Friday
23rd November
Alex W. and I sat in on the first Tech session for
Wind in the Willows at the Crescent Theatre.
My habit of trying to show up for appointments 30 minutes early came in handy that morning as Google Maps was on the blink and sent me on a merry dance around the canals of Birmingham. After a while I still hadn’t found the theatre and began to ask directions from passers-by but to no avail. Then I started phoning people but everyone seemed to be out of signal or away from their phones.
Finally I found a very basic area map on a sign that at least had the street on it and I reached the theatre at exactly 09:00 after over 30 minutes of wandering around in the wrong directions.
I found Ruth and explained the situation and warned her that if I had been running late due to GPS problems then Alex W. may very well be running late as well. And yes he had had the same trouble but eventually arrived only about 15 minutes late.
After we had signed in Ruth showed us through into the theatre and we got our first look at the fully built stage. Both Alex and I had seen the amazing designs and model box for W.i.t.W during rehearsals, and it had further inspired me in following a more artistic career path but to see it in the flesh… Alex and I just sat there for a long while, open-mouthed in utter awe of the stage. The set was truly incredible; all we could say for a time was ‘WOW!!’
Ruth sent us to shadow the Lighting & Sound crew who were set up on huge desks in the audience seating. From our vantage points behind them we could observe how they were going about setting up the lighting and sound cues from prompt copies and large detailed diagrams. Unfortunately everyone was on ‘cans’ so while we could see what they were doing we couldn’t actually hear what was going on. But even then I found myself beginning to spot certain things on the diagrams and around the stage that I did recognise and understand, where as a matter of months before I wouldn’t have had a single clue. So by osmosis alone I must be learning on my course!
The cast came on stage in costume to do sound checks for their instruments and also their cleverly hidden microphones. Then after that they began doing a cue to cue tech session.
Now for someone who isn’t in the know and is just sitting and watching cue to cue can look extremely odd and possibly quite boring for the actors. As this is the techies time when they control everything that is going on. We watched as it took over an hour to tech about 5 minutes worth of action. Constantly starting up going through certain cues, stopping, going back and repeating it over and over again till the myriad of parts: actors, props, stage, lighting and sound functioned perfectly together. The cast just took it in their stride and seemed comfortable and patient.
When the session stopped for a break, Ruth took us for a tour of the stage and back stage area. It was fascinating to see how a lot of the scenery and props had been made. The rickety looking bridge walkway on close examination turned out to be constructed from thick steel beams and wooden panels, which could easily hold the full cast if needed. The gypsy caravan, the car, train engine and so on were all scale mock ups that still functioned perfectly whilst being light enough of weight to be moved easily around the stage.
As there is practically no wing space at the Crescent, the designer and crew had come up with ingenious ways to store all of the big props and sets and also by using the revolving stage piece and independently opening and closing panel back drops towards the back of the stage moving the sets on and off stage became much more fluid. Absolutely every nook and cranny of the wings was being used to the maximum and I appreciated how organized everything was and that there was a lot of sense to how and where everything was set.
We had a look at some of the prop tables, quick change area (each actor having a plastic hamper under their chair for their props and costume items to be dropped in is a great idea I shall keep in mind for future work), the pulley system for the back drop panels and the crank hand for the revolving stage piece (including video monitor to check angles etc.) and then the prompt desk… A rather confusing looking piece of equipment that is occupied by the DSM during the show, from which action, lighting and sound cues are given, actors can be prompted for forgotten lines and cue lights can be controlled. After seeing a prompt desk in use I think I can now imagine what a civvy must feel like when faced with a coms desk or weaponry control system on a warship for the first time. Daunting indeed.
My habit of trying to show up for appointments 30 minutes early came in handy that morning as Google Maps was on the blink and sent me on a merry dance around the canals of Birmingham. After a while I still hadn’t found the theatre and began to ask directions from passers-by but to no avail. Then I started phoning people but everyone seemed to be out of signal or away from their phones.
Finally I found a very basic area map on a sign that at least had the street on it and I reached the theatre at exactly 09:00 after over 30 minutes of wandering around in the wrong directions.
I found Ruth and explained the situation and warned her that if I had been running late due to GPS problems then Alex W. may very well be running late as well. And yes he had had the same trouble but eventually arrived only about 15 minutes late.
After we had signed in Ruth showed us through into the theatre and we got our first look at the fully built stage. Both Alex and I had seen the amazing designs and model box for W.i.t.W during rehearsals, and it had further inspired me in following a more artistic career path but to see it in the flesh… Alex and I just sat there for a long while, open-mouthed in utter awe of the stage. The set was truly incredible; all we could say for a time was ‘WOW!!’
Ruth sent us to shadow the Lighting & Sound crew who were set up on huge desks in the audience seating. From our vantage points behind them we could observe how they were going about setting up the lighting and sound cues from prompt copies and large detailed diagrams. Unfortunately everyone was on ‘cans’ so while we could see what they were doing we couldn’t actually hear what was going on. But even then I found myself beginning to spot certain things on the diagrams and around the stage that I did recognise and understand, where as a matter of months before I wouldn’t have had a single clue. So by osmosis alone I must be learning on my course!
The cast came on stage in costume to do sound checks for their instruments and also their cleverly hidden microphones. Then after that they began doing a cue to cue tech session.
Now for someone who isn’t in the know and is just sitting and watching cue to cue can look extremely odd and possibly quite boring for the actors. As this is the techies time when they control everything that is going on. We watched as it took over an hour to tech about 5 minutes worth of action. Constantly starting up going through certain cues, stopping, going back and repeating it over and over again till the myriad of parts: actors, props, stage, lighting and sound functioned perfectly together. The cast just took it in their stride and seemed comfortable and patient.
When the session stopped for a break, Ruth took us for a tour of the stage and back stage area. It was fascinating to see how a lot of the scenery and props had been made. The rickety looking bridge walkway on close examination turned out to be constructed from thick steel beams and wooden panels, which could easily hold the full cast if needed. The gypsy caravan, the car, train engine and so on were all scale mock ups that still functioned perfectly whilst being light enough of weight to be moved easily around the stage.
As there is practically no wing space at the Crescent, the designer and crew had come up with ingenious ways to store all of the big props and sets and also by using the revolving stage piece and independently opening and closing panel back drops towards the back of the stage moving the sets on and off stage became much more fluid. Absolutely every nook and cranny of the wings was being used to the maximum and I appreciated how organized everything was and that there was a lot of sense to how and where everything was set.
We had a look at some of the prop tables, quick change area (each actor having a plastic hamper under their chair for their props and costume items to be dropped in is a great idea I shall keep in mind for future work), the pulley system for the back drop panels and the crank hand for the revolving stage piece (including video monitor to check angles etc.) and then the prompt desk… A rather confusing looking piece of equipment that is occupied by the DSM during the show, from which action, lighting and sound cues are given, actors can be prompted for forgotten lines and cue lights can be controlled. After seeing a prompt desk in use I think I can now imagine what a civvy must feel like when faced with a coms desk or weaponry control system on a warship for the first time. Daunting indeed.
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