March 15, 2005

It's been over for a while now (two weeks), and I finally decided to conclude this file, since we're well into the next play by now.

The play rocked, in my opinion. I called it well, it was exciting and funny to watch, and most of the audience seemed to recieve it well.

There was some negative feedback from the audience, though. I heard several people describe it as one of the weakest plays they had seen at Hanes Theatre. Most of them blamed the script.

I found this unusual, because I find the script to be pure genius. This man not only has a way with words and a powerful command of the English language, but also a fine-honed wit. The script was completely void of serious flaws.

Likewise, our performance of the play was flawless. The ladies were extremely well-played, and Matt did a superb job switching between his varied characters. The costumes looked fabulous, and the play was visually and aurally interesting in the most awesome ways, due mostly to the efforts of J.T. (scenic and lighting design) and Tamsin (audio design). I honestly thought the play would be one of the best we've ever done.

The audiences, though, didn't seem to agree. While they responded very well when something funny or dramatic happened, they were very small and each night they shrunk during intermission. It saddens me that something I felt was so awesome ended up being not-so-awesome. Alas.

February 4, 2005

Man, I love my actors. They're good at what they do, and they consistently make me laugh. I think sometimes I'm a bit of an ass to them, but I've learned from the best of PSMs throughout the years.

Rehearsal-wise it's going very well. The lines are coming together gradually, and the acting is too. The techies start trickling into rehearsal on Monday, and I'm looking forward to that.

We went to Playmakers and borrowed props yesterday. We got a bunch of old-fashioned stuff, and it will make for a good show. A crazy show, but a good one. There are all sorts of fairly random props in the show, and we picked up a good number of them from Playmakers.

Audio seems to be coming together well. Tamsin is pulling in tracks from all over the place and mixing them together for what should end up being an absolutely mesmerizing soundtrack for the show. There will probably be only a few brief moments of PA silence.

The set is being built slowly but surely. I'm going in for an open shop from 11-3 tomorrow, and it should make a lot of progress then.

That is all for now.

January 18, 2005

We had our first rehearsal today. It was good. Now that I've heard them read throught the whole play I think it'll turn out very well. I'm starting to become excited about it. J.T. sounds like he's planning to introduce some awesome lighting effects, which makes me feel honored to be the PSM. There is a rumor going around that Mr. Eric Overmyer himself (Reed College '73) might be in attendance in one of our audiences. I hope to meet him if he comes. It would be an honor to meet him.

January 17, 2005

I think I'm ready for the beginning. Rehearsals start tomorrow, and I have everything I can possibly imaging that a stage manager might need. I have a well-equipped prompt book with two zippered pouches. I have stickers and pencils and pens and sharpies and dividers and looseleaf notebook paper and unlined paper. I have a clock and a sharp mind and these things qualify me in the extreme to be a stage manager.