Recent shows...

Recently, I went to see Exit the King" and God of Carnage on Broadway.

Here's some of the cooler technical stuff that occurred in these shows:

In God of Carnage, one of the four actors vomits onstage. Nobody is quite sure as to the mechanics of the vomit, as she was talking maybe 30 seconds before. Is it something stuffed up her sleeve? Is it something she eats or drinks casually after her preceding line? Whatever it is, it is the only surprise during the entire show.

In Exit the King, the scenery is made mostly of regal drapery that has lost its sheen. From the beginning of the show, noting the aircraft cable supporting said soft goods, I was wondering how (and when) they would be flown in or out. Being a technical person, I noticed the minute those things moved even slightly. However, my boyfriend didn't notice until they were nearly touching the ground, because they moved so slowly (during a fairly intense monologue by Susan Sarandon, who commands quite a bit of attention). I spent the whole time wondering whether some poor ($60/hr) stagehand's arms were getting tired.

The uncool technical stuff:

At the end of God of Carnage, which up until this time has been a fairly realistic endeavor, the red wall which composes most of the set changes color from to shades of blue (thanks to color scrollers, surely), veeeery slowly. The characters are left in this weird, abstract image, for no apparent reason, as the lights go down. It was one of the cheesiest lighting moments I have ever witnessed, and I've worked in community theatre. COME ON.

At the beginning of Exit the King, I nudged my boyfriend, pointing to the downlights in each aisle. "Oh no", I said, "They're coming into the audience!"
"No", he said, "You just think that because of The Onion article you read last week."
But then I saw a backlight and a frontlight as well! And sure enough, Geoffrey Rush broke the fucking fourth wall halfway through the show. And his makeup was horrifying up close. So boo to you, lighting designer, for not cleverly hiding those lights, boo to you, director, for letting Geoffrey Rush march down the aisles, and boo to you, makeup artist, for making Geoffrey Rush look so, so scary.

Summer Stock Discussion

Since most people coming to my blog from Google are searching for "summer stock", I thought I'd post some observations on my own experiences with the beast. I've worked at some really cool places, and some really lame ones. Here's what I can tell you:

1. Most theatres will work you 50+ hours per week for the entire summer for a flat fee, or for something in the neighborhood of $300/week. If you're an intern, you may work as many hours for free. If you need to make bank this summer, do not work summer stock. Unless it means you get to sublet your extortionist Williamsburg apartment and live rent-free for a few months.

2. Most theatres will put you up in student housing or an apartment, the quality of which will vary from mouse-infested shithole to cozy middle-class digs. If you're quite lucky, you'll have a room to yourself, and may be within walking distance of the venue. If not and you have no car, befriend a couple folks with cars really quickly. You don't have to love them, but you'll be needing their help to get out once in a while. You may not have laundry facilities or a working toilet. It gets dicey sometimes.

3. Most summer theatre companies become grossly incestuous really quickly. Think "The Real World" for people who are mostly lacking social skills. Put eight 20-something nerds together in a house, and...yuck. If you are a nerd looking to get laid this summer, then summer stock is the gig for you. If you have a strong gag reflex, look into temping or something instead.

4. Most summer stock gigs are an elaborate excuse for people to get trashed for a whole summer without worrying about maintaining any sort of reputation (see #3).

5. You can actually learn a lot from summer stock, especially if the venue employing you doesn't know what the hell it's doing. You may go through hell, but usually you'll come out of the whole experience with some new skills (see also #3). Some places actually have really great TD's and MEs and what-have-you, and you can learn a good deal from them too.

6. Use the opportunity to network. I know it's a terrible word, but "networking" is important, especially if you plan to be freelancing for a while. Theatre's a small world (I run into people I know in NYC all the time- in a city of 8 million + tourists, I see at least three people a week that I know from college, from summer stock, or from random gigs elsewhere).

That's about it for now. Who else has comments or tips for newbies?

Hatred #462:

That nasty cloud of flameproofing shit that fogs up your face and gags you when you touch the soft goods.