The stage is dark.
Coordinating the directors-
"I heard from Becky- she's in!" (this means we have a pit orchestra instead of canned music!)
"Jake said he will be choral director" ( he shows up to ALL practices so the actors can rehearse to a live piano instead of a soundtrack)
"Gene and I will direct the show if you will direct the orphans"
"Ok I can do that"
"Diane will do hair"
"Colleen has volunteered to help with choreography" which is a good thing because I don't dance and am clueless about it all
"contact Mike and see if he will be technical director- he's amazing"
Comparing schedules -
"what's going on the weekend of.....?"
"no that's the Relay"
"Bud Open"
"county fair" .... "Ok- how about...."
Ordering the scripts and musical scores plus applying for the license to perform "ANNIE" (THEY SAID YES!) Ok we got the show now onto the next phase.....
Meeting with the Recreation Center staff and hammering out details about using the theater from the end of May until the middle of July.
Designing the sets- drawing several pictures and then figuring out the best way to get those ideas to work on the stage and consulting with the stage manager during set construction and modifying the ideas so it's easier for him and his crew to manage the set pieces for scene changes.
Going through the stage lights and replacing burned out bulbs and repairing broken fixtures so we aren't dancing in the dark. Setting the lights - meaning pointing them in the right direction. Setting light cues- lighting adds so much to a show- from signaling when a scene opens to setting the mood to creating a dramatic effect like lightning.
Auditions.
Casting meeting- so many talented people auditioned it took several nights to figure it all out.
Notify the people who auditioned about parts.
First read through .....
Rehearsals.....week after week
Blocking, choreography, memorize lines, "no wait that won't work you need to come in from stage right....."
"don't stand with your back to audience!"
"you are going to have to be much louder on stage"
"the orphans are AMAZING!"
" I just want to put you in my pocket and take you home!"
Sets are done- TWO WEEKS ahead of schedule!
Costumes are ready! "here let me sew that back on for you"Publicity- if you don't tell anyone about the show then you can't expect them to buy tickets.
Printing posters and tickets. Assembling all the information for the program and getting that to the printer in time for opening night. How many should we print? How many tickets can we sell?
I used to think it was called community theater because it happened in our town - you know like city or town .
Now I know different.
Now I know that it is truly a community of people who have come together to do something wonderful. All of us working on "ANNIE" are volunteers. We all have jobs, families responsibilities and obligations that demand so much of our time. Yet we found the time to work on this wonderful project. We have doctors, a nurse, teachers, self employed business owners, recent high school graduates and grade school students, an IRS agent and the best employee Hy-Vee has ever had all on our stage. Some of the people have never been on a stage before. Our youngest performer is almost 8 (her birthday is this week) and our oldest performer is .... well we aren't going to compare ages on that end ok? We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. We have worked around vacations and camps and conferences. We have put in long hours. We have been frustrated with each other and at times short tempered. We have cheered each other when the scene/dance/song finally came together.
We are a community. House lights dim.
Overture
Stage lights slowly come up
Curtain opens.....the show begins.
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