I just wanted to give you a quick preview of what the tech process features. The plays move from being the intimate rehearsal versions you saw at the Ethical Society to productions on a larger stage. We want to fill the stage with the stories without losing the truthful playing and connection we got when we were up close at the Ethical.
We will add all the design elements. So now, the job of the team (me, Mark with sets and lights, Christopher with sound, Alison with costumes, Goose, Molly and the crew) becomes making sure it all coheres—do the colors come together to tell a unified story? Does the sound belong here or here—what gives the story the most punch? How do we time the transition? When should Goose call the lights or sound? How do we fill a larger space with the way we play, position scenic elements, etc?
I like to think that we’re all trying to make sure all these elements tell the story—the same story we have carved out in rehearsal—but with more power and impact.
It is a big step for a play, because in some ways it seems to be moving farther from where it began (a writer alone with her computer and her ideas) into something else. But really, we are trying to fulfill what Emily, Aimee, and Emily started alone in their room.
Tech can be slow: there are starts and stops because now the designers, stage manager and crew are in essence having their rehearsals as we put it all together. But even when it does not look it, it is moving forward.
One thing I always find in tech: I have gotten used to the play in the rehearsal room; that’s how I know it. A half hour into tech and seeing the play onstage, I can’t imagine going back to that rehearsal room. The theater is where it belongs.
Can’t wait to have you all to see these plays here!
—David Bradley
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