, but in the main for a first show- it was about as good as we could have hoped.
Job done!? No. Not yet, Lots more notes- some of which we didn't have time to implement until Friday. A couple of hours, and then in comes the evening audience, this time filled with some friends, agents and theatre supporters- an opening night then.
Breath barely caught and back into watch the shows again, quicker, better, tighter, funnier. The scene change was a triumph and even earned its own round of applause- delivered brilliantly by Charlie, Esther and Zac and the rest of the cast. Siobhan, Jasper, Steven and Rupert really started making the roles their own and we watched in the darkness of the auditorium- as tiredness gave wake to a small sense of excitement that our plays were being enjoyed by a paying audience.
(Scene change in action! Photo by Alastair Muir)
Now if this was Charlie's blog- I would be mentioning that the real event of Thursday was not the shows opening at all. But rather ZACHARY HOLTON'S birthday. 75 years (nearly) in the theatre world. Zac has already received too much airtime in these blogs- but after a few shows working elsewhere it must said that is a pleasure to have the big friendly giant (BFG) back with us. He is a theatre man through and through and in these plays alone he works tirelessly with Charlie, Esther, Mike and Lauren backstage, undertsudies and will light the show on tour. So Zac. Thank you...and never mind that your birthday upstaged our first night party- you did a good speech (and a good bear).
(Here is Zac and Charlie mid pre show prop check)
In fact this blog is beginning to feel like a grooms speech at a wedding. Thanking everyone but saying very little- but it is maybe easy to forget the paddling legs beneath the surface of a theatre production. So much work goes unnoticed- and is only ever noticed when it goes wrong. Our DSM Lauren sits camera shy, but totally focussed at prompt corner- never missing a beat or a cue (except when her trigger button fails...), Esther as well as understudying Siobhan is busy helping with Rupert's hair, Siobhan's hair and all the costumes; Mike is overseeing everything and that doesn't even mention all the resident in house staff led wonderfully by Lisa. I am indebted to you all.
(Charlie's seat backstage- we'll keep it warm for you until you return we promise!)
The first few series of performance allow the cast the chance to wear the characters in in front of an audience. I've said it before and will do so, no doubt, again. But you (our audience...are you coming by the way?) play a pivotal role in the show every night. Your attention, laughter, good will and presence is enough to transform a performance- equally sometime we need time to get to learn how you work- so timings, riding the arc of the play- it's rhythms and musicality all need time to bed in with an audience there in the room with you. So there was a bit of tweaking that went on over the final few shows of the week- pruning, improving, making it better- basically.
(A shot from The Private Ear, photo by Alastair Muir)
So that's it. Saturday reached and then before you know it the bulk of our team all depart onto their next jobs. Hayley, Toni, Chrissie, Charlotte, Claire, Nick, Dom, Tim and Tony all departing into the night their notebooks moving onto the next show- but their work is proudly now on display at The Yvonne Arnaud and then on tour.
My final work is to our author, Peter Shaffer whom we hope will visit us in the near future. These plays were written over 50 years ago- in some ways they are very much period pieces, yet in front of an audience the strength of reaction, the sheer joy, heartbreak and wit displayed is a continuous delight. Good writing always wins out- we have a great team, a great cast and no less than two fantastic plays by one of our great playwrights. What a rare priviledge.
Lauren and Zac having a well deserved snifter in the nearby pub-
Do try and catch us on tour. www.originaltheatre.com
Alastair
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