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Sunday, February 26, 2006 I have been on a long, long journey for the past 4 months. It has not been easy, but it has finally been completed last night, with good results and happy faces all round. I began the journey innocently enough, sitting down for the committee interview in September. I told them about the bit of experience I've had, and that I'd rather do stage work rather than admin work. "Would you like to be a stage manager?" They had to explain what a stage manager was to me - in secondary school the teacher-in-charge took care of everything and we were not aware of the internal processes. It sounds interesting, I replied, but how many stage managers were there? If there was only one, then they'd better look for someone more experienced to take the job. I mean, how was I to be stage manager when I didn't even know what one was? So they said, thanks for your time, and promised to inform me of the results. I was about to sleep that night when a call came from the producer, "how would you like to be the Chief Stage Manager?" Well, of course not, such an important role should be left to someone with more experience than I have. "But, you're the best person we have for the job." Really? There's no one in Sheares Hall who's better suited for the role then me?! (i was still of the naive opinion that everyone in hall was gung ho and active and committed and therefore manpower should never be a problem) Well, I had to think it over, I never intended to take on such a big role in my first year. "Why don't you talk to K in your block? He was stage manager last year." So I did, and he said, the usual rhetoric - it is easier than it sounds lah, time commitment is not too heavy, you're more than up to it, etc etc. But it took another lengthy phone call from the producer before I finally agreed to take up the responsibility. So much for wanting to concentrate on my schoolwork for the first semester (in the end, my initial plan of joining 1 sport and 2 committees went into smoke; I joined 2 sports and 3 committees instead). I was completely clueless, so they referred me to the director. The director was very nice, and she explained to me what I needed to do. Show up for every rehearsal. Take care of the cast's administrative matters. Keep abreast of the developments in the sets and props committees. Run the entire on-stage show during the performance. The assistant director offered to help me along with my work, too. The rehearsals started in October. 3 days a week initially, eventually extending to every weeknight from Monday to Friday. The routine is to inform everyone of the next rehearsal, inform welfare of rehearsal times (which became the director's job, since she and the welfare chief were neighbours) so they can bring us refreshments, and then sit through the rehearsal. I became known as the super-sub, because whenever actors were absent I stood in for them. The director and AD took up quite a bit of my job, for which I was grateful. I had to ask them about every other thing, anyway, and they always kindly and patiently explained everything to me. The lights and sounds team also did most things themselves, so I didn't really have to worry about much. Then there were the main committee meetings. Always 2-hour long, dreary affairs that start at unearthly hours and end at unearthly hours, like 11pm till 1am. There's almost always ice-cream, though, Ben & Jerry's somemore, which makes it bearable. I almost always have nothing to report, that is, until they saddled me with the pre-show. The pre-show was always a major headache, not just for me, but for the producers and the DOCA, as well. Getting people to perform for the pre-show was a big struggle, because who wanted to perform to a theatre that's less than half-filled? Getting the audience to come for the pre-show was also a problem, because that's not what they came to see. I think the 4 of us ended up owing the performers a big favour, even though I thought the pre-show was quite a flop, no thanks to me. The 3 days at UCC was smooth-going for the most part, thanks mainly to my 2 capable and reliable assistants. Though they had problems attending rehearsals due to other heavy commitments, they were perfect during the performance and I relied on them heavily to make sure everything was right (while I ran around trying to make sure there was a pre-show). The wardrobe, props and sets committees were also spot-on, which saved me a lot of worry there, as well. The lights and sounds team were also perfect. So I could afford to worry about the pre-show (which needed a lot of worrying from me). And so, 13 hours ago, it finally ended. Sheares Production 05/06. Happily, the performance went without a hitch. The cast were brilliant, the backstage crew were brilliant, and the audience enjoyed the show. What more could one ask for? I've worked with many wonderful people during this entire process, people who've been patient and understanding with me, a total newbie, people who have given me encouragement and praise, people who have gone the extra mile for me, gone out of their way to help me. The list is nearly endless: DOCA, who helped me with the pre-show and liaised with SHacapella; the producer, who was always very patient with me; the AP who bought the Ben and Jerry's and helped me with the pre-show; the director who took up so much of my job for me, even though she had enough on her hands already; the AD, who always kept an eye out for me and was always willing to help; my assistant SMs who never once complained and did everything I told them to; the cast, who always had me laughing till I cry during rehearsals and who always put in 120% during rehearsals; especially Tris who also stressed himself out trying to put up a pre-show item for me; the lights man who settled everything himself (which was good since I was clueless about lights) and gave me advice and prompts and generally served as backup for me; the sounds men who fired on cue and made the effort to work out the sound cues thoroughly with me; sets committee who never complained, just worked and worked right up till the last minute, who were amongst the first to arrive at UCC and last to leave; welfare committee for all the food and drinks they provided us; wardrobe and props committee who prepared everything ahead of time at UCC; the pre-show performers, whom I never thanked because I was backstage, and to whom I apologise for any unhappiness and miscommunication; and of course everyone else who played their part in making this year's production such a success!
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