TFE JUNE ONLINE

BEHIND THE RED CURTAIN…
WRITTEN BY BROOKE BRADBURY
“Theatre people” - a rare breed of humans that spend
most of their time within the four walls of a theatre. I am
honoured to say, that I am one of those lucky people!
Most recently I was in the wonderful production of “Into the
Woods” at Morrinsville Theatre. It was an all-consuming show
which took months of rehearsing, hours of singing and I am
incredibly proud of what we, the cast, crew and creative team
accomplished.
Today I am going to take you behind the curtain, and into my
world back-stage in the lead up and during our show to give
you a little glimpse of what we get up to while we are there for
all those hours.
In the initial few weeks of a rehearsal, most of us are nervous,
slightly reserved (I use the term reserved very loosely), and
still warming up to those we don’t know. Even if we have done
shows together before (which we mostly have), then there is
still the process of figuring out the dynamics that we have with
each other in this new show. Once we have settled in, there are
literally hours upon hours of being in the same room together
- which is an incredible thing. You learn so much about people
when you are in a confined space with buckets of energy for a
long period of time.
Each rehearsal begins with our “Vocal Warm-up with Ian!!”, our
incredible music director. A mix of crazy interpretive dance, (not
requested but necessary to warm the vocals) and an infectious
brand of excitement, somehow helps us relax and perform to
the levels for which we are required.
Every rehearsal is one step closer to opening night. One step
closer to our goal, and one step closer to closing night - a night
of mixed emotions. You see, we are not just cast members - we
are a family. A crazy, loud, dysfunctional and loving family. I
have never felt as much love from such an eclectic group of
people than I have with my theatre family. Of course, we all
get frustrated with each other at times, and need personal
space but what good family unit doesn't. They say you can
choose your friends but can’t choose your family. Well, I would
choose these amazing people in a heartbeat to have as family
members.
Fast forward to opening night - the energy back stage is a mix
of nerves, excitements and show tunes…very loudly sung and
in perfect harmony (you see no-one who is a self-respecting
theatre person will ever just sing a song, goodness no! It needs
to be with harmonies, jazz hands and a series of interesting
dance moves).
In the ladies dressing room there is a lot of primping and
preening - adjusting costumes, reapplying lippy, bouncing
around and of course selfies. So many selfies. It is also to
be noted, that if one leaves his or her phone unattended or
unlocked, then one has given unspoken permission for their
camera roll to be filled to the brim with repetitive and not
terribly attractive photos of your cast members. It is also a
given, that whatever you bring into the green room (our space
for getting dressed), is no longer your own. It is public property
and to be honest it is actually very nice to be able to share with
everyone - food, blankets, etc.
Now in the boys dressing room - a totally different and
borderline uncivilised area - there are competitions galore.
Whether it be who can toss a water bottle and make it land
right side up, or who can eat the most lollies, (always ends
badly). Call time comes from our dedicated stage manager
PG. 34
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