Today was a cue-to-cue rehearsal.  For those of you who don’t know the “lingo” a “cue” is any time the stage manager changes the lights or sounds or whatnot on the stage.  Most of this is all done by computers and meticulously noted in his/her script.  We usually just jump and do the bits of the show that involve cue changes.  So we skip everything in between.

But this can often take a long time–even though we’re skipping the text.  We often have to run cues multiple times to coordinate timing and such.  So I thought it would be interesting to see what it may be like to walk through my shoes for a day when it happens to be “Cue-to-Cue.”
Here we go:

6:20 am – I wake up hearing voices.  It’s my fellow apprentices about to embark on their way to Winona for some radio interviews.

6:30 am – I go back to bed.

9:30 am – Walk to work and nearly break out in a sweat because it’s SO GREAT outside!

9:30 – 10:30 am – Check e-mail and go through my to do list; I start sorting tasks, filing articles, work on the program for patrons, do some other odd design jobs

10:45 am – travel to Preston with marketing coordinator.  We’re going to record a 30-second PSA/advertisement for the show.

1:00 pm – after traveling back and working more on design work, I head back to the house and make a sandwhich.

2:00 pm – begin rehearsal and fix a couple little issues, then we try changing about 6 chapters where the Ploughman can’t see the wife’s spirit.  I think it will aid the storytelling and make things more clear.  We run it a couple times and it seems to feel pretty good between all the cast members.

3:00 pm – I work on painting stones for the bridge.  (They’re made with styrofoam and tissue paper – it’s pretty cool).

5:00 pm – I put some pizza in the oven, do some dishes, and begin making a killer box office playlist

6:00 pm – Cue to cue begins

6:06 pm – Carl and I discuss mustache wax for my pathetic facial hair.

7:45 pm – we break from rehearsal.  Irene and Sheldon bust out the key lime pie from the staff fridge.  We finish it.  It is delicious.

It's so good.

7:50 pm – we return to the stage (the lights and sound are BEAUTIFUL – I kid you not).

9:57 pm – The cast begins to go crazy and starts singing songs from “The Little Mermaid” while the tech designers look over some cues

10:15 pm – I leap into my super special red spotlight.  I won’t say anymore, and I’ve probably said too much.

10:52 pm – We are released from rehearsal.

11:15 pm – I make some throat coat tea and begin writing this post.

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I look back and see that this isn’t perhaps the most thrilling day.  Tech week is long.  There are many little pieces that have to come together, but I am continually amazed at how far we’ve come and how much work this show has been.  I have some more odds and ends to do tonight, but I best get some rest.  There’s much more work to do.  Tomorrow we’ve got a tech rehearsal in the afternoon and our first dress in the evening.  This means costumes, hair, and makeup.  I’ve got to try to finagle this mustache and re-learn how to tie bow-ties.  Hopefully it’s just like riding a bike; I have my doubts.

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