Words from the Work II...

Costume Crew......David Allison & Ashley Storey

DB: So how do you feel about the production process so far?

DA: Good!(laughs)It's going magically delicious! Costume Crew for life! (the room bursts into laughter)

Before the performance the costume crew is having a good time ironing and altering the costumes for the night's show.

DB: What was the most difficult part of the production for the costume crew?

AS: Back stage is the worst part. Its long and tedious. While the play is going on, we just wait backstage for something to go wrong. Also ironing some of the costumes, especially the blue shirts for the soldiers, they have to be very stiff and come back so wrinkly.

DB: Favorite part of the production?

DA: The time in between the beginning of the play and the end (jokingly)!

DB: What would you say to other students looking to get involve in theater?

DA: If you need units come to costumes. Its so fun!

AS: Just come into it with a positive mindset and you will have a good time.

........................................................................................................................................

House Manager...........Summer McAdams

DB: So what does your job consist of?

SM: Delegating work to the ushers, assist the with audience members before the play and during intermission.

DB: What do you find the most difficult about your job?

SM: Late people! People coming to the show 10 minutes after the show starts and them getting upset because we've given up their seats.

DB: Favorite part of being house manager?

SM: Having people enjoy the show, from outside I can hear them laugh. Also, watching the actors run around outside.

Words From the Work...

Q & A: Ashely Hernandez.....Beatrice

DB: So, Ashely I attended opening night and felt the play went really well...How did opening night go for you?

AH: It went very well, until I forgot my prop! (laughs) My cast members covered for me though I owe them much appreciation and respect. Other than that it went smoothly.

DB: What would you say you enjoy most about this production whether it be rehearsals,practicing alone, performing etc...?

AH:(quickly answers) Definitely the rehearsal process. The Director (Terry) really pushed me to break my (personal) habits. He demands a lot yet allows me to explore my character. He made me feel secure about an insecure character.

DB: What did you find most difficult about this production process?

AH: Allowing myself to be vulnerable. The character and I are very similar and it was hard having the audience trust me with the character.

DB: What do you feel about other students who cant appreciate the nature of being a T.A. major?

AH: They think Actors aren't educated and that T.A is easy...but really when you think about it, actors must know history, business, economics, ethics, we have to know everything about our craft.
............................................................................................................

Opening night things run smooth...

I snuck a picture of the set!


Friday 13th, 2009. For some college students it is an excuse to party, for others the "library doesn't close till 11pm baby!", and for others it takes all day to mentally and physically prepare yourself for a theater performance on opening night...

As I immediately opened the door to the Ronald E. Barnes Theater at CSUSB I am already at the end of the line that's waiting to be admitted. Students, faculty members, proud parents, and alumni are waiting to see Much Ado About Nothing.

Cat and Terry are in the lobby dressed in semi-formal attire and are calmly greeting and chatting with people in the lobby. I take my seat and observe the sold out crowd waiting in the theater. Unaware of all the hard work, the crowd quietly murmurs amongst themselves, some joking, some serious, but all there for a common purpose.

8:08pm the ushers shut the doors.
8:12pm the lights dim...until complete black...seconds later...the lights are turned on and the stage is littered with actors and Much Ado About Nothing is underway...

Terry watches the play from a seat in the dark upper corner of the theater. This is Terry's moment of glory as he watches all the piece come together in this performance. He watches alongside colleagues, as his production plays out...

At the end the actors and actresses take a bow and the audience claps for what seems like several minutes...from an audience point of view, job well done.

Nick Jenkins who plays the witty Benedick, says "It went pretty well, we had lots of energy. We were so excited but we knew it was going to be tougher to perform for an audience, that did not only consist of only our peers" When asked what his favorite part of the production process was Nick said, “The rehearsal process! It was fun to discover who I am as an actor and my character (Benedick)..."

I asked Nick what he found most difficult in the production process and he replied, “Finding the ‘real love’ connection with Ashley (Beatrice). Her and I are good friends so we both have to dig into ourselves to find attraction…keep in mind its for profession-performance based reasons…”

After speaking with Nick further I brought up the views that students at CSUSB have on the theater department. Like I mentioned in the introduction, some student assume that a major in theater is easy, fun, not serious, and for a “certain type” of person. Nick strongly said, “We work very hard, this is our profession. This is something we take seriously that carries out into the real world…”.

Practice Makes Perfect....tension?

November 9th was the Theater Arts Department's 1st dress rehearsal. The play is (more or less) to be run in its entirety in full dress attire. By no means is this rehearsal supposed to be perfect. Here in dress rehearsals, Andre and Cat can make final adjustments to the costumes and the technicians can work on their light and sound routine. Terry can observe the actors progress, costumes, stage and everything else…

Before the dress rehearsals, the guys are having a good time in the dressing room. There is humor and a slight confusion as the actors adjust their costumes. It isn't long before Cat comes in and yells, "Everybody stop!" and to straighten things out. Outside the girls dressing room you can hear chit-chat a bit quieter then the guy’s room. In make-up the girls already dressed stand in front of the mirrors adjusting themselves and every now and then turning in a circle to see how they look all around.

Andre is in the costume shop working when a costume crew member comes in and asks him a question. Andre replies, "Actors become blind and deaf once they get into the costume, you have to give them time to explore their costume". I make my way to the theater and observe Nick Jenkins who plays Benedick, and Ashley Hernandez, playing Beatrice, reciting beautiful Shakespearean dialogue as they wait for rehearsals to begin. Cat and Andre float from the costume shop to the dressing rooms sprinkling comments and rushing to get everything done by rehearsal time. Minutes after the halls fills with more actors and actresses, all congregating, all waiting to get onto the stage and perform.

The set of Much Ado About Nothing is amazing to say the least. The time frame for this play is set sometime before the California Gold Rush, and it takes place in Alta-California (Messina, Italy). The floor of the stage is made to look like Spanish-styled tile bordered with small floral paintings. Behind the two-story high set is a giant painted backdrop of mountains and hills that look pristine when Michael Tolle, the Lighting Designer does his magic.

As I waited for the actors to enter the stage, there is a slight tension in the air as Terry unhappily comments on the buzzing noises that are created by some sort of lighting malfunction. As the lighting crew run around hitting switches and fiddling with cables the actors begin to enter the theater.

Scenic Designer, Margaret Perry, demands to hear specific tracks that are supposed to be playing and asks if there was a sound check done. “Shit!” Angelica Elliot replies...there is a 20 minute stall while the buzzing sound gets fixed and the soundtrack situation is sorted out. Sound Designer, G.W. Rodriguez, and Angelica have a small exchange of words, as their stress levels finally reach a breaking point.
After a few more minutes the wave of stress finally resides, the buzzing disappears behind the correct music, and the players breeze through Act 1 with little problem…it is only a couple days away from opening night…

This is basic set of Much Ado...minus lighting and props...


Postings outside the dressing rooms that I found amusing...

Here Comes the Dress Parade...

Ashley Hernandez as Beatrice, Nick Jenkins as Benedick, and Shine Kim as Hero in CSUSB University Theatre's "Much Ado About Nothing".

After sitting in several production meetings I was anxious to see other aspects of the production. The next step in the production of Much Ado About Nothing was the dress Parade.

Dress Parade (noun)-formal parade of sufficient ceremonial importance for the wearing of dress uniform...

This is the definition of the term Dress Parade. I attended the production's dress parade unaware of what to expect. "What is the one rule about my costumes?" shouts Cat Erickson to an excited dressing room full of actors and actresses..."They are FABULOUS!" shouts the entire dressing room in near unison. Cat Erickson, the production's Costume Technician, is a very vocal, blunt, and fascinating character. If she is displeased with something she will not hesitate to let you know and most of the time she is talking to you, she is walking away...not being rude...but for the sake of time. Costume Designer, Andre Harrington is also present in the dressing room and briefs the actors on how the dress parade will work. It is evident in Andre's tone of voice that he is excited and anxious to see his designs walking around on the stage.
As I wait inside for the actors, the seats of the theater fill up with crew members and other production members. The crew members are students from specific theater classes that aid the theater department backstage, in makeup, set construction, and costumes.
Terry (being funny; doing Irish accents) and Andre sit at a table in front of the talking theater and the crew members chit chat about their class and upcoming assignments.
The actors finally enter the room in full attire and it was an excited feeling to say the least. I think it was the anticipation and the waiting that made me feel that way but I sat there in back of the theater in awe. Terry’s face lit up with joy as they entered the theater and immediately starting to take pictures of the actors. Andre watched the actors settle in their seat with the face that a proud parent would make watching their children on stage.
Cat, the sentinel, in a stern voice, ordered the actors dress as soldiers to the stage. Then the female characters. Then the main characters.
The actors stand on stage in full costume and are picked apart by Andre and Terry while Cat tugs and tucks their as she saw fit. The costumes must be picked at until they are near perfect before the performance. The colors, garments, and accessories must be near perfect. Now in any other circumstance this would seem degrading but this is theater my friends. Just another step in the production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Catty-Cat quotes:

"Its not about you! It is about who you are becoming...Your body is your instrument. Your tool..."

"Tits up ladies, this is a tits up show!"

"Quiet Please!"

"You know where your costumes are, lets get to work!"