The Woman in Black was very good! The sets were functional and appropriately and wellaesthetically (I just made that word) designed and there were only two speaking characters in the show. It was a horror show, (not the kind of Rocky though) and a bunch of English highschoolers were there and were shreaking left and right...haha but I did not think it was bad. I got chills one time though and was startled a few times. It was good...I like mysteries...just not in movie form...in book or play, but I like to avoid the gore and stuff that will traumatize me haha but Woman In Black was excellent.
Anyway. After the show, (west end matinees are mostly at 3pm and are on one varying weekday plus Saturday for most shows), it was off to work. So I went to the Bagel Nash (mya favorite little place, mostly because of the name) for dinner and after getting the most stupidly lost I ever have (I later realized that the Shaftesbury theater was literally in view from where I was), I made it there early. I go to work at 6pm, or 18.00. :) When I got there, straightaway Chris told me some very exciting news that some of you might find ironic. :) ...
He told me that the same company that produced Hairspray and Dirty Dancing (his last show) on the West End and some others, are producing High School Musical through Disney, new to Broadway or West End in the fall and that the American design team was coming over for a few weeks to work on it while it's in rehearsals in late June. He then offered me to assist the designer(s) on the team in addition to working on Hairspray! This was very exciting to me and I am incredibly thrilled to (hopefully) end up with two West End credits on my resume, one as run crew and one an assistantship in Design! And since Disney seems to be taking over the world including the theatre world, working on one of their productions could definitely benefit me in the future. Although I don't know all the details on the second, it sounded like it was worked out enough that I will do it even though the whole thing is not all worked out yet.
I shadowed Stage Left with a guy named Tom tonight and it was crazy but a lot of fun! I got a cue sheet and he showed me the ropes and what he does at what time. It works like clockwork and is seriously a whole machine in itself. It is crazy and the space is...about slightly bigger than the backstage area of the downtown theater and more even on both sides for those of you who can imagine that....tight at the least. It's like playing tetris and I find it amazing how everyone knows exactly what to move where, what clips and pins to attach where, and when and on what angle and when to "page" the curtain for the actors (sightlines are similar to Schwab, but better, still not great) or collect props from actors, or watch for loose dodgeballs...all this by memory and more. Most of the stuff gets shuffled around and flown in and out for storage. Plus most of the finale we spend resetting the show (and/or dancing) for the next night and are able to leave immediately after the show. It was a lot to learn and it blows my mind that I may eventually know it all too. The longest show I ever run was 3 and a half week run, and even then I still used a sheet to check back on when I was ASM, which is basically what Tom is, just called a DSM. He even knew and was able in advance to tell me exactly where I should stand so that I would not be in the way. I have never been more impressed with the inner AND outer workings of a show. And they all do it with such ease and low stress and are so friendly and fun. Basically it's my ideal future work environment there and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. The cute little stagedoor man (sometimes a lady) even grins and shouts out "Hello Sah-m!!" whenever he sees me come in or out. And the cast does the same and there does not seem to be a division between cast and crew or any divas around. Anything that would be considered something a "diva" would want, is done for them anyway, no problem. For example, one of the things Tom gave me to do today was to page the curtain and hold my hand over the corner of a set piece that Velma had hit her knee on once while she is wheeled on a laundry cart, then hold out my hand to help her down. Nice treatment, right?! I was impressed that they do that for her every night, especially when I saw that how she hit her knee was basically just the driver of the laundry cart just veering off too much. I met Micheal Ball tonight (he was off last night) and he is great and very friendly as well!!! For those of you who don't know, he's the big name actor on the West End in the show that all the fans are after. As soon as he saw I was a new face at warmups he introduced himself and talked with me. The girl who plays Lil Inez (Natalie) is also very sweet and the guy standing in for Link (Neil) while he is on holiday is also great. There is one other American involved in the whole production, who when I met her said, "Hey we don't need any more Americans around here!" Her name is Johnnie and she plays Motormouth Mabel. She was born in Pennsylvania, and when I made a face that I didn't know the town she was born in, she said "And you call yourself a Pennsylvanian?! psh!" haha, it was near Pittsburgh though. She's funny. Overall, I love it how everyone seems to get along so well and have so much fun and do their jobs so well there.
That's about all for today... tomorrow I've got the day and night off because I have class from 6:30-8:30 which is disappointing because I want to work, but I suppose I should get more than an empty bank account and some great experiences for my parents money (aka....college credit.) Maybe I will spend some of my daytime in solitude (haha) tomorrow posting some pictures. Just haven't had time to post pictures AND write. Oh and the Har dee Har Hut is a piece of scenery/the toy shop in Hairspray in case the title had you boggled. There is a really cool machine domino effect on it that I helped set up tonight. Learned more about automation and the use of air tanks....and the similarities between it and steaming milk at Starbucks. What can I say?! I make good connections. :)
Goodnight!
~Sam~
