PERFORMANCES

Tech Rehearsal

To the left is my original plan for our tech rehearsal on July 7. Rehearsal was going to be from 11:00-19:00, including time to run through the show a few times and to take pictures with a photographer I had hired via Instagram. This was to be our final rehearsal, so I wanted to utilise the time as much as possible.

However, the morning of our tech rehearsal, we received a message via our group chat that one of our actors had a stomach bug. There was no way she was going to make it to the studio. This really damaged the rehearsal schedule I had created, as there was no way to run the show or rehearse it without all three performers present. In the end, we did one run through with our Assistant Director standing in for our sick actor. After that, I dismissed everyone and decided we would meet early the next day before showtime to run-through the show. This was not ideal, but the health of my performers is the ultimate priority and I don't regret how I decided to move forward.

Performances

Night One

To the left is the schedule for July 8, the first night of performances. Because we had to essentially cancel our tech the day before due to actor illness, we had to have an emergency rehearsal during the day before our first show. We were able to run-through the show once, and then had to break to quickly take some pictures with a last minute photographer we had found. Then, it was time for the actors to get ready for the show.

The show itself went well. I think the stress of not having a proper tech day along with first-show-jitters made the beginning of the performance a bit stiff. This was noted by the reviewer who came this night in his review. But within 20 minutes, the actors had found their groove and gave an incredible performance. The reviewer ultimately gave us a 4 star review, which I was very proud of.

Night Two

Night Two went smoother than Night One. There were a few hiccups with the string, but the actors were able to recover and keep moving forward with the show. Overall, I think this was our smoothest performance with the least amount of mistakes. We did not review the show before the performance, but I think my actors still did a wonderful job.

Night Three

Night Three was the best performance from my actors, in my opinion. It was the perfect balance of emotion and grace. I operated the light and sound boards for all three nights of the performance, and it was this performance that I messed up a few light cues and the projector. I was so focused on what was going on onstage that I missed a light cue, and I let my computer time-out which caused the projector screen to turn blue in the middle of the performance. Those technical things aside, the show went very well and I am very proud of my performers.

The Review

Everything Theatre - 4 Stars

We received a 4 Star review from Everything Theatre. They came the first night of performances, which was our weakest night, so I'm grateful that the reviewer still thought it was a 4 Star performance. The focus of the review was the story and mythology elements of the show, highlighting how the show was retelling the stories of characters too often swept to the side. The reviewer did note that the performers started the show a bit "wooden," but also acknowledges that they eventually settled into the piece and gave amazing performances. Overall, I am very pleased with this review and cannot wait to create the next version of the piece, which will be even better than this one. Who knows, maybe it'll even get 5 Stars next time!

Read review here

Final Thoughts

This show was a whirlwind from beginning to end. It felt as though I was building the plane as I was flying it most of the time, especially since I'd never done a show of this scale essentially on my own (in terms of producing, directing, and writing). I'm lucky that I had such incredible performers and an amazing Assistant Director to help through the process. I learned a lot about how to produce my own show, and grew a lot as a creative. I made many mistakes in every aspect of the piece, but that just means that I was able to learn and grow from those mistakes, too. I'm really proud of what I was ultimately able to create, and eagerly look forward to continuing to adapt and better this piece over the next few years. To everyone who helped make this show possible, THANK YOU!

And watch out theatre world, They Weave with String that Suffocates is coming for you!