Wednesday Was a Winner

Major highlights from today:
1. a professional photographer came in and took pictures during the run
2. the ogres got their green makeup fixed
3. we've found/replaced almost all missing costumes
4. students had full hair and makeup done
5. all quick-changes were made in time

Amidst helping students backstage with quick-changes and clipping on microphones, I also gave Lord Farquaad's royal "bathtub" a much-needed lift with an air pump. No job is too weird when it comes to theater!

 In full costumes and makeup, the actors really bring the story to life.

For part of the show, I ran the sound board with my sister, Rachel, who reminded me how to turn the wireless mics on or off and increase or decrease the volume using the switches and knobs. The headset I wore allowed me to communicate with the backstage crew, which told me who was wearing a microphone and when they were coming onstage.

There are eight mics that correspond to the eight gauges on the sound board. It was challenging to anticipate which ones needed to be on for the scene depending on the characters with lines in that scene. Also, some students give their microphones to another actor after a scene and so the owner of Mic 4 or Mic 6 may change several times throughout the show. Luckily, I have a chart with the scenes listed on it and who wears the mics in each.
                           

















At the end of rehearsal, we got the entire cast together for a group picture. Some students are missing from the photo because I had to crop it, but it demonstrates the unbeliavable costume/makeup design as well as the enthusiasm the kids have for performing.

LAST DAY OF REHEARSAL TOMORROW! The biggest challenge now is to increase the fluency of the performance. We want to pick up the pace of the dialogue and transitions between scenes so the audience is never waiting for something to happen.