The Winds & Woes of Outdoor Theatre

Yesterday started out as a normal rehearsal day: Wake up, check the weather (twice), and then head to site for the day. The forecast included a 30% chance of thundershowers, but with light winds and almost no rain, so we pushed forward. About 2 hours into rehearsal the winds began gusting - we're estimating about 80 km/hr and we began to scramble to get the site secured so it wouldn't get wrecked.
The winds were so strong that our fencing was blowing sideways, and after getting pushed around trying to keep it upright, we finally gave up and lay it down on the ground and began to focus on securing the tents which were trying to take off. At the same time we were being hit by gusts of wind that started to knock over the front rows of seats.
The wind did not want to stop there though! It decided that tree branches should no longer be remaining in trees, and once the large branches started falling on stage, we decided that for safety's sake we all needed to leave the site and head to safer grounds. The dust was flying and getting in everyone's eyes, and if the tents did pick up we did not want to be under them.

Today's forecast is for thunderstorms again, so hopefully we don't have to cancel opening night.

Welcome to the rehearsal hall

During my time as a stage manager I have come to strongly believe that the atmosphere of the rehearsal hall is one of my key contributions to the rehearsal process. This contribution takes a few different shapes.

First of all, it is important to maintain an atmosphere of respect and safety - a place where actors are comfortable being vulnerable and are able to do their best work. In and of itself this charge takes numerous forms. It can mean covering over a mirror in a dance studio so that actors aren't checking themselves out instead of looking at their scene partner. It can mean silencing a group of actors waiting for their scene or asking them to wait in another room while scenes are being worked. It can mean talking to the director and encouraging him/her to give more positive notes after running scenes & acts to keep spirits up. It can mean being the listening ear for an actress who has just found out that her costume is essentially a spandex cat-woman suit. Each of these things help to create a safe environment.

The second part to creating a good rehearsal hall atmosphere has to do with the room itself. Most rehearsal halls are dark and dingy. Rooms rented out for this sort of thing that never get cleaned. I've been lucky on my current show to be rehearsing in a dance studio that is closed for the summer. We have separate rooms for each show, so we can put things on the wall and not have to worry about taking them down at night. We also had access to a kitchen, so I didn't set up a coffee station in the room as I usually would. But our walls are full of show related things.

When costume designer Bonnie Pavlovic did her design presentation for Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead she had renderings for the three main characters: Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, & The Player, but instead of individual renderings for our 6 ensemble members who play all of the Hamlet roles as well as creating the ensemble of travelling players, she created these collages of 60's icons Each ensemble member, she explained, would be dressed as one of these icons, but she was waiting to see them to pick their inspiration. We hung her collages in the rehearsal hall so whenever the actors had questions about their look it was easy to check the photos, but it also gave the room a bit more warmth & some of the flavor of the show.Our rehearsal schedule began with a week of working just with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and one of the excersises the director did that week was a series of tableaus: waiting, hopeful, hopeless, etc. Of each tableau we took photos and hung them on the wall. These photos became inspirations for blocking moments, as well as something else about our show to have on the wall, making the room feel like it was ours.

One of the complications of doing Hamlet & Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in rep is that the cut of Hamlet we are doing doesn't always line up with the Hamlet lines that have been inserted in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. In an effort to make that transition easier for people who have the same speech in both shows except in one show there is an added line here and a removed line there, I created text comparisons. Providing the dialogue for the scene from each show side-by-side so that any confusion could be quickly cleared up.



This sign is compliments of the director, and I think is as much for her own benefit as for that of the company. However, we all need to be reminded, especially during the rehearsal process, that we need to "Keep Calm & Carry On".

Awards for Stage Managing

My friend Nick posted today about the lack of awards for Stage Managers in both the big awards shows (Tonys) & the smaller community based awards.

Nick suggests that "the need is really to recognize SMs who are emerging in their careers and trying to get enough work to develop their craft into full-time work, which is really what I see these awards as being all about anyway....My feeling is that public recognition by the community enables a talented SM to be exposed to larger theaters so that they can do their work and get compensated appropriately for it. Without that recognition, the SM is the most likely position to achieve burn out."

Here in Vancouver at the Jessies there is the Mary Phillips Prize for Behind-the-Scenes Achievement which is

"Awarded to an unsung hero. The recipient is nominated from the community and chosen by a private committee. Nomination forms are available online and must be received by April 30th. The recipient is chosen by a private committee. Receives a cash prize."

This is not specifically an award for Stage Managing, but I have seen stage managers win it before.

So. Should there be awards for stage management? If there should be, what should they look like? Chime in here, or over on Nick's post.

But what do you DO?

I was recently at a dinner party where one of the guests commented that when she asked people what they did for a living, she wished they'd give details. To her, hearing a title, whatever it may be, didn't matter. What she was interested in was the nitty-gritty of what people actually do with their lives.

When I tell people that I'm a stage manager I usually qualify that. For people who are involved in theatre there is no need to explain, but for those who attend theatre without working on it, the title of Stage Manager is one they just don't understand. To them I usually explain it as "I carry heavy things around and tell everyone what to do." It's not an accurate description, but its something they can understand. When I start talking about prompt books, blocking, cueing, etc I know that the conversation is done for.

So with that in mind, I bring you "A day with Lois - in Pictures!". Look at all the fun things that being a Stage Manager can mean!

Laundry is far from my favorite part of my job. On this show I do 3 or 4 loads two times a week. That's upwards of 12 hours of laundry a week. One of the best things about this past year was when the theatre bought a new washer/dryer that are a bit faster than the old ones!

This is me killing time while I do the laundry. That's my messy desk, and I'm on gmail, chatting with Travis to pass the time. The cartoon on the upper corner of my monitor is from our former Theatre Administrator who is off on maternity leave. In the cartoon, the baby is thinking "When I grow up, I wanna be a stage manager" and the character that is me is thinking "When I grow up I wanna get pregnant so I can escape this nuthouse too!"This is my assistant Laura. Her arrival is always one of my favorite things because it means help is finally here.On this day we had run out of sticks name tags which are a show prop, so I ran down to the Loonie Plus store and $3.36 later I had two more packs.


Someone's got to make sure all the lights are working, and that person is me. When a bulb goes out, the ladder goes up! Another great buy this year was a telescopic ladder that I can carry with one hand and store so that its easily accessible. And then I call the security company for the building and ask them to ignore all alarms from the building until after the show. There is a smoke machine in the show & I am not interested in setting off the fire alarm & send the audience into a panic.


So this picture, not really a necessity of my day, but come on, who doesn't want to be in a touring case full of fake turkeys! You just never know what each show will hold. These are 12 custom built latex turkeys. In the script they are described as "raw, but not frozen" and they have to be carried around & thrown on stage. Finding the right turkeys was hard and we ended up contracting a film prosthetics student to build them for us.

In the booth, playing at running the show. The booth is so small that I run both the lights and sound, as well as any special effects for the show. My book has to be half on top of the lighting board in order to fit.

Employment!

So thrilled to officially be returning to Pacific Theatre next season. I'll be stage managing The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe and Refuge of Lies by Artistic Director Ron Reed. which premiered off-broadway this past year.

Here's to a great year to come, and many more shows both seen & worked.

Where Have I Been Hiding?

You may have noticed that I haven't written anything in a couple of weeks. Why? Well, I've been in the midst of getting my current show up on its feet. We are in the midst of tech crazyness, but our promotional stills came in today so I figured I'd take advantage of a free minute to post them up here.

Tiffany (Alexandra Voicu), Dave (Mack Gordon), & Sky (Katharine Gauthier)

Norman (Tim Bratton) & Grandpa Tony (Glen Pinchin)

The Value of To-Do Lists

If lateness is one of my least favorite things, then to do lists are one of my favorite things. I make them everywhere: on napkins, on my computer, on scraps of paper, on the back of my hand... anywhere. My new computer has a great to do list template that you fill in, but it has boxes to check off as things are completed. (See photo at left.) Riding the bus to work in the morning, I can often be found making a list of all the things I intend to accomplish that day.

There are 3 main reasons that I love to do lists:

#1 - When there is a lot to do, a list is more reliable than my brain. This is entirely practical: when I have a lot going on (for example two shows, a job hunt, & a blog to maintain), writing things down is a sure way to remember that they need to be done. I have a pretty great memory for the most part, but ensuring that nothing is missed or forgotten is a key part of my job as a stage manager.

#2- They are a great way to proactively procrastinate. In putting off things I don't want to do, making a list of things I need to do is great. It allows more to still be doing something useful while procrastinating. This was one of the most valuable things I learned in university!

#3- There is nothing as satisfying as looking at a list with every single item crossed off. (confession: I have been known to put things I've already done onto my list, just so I can cross them off.) The sense of accomplishment that accompanies a list with every item finished is fantastic.

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One of my best tools for list making is this note pad from knock knock Novelties.

Timeliness is Next to Godliness

In her recent blog post on auditioning tips, Sabrina Everett gives her number 1 tip:

SHOW UP ON TIME. Seriously. If you can’t show up to an audition on time, what makes me think that you will show up to rehearsals on time? Please don’t waste my time (or anyone else’s for that matter).

And in her discussion of professionalism, BFG85 says:

You know, one really valuable lesson I learned at NYU that I'm fairly certain is taught at all theatre schools is that "early is on time and on time is late." Heck, even Strasberg got that one right. No one likes having their time wasted. This one goes both ways, I don't care who you think you are.

It seems like lateness is a big problem in indie/semi-professional theatre (I can't speak to the large houses, perhaps someone can comment below). As a stage manger, lateness is my biggest pet-peeve. Sometimes, it can arise from miscommunication or misunderstanding of schedules, but more often than not it is something that can be avoided. And must be.

I once had a cast member who was reliant on carpooling to get to rehearsal as she didn't have a vehicle of her own, and she lived over an hour away. When she slept in one morning because she forgot to set her alarm clock, not only had she missed her carpool, but it would now take her almost three hours to get to rehearsal on public transit. With a cast of 15 waiting to work and having to change their plans because of her, the decision to sleep an extra 20 minutes ended up costing a loss of 54-human hours or over 2 days of work (15 cast + 1 director +1 SM + 1 ASM x 3 hours). That is unacceptable.

When you are joining a show for the first time I'd advise planning a route and figuring out how much time it will take according to google maps (or google transit if you are taking the bus). But then add half an hour to that. That will give you a chance to see how long it actually takes you. And then based on that new information, still leave 10 minutes before you think you have to. It is always better to be at the theatre 10 minutes ahead of when you intended than it is to be late because traffic was more backed up than you expected or one bus was full and left you on the side of the road.

I am at the rehearsal hall an hour early getting things set up so that you can do your job. You being 15 minutes late matters. Be on time. Or, as Travis says, PUPPIES DIE.

A little bonus material

Check out this interview I did with Simon from The Next Stage for a few of my thoughts on Vancouver's fantastic theatre scene!

It's a Puzzling Life

You may remember that I've been job hunting. Mailing out resumes. Following up with companies. Networking. All of those things that I dread. And I'm starting to figure out just how cyclical it all is.

In the past week I've gotten two jobs. But each of them simply informs me what the parameters are for finding the next one.

The first one that I got is Stage Managing for a production of Diana Son's Stop Kiss which opens a week from tonight. They had a stage manager before, but she was overwhelmed by it all, so they were looking for someone to step in for the final week of rehearsal & to run the show. The cast is very generous and the show is coming together. Interestingly, it was on my "to see" list for April and now I'm working on it. But hopefully any of you in the Vancouver area will put it on your own version of the "to see" list. The play is about two friends' first kiss that leads to a life threatening attack.

This play is particularly timely in Vancouver at the moment with the recent attack on Rich Dowrey. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Dowrey is a 62 year old man who was recently put into a coma by a suckerpunch. The man who hit him allegedly told bystanders, “He’s a faggot — he deserved it.” You can read local news coverage here.

If you're interested in seeing the show it runs APRIL 24 - MAY 2 at 8 PM. Tickets are $20 and you can call 604-630-9051 to reserve. There will be a preview performance on April 23rd at 8:30pm (please note the time difference). Tickets for the preview are $15. Partial proceeds from the performance of the show will go to the GLTB Centre. You can check out the facebook event for it here.

The interesting thing about taking on this show is that it overlaps with with rehearsals for my next show at Pacific Theatre. I'll be rehearsing by day and performing by night; something I'm comign to realize is a necessity of making a living doing this crazy theatre thing.

Before I move on to the second job that I got, I will say that it is a very unique situation to be coming into a show this close to opening and taking over from someone else who is still involved in the production. Everyone involved has been wonderful and making me feel like I am a part of the group, despite my more recent entry to the production.

The second job that I got is spending my summer in Kamloops with Project X stagemanaging Rozencrantz & Guildenstern are dead while ASMing Hamlet. The two shows will run in rep from July 23rd to August 8th. I'm sure I'll be talking more about those shows as they approach.

This second job is what started me thinking about life in the theatre as a giant puzzle. Once I got this job, I had to make some calls to a couple of co-ops that I had spoken with about the summer, informing them that I could not be involved in their shows, but that I hope to work with them in the future. It also meant that I got to call some other folks and let them know that yes, I could work on their productions. As this piece fit into place, the pieces that go beside it became clearer.

For example, I now know that I have the time in August to go to New Mexico and be a bridesmaid in a dear friend's wedding, something that I wouldn't have been able to do if I had gotten a job that was all the way through August. I also know that I have time to fill between August 17 - Sept 5 and again Sept. 20 - Oct. 12 and can begin looking for things to fill those slots.

So the job hunt continues, but it continues in a more informed manner. As I keep saying, the whole process impresses on me a whole new level of respect for the actors who keep on doing this while working another job to pay the bills. My puzzle looks like a 4-yr old's play toy compared to your 500 piece landscape.

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On a somewhat related topic, my friend Sabrina, the Artistic Producer/Director of Twenty Something Theatre has just posted a great blog post about how to give a great audition. You should check it out.

Why Do I Have a Blog Anyways?

Lately I've been feeling like I need to remind myself why it is that I have this theatre blog, so forgive me - this post is as much to define this blog for myself as it is for anyone who reads it.

I scan & read an average of 45 blog posts per day from my 115 subscriptions, and most of those are Theatre related; yes, Theatre with a capital T. Economics. Manifestos. Theory. Marketing practice. Script Development. Current events analysis. Philosophy. Projections for the future.

I enjoy reading what people are saying and wrestling with the ideas that they are discussing, but that's not what I want to write about, because it isn't what I am passionate about.

Don't get me wrong. I love theatre. I wouldn't be continuing to try to find work doing theatre if I didn't love it. But my passion for theatre comes from creating theatre and seeing the theatre that is being created by my peers, not arguing about theory. And this may be naiive of me, and I'm okay with that. When it comes right down to it, I still have a lot of time to become jaded with the industry or to learn about just how hard it is to get the necessary funding. I'm still relatively new to all of this.

For me, this blog is an outlet for my writing - something I've missed sorely since finishing university. While in school I was churning out about 3000 words a week and when I graduated and had no assigned writing to do, I missed it. A self-imposed assignment is as good as something a professor assigns as long as it makes me keep writing and thinking. And sometimes it's better because I'd far rather be writing about something I'm passionate about (theatre) than something I'm not (pre-confederation Canada).

So, what do I want to write about?

I want to write about all the crazy things that happen behind the scenes in the course of making theatre. I want to share my experiences as I take part in creating this thing we call theatre. I can't share everything interesting - that ends up breaking confidences - but I'll share what I can.

I also want to write about the theatre I see, but I'm still trying to figure out how to do that. When I started the blog I thought I might include reviews (you can find some among my early posts), but the reality is that at this point in my career doing peer reviews of shows will burn bridges I can't afford to burn. I've written about some theatrical trends that bother me and about shows I am looking forward to, but I'm not yet convinced that these are the best approaches to discussing the vast amount of work that is happening in Vancouver. But I'll keep looking for those ways.

Why Theatre: or, What I Loved About World Theatre Day

There are already a handful of World Theatre Day 2009 round-ups online. You can find them here. And here. And here. And here. And here. But now it's my turn to weigh in on it.

In the lead up to World Theatre Day there was a lot of discussion about "Why Theatre?" It was blogged (and again and again). It was videoed a few times. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, but never got as far as writing about it. But here's what it boils down to for me: I tried to get out, and I couldn't.

I did some theatre in high school - stage managed a couple of shows, designed a poster, built some sets & hung some lights. And I liked it. But I didn't see it as something that I could make a career out of. Someone else, sure. But I was cut out for something different. I was going to study PR & marketing, and I was going to work in the music industry doing that.

So I went into university looking to do that. I declared a Communications major (& media certification) before I took my first class and I was ready to conquer the world. But I needed some fine arts electives, so why not just take 1 credit worth of production. Well, 1 credit turned into 3 and soon I found myself declaring a theatre minor. And then a theatre concentration. And then I was stage managing a professional show while still in school. It was only after that experience that I went to my adviser and re-wrote the graduation requirements so that I could do a theatre major without upper level acting classes. Even then I still kept the communications major, just in case.

But here I am, a couple of years out of school and still doing this crazy thing called theatre full time. And I'm here because theatre pursued me and won me.

But now you're wondering what the heck does any of that have to do with World Theatre Day.

For me, World Theatre Day was all about celebrating this crazy thing I love to do & inviting others who love it to celebrate with me. Sure, as Rebecca pointed out, Vancouver's events weren't that well attended, but those of us who were there had fun (see myself & Simon at left). I even stage managed a special World Theatre Day show here in Vancouver. Even more important than any events at a local level was the international co-operation that truely made this a WORLD theatre day. With each online meeting of the facilitation team excitement grew and new relationships were formed. There are still ways to get involved in WTD09. Have you submitted a photo of yourself standing on books yet? Ian over at Theatre is Territory is collecting them from the tumblr site and you can submit yours by e-mailing it to frabbaurt633@tumblr.com. The idea is that the photos will be used to create a commemorative poster from this year's event.

Already people are talking about 2010 and all the things they want to try out, and 2009 has barely wrapped up. I've got to say, I'm looking forward to it.

Job Hunting is not for Wuss's

Above: Surrounded by my mountain of mailouts.

A month ago I got the news: my incredibly stable stage management gig that I'd had for the past two seasons wasn't going to be quite so stable next year. In fact, I'm going down to only two shows at Pacific Theatre. It's partly my choice & partly due to a slightly scaled back season. I'd been lucky. I've only been out of university for two years, and I've had steady theatre work since before I graduated. All of a sudden I found myself in the position that everyone in the world hates: needing to find a job.

So I spent this whole week preparing for that. Updating my resume, researching theatre companies throughout BC & Alberta, writing cover letters, getting references & finally addressing envelopes. It took all week. But it's done.

The envelopes are in the mail now & it's finally all out of my hands...Or at least until I start follow up in two weeks.

Tonight's Live Tweet of Holy Mo

I live tweeted tonight's performance of Holy Mo. To read everything in Chronological order you need to start at the bottom.

atomicfez: RT: @SMLois} Show's over - time to go wipe the paintballs off the set and close down the theatre for another night. #holymo #theatre

shamelesshussy: RT @SMLois Shows over - time to go wipe the paintballs off the set and close down the theatre for another night. #holymo

SMLois: Shows over - time to go wipe the paintballs off the set and close down the theatre for another night. #holymo

SMLois: @travisbedard That's the joke. God is referred to as either Yamma or Yam all show. #holymo

travisbedard: @SMLois I Yam who I Yam #holymo

SMLois: One more chorus of "Love you Yam" and the show is over. #holymo

SMLois: Only about 7 min left in Act 2. Tonight's show has flown by. #holymo

SMLois: When we got to this point Saturday, where no one talks for a couple mins, audience member shouted out "We paid good money for this." #holymo

SMLois: "There is no money in the profession [of acting]." "Then why do we do it?" "The story. The story needs to be told" #holymo

SMLois: We're almost at my favorite lighting cue: LX 77. It's just after this YouTube reference. #holymo

SMLois: Time for our one operatic song of the night, titled "Piece of Turd" #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez I'm guessing you're not going to make it for this production? #holymo

SMLois: Oh - a little Braveheart in here as well. #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } I vote brilliant as well. Been a fan of hers from some time. #Frangione #holymo #theatre

SMLois: Now we have our first sword fight of the show. The swords are wooden baseboard pieces stapled together. SQ = Flight of Valkyrie #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez Don't forget Celine Dion, Mission Impossible, Lassie, & Louis Reil. Lucia is either brilliant or crazy (I vote brilliant) #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } so… Scots Tragedy, Evita, Jaws, Good / Bad / Ugly, Hockey, asparagus (and SJR), and a paintball gun. Oh Lucia… #holymo #theatre

SMLois: Now we'll mix in a little MacBeth. Because why not? #holymo

SMLois: Don't cry 4 me little Spew Boy/My heart will never leave u/I know u will wait for me/& soon will return to me/because I am gorgeous #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez No complaints from folks expecting Sunday School here. Most of them like it. And yes. There's a paintball gun. #holymo

SMLois: Only in #holymo are aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, & reflexology threats underscored by the Jaws theme. #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } anyone expecting trad Sunday School Bible interpretations ought to adjust their expectations before attending #holymo #theatre

SMLois: I'll be right back - gotta go grab the paintball gun and pump it full of air pressure #holymo

SMLois: Throwing an asparagus boquest slow mo into the audience. Caught tonight by Miss Sarah Jane Redmond. #holymo

SMLois: Goliath just hit a lighting instrument with her sword. The audience loved it. And the light is well locked so it won't move #holymo

SMLois: Okay, it's everyone's favorite part of the show: Goliath. (S)he's up a ladder with a hockey helmet on. With a broom brush on that. #holymo

SMLois: "I'm the princess and men only want me for my great big...........kingdom" #holymo (it always gets the audience laughing)

SMLois: @atomicfez Actually, the lighting designer is @bryson. He's swell. #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez The lighting designer and I have worked together a number of times. He knows I'm not a fan, but sometimes its unavoidable #holymo

SMLois: The entire prophet character is defined by a staff with a bell on the end that rings whenever she moved. And its funny. #holymo

SMLois: @travisbedard The bandana is out there. Though I fear that the sign is in the wrong place. OOP. #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez Sorry I couldn't give you the go for that one - I had to actually push the button. I'm now at LX 58.5. #holymo

SMLois: In Act 2 we move from the story of Moses (Mo) to David (Spew Boy) #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } I"ve still got LX 512 standing by, you know… #theatre #holymo

SMLois: Enter the Kit Kat bar. I have a whole case of them in the booth and am going to end up with left overs. #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez The drape is on a track and moves throughout the show #holymo

SMLois: Act 2 is up! #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } LX 51 standing by… #holymo #theatre

SMLois: Last song before Intermssion. Standby LX 51. #holymo

travisbedard: @SMLois BANDANA #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } I'm always amazed at what PT is able to shoe-horn in that space merely by tilting a deck and careful use of drape #holymo #theatre

SMLois: Buffoona (one of my lovely clowns) is blessing the 12 tribes...also known as the audience. #holymo

SMLois: The first act is flying by. We are now about 5 min to intermission. Intermission is also known as those 10 minutes where I run. #holymo

SMLois: I love it when the audience laughs as Mo is given the 10 commandments. #holymo

SMLois: For those who are wondering what kind of set we're working with http://smlois.tumblr.com/ #holymo

SMLois: Lassie, Chariots of Fire & the parting of the Ocean all in a matter of seconds! #holymo

SMLois: 12 days of Christmas meets the 10 plagues upon the Egyptians. "Flies floating freeeeeeeee." #holymo

SMLois: Oh dear. An actress just ran into a set piece. Looks like everyone is alright, but i jumped! #holymo

SMLois: What a great audience tonight: They're banging away on their pots and pans at all the right moments. #holymo

travisbedard: @SMLois After I properly weighted it and everything? #holymo

SMLois: Ever heard a rap featuring "Aunt Jemima" "Betty Crocker" & "Mr. Christie"? I'm listening to one right now. #holymo

SMLois: LX28.5 GO #holymo

SMLois: First Elvis joke of the night. Complete with radioactive jukebox. #holymo (Sorry @travisbedard I didn't tweet the flying palm tree for you)

SMLois: Country music for y'all. "To forget about my blues, I tune into the news. It's the only way that I can take a little mental snooze" #holymo

SMLois: Ooooh! It's my favourite secret Horatio cane moment. I never know if anyone sees it, but I love it. #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } never use "Celine Dion" and "good" in the same sentence without also employing a negative modifier. #Frangione #holymo #theatre

SMLois: There seems to be a large group of high school students in the audience tonight. Wonder what they think of it all? #holymo

SMLois: And a little Celine Dion for good measure.... #holymo

SMLois: @atomicfez True enough :) #holymo

SMLois: Straight from Mission Impossible to The Good The Bad and the Ugly. This show is full of pop culture references #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } THEY'RE CLOWNS! Don't go demanding the Dali Lama! #Frangione #holymo #theatre

SMLois: "Can't I just go kick his head? Why's he got to die?" - That's what I call wisdom. #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } let's watch the master working at speed, folks… quietly now, no distractions… #Frangione #holymo #theatre

SMLois: @atomicfez Unfortunately #Frangione won't be able to see it - she's in a show of her own at the moment. #holymo

SMLois: It's almost at my busiest cue section in the show: a little Mission Impossible inspired chase scene. #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } clowns is the funnnerest! Plus is a #Frangione script, so all is well there. #holymo #theatre

SMLois: @atomicfez You'd have fun in this cast though. Come on, it's a clown show! #holymo #theatre

SMLois: I like to call this part the send up of "2001:A Space odyssey" #holymo

atomicfez: @SMLois } this is almost like sitting in the booth… which is possibly better than being in the cast, depending. #holymo #theatre #Frangione

SMLois: First song of the night "Holy Mo" - Guitar, Mandolin, and a homemade Washtub Bass. #holymo #theatre

SMLois: First sound cue of the show and I don't push the button - it's run from an onstage CD player. #holymo

SMLois: My innovative FOH speech: there is no speech, just a clown with a cell phone threatening death #holymo

The next live tweet of a show will be A Time to Dance on Friday, March 27 as a part of the World Theatre Day 2009 celebrations.

Mid Tech Week

Hello. Out. There.

See that mess there on the left? That's where I've been hiding for the past week.  I've been hiding in a dark little room with my binder of awesomeness.  We're mid tech week for Holy Mo and every now and then I wonder how much more information I can cram into my brain (somehow there's always room for more, but I'm not quite 

sure how).   Tonight was our first full dress rehearsal where I actually got to run the show.  At Pacific Theatre the Stage Manager is also the lighting and sound operator, so I look forward to the day when the lighting console and sound computer get turned over to me so that I can have a little practice before the first audience members arrive.  But tonight went well. I only screwed up a few times & none of them were cause to stop the show.  

I'm always amazed during opening week how far forward the shows move with each run through.  The actors get to live and settle into the world of the play and so more discoveries are made as they are immersed in it.  It's an exciting time.  We cut a whole long slow-mo sequence today that had gotten a lot of laughs from the designers yesterday, but it was the right choice.  Not only did it take a couple of minutes off the show, it is also funnier.

I should really get back to sending out my rehearsal notes, but I just wanted to poke my head in and say hello to the rest of the world. 

Rehearsal Photos

First read with cast, designers & theatre staff

MUFFINS

Costume designs by Drew Facey

Biographical Evolution

At the beginning of each show, I take time to sit down and revise my biography for the program, but instead of just adding the previous show I worked on to a list of credits, I try to find ways to make the bio personal.

I had to write my first bio for a show in university and it was not very cohesive or smooth, though it still had some personal touches to it. More it was about showing off that even though I was the new kid on the block, I had experience.

Lois is in her second year at TWU, pursuing a major in communications and minor in drama. Lois spent last year learning to appreciate the finer art of stage lighting during TWU's productions of The Mail Order Bride, Defying Gravity, Shadowlands, and Waiting for Godot. She has previously worked on numerous productions for 27th Street Theatre Company in Vernon, including stage managing Little Shop of Horrors and Hotline and assistant stage managing The Tuna Fish Eulogy, Interview and Something's Wrong with Ophelia. Lois is looking forward to working on many other productions in the future.

My third year of university (and five or six bios later), one of the professors decided to write all of the bios based on information they were given on a short sheet of paper. That bio is a little bit different - more a list of credits & things I wouldn't have been comfortable saying about myself.

Lois is a third year TWU student pursing a double major in Theatre and Communications. Recent credits include Cowgirls Gone Wild in the West (Wishbone Theatre), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (VCMS), The Heiress, Two Rooms, Steel Magnolias & Dr. Prescriptions Variety Hour Pt 1 (TWU), Little Shop of Horrors, Hotline, & Tuna Fish Eulogy (27th Street Theatre Company). Lois' skill and dedication will surely lead her into a career in stage management.

My bio for Holy Mo (which opens in 2 weeks) is my attempt to find the best of both worlds: a good variety of credits, while still incorporating the personal touches, and all in 85 words or less.

Lois loves her job as the resident stage manager at Pacific Theatre. It gives her a chance to combine her love for theatre with her compulsive need to organize things; skills she honed at Trinity Western University. Some of Lois' favorite PT credits include: A Bright Particular Star, Driving Miss Daisy, The Woodsman, Mourning Dove & Jesus, My Boy. When not at PT, Lois can be found stage managing dance shows & co-ops, watching her vast collection of TV on DVD or spending time with her delightful friends.

Every time I see a show, I read every bio in the program. Some are personal and only list one or two theatre credits, focusing instead on the person's life history while others are lists of only credits. While I think there is room for both of these different types of biographies to exist (and everything in between), I prefer to read the ones with a balance of the personal with credits, and that is also what I strive to write.

Feed the Lake

Back in early September, my friend Angela wrote a blog post following her attendance at Bard's production of The Tempest. In it she talks about learning that there is no point in jealousy becuase when one artist succeeds we all end up winning. She said:

The problem is, I have a degree in directing and I've been doing it for a long time but I don't know that I could create a work this accomplished. So for part of the performance I was torn between admiration and dejection - "wow this is really good/wow that's really depressing" -something like that... But when a truly gifted artist creates a work for others to share, we get the present. My life was enriched by the production I saw tonight and as a result, my work will be enriched.

It was a sentiment she echoed after she and I attended Unity: 1918 a couple of weeks back.

But further in the post she talks about an image that appears in Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art (which is, by the way, one of my top arts reads, regardless of faith orientation. L'Engle was the talented writer behind A Wrinkle in Time.). She discusses an analogy drawn by Jean Rhys in which art is a lake and the artists of the world are various sizes of rivers, streams, & trickles.

She quotes Rhys as saying

"I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake."

I love that image. The idea that all of art is this giant lake (actually I'd like to jump in and bathe in it - let it soak into my soul!), and that regardless of the size of our contribute we must continue to feed the lake.

Often, as a Stage Manager, I forget that I am also responsible for feeding the lake. I want to leave that role to the directors, actors & designers whose work is so clearly art. But creating a space in which it is possible for those artists to produce (and even better: to thrive!) is an art all its own, and I need to remember that when I get down about my role in the process.

Feed. The. Lake.

(Edited by SMLois, Dec. 3, 11:15pm)

15 Questions with Lois

Date & place of birth:

May 2, 1986; Vernon, BC

Lives now in:

Vancouver, BC

Education:

BA from Trinity Western University with a double major in Theatre & Communications, and a certificate in Media Studies.

If you hadn’t become a stage manager, what might you have done professionally?

I've changed my mind about my career goals many times: the first plan was to do PR in the music industry, but I think that if I were not stage managing, I'd probably go back to school and get my masters in television studies and end up as a professor.

Favourite plays:

Metamorphoses (Mary Zimmerman), Esspresso (Lucia Frangione), Proof (David Auburn), Jake's Gift (Julia Mackey), The Mistakes Madeline Made (Elizabeth Meriwether)

Favourite TV shows (currently airing):

Pushing Daisies (ABC), Dexter (Showtime), How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Favourite TV shows (no longer airing):

Veronica Mars (UPN/CW), Arrested Development (Fox), Wonderfalls (Fox), Six Feet Under (HBO), Slings & Arrows (Movie Channel/The Movie Network), Joan of Arcadia (CBS) & Dead Like Me (Showtime)

What was the last thing you saw on stage that had a big impact on you?

The last thing I saw on stage that had a big impact on me was UBC's production of Unity: 1918 a couple of week's ago. It is an award winning script (and with good reason!), but this production was so visibly stunning. The image of a spinning lantern dangling from the ceiling, a wounded soldier returning on a train (done with the actor standing on a chair on a revolve while a train track was flown in from the ceiling), a giant bonfire and revival meeting behind a cyc, a room full of dead bodies, a scene done entirely in the dark. Each image had the potential to fail hugely, but rather than fail, they inspired.

And the first?

The first play I ever saw was a local production of Annie when I was about six which sort of set up for me the fact that theatre was out there, but the first play that really had an impact on me was the Art's Club's 2001 presentation of Axis Theatre's Flying Blind. My high school was very arts focused and each semester the theatre teacher would take approximately 60 kids on a trip to either Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton to see mulitple productions and learn about the education opportunities in each city. The 2001 Vancouver trip was my first of three, and it was a very eye opening five days in regards to what theatre is capable of. We saw Elizabeth Rex at the Stanley, The Edible Woman at the Playhouse, some terrible musical review at the Gateway, & Flying Blind. What stuck out for me about Flying Blind was it's use of design to help shape the world. I've never been an actor - though I can recognize and appreciate good acting - but I've always been impressed by strong visual elements. I remember after the play going out for pizza with the rest of the people on the trip and discussing the show. I was one of only two students who enjoyed it (along with the two escorts). Everyone else "didn't get it" or thought that it was too abstract. I didn't care whether or not I "got" it - I just wanted to do that - create a world similar to our own, yet not our own that causes people to converse.

Favourite books:

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeline L'Engle, the PostSecret books by Frank Warren, & Life After God by Douglas Coupland

Favourite after-show haunts:

Anywhere near Pacific Theatre that still has it's kitchen open when the show gets out: lately that's been either Earls, Cactus Club, or Cafe Barney. We used to always go to Ouisi's but the service there has gotten atrocious and the kitchen has been closing much earlier (besides, who really wants to eat alligator all the time?)

What do you expect to be doing in five years?

I've told myself that if in five years I am bored or burnt out from Stage Managing I will go back to school and do my masters in television studies after all.

What are the personal things that you do in your life simply because they make you happy?

Spend a whole day on the couch watching old TV episodes on DVD even though I've seen them 10+ times, try to laugh as much as possible, take photographs whenever I'm having fun so that I can look at them later and smile.

What would you advice would you give the government to secure the future of Canadian theatre?

I would advise the government that first and foremost, "Ordinary Canadians" really do care about the arts, I would advise reversing the millions of dollars in cuts to arts funding, I would advise the leaders to go take in some of the local theatre - independent, ground-breaking work so that they get a glimpse of the magic being created in their own backyards.

Last but certainly not least, what are you working on, now?

Jesus, My Boy is running at Pacific Theatre until Dec. 27 and I've already begun prep for Holy Mo, which begins rehearsals mid-January.