Countdown to opening night

The volunteer project I am working on has entered Tech Week. For those who might not be familiar with the term, this is where we finally add all the technical elements and put the actors and the show together.

This is not always an easy thing, especially working with inexperienced actors. Last night just the tech staff met, the director, lighting designer, sound designer and myself. We tried to go through the entire show without actors and decide where sound and light cues should be placed. This in theory should help save some time in tonight's rehearsal. But there will be plenty of stopping and starting as we figure out sound levels and actual light versus actor placement.

It becomes sort of tedious to most people and I am worried that this group will become easily distracted or frustrated since they have never done anything like this. My plan is to explain the process and its importance and that should help, but three hours of standing around while we try to get things just right will be long.

I also plan to get some pictures of the process over the next few days. I will try to post things throughout the week, but it may not all get posted until the week is over. We have rehearsals every night this week, so I may or may not be coherent enough to blog.

I am really excited about the show. We had a run through this weekend, and while they are still struggling to remember lines, they are really doing a great job of telling the stories. If we all survive the tech process it's really going tobe a great show.