Night 2 of tech rehearsals!

The first tech rehearsal was yesterday night. Tonight is the second night where everything is starting to be put together and really smoothed out! The first few hours of rehearsal started with mic EQ-ing which included one actor at a time going onstage and singing or stating lines as loud as they do during the show. This lasts for about 5 minutes or so at a time in order for Tina and Don, the sound technicians, to balance the sound of each person's unique voice on stage so that the audience will be able to hear them clearly. However, I'm sure there is a lot more to mic EQ-ing then this.

At 7:30PM, the tech run of the show continued. All of the actors were in costume as they had been during mic EQ-ing. Tech is always a very intense time for any production because it is when everything is being put together and smoothed out. It includes the actors going through scene by scene in order for all of the production staff to get all the lighting, sound and stage managment cues set up. The actors are getting many things asked of them at the same time. At one point, while the actors are standing in place on stage waiting to start the scene, they could be getting instruction from Mary and then shortly after from Susannah about choreography or lines while Greg, the Costume Designer, will go onstage and fix something on their costumes. At this same time, the actors also have to be listening for Britney, the Stage Manager, to give them the cue for when and where to start the scene.

During tech, Britney sits in the audience with head phones and mic so that she can be heard around the whole theatre, including backstage. She listens to everyone working on the technical aspects of the show in order to inform the actors on stage and backstage when everything is ready to start the scene and from what point in the scene they should start. It is a lot of starting, stopping and then re-doing whole scenes. This is so that all the technical aspects can be smoothed out to fit with what the actors are doing. Each light, sound, and stage management cue is tested and taken note of for each scene and transition between scenes.

At this point in the process, the assistant stage managers are working with the backstage crew to figure out where and when to move props for each scene. While the actors wait for their cue to start, they sometimes practice the scene on their own together and from right where they are standing on stage. They will run lines or speak or sing quietly through the song in the scene that they're going over. During all of this, Don, the head sound technician, walks around the theatre and even onstage to listen to the sound coming through the mics to check how it balances in the space, etc. At this time, there is still just piano accompaniment being used but from the pit down below in the front of the stage.

While tech is going on in the Hoerner, Gail, the Assistant Director, is working with the actors who are not onstage to go over and smooth out/fine tune any scenes that need it. This takes place on the red carpet outside of the Hoerner.

Tech will continue until Monday, which will be the dress rehearsal!