The Battle Known as Tech Week

I have been silent lately. There is a good reason. We opened our summer musical last Friday. The opening went great! The energy of the cast was spectacular and the audience laughed and enjoyed it and we even received a standing ovation! You might be thinking, “That’s all good, right? So why have you been silent?”

Tech Week.

For those of you involved in the theater you know exactly what I am talking about. For those of you who don’t well….there are no words.

Tech week is the week before a production opens. This is the week that all the remaining elements are added. (Lights, costumes, set pieces etc) In all fairness it is stressful for everyone involved. People who are normally the most loving and gracious begin to survive on coffee and energy drinks. No one wants to put pressure on anyone else but you can almost hear the very air surrounding you whispering, “When is that going to be done?” The cast who has been perfect starts to forget lines and not make entrances on time because we keep throwing new things at them–like costumes, lights and even new set pieces. And I begin to feel terrible. All these wonderful, talented people from designers to actors, from seamstresses to stage crew–I feel that I’m not giving them the very tool they need the most. Time. (Well, maybe help is a close second.)

Theater is a set of building blocks. The director sets the vision. The designers then create from that vision. Then people start sewing and building and lastly the technical elements can be put into place. Acting is the same. You build your character based on the building blocks of what you discover either from lines your character says or what other characters say about you. When the actor gets to step into costumes and make-up it is the last building block.

So you see why tech week is so important? It all comes together right at one critical moment.

Half way through the week I realize most of us have slept less than 15 hours all week and when they did sleep it wasn’t it their bed! Some of us haven’t even had time to shower. Anyone who walks into the theater is immediately put to work and we don’t even have time to go pick up the playbills.

It is truly a wonderful experience. I look around at all the people who sacrifice and pour their hearts into making the perfect set, having the perfect costumes, adding the magical technical aspects and I say, “Thank you.” Thank you, for loving theater, this theater.

Thank you to those actors who come in and walk the space and think through their lines in an effort to make sure their characters are performance ready. Thank you to the set artist, designers who repaint because the set just doesn’t look like they wanted it to. Thank you to the technical directors who rehang the snow machines because the snow doesn’t hit at just the right angle. It’s really a very special kind of passion.

The result? A beautiful powerful production that brings a laugh and hours of enjoyment to our audience. Those smiles make it all worthwhile. We are fortunate enough to have another benefit. The cast has become incredibly close. We have cried together, prayed together and rejoiced together. And on opening night we celebrate together.

I’m very thankful that these are the people who surround me.

If you haven’t seen it Seven Brides for Seven Brothers runs for three more weeks. overshadowed.org

Do you have any stories about tech weeks that you have experienced? Or tips to help survive one? I’d love to hear from you!