DON'T PANIC!!!!...Everything is going to be just fine. ( I shouldn't take it as a bad omen that I misspelled "fine" when I first wrote this, right?) I keep repeating these phrases like a mantra. I said it when only 1/2 of the microphones we have work. I said it again when our awesome orchestra leader came to me and said "I don't think we are all going to fit in the pit". Oh yeah and when our awesome orchestra played and when we couldn't hear the singing even with the working microphones...I may have said it again.
I definitely said it when I made a list of thing we don't have yet. The list of things we need is quite eclectic...a bed for Dorothy, anything resembling the Wiz's balloon for his grand exit, flying monkey outfits, Emerald City costumes and condoms (yes, condoms) oh yeah and that one scene doesn't really work ....we need to re choreograph it.... and this list keeps growing .
But you know, everything will be just fine. We have various wonderfully talented people working on the construction of beds and balloons. People are sewing, dying or ordering (what I would do) costumes. Condoms....it has something to do with the sound and the mics and apparently we need extra large ones..you go girl....I received an email earlier today that the condoms were purchased...buy one get one"half off " too!!! Now its been a while since I, myself, actually bought any ...but half-off condoms don't seem too reliable to me. But what do I know....
I have been busy dancing! I danced, pranced and posed all around my living room for a few hours last night playing all the parts of the Emerald City ensemble ( I really have to get curtains for my living room window ...) and now we have that dance to re-learn 11 days before opening night...11 DAYS!!!
Don't Panic...everything is g....I can't say it anymore...did I mention my hair is falling out...I am definitely stressing..this next week is EVERYTHING! My hope for next week is that all our costumes are done especially the Tin Man's pants...which right now look like they were made for the Tin Boy....tight you ask?...we may have to charge more than $8 a ticket and raise the audience age to 18 and older .
I also hope that our microphones vs the orchestra situation comes out win/win. Everyone has worked too hard to not hear every aspect of the score, instrumentally and vocally! I hope the audience in our little tiny auditorium won't have to have that "I couldn't hear the singers" look on their "God it's hot in here" faces.
I hope our lights...wait..lights? ...up until now our lights have been either on or off...I'm sure there will be more of a lighting design, right?....don't panic!!!
I do though, hope some of my panic is shared by the cast . As of our last rehearsal, our fabulous cast of 15 is really just that.. fabulous! They know their lines, they know their entrances and exits and all their cues. The problem is there are roughly 35 people in the cast. Those 15 to 20 people need to turn it up a few 100 notches. The funny part about this whole deal is I know they will. They will make me so proud and some will even surprise me. Plus, I know the costumes will be great, as will the lights and the sound... well...I'm never confident about the sound. The sound is so important and I am admittedly out of element with the sound equipment (see condoms). We have been in 3 different venues and had 3 different sound boards with 3 different groups of sound people -we still have the sound issues. One thing that is always the constant....this scenario...
Me: I couldn't hear them all at on this song
Sound Person: Oh, they must have forgot to turn their mic on.....
Seriously. Every. Year.
A few years back I was watching the Tony Awards ( a high holiday in my house) and their sound sucked ...(Mr. Broderick is your mic turned on?) . Well if the TONY's can't do it ....am I expecting too much?
See, I don't think so ...I really think everything is going to be alright. I think our little Toto is going to make it all the way across the stage with out urinating or worse. I think our Emerald City is going to be gorgeously green and clothed. I think we are going to have full houses every comfortably cool night....I think the theatre gods will be watching over us the next 2 weeks. I just hope my black curls will be intact right through to the last curtain call and maybe even the cast party...just saying
No comments:
Post a Comment