In the precarious time between day-to-day rehearsals and the beautiful chaos of tech week, you’ll likely feel an energy shift in your actors, crew, and other team members. People are getting excited to kick off show week, yes, but they may also feel the urge to change the components of a show to make it that much better. While the impulse is common (we’ve all been there), the truth remains the same: the final rehearsals before tech week are not the time for big changes in your production. Instead, they’re about reinforcing and strengthening the work you’ve already done together as a team. Polishing and perfecting are the name of the game.
In short, these final pre-tech week rehearsals should focus on certain details of your showcase that already exist, not new and exciting changes that will be difficult to master in the limited time you have left before the curtain rises. On The Stage explains five things to prioritize during this time before tech week.
While you may be most concerned about your leads perfecting their big-moment monologues or your ensemble nailing their dance numbers, what can take a show from good to great is technical mastery. So, during these final rehearsals before tech week begins, make sure you’re:
Imagine it’s time for the biggest number of your musical … and your spotlight is aimed at the curtain at stage left while the lead is belting her heart out. Lighting missteps hinder a performance’s power, take away from major moments, and may even confuse your audiences.
That said, take time during these critical rehearsals to sit with your lighting team and ensure they are well-prepared for your show. If there are particularly demanding lighting cues during certain scenes or musical numbers, run them until your lighting techs feel comfortable. Additionally, remember that tech is fallible; give your team multiple backup plans in case the worst should happen during a live show.
Any sound designer can attest: a missed sound cue can completely throw off the pace of a production, lose a laugh, or otherwise dull a climactic narrative moment. These rehearsals are the time to really focus on your sound designers as well, and ensure they have all the tools they need to succeed. Test your sound equipment – from speakers to mic packs – ensuring they are fully equipped and ready to use. Much like with your lighting design, run-through scenes where sound is a major component in the success of the moment to ensure cues are hit consistently.
We’ve all been to a show where the lights go out after a scene and we hear (and sometimes see) a very clunky set transition – shuffling feet, whispering, stagehands tripping over wires or pieces of furniture. While the audience can shake that disconnect off when the next scene starts, it’s better to keep them fully immersed in the production by streamlining these set transitions.
So, during these final rehearsals, make sure transition scenes are practiced ad nauseam until your crew members know their pathways backward and forward. Additionally, moving major set pieces in the pitch-black can be dangerous for your team! Talk with them to see what they’re comfortable doing. After all, it won’t be the end of the world to put glow-in-the-dark tape or small lights on the ground so everyone can see where they’re going and get their jobs done faster (and safer).
It’s a tale as old as time: It seems you’ve gotten your show’s pacing down perfectly, but come opening night, your leads and ensemble are so nervous and excited that they start rushing their lines and choreography. Or, perhaps they start the show with so much energy that it wanes come time for the biggest number of the production at the end. These are normal problems, of course, but can be fixed by focusing on a consistent pace and energy within your show. A few ways to accomplish this include:
Many pacing and energy issues can be boiled down to a lack of preparedness. If your actor isn’t sure about a line, or your sound tech continually misses a cue, your pace and your energy will suffer. That said, the best way to smooth out these issues is by repetitive practice. A boring suggestion? Sure. But an effective one!
Whether you grant this title to a well-versed stagehand, your stage manager, script advisor, or a producer … make sure someone is offering quick and efficient feedback to your cast and crew between scenes regarding the pace and energy of the production. If things are a bit too quick or noticeably dragging, let the right people know. Getting this type of direction before the adrenaline of opening night hits will make them better prepared to take easy, actionable notes during official performances.
Most creatives in the world of theatre will agree: Performances are just different with a live audience to feed off. While a live audience is usually a wonderful asset for performers and crew members, it can be distracting and daunting for those who aren’t used to it. That said, consider offering previews to VIP members of your theatre so your cast and crew can get used to audiences reacting to their performances. This will help shake off nerves, keep tempo and energy consistent, and prepare them to knock it out of the park on opening night.
While tech week is known for being the first time your cast and crew perform with all the proverbial bells and whistles, you can get ahead of the curve by incorporating some of those tangible elements into your rehearsals before tech week begins. A couple of ideas include:
Do you utilize props during a complicated dance number? Do some of your leads have specific prop-related scenes that are important to the narrative of the story? Don’t be afraid to get these items involved in rehearsals before tech week, so cast members can get comfortable with having physical objects in their hands when they act or dance. Getting these props involved earlier also helps actors troubleshoot common issues with said items – like dropping them during a dance number or the item not working correctly when triggered.
Pro Tip: Ensure you have an organized backstage space for props, and that your cast and crew know they are responsible for their own assigned items.
While there are a few cons to performing in costume too early – like the potential damage to a costume before opening night – it will most definitely help prepare your team members for the total look and feel of a show.
Getting into costume earlier will also help actors get into character more easily, troubleshoot issues with mobility, as well as discover fit and quality problems. The last thing you want is to realize two days before opening that your lead can’t dance in her dress, or the jacket you bought for your entire ensemble rips with the slightest movement.
Before tech week begins, your backstage operations should already feel like a well-oiled machine. Along with general safety issues, having a disorganized backstage can mean missed cues, sloppy transitions, and a detrimental pacing problem. So, now is the time to get more comfortable with your overall backstage movement. A few things to prioritize include:
If you have one or more major quick changes in your production, you need to ensure your backstage team and your actor are ready to execute the change with ease, but also safely. Practice these changes repetitively, ensure the pathway is always clear, and time the team to confirm your actor is still able to hit their next entrance.
If you have a mass exodus or entrance to your stage during a production, that also needs to be rehearsed several times to ensure a streamlined entrance/exit and a safe pathway for everyone involved. Different wings are your best asset for these types of situations – make sure every actor and stagehand knows which wing they need to head towards, the general walking pace everyone takes on, and where exactly to stand backstage after an exit to avoid congestion.
All it takes is one misplaced prop for an actor or crew member to suffer a fall. Avoid injury, confusion, late entrances, and general stress by creating a meticulously organized costume and prop area backstage. As emphasized before, every team member should be responsible for their items, and know exactly where to place them when they come off stage. If you have this locked down before tech week, your performances will run so much smoother, guaranteed.
Going into tech week, you will have a higher confidence and success rate if you’ve already completed some total run-throughs of your performance. Confidence, after all, is one of the most important things your team can have come opening night. A few things to consider and emphasize to your team before starting your first total run-through include:
In the throes of rehearsals, and with tech week breathing down your neck, you may be feeling like you’ve simply got too much to manage. For example, perhaps your box office success is waning because you don’t have the time to manage it with everything else going on in your production. That’s where On The Stage comes in. With OTS, you can elevate your patron experience, streamline your box office process, and simplify ticket sales with our comprehensive Booking, Box Office, and Front-of-House software suite for theatre and performing arts.
If you’re interested in learning more about all the ways On The Stage can help, book a personalized demo today. And, for a complete guide to navigating tech week, check out A Director’s Ultimate Guide to a Successful Tech Week!