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Shadowkiller - 2005-07-30 12:57:09Last Entry: |
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Oooh, cool effects. Burnout is burning hotter. Mmmm. Okay enough of that. Today is the last of the contest entries. Be sure to go back and look at all the entries, and make sure you don't miss the ones that were posted on off days of the comic. Last thing I need to do is get the poll up and running and let you all vote. Enjoy! |
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Shadowkiller - 2005-07-30 12:58:51Mesaarah: |
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Production All I was hoping for was a spot on the stage in my school's auditorium, with maybe a line or two to say. Nothing fancy. I wasn't really surprised, though, when I read the cast list and my name wasn't on it. But then, just as I'd given up hope, Ms. Weber stopped me in the hall, saying it was about the musical. The directors wanted me to be stage manager! They hadn't put my name on the cast list because they were hoping to have the benefit of my organization backstage, and my memory to prompt the actors when they forgot their lines. Ms. Weber was quick to assure me that, if I would rather be onstage, I could have a small speaking part instead. I was equally quick to assure her that I would be quite happy as stage manager. I had never dreamed of having such an important job in the production of the all-school musical. As several people pointed out, I would even get to boss around grade twelves. I started my job a week later, attending rehearsals, taking notes, and helping to work out logistics. Right from the start it was great fun, but as the show took shape, my job became more and more interesting. I gained power, in the form of a whistle to be used at my discretion to quiet the unruly cast. I also took on the duties of prompter as the actors were weaned from their scripts. Their mishaps were often amusing, though, having acted in plays myself, I could certainly sympathize. The directors had few preconceived ideas, so we all worked together to come up with details of set, props, and costumes. Because of this, these details were subject to frequent changes, making keeping track of which items were needed where and at what time interesting at best. As the set was completed, bulrushes were installed along the front of the stage. This proved disruptive, as they had the habit of exploding in a cloud of tiny bits of fluff whenever anything bumped them. Costumes, too, became troublesome, since people insisted on trading colours of T-shirts, even after they had been told that certain groups were supposed to be in certain colours. However, the thing that I would have thought would be hardest for the actors was actually one that they seemed to find quite easy. Once they had been taught the choreography, they rarely forgot their steps, or if they did, it was not noticeable. They seemed to have much more trouble with the thing that I found easy: lines. The job of prompter actually became a bit difficult. I had to listen to the actors, write down the mistakes they had to fix, and give them their lines when they got lost, all simultaneously. It was certainly tiring, especially before I had memorized the script, when I still had to look up every line that was needed. Though I was easily able to memorize lines, I knew I was best suited to the job I had: I could never have duplicated the feeling that the actors injected into those simple lines. Certainly, I will never forget the resounding "Can ah hear a hallelujah!" that was delivered in a perfectly imitated Southern drawl three times per rehearsal, nor the energy of the lone student with a legitimate drawl as he proclaimed "...he takes five boxes of Nabiscos, two cans of sardines, and he feeds five thousand people!" Maybe it was work, but it sure didn't seem like it, especially with all the laughter. People kept telling each other about the time that one of the teachers who was playing music for the play was asked what time it was, and he kept looking around for his watch in his pockets and on the floor until someone pointed out that it was on his wrist. There was fun to be had in the wings during rehearsals as well, with crowds of actors doing silly dances to the songs that those on stage were singing, and impromptu renditions of "Part of Your World" and other Disney classics by a female quartet. Finally, it was time to perform our masterpiece. The show opened ten minutes late because the audience didn't seem to understand that flicking the lights meant it was time for them to find seats. We didn't mind having the extra time, though: we spent it laughing at a hapless teacher's blue-and-white striped train conductor style overalls, and trying to figure out why he would want to go onstage in them. The performance went quite well, from my point of view at least. Someone had found a spray-can of something that stopped the bulrushes from exploding, and no-one needed the prompter to shout out lines on the middle of the performance, though their lines did drift from the script in places. One actor added an extra "Can ah hear a hallelujah!", causing the rest of the cast to audibly strain their voices trying to be louder than their previous hallelujah. Some people, however, may not have had as high an opinion of the success of the performance as I did. During the intermission, I noticed the narrator talking to one of the directors backstage and looking extremely sheepish. I later found out that, in his excitement, instead of pretending to drink the liquid from the water-into-wine trick, he had actually drunk some of it. The liquid was poisonous. Fortunately, poison control told the teacher who phoned them a simple antidote for the stuff, and the narrator was fine. As far as I could tell he looked more sheepish than scared, though he did stay far away from that glass during subsequent performances. I have yet to figure out why they couldn't have used Kool-Aid crystals or something else non-poisonous to colour the water. The play itself was a success. The audience obviously loved it, and spent half their time laughing. There were almost as many jokes in the play as there were at the rehearsals! After the last performance, all the backstage workers were called up on stage to be recognized, and some of the more prominent ones were given gifts in recognition of their work. One cast member had acquired dalmatian-spotted cowboy hats for the teachers who had worked on the play. I myself got a $50 Chapters gift card. Now if only I could get paid for having fun more often... |
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