| Production Proccess - END DAYS Technical Rehearsals
by Jim Davis - Managing Director on 10/24/2009 02:56:00 PM
Greetings from Jim Davis, your friendly neighborhood Production Manager, reporting from the theatre and the first day of technical rehearsals for END DAYS. I am always amazed at how quickly the scenic, prop, lighting, sound and costume elements can change to an entirely new world. We've gone from the basement research lab of BOOM to he living room and kitchen of the Stein family of END DAYS in no less than ten days!
The creative team has been hard at work in planning meetings since last summer, and especially hard over the past few weeks to get all of the elements ready for this very concentrated time known as "technical rehearsals". A simple looking transition can involve several light cues, sound cues, movements of props and costumes. In these days of amazing technology we're now able to make amazingly complicated effects that would have been impossible just 15 years ago, but all of these effects must be programmed into the sound and lighting computers... and that takes LOTS of time. Add that to a stage manager calling the whole thing from the control booth, a sound engineer and light board operator running the cues, and the assistant stage manager making sure that the movements of props, costumes and props all happen with perfectly with the actors, the complicated details can be enough to give you a headache... but without the talented people to do this work, there would be naked actors in the dark on an empty stage!
I've always felt that people who earn their living as technicians, stage managers and designers often get overlooked by audiences who maybe don't realize all the details that go into putting up a professional production. So, below you can meet some of the members of the creative and technical team who are responsible for bringing this play to life:
Production Stage Manager Nancy Staiger, Director Shade Murray and Lighting Designer Lee Fiskness discussing cues on a break.
Sound Designers Marni and Nick Keenan programming a complicated palette of complicated and layered sound effects and music.
Lighting Designer Lee Fiskness adding a few lights during the first technical rehearsal.
While every detail is being worked out on stage, the rest of the creative team is working on elements in their department.
Assistant Scenic Designer Izumi Inaba and Scenic Designer Andre LaSalle making plans for set dressing while the tech rehearsal takes place on stage.
Costume Designer Mellisa Torchia training cast member Carolyn Faye Kramer the correct method for applying her makeup.
Production Assistant Justin Argenio and Properties Master Patrick Fries working on building a lot of fake bibles.
Next Theatre Company is very fortunate to work with some of the most talented and creative theatre artists in the Chicago area, and I know that I'm lucky to be able to spend these long days with these amazingly talented people, sitting in the dark theatre working our way cue by cue, costume by costume, prop by prop, creating the world of the play.
Talk soon,
Jim Davis, Production ManagerLabels: End Days, Production Department, Technical
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We really enjoyed this show! Along with the first show of the season, this is shaping up as the best since we began subscribing.
Wonderful cast, costumes,and great set!Next knows how to deliver an enjoyable performance.J.Waters
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