Last night, for the first time in nearly two years, I participated in the first technical rehearsal for a community theater production. For those who have never done anything like this, it means the first time the cast has rehearsed with all the lighting and sound effects. It is often chaotic, leading to the common term for this day as "tech hell".
It's a long day--we started at 1 PM and did not finish until 8 (with a 40 minute break for pizza). It begins with "cue-to-cue," as the lighting and sound operators check that they know when each effect comes in and when it's over. Then comes a run-through without the effects, to be sure the cast are full ready. Then dinner and a full dress rehearsal with lights and sounds--and more chaos, as the actors are faced with things like "No, Chuck, you can't move that far left on that line, you're moving out of your light" or "Sue, you'll have to speak a bit louder; I've got the sound as low as I can go and I can't hear you over the background noise."
Tonight, we'll do it again, hopefully with all the glitches worked out (although new ones will undoubtedly crop up; they always do). By opening Friday night, all will be well...or as well as live theater ever is.
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