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...