Okay, so I promised a post explaining my long absence a few weeks ago and here it is. You know there are times at every job where things just pile up and you need to buckle down and get to work? Your boss is angry, your coworkers are stressed and you're pretty sure you're brain is going to explode?
That's tech week. Also known as hell week.
I may be exaggerating, but it gets pretty tense. Tech week is the point in time in a theatrical production that all of the technical aspects get added in. The cast, director and stage management have been in the rehearsal hall for the past few weeks getting the show on its feet. Meanwhile, the designers have been off with carpenters, cutters, stitchers etc. in their separate corners creating the sets, costumes, lights and sound. And then comes tech. You get one day, one weekend or one week to pull this all together. All these separate aspects gets added to the mix and it's up to the stage manager to organize it all.
So much fun.
Basically you work a 12 - 14 hour day, going through the sound and lights and then you run through the show. Hopefully you get through what's known as Q2Q (jumping through the script to lighting, sound, projections etc. changes) in one day, but it can definitely take longer. It's super stressful, everybody's tired. Everybody's running on caffeine and adrenaline, praying it all comes together before opening.
Watch Noise's Off or better yet Slings & Arrows to see this all in action.
I get home around midnight after a tech day and I'm exhausted, but I still have my notes to send out and cue changes to write in my script. Blogging takes a second seat, my books even go untouched. But that's my job and I love it. I contemplate various methods of murder/suicide throughout the week, but nothing feels better than seeing the show go off without a hitch, knowing all the hard work was worth it.
And now back to the book reviews!
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