Behind the Scenes

Since it’s the week of the musical, I thought I would blog about how a show takes shape!

So, it all starts in early Spring. The students enrolled in theater at Northern Highlands are given the task of reading new and old musicals. We then report back if we liked it or not and if it might be a good fit for the talent we currently have at our school.  Next comes the decision by our dedicated Director and Producer and the show is announced sometime in May.

Auditions happen right after Thanksgiving; so, if you’re motivated you’ve got 6 months to prepare. Auditions are stressful! The cast is announced on about December 1st. During the month of December we meet several times to read through the script, familiarize ourselves with the plot, characters, relationships, etc., and develop our characters.  What does that mean? That means delving deep into why our character acts and reacts the way they do in every situation, developing a back story for our character – what made us the way we are, and deciding what emotions should be coming through in each scene.

Up next is learning the lyrics, and harmonies to each song. Some of us are singing the melody, while others are singing harmony – not easy. At the same time we are learning the choreography to all the songs – also not easy, especially if you don’t have a background in dance! While all of this is going on, we are memorizing our lines at home.

Now it’s time for blocking – learning where everyone is supposed to be on stage during the entire two hour show and how we all interact with each other. I feel for our director.  This part of the process is a bit like herding cats.

Okay, are you still with me?  Now let’s put it all together – singing while dancing while smiling, acting with emotion, being where you need to be at all times, and did I mention making sure you have the correct props at the ready. Oh, and don’t forget, eventually you have to do ALL this with a live audience watching you!

Now comes the stage crew. They have to learn to change the sets throughout the entire production. They move furniture, props, close and open curtains, operate the spotlights, microphones, lighting, backgrounds and special effects. Honestly, without them the show does not go on! We have a tech rehearsal a week before opening night. For 5 hours we stand on stage in all the spots we will stand during the show and the lighting cues are entered into the lighting system.

Next we add hair, makeup, microphones and costumes – no easy feat. That also includes costume changes. Sometimes you have 10 minutes and other times you have 10 seconds so you might be wearing two outfits layered on top of one another – very hot!

Oh, almost forgot another crucial element to the show – the orchestra! We have sung with the full orchestra only one time prior to dress rehearsals. The orchestra arrives the week of the show for three full dress rehearsals from 5-9 at night.  By Wednesday night we hope all the kinks are worked out. Then finally the curtain goes up and it’s time to show off what we have worked on for months. Enjoy the show!

When I first took an interest in theater, my Dad thought I would be missing out on being part of a team playing field hockey or soccer or lacrosse. After seeing the first production, he realized that a cast and crew and orchestra are a team. They depend upon one another to be successful, maybe even more than a sports team. The cast and crew becomes a family for about 4 months. Show week is a little bittersweet.  It’s an exciting time to finally perform what we’ve worked so hard to create, but it’s sad when the last curtain falls.