Arts Day

February 1, 2012. Seattle Repertory Theatre. 6:30am.

In the dark and drizzle of pre-dawn, I met up with Corey (the costuming intern) and Jon (the visiting Yale fellow) and we all piled in Managing Director Benjamin Moore’s car. Our destination: Arts & Heritage Day at the state capitol in Olympia, organized by the Washington State Arts Alliance.

We arrived just in time to grab some coffee and attend an orientation session. Though I was familiar with a similar event in Missouri (my home-state), I appreciated the opportunity to expand my understanding of Washington state issues. Then, equipped with a rundown of arts-related bills under consideration, a map of the capitol, and Seattle Rep swag to give away, we headed out to do some seriously-awesome advocacy work!

Advocating for the arts always makes me feel empowered. There is something about walking through a rotunda on my way to meet with a legislator that makes me believe I am making a difference. It helps that I passionately believe the central message of the day: arts have a positive effect on engagement, education, and the economy.

Throughout the morning, I attended meetings with fellow representatives from a variety of cultural organizations. Legislators seemed very receptive to our message and most had a story to share about how the arts had positively impacted their constituents. At the noon luncheon, it was exciting to see numerous senators, representatives, and aides that dropped by to show their support.

The afternoon found us in more meetings, with some free time here and there to check out the Capitol Gift Shop (coloring book of President Obama, anyone?) and the nearby lake. Who knew that Capitol Lake is infested with New Zealand Mud Snails?!

Discussing the events of the day as we drove back to Seattle, our car-ride discussion turned into an animated discussion of the future of arts funding, especially government support. In this climate of tough budget propositions and deep cuts to the arts, it will take many more people adding their voices to ensure that elected leaders support funding and policies that allow people to enjoy, participate in, and benefit from the arts.

I’m proud to have been part of Arts & Heritage Day but will also be looking for other opportunities to share the message: theater and the arts are essential.

-- Melissa Fagan, Arts Management Intern

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