Monday 10th May: Tech Rehearsal
This morning the production team and i set up early for the tech run for Grease. I set up a station where i could sit and watch the rehearsal whilst writing everything down into the script. This consisted of lighting cues, sound cues, set changes and any other changes in the play. I was slightly over whelmed with all of the information i had to take in, however i kept calm and did the best i could. Watching the tech rehearsals was exciting because i could finally see the show coming together with the lighting. I think crew did a really good job of being patient and working hard to get set and props on and off of stage smoothly.
Tuesday 11th May: Dress rehearsal
Today was another early start which the production team and i set up the set for Grease again to do a dress run. This was the first run though in full costume and to try out the quick costume changes.Today was a challenge because the production team was very busy with set and props and getting everything finally organised for the show tomorrow. There were still last minute props missing which i made a list of. We solved this issue by giving people props to collect. For example, one of the props were McDonald’s cups, which Amy and Tyler offered to collect from McDonald's after College for tomorrow. The production team were really good at working together and getting jobs done which made problems easy to solve.
Wednesday 12th May: Show Day
Today i went into college with a really good mindset and i was excited but also slightly anxious. I felt prepared and i made sure the rest of the production team was happy and confident ready for the show. In the morning we managed to complete a smooth run through of the show. I stood at the lighting desk ready to look over and watch the show. I set up a radio and comms to speak to the team. I was slightly anxious about getting the cues right however when i got started i was perfectly fine.
During the run through I made one lighting cue mistake however this was the only cue i was unsure on so i am happy i got to go through it before the show. The main issue we faced during this run through was the slow set changes and getting the actors onto stage quickly. This was a challenge because the actors had really quick costume changes.This run through really helped me get an idea of what to expect for the real show and i felt very confident and excited for the final piece.
After the first run through, we didn’t have long until the show which was at 12:00, we took time to discuss and solve any problems we had such as set changes. I was really happy with our teamwork and communication skills because we were able to ask each other questions which could’ve caused problems otherwise. If anyone had any problems during the show, we made sure our radios were working and we could all hear each other clearly.
The show ran really smoothly from start to finish, there was no issues that stood out to me, this was because of the run through we had in the morning, I think this really adavantaged the team so we could prepare as much as possible. At the end of the show i was happy it was over and i felt a sense of relief. Overall I’m really happy i got the experience of a being DSM and i thought i did a good job and I did the best I could.