Ready, Set, Tech!

As a stage management intern at the Rep, much of my schedule is cyclical. For each show I work on, the stage management team has about a week of prep before rehearsals. We then have 3-4 weeks of rehearsals before going into tech. Next come previews, opening night, and finally the actual run of the show.

Right now I am in the final week of rehearsal for I Am My Own Wife, gearing up for tech. This is my first show this season in the Leo K, which is the Rep’s smaller space. In the smaller theatre the stage management team is compromised of only an Equity stage manager and an intern; there is no Equity Assistant Stage Manager. Because of this, I get to have more responsibilities. In addition to my normal duties, I am in charge of tracking all of the props and costumes. I also create and update a variety of paperwork- the props list, props preset, and deck running list among others.

Tech starts this Sunday, which for me will start at 9:00 a.m. when I will have prop check-in with the Master Carpenter. This involves going through the prop list item by item and handing over all of the props that we have been using in rehearsal. He then can organize them and have them ready to go once we begin tech later in the day. The stage manager and I will then check with the rest of the crew to make sure everything is going well for them, and to see if we can answer any questions. At noon we have the safety walk, which will give everyone the basic lay of the land and emergency procedures. The one actor will then get into costume, and somewhere around 12:30 p.m. we will start teching at the top of the show. After the dinner break, tech will continue until midnight, at which point the entire design team will have a production meeting. After the meeting, I start the “end of day” process: cleaning up the green room, distributing schedules for the following day, etc., which puts the end of my day somewhere around one in the morning.

The tech process can be pretty crazy, but it is also amazing to watch a show really take shape with the addition of all technical elements. Even though as a stage management intern you watch a show countless times in the rehearsal hall, seeing the show for the first time on stage is still really moving. But before long this show too will close, and it will be on to the next show and the next cycle.

-- Lisa Armstrong, Stage Management Intern