So, its been a while. The chaos of The Life of Galileo has fully engulfed my life now and it is starting to draw near to its end. This past weekend was tech. Tech for a show like this is unlike just about anything else. People are running around everywhere: assistant stage managers are teaching run crew, designers are creating their cues, teaching their board ops, and telling the stage manager where to call everything, directors are working with actors and designers, actors a learning their new costumes new props and blocking the set may have slightly altered. Over all, the experience is orginized chaos.
As stage manager (just like as with any position in a process like this) I see things differently than anyone else involved. I have the joy of a headset on which about 8 other people are on. While I am on headset designers and the director are talking to me through the other ear. As I listen to at least 2 conversations at once I also have to pay close attention to what is happening on stage so I can get all the cues into my book.
This isn't so tough for the first time, you go through the show stopping and starting and get to be sure you understand everything. At least, you understand it at that time. The second run the trick is to decipher your previous notes, if that can be managed you are officially on your way to success in calling the show.
Something I find difficult in this process is reminding myself this is all still practice. The calls and all don't have to be perfect in a tech, the point is to learn it so it can be achieved by the time you open. I hold very high standards for myself which leads to unnecessary stress.
If there is one lesson that I will take from this tech experience it is that everyone, including myself, deserves a little time to learn and adjust. You don't have to work exactly right the first time you do something.
