The State of the Drama Nation
The State of the Drama Nation
"Twelve Angry Men"
For those of you new to this, on the Sunday before we open, I post an honest assessment of where we are as a production. It is my hope that this will serve as an honest evaluation of where we are and where we're going.
ACTING
I have alreAdy honestly expressed my concerns here. In simple terms, we have to get through this from start to finish before we can address the rest of the concerns. I do know all of the following are true:
1. We're not loud enough.
2. We're not fast enough.
3. We are not interesting and/or consistent enough.
We'll know more tomorrow.,..
MAKEUP
Earlier this week, I expressed my lack of contentment with this group, and since then, they have really turned it up a notch. I started last week being highly concerned, and I'm ending the week feeling very confident about where we're going.
PUBLICITY
I don't have concerns here, but I do have questions.
1. We should start selling tickets tomorrow. Are we?
2. We should start running the morning announcement on Tuesday. Is it ready?
3. Are concessions plans in place and ready? Mrs. Newton contacted me about helping.
4. Do I have ticket sellers and ushers ready?
5. Did we e-mail the final progrAm changes?
6. Am I forgetting something.....ah yes...are the royalties paid?
LIGHTS and SOUNDS
Well...in general, we're ready. However, I often wonder if I'm the only one who has noticed that my actors continue to act in dark spots and shadows. I know you're waiting for art to finish the back wall, but the far stage left and right corners are not lit well. Do we need to add fresnels? Why is the orange cord on the stage left extension not taped down? I do have some small additions, but those delays are the fault of the cast and me. We'll work on that tomorrow.
As for sounds, we have them, but we need to discuss who is running them and HOW to run them!
ART
Well, Aurelie, bless her heart, came in and mixed the paint to the proper shades. The entire set is coated once at this point, but much of that credit belongs to upper level Dramas late night painting. We'll talk tomorrow about what else needs done, and much else needs to be done.
COSTUMES
I think we're ready. We'll find out tomorrow. I always worry about boys and their footwear and socks. I also wonder about jewelry and accessories. I'll withhold judgment until tomorrow.
PROPS
It seems like all is there, but I have detail questions to share with you. I think we're OK here.
CONSTRUCTION
OK....everything is built. Right? Well...I would prefer to build a water cooler instead of using mine. I would prefer to straighten the wall closest to the audience, and I would like to get the blinder in place. I would like to create baseboards. We're done, but I'm hoping we're not done. How about you?
The bottom line is that we embarked on this journey hoping to complete this on our own. We are going to have to admit that it has taken the help of many others to make it happen. However, it's really up to our cast at this point. Honestly, there are so many unknowns on the acting side. I do know that by the end of this week, we will know what the future is and where we're heading. It's rare in life when you have control of your immediate future. Let's see what your legacy will be.
MjB
P.S. I typed this on my phone because I have a terrible headache and stomach ache. I get a mulligan on typos!
"Twelve Angry Men"
For those of you new to this, on the Sunday before we open, I post an honest assessment of where we are as a production. It is my hope that this will serve as an honest evaluation of where we are and where we're going.
ACTING
I have alreAdy honestly expressed my concerns here. In simple terms, we have to get through this from start to finish before we can address the rest of the concerns. I do know all of the following are true:
1. We're not loud enough.
2. We're not fast enough.
3. We are not interesting and/or consistent enough.
We'll know more tomorrow.,..
MAKEUP
Earlier this week, I expressed my lack of contentment with this group, and since then, they have really turned it up a notch. I started last week being highly concerned, and I'm ending the week feeling very confident about where we're going.
PUBLICITY
I don't have concerns here, but I do have questions.
1. We should start selling tickets tomorrow. Are we?
2. We should start running the morning announcement on Tuesday. Is it ready?
3. Are concessions plans in place and ready? Mrs. Newton contacted me about helping.
4. Do I have ticket sellers and ushers ready?
5. Did we e-mail the final progrAm changes?
6. Am I forgetting something.....ah yes...are the royalties paid?
LIGHTS and SOUNDS
Well...in general, we're ready. However, I often wonder if I'm the only one who has noticed that my actors continue to act in dark spots and shadows. I know you're waiting for art to finish the back wall, but the far stage left and right corners are not lit well. Do we need to add fresnels? Why is the orange cord on the stage left extension not taped down? I do have some small additions, but those delays are the fault of the cast and me. We'll work on that tomorrow.
As for sounds, we have them, but we need to discuss who is running them and HOW to run them!
ART
Well, Aurelie, bless her heart, came in and mixed the paint to the proper shades. The entire set is coated once at this point, but much of that credit belongs to upper level Dramas late night painting. We'll talk tomorrow about what else needs done, and much else needs to be done.
COSTUMES
I think we're ready. We'll find out tomorrow. I always worry about boys and their footwear and socks. I also wonder about jewelry and accessories. I'll withhold judgment until tomorrow.
PROPS
It seems like all is there, but I have detail questions to share with you. I think we're OK here.
CONSTRUCTION
OK....everything is built. Right? Well...I would prefer to build a water cooler instead of using mine. I would prefer to straighten the wall closest to the audience, and I would like to get the blinder in place. I would like to create baseboards. We're done, but I'm hoping we're not done. How about you?
The bottom line is that we embarked on this journey hoping to complete this on our own. We are going to have to admit that it has taken the help of many others to make it happen. However, it's really up to our cast at this point. Honestly, there are so many unknowns on the acting side. I do know that by the end of this week, we will know what the future is and where we're heading. It's rare in life when you have control of your immediate future. Let's see what your legacy will be.
MjB
P.S. I typed this on my phone because I have a terrible headache and stomach ache. I get a mulligan on typos!
posted by Mr. Bair at 6:19 PM
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