Sunday, November 29, 2009
Ten Seconds to Change: Taking in the show backstage at “Irma Vep”
Newcity Stage: "There are few plays that can boast a backstage drama to rival the one being seen out front. “The Mystery of Irma Vep, A Penny Dreadful” is one of those plays."
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5 comments:
How wonderful to see an article discussing the backstage drama that can occur during shows. I feel like people don't normally realize how stressful it is backstage and how much focus it requires - especially when dealing with quick changes. I like that this article gives credit to those usually looked over. Way to go backstage dressers!
This show must have had one stressful tech process. The number of cues called by the Stage Manager aside, rehearsing all the quick changes in real time is an arduous process, so I'm not surprised they spent a couple days just working the changes so that when they actually came to them in tech they weren't trying them for the first time. This situation is a prime example of how a backstage crew must not only be experts at their jobs during the show, but be proactive about monitoring the changing conditions backstage and correcting any mistakes BEFORE they occur.
This is so intense. We have a quick change lesson in our stagecraft course but I simply cannot imagine what these changes look like. I also really appreciate how everyone is very calm and several days went into the specific changes. It appears that in this production just as much time went into what happens backstage as what happens for the audience. This is so refreshing to see as usually the tech people and actors battle out what will happen backstage on their own and it can change from night to night. This method however ensures that everything will be done just so. The beauty of it is that a person can be replaced if they are sick because each person has a job from start to end. I wonder though how the quick changes contribute to the plot of the show. The audience obviously knows its the same actor in each costume, but what about the characters? Would the story work if each character was played by a different actor?
I am always impressed at theater artists ability to take what must look like a blur backstage and turn it into something calm, collected, and seemingly perfect on stage. When I am working on a show, I am constantly surprised by how many mistakes get past the audience's perception. I think that sometimes, the show backstage is much more interesting and more choreographed and precise than the show on stage. Maybe this is because I am a theater person, but there is so much craft and skill that goes into a perfectly executed cue, especially the quick changes mentioned in this article, that it is hard not to be amazed.
These are the best kind of shows to run back stage, where the action never stops and a second is a big deal. I disagree with the stage manager's comment, "This is just another day in stage management…times a thousand.” Forget the times a thousand. Its just another day in stage management and a fun one at that. Congrats to that back stage and stage management teams.
It seems like the director understood these issues from the beginning... which is great because solving these issues in tech would have been a disaster. What do you do with a director who doesn't see the back stage as apart of the big picture on a show like this? My guess would be to drink a lot after trying to convince the director failed.
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