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| Costumes: Melanie Mortimore Photo: Sarah Matlow |
Tech week is what we theatre people refer to the week before a production opens. This is when the actors enter the space and all the technical elements of the show come together. We add costumes, lights, set, props, sound, makeup, etc. during this week. This process, bringing it all together, takes a long time. Our tech week starts on Saturday night for our spacing rehearsal. This is the first-time actors get to do the full show on the set and readjust the "blocking" aka the movements for the show. After this run is over, we go home and rest up for the longest day of the week. On Sunday I arrived at the theatre at 1p for our Cue to Cue run. This is when we go through the entire show adding in lighting and sound cues. This process can take anywhere from 5-10 hours, sometimes more! Our Cue to Cue ended around 7:30p that night after an hour and a half dinner break from 5-6:30p. This was the quickest Cue to Cue I have ever been a part of, and it was fantastic. We were able get another run of the show in before we left that night at 11p.
Monday was our first day with costumes. This is a period show set in the late 19th century, so we have been rehearsing with a corset, petticoat, and heels for the whole 5-week process. We added our full blouses, skirts, and hair extensions on Monday. Before running the show in costumes, we went through and ran the quick changes. There are three quick changes in this show, two for our main character Nora, and one for me. Luckily, I have two amazing cast mates who help me change in about two minutes or so. It is vital to rehearse the quick changes to get a feel for how much time we have, what costume pieces you work with, and the best process for getting everything off and on. I have been a costume dresser for my last four shows I've been a part of so to be on the other side of it is quite exhilarating. After running the costumes changes, we ran the full show. It was very stop and go since all of the cues were still so new.
Tuesday, we added hair and makeup and took some promo shots. 2020 ONU alum Sarah Matlow came to photograph us while we did our run. I was in a pretty bad headspace for this run because I had a hard day for my self-confidence. My costume pieces were built for me, which means the fit beautifully, but they also take a long time to finish so my costumes weren't finished when we got the pictures. I also didn't get much guidance with how I should do my hair. I keep my hair fairly short, so I have to put in extensions for the show so it's hard to put all my hair up. However, after I got over the initial self-consciousness and I got into my character and had a really great performance.
Last night, Wednesday, was the invited final dress rehearsal. We sent out an email to our department and invited other friends to come see the show so we could have an audience. It was incredible to have that a real audience who had never seen our show before. I am incredibly proud of this production and all the hard work we have put into it. This is my last show here at Ohio Northern University and I am so blessed to be a part of this incredible cast! We have shows Thursday Feb. 24 at 7:30p, Friday Feb. 25 at 7:30p, Saturday Feb. 26 at 2p and 7:30p, and Sunday Feb. 27 at 2p. Tickets are available at the Freed Center Box Office or online at www.freed.center!
I admire this so much! You're passion for this type of art is amazing. I wish I was able to do stuff like this, but I am just way too shy. Stage fright is extreme for me. I hope you had an amazing show, I wish I could have seen you in action!
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