Hallo my dears!
My my it has been a long time. And boy has it been crazy! I have had the time of my life working on this show and I cannot wait to share that with you. So sit back, relax and let’s go!
This past August I was asked by Janice Flower to work as an ASM on St Albert Children’s Theatre’s upcoming production of A Christmas Story. I was beyond delighted, but to be honest… I was a bit worried about working with kids, as it had been some time since I had even been around any kids. I’d spent the last few years working my butt off in school and traveling and as a result, I was having trouble relating to my aging nieces and nephews. A couple weeks later, there I was meeting 35 amazing kids and trying to be there to help them through the show journey in any way I could. It was an uphill climb.
\Not to say that they were in any way difficult to deal with, just that I had to change some of my bad habits so that I was setting a good example (not wearing my Kate-Moss-giving-the-middle-finger-t-shirt is an ongoing battle) and learning the correct approach to giving them notes. It made me reevaluate the way I handle other adults when I’m upset and thinking that perhaps I shouldn’t be as harsh as I am sometimes. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what these kids have taught me over these last four months, but more about that later..
From L to R – Heather, Corissa, Jade, Emily, Nicole (B.) and Kira.
The rehearsal period is always such a joy for me because I get the opportunity to be in the room with a director and watch their vision come to life. Working with the team of Rachel Silver-Bowron (Musical Director), Jacqueline Pooke (Chorgeographer)and Janice Flower (Director) was a laughter festival in itself, but even more so, a fantastic learning opportunity I wouldn’t get anywhere else. These three ladies eat, sleep and breathe musical theatre and their passion fills the room with an energy I can’t describe. They are incredible with the kids and provide them with the best of their skills, guidance, a listening ear and an opportunity to express themselves and gain confidence through the magic of musical theatre. Who could ask for more?
Kaden, Adam and Jillian
Working with Janice in particular has been such an eye opening experience for me. I’ve always dreamed of producing my own TV series or a feature film but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. Sure I’ve got ideas, but nothing I can run with quite yet. Hearing the advice she gives the kids on their performances and how they can best represent their characters reminds me of the reason I want to create my own show. I can’t just do it to do it. That’s why projects fail. It’s time to really think about what I want from the project, what I want the audience to do, who they are, and so on. All in due time. Anyways. Back to the subject.
Catty, Sasha and Emily
A little over a month ago things started amping up with a Christmas Story. We were up to four full cast rehearsals a week and the more runs we had under our belts, the more confident we got. The props started filing in, the costumes worked their way into the show and the scene changes were a mere dream awaiting our arrival in the theatre. We were ready for it.
Cate, Daphne and Logan. (I have no idea what is going on here.)
Tech week started and I quickly remembered what it meant to be an ASM. On your feet from the time you get there til the time you leave. On head set, listening to your SM while trying to diffuse the situations happening around you and not miss your cue. Taking as many notes as you can so you don’t forget any changes that you’re now making because of spacing, set pieces, quick changes or any other variety of reasons. It’s tough but it keeps you on your toes and in this instance, I really truly had the best time backstage. The level set went smoothly, the scene changes did as well and then it was time for the infamous Q2Q..
Laura, Gellen, Cole & Meghan
We started at 1pm on a Sunday. In my past experience (mostly school), we have never made it through a Q2Q in one day. In one instance in particular, I finished a Q2Q about an hour before calling the show with an audience for the first time. I was nervous about our 8 hour timeline but was reassured by the other techs that it was doable. The day started off quite well as we had some time to look at the scene changes the day before. We got through 3/4 of act one before breaking for lunch and I was in utter disbelief. By 8:30 we finished up and it was time for notes. I was so happy and proud of the kids and our tech and artistic crews.
Loriana, Nicole (P.), Sasha
The final rehearsal, tech rehearsal and dress rehearsal went pretty smoothly for me. I had mostly been doing scene change tracking and hadn’t paid enough attention to props tracking and as such, there were a few instances in the tech and dress runs where I had to run out on the stage and put a poinsetta or a snowsuit on the stage… but by our first performance, we had turned into a well oiled machine. My favorite thing about theatre? Repetition.
Marco, Morgan and Emma (M.)
As the run went on, each night a new problem cropped up. Some were funny, others were not so much.. but we all handled it as best as we could, and the show always went on. There’s something about the atmosphere around there and everyone feeding off that energy, working together for the same goal and boy did I love it! Such a sense of teamwork and responsibility to one and other. Everyone relies on each other for one thing or another and that kind of harmony is something I wish everyone had in their workplace. Makes the day that much better. (Like the night where I spilled the bucket of water and Tegan and Brad came to my rescue.)
Myself and Amanda backstage.
This photo pretty much embodies our friendship.
Now for the kids. I have had a very limited amount of theatre experience and even less with kids, but man.. they rock and made this experience one I’ll remember forever. I looked forward to every rehearsal, no matter how tired, stressed or annoyed I was from the day I just had. I knew that once I got there, I could let my mind rest a bit and just enjoy learning the show and being amazed by these talented kids who took their notes to heart and gave it their all, all the time.They really love what they do and it shows in their performances — particularly in the over the top fantasy sequence dance numbers. One of the two things I enjoyed most was watching their routines before making an entrance. For example, during Ralphie to the Rescue, half of our ‘hillbilly’ gals would enter from stage left and every performance, they would stand in a circle and do the last ‘oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhh’ before their entrance and do a little air lassoing before forming a line and entering; Or whenever Emily, Catty and I would do the final table scene change, she’d always sorta dance-kick (I don’t know what else you’d call it) as she pushed the table on until we hit the stage where she’d walk normally. Just a small moment for them, but fun to observe from afar. The other was seeing how ready they were to help each other out with quick changes, prop handoffs and stepping into scene changes whenever necessary. I have never worked with such eager little beavers and I was really, really impressed and even more appreciative of how smooth of a run it was thanks to all of their help. So SACT kids (and grads), as you all know, I adore you all and wish you nothing but success in everything you want to do. Follow your dreams — look where it took me! 🙂
Heather, Sage & Nicole (P.)
And onto the techs. Every minute backstage was a joy. Everyone getting along, laughing together and again, working together towards the same goal. It really made the time on the show fly by, even when it took up most of my life. I had many laughs dancing backstage with Amanda, my school chum and the RF tech on the show, and again, dancing on stage left as Brad laughed at me from the fly tower. It’s probably my biggest fault in stage management.. I learn all the songs and then I can’t stop performing them, no matter how awful my uncoordinated interpretations of choreo and voice are. I’m a rockstar, and I think all of us techs are to some degree. We might not quite have that x-factor, but we sure make up for it in enthusiasm and black clothing! Anyways.. I digress… Since this was really only my second experience as an ASM, I sort of forgot how hectic it gets to be backstage and I was lucky to have a solid group of people to work with and learn from every day. My SM, Jenna, in particular was a great help in remembering the stage management part of my brain that sort of took the backseat to the production management part. She was great to learn from and a blast to chat with because like me, she loves to travel, loves disney and loves musicals. Big thanks to her for all the support throughout and here’s to working together again, soon!
Jenna repairing Sage’s tap shoe. She’s multitalented.
Finally, the artistic gals just because I feel it needs to be mentioned again. They were truly wonderful to work with and made every day a learning experience for everyone there. I hope to keep finding work like this so that every day I can learn something new and become the producer I want to be when ‘I grow up’. I’ll get there eventually — hopefully not too soon though.
Justin, Rachel, Janice (giving an inspiring speech), Erica and Nicole (B.)
Well I guess that’s really it for this post. I’ll have two more posts coming at you soon about our time with Pasek & Paul at the Arden. Suffice to say, it was one of the best days of my life. I’ll explain why later. The other will be a photo post with all the pictures I couldn’t fit into this post. I got a lot of really great candid shots* and I’d love to share them with you all.
Kirsten, Heather, Justin, Logan, Jillian
Thanks for reading as always! And a huge thanks to all of the cast and crew involved with a Christmas Story, the people I never really got to work with (marketing, box office, administration, front of house, volunteers and more), and all of the SACT parents who a) should be so proud of their kids and b) fed me so amazingly well over the last few months. You’re all stars and I love you.
P.
*Candid shots include : ‘pretend I’m not here and that you’re not posing for a picture’ photos.*
Production Assistant Life 