From Kiki, Audience Development
Yesterday we wrapped our mainstage season with the closing of Breakin' Hearts. Carrie Fisher has left Seattle and we're gearing up for the final, final show of the season: our Drama Intensive play HAMLET(ish). Practically all of the interns are gone now. Some are headed to New York, others are living the dream in their home towns and some are staying in Seattle and remaining hopped up on coffee. But we made it. We did the dang thing.
I want to thank all of you for reading and I hope that this blog has been beneficial in your internship pursuit. Good luck to all future interns and applicants!
Remember: Theatre is worth it.
Monday, May 11, 2009
As a stage management intern, I did this. You might too!
From Liz, Stage Management
I spent 30 minutes recording the rehearsal hotline the first time I did it, but now, while working on my third show here, I can hit all the buttons in about 5 seconds and record the schedule without looking at the script.
I have become unafraid of the Bagley PCP. I, um, like it.
I have been given tasks such as: “Go find (something I haven’s seen for awhile that’s probably buried under lots of stuff). It’s probably somewhere in the production office, the stage management office, or the green room. I think it’s gray.” AND I have succeeded.
I have gone from not even knowing how to get to McMenamin’s to spending 3 or 4 nights a week there. Yes, I admitted that.
I’m getting good at identifying people by the sound of their footsteps coming down the stairs by the Intern Cave—which is cool. I’m also getting to know who washes their hands after using the bathroom and who doesn’t, which is, well, unsettling.
Tips:
-Always take your keys when you go to make coffee in the green room.
-Always cut open the big coffee bags with scissors—the 3 minutes it takes you to go get scissors will more than make up for the 27 times you’ll have to wipe up spilled coffee grounds if you don’t.
-Be careful when trusting the Bagley crew on any non-work related matter.
-Go to Athina Grill on Queen Anne Ave.
-Be careful not to lock your keys in the Stage Management office. :) That’s easier to do than it sounds.
-Acquire lots of warm black things to wear backstage.
-Take a stopwatch and see how fast you can walk down the LOONG hallway from the stage management office to stage right in the Leo K. Intern fun!
-Don’t smell the sponges. Just disinfect them.
Well, that’s it for me! Congrats to future Rep interns; enjoy your season!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
"It Was A Scene." -Becca Leshin
From Hillary, Casting Intern
My birthday is March 18th- the day after St. Patrick's Day. Festivities are often collapsed with the national day of drinking. This year, a new theatre company in town hosted at St. Paddy's Day fundraiser at the local bar. I walked in and realized that I knew everyone there and, in that moment, knew that my internship had come to its fullest fruition.
There were the actors from our shows, who plied me with birthday drinks. There were the actors who introduced themselves to me not knowing that I already knew their name from my extensive headshot sorting and because I've seen them on stages in town. There were the folks who are directing and acting in the festival I'm performing in during April. And then there were all the Repsters. It was an amazing evening, and I knew that it was a sign of my legitimacy in Seattle that I knew everyone there.
So what's a massive theatre party look like in the professional world? We casting folk were delicately prying actors for casting gossip while actors were not-as-delicately insisting how right they'd be for shows we haven't publically anounced yet. People discussed the woes of day jobs, the highs of recent performances and their hopes for Seattle theatre. Drinks were flowing and meeting-and-greeting was the m.o. If small talk isn't your bag, run away. Theatre networking is built on the quick chats over a cocktail as much as the time spent in rehearsal rooms, carpentry shops and theatre offices. It's in the socialest of settings where you learn about people's passions, their experiences and their attitudes. You learn who you would want to work with and who you would want to avoid. I believe that for me, life in theatre is the ultimate mixing of business and pleasure. For me, I can't imagine a better cocktail.
My birthday is March 18th- the day after St. Patrick's Day. Festivities are often collapsed with the national day of drinking. This year, a new theatre company in town hosted at St. Paddy's Day fundraiser at the local bar. I walked in and realized that I knew everyone there and, in that moment, knew that my internship had come to its fullest fruition.
There were the actors from our shows, who plied me with birthday drinks. There were the actors who introduced themselves to me not knowing that I already knew their name from my extensive headshot sorting and because I've seen them on stages in town. There were the folks who are directing and acting in the festival I'm performing in during April. And then there were all the Repsters. It was an amazing evening, and I knew that it was a sign of my legitimacy in Seattle that I knew everyone there.
So what's a massive theatre party look like in the professional world? We casting folk were delicately prying actors for casting gossip while actors were not-as-delicately insisting how right they'd be for shows we haven't publically anounced yet. People discussed the woes of day jobs, the highs of recent performances and their hopes for Seattle theatre. Drinks were flowing and meeting-and-greeting was the m.o. If small talk isn't your bag, run away. Theatre networking is built on the quick chats over a cocktail as much as the time spent in rehearsal rooms, carpentry shops and theatre offices. It's in the socialest of settings where you learn about people's passions, their experiences and their attitudes. You learn who you would want to work with and who you would want to avoid. I believe that for me, life in theatre is the ultimate mixing of business and pleasure. For me, I can't imagine a better cocktail.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Carrie Fisher Likes Shiny Things
From Kate, Technical Production Intern
Things have definitely slowed down here in production. Betrayal and Seafarer are up and running and the next two shows are not technically intense; seeing as Wishful Drinking is coming on a truck and Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names does not seem to have a very large set. So we have been busy re-organizing electro-mechanical (it looks fantastic) and cleaning the shop, plus making some artwork from the walls of The Road to Mecca set. The walls were covered in glitter, and apparently someone got word that Carrie Fisher loves shiny things, so we made parts of the walls into artwork for her dressing room. Random, I know. Today, I got to make a quick model of the Carrie Fisher set, so that we have something to look at instead of drawings.
Now, I am just keeping myself occupied until my boss gets out of a meeting and can give me something to do. Which basically means I am watching scores for March Madness, looking for a job, and discussing pets with my other boss. It is quite productive. I realized that since we do not have much to do for the next shows, I am going to have to think of some projects that I can work on for the next five weeks, or I will be very bored. Maybe I will ask if I can work on my coffee table. As of right now, it is a table top sitting (not attached to) on top of a small side table. Sadly, this means it often tips over if you put weight on the outer edges. But it sounds like a good intern project. I would actually be able to use the tools in the shop, and I would get a cheap coffee table. Oh, to be an intern. Mollie has managed to inherit several pieces of furniture from the props department, so we get the task of moving them into her house today.
Things have definitely slowed down here in production. Betrayal and Seafarer are up and running and the next two shows are not technically intense; seeing as Wishful Drinking is coming on a truck and Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names does not seem to have a very large set. So we have been busy re-organizing electro-mechanical (it looks fantastic) and cleaning the shop, plus making some artwork from the walls of The Road to Mecca set. The walls were covered in glitter, and apparently someone got word that Carrie Fisher loves shiny things, so we made parts of the walls into artwork for her dressing room. Random, I know. Today, I got to make a quick model of the Carrie Fisher set, so that we have something to look at instead of drawings.
Now, I am just keeping myself occupied until my boss gets out of a meeting and can give me something to do. Which basically means I am watching scores for March Madness, looking for a job, and discussing pets with my other boss. It is quite productive. I realized that since we do not have much to do for the next shows, I am going to have to think of some projects that I can work on for the next five weeks, or I will be very bored. Maybe I will ask if I can work on my coffee table. As of right now, it is a table top sitting (not attached to) on top of a small side table. Sadly, this means it often tips over if you put weight on the outer edges. But it sounds like a good intern project. I would actually be able to use the tools in the shop, and I would get a cheap coffee table. Oh, to be an intern. Mollie has managed to inherit several pieces of furniture from the props department, so we get the task of moving them into her house today.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I'd Want To Live My Life Too
From Kiki, Audience Development Intern
Another day, another blog. Here are some extra projects I've gotten to work on to spice up the old resume and keep it interesting around here:
1. We do these things called Warm Ups before our performances and the way we describe it is: a pre-show interactive workshop to get you into the mindset of the play. Yeah, you're drooling just thinking about it. Well I was given the opportunity to write, research and perform one. We're doing The Seafarer in the Bagley Wright Theatre and it is set in Baldoyle Ireland. So my Warm Up is called Talk Irish with Kelly (my more Irish sounding real first name) and I teach patrons how to perform an Irish Dialect. People seem to be loving it. I'm just glad that I (so far) haven't lost track of what I was saying and stood there mumbling like an idiot. But hey, I do this 5 more times, so keep your fingers crossed.
2. Our Communications Manager, Joanna, let me be in charge of our Lobby Displays. We have these huge double-sided pannels that we put background information on for our patrons to peruse before and after the show. So I got to go through all of our publication materials (Offstage, online and Encore, our program) and pull out the relevant information that I liked and kind of put it all together for Seafarer and Betrayal. Then our Graphic Design intern Andry took all of my copy and created these huge pieces of paper chock full of cool facts and designs. They look amazing, Andry is pretty awesome, and it's fun to watch patrons reading them night to night.
3. Other than that I've been proof reading up a storm, organizing Subscriber Backstage Tours, looking for jobs, and coordinating Intern Applications. So, APPLY. This could be you.
Another day, another blog. Here are some extra projects I've gotten to work on to spice up the old resume and keep it interesting around here:
1. We do these things called Warm Ups before our performances and the way we describe it is: a pre-show interactive workshop to get you into the mindset of the play. Yeah, you're drooling just thinking about it. Well I was given the opportunity to write, research and perform one. We're doing The Seafarer in the Bagley Wright Theatre and it is set in Baldoyle Ireland. So my Warm Up is called Talk Irish with Kelly (my more Irish sounding real first name) and I teach patrons how to perform an Irish Dialect. People seem to be loving it. I'm just glad that I (so far) haven't lost track of what I was saying and stood there mumbling like an idiot. But hey, I do this 5 more times, so keep your fingers crossed.
2. Our Communications Manager, Joanna, let me be in charge of our Lobby Displays. We have these huge double-sided pannels that we put background information on for our patrons to peruse before and after the show. So I got to go through all of our publication materials (Offstage, online and Encore, our program) and pull out the relevant information that I liked and kind of put it all together for Seafarer and Betrayal. Then our Graphic Design intern Andry took all of my copy and created these huge pieces of paper chock full of cool facts and designs. They look amazing, Andry is pretty awesome, and it's fun to watch patrons reading them night to night.
3. Other than that I've been proof reading up a storm, organizing Subscriber Backstage Tours, looking for jobs, and coordinating Intern Applications. So, APPLY. This could be you.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Week in Props
From Mollie, Props Intern
This week was full of lots of exciting things going on at the Rep. On Wednesday we opened The Seafarer by Connor McPherson. The first half of the week was spent putting the finishing touches on the set and finishing up the props. Opening night was amazing. The show is one of the best that I have seen in a long time. All of the actors give such strong performances that there were many times watching the play that I forgot there were 800 other people in the theatre with me. I am so proud to be apart of the show and seeing it makes me realize how much I love working on theatre.
I also started working on another intern project this week. Since we got a lot of armchairs for the director to choose from we ended up with a few that we did not have space for in storage. Instead of giving one of them back to the Salvation Army where we got it I was able to completely reupholster it. On the other chair that I worked on I was only able to go as far as putting muslin on it but with this one I was able to completely re-do it. As an added bonus I was also going to be able to take the chair when I was done because there was no room. Therefore I got to pick the colors and make a few design choices when it came to the colors. I also got to practice a lot of skills that I have been learning about upholstery. There were yards of cording to make and I had to make a new cushion when it was discovered the old one was made out of down feathers. The only problem that I ran into was that I did not have enough of the blue velour I was using to do the back and the cushion. However, I did have plenty of the accent green color that I had been using so the back of the chair is green and the cushion is green with blue cording. It actually turned out pretty well and I am excited to see it in my apartment. Well I really need to go finish sewing the cushion and clean up before going home so bye for now.
This week was full of lots of exciting things going on at the Rep. On Wednesday we opened The Seafarer by Connor McPherson. The first half of the week was spent putting the finishing touches on the set and finishing up the props. Opening night was amazing. The show is one of the best that I have seen in a long time. All of the actors give such strong performances that there were many times watching the play that I forgot there were 800 other people in the theatre with me. I am so proud to be apart of the show and seeing it makes me realize how much I love working on theatre.
I also started working on another intern project this week. Since we got a lot of armchairs for the director to choose from we ended up with a few that we did not have space for in storage. Instead of giving one of them back to the Salvation Army where we got it I was able to completely reupholster it. On the other chair that I worked on I was only able to go as far as putting muslin on it but with this one I was able to completely re-do it. As an added bonus I was also going to be able to take the chair when I was done because there was no room. Therefore I got to pick the colors and make a few design choices when it came to the colors. I also got to practice a lot of skills that I have been learning about upholstery. There were yards of cording to make and I had to make a new cushion when it was discovered the old one was made out of down feathers. The only problem that I ran into was that I did not have enough of the blue velour I was using to do the back and the cushion. However, I did have plenty of the accent green color that I had been using so the back of the chair is green and the cushion is green with blue cording. It actually turned out pretty well and I am excited to see it in my apartment. Well I really need to go finish sewing the cushion and clean up before going home so bye for now.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Stressed Out
From Holly, Stage Management Intern
For the last four weeks I have been working on The Seafarer with Wilson Milam. I have been the most excited about this project from the start of my internship. I am working not only with Wilson, but also with Elisabeth our Production Stage Manager and I got to me Eugene Lee! (scenic desinger for Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and SNL only theatre people can truely appreciate this name dropping). It has been fabulous to see Elisabeth, normally my supervisor as a Stage Manager. Her style is calm and cool on the outside with the experience and knowledge to vent to the right people at the right time. She also has been really great with keeping me in the loop, even if I don't need to know. She will also explain to me why and how she came to a decision in a tough situation. This is the coolest thing ever!!! Handling difficult, tricky situations is a large part of Stage Management's job, but its hard to learn. I have been really lucky to have an SM that can explain her thought process.
She also gave me the responsibilty of the prop preset sheet as well as prop tracking. After coming off of You Can't Take It With You and watching Claire do a heavy prop show I felt very ready to take on the task and I felt more like a part of the team, rather then a bystander. BUT little did I know that unlike Warner Shook who knows what he wants and sets it, this director likes to keep things fresh and new...every day! From an artistic point of view I TOTALLY get this, but it makes it very hard for the actors to find themselves in the story and character and makes it almost impossible to create a Props Preset list so that when you go into tech things are set properly.
I can honestly say that I have woken up nights freaking out about props! I know...ridiculous. I have had dreams about calling a show, most Stage Managers do, but props! This is whole new territory. So sleep has been rare these last few weeks and knots in my back have doubled. The positive thing is that I have been able to work with Stina the ASM for this show and my SM for the last two shows, on the deck. She has taught me a lot on the deck that she couldn't while calling a show. I love learning new tricks on how to be more prepared. This process has been really difficult. It has made me question whether or not Stage Management is what I want to do, but I am very glad that I have had it. Both my SM and ASM are amazing and have been very supportive and forward with praise and helpful criticism, which is great!
We are now in our first preview and I feel like the show, the crew, and myself are all getting a handle on it. I think that show is going to be great! But these previews are going to be rough.
Stay tuned....
For the last four weeks I have been working on The Seafarer with Wilson Milam. I have been the most excited about this project from the start of my internship. I am working not only with Wilson, but also with Elisabeth our Production Stage Manager and I got to me Eugene Lee! (scenic desinger for Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and SNL only theatre people can truely appreciate this name dropping). It has been fabulous to see Elisabeth, normally my supervisor as a Stage Manager. Her style is calm and cool on the outside with the experience and knowledge to vent to the right people at the right time. She also has been really great with keeping me in the loop, even if I don't need to know. She will also explain to me why and how she came to a decision in a tough situation. This is the coolest thing ever!!! Handling difficult, tricky situations is a large part of Stage Management's job, but its hard to learn. I have been really lucky to have an SM that can explain her thought process.
She also gave me the responsibilty of the prop preset sheet as well as prop tracking. After coming off of You Can't Take It With You and watching Claire do a heavy prop show I felt very ready to take on the task and I felt more like a part of the team, rather then a bystander. BUT little did I know that unlike Warner Shook who knows what he wants and sets it, this director likes to keep things fresh and new...every day! From an artistic point of view I TOTALLY get this, but it makes it very hard for the actors to find themselves in the story and character and makes it almost impossible to create a Props Preset list so that when you go into tech things are set properly.
I can honestly say that I have woken up nights freaking out about props! I know...ridiculous. I have had dreams about calling a show, most Stage Managers do, but props! This is whole new territory. So sleep has been rare these last few weeks and knots in my back have doubled. The positive thing is that I have been able to work with Stina the ASM for this show and my SM for the last two shows, on the deck. She has taught me a lot on the deck that she couldn't while calling a show. I love learning new tricks on how to be more prepared. This process has been really difficult. It has made me question whether or not Stage Management is what I want to do, but I am very glad that I have had it. Both my SM and ASM are amazing and have been very supportive and forward with praise and helpful criticism, which is great!
We are now in our first preview and I feel like the show, the crew, and myself are all getting a handle on it. I think that show is going to be great! But these previews are going to be rough.
Stay tuned....
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