Hell Week

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:01pm

Lets just all share our undying hatred for the weeks that are tech week. I just came back from the worst tech week rehearsal of my life. Several anxiety attacks and costume malfunctions later I am sooo ready to get this show over and done with.

Updated On: 1/9/06 at 11:01 PM

[renthead1223]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:11pm

I was complaining about hell week all day! Every day (except tonight, because I would have killed someone) from last Sat to this Sat. Tues & Thurs I have to be functional and somewhat intelligent from 6am to 10pm. Oy.

[jam_man]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:22pm

What show(s) are you guys doing?

Dry tech rehersals suck, I know. What sucks is that we always spend at least ten-twenty minutes setting most every cue and us on stage are supposed to be resonably still. And then our director wonders why our last run through after dry tech is always $h!t.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:23pm

Hell weeks SUCK. I hate them. ><

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:23pm

Meh, double post!

Updated On: 1/10/06 at 11:23 PM

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:24pm

Kids, please enjoy the time in your life in which you have the time to work in the theater!

[renthead1223]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 11:33pm

I'm working on The Shape of Things. It's a great show, and the people in it are fun, but I didn't realize when I agreed to it how much I would be there. I'm doing it basically as a favor to the director and for the experience, and it's great I just never have the energy or the time. I will definitely appreciate the experience, though, brdlwyr. Good advice. And I definitely do work a lot in the theater, as my actual job is at another theater.

[EadieWasALady]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 1:01am

I'll say. It seems that this year no one told the out-of-town businessmen that the first two weeks in January are a time for a lady to catch her breath.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 1:22am

Apparently, EadieWasALadyOfTheEvening was too long of a username.

Updated On: 1/10/06 at 01:22 AM

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 2:16am

If you think its bad for the actors...just talk to the techs.

Akiva

[Tag]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 2:24am

You really shouldn't complain about standing around during a tech rehearsal or Q-Q or whatever you were doing. The work a stage manager or lighting designer or director is doing at that point is equally important as what an actor will be doing come performance. Relax and have some appreciation!

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 3:04am

What brdlwyr said.

I have never heard the term "hell week" (is it a high school/college term?) but I adore production. Sure, it's long hours, and sometimes tedious, but that's the biz, kids. If you can't handle that, get out of the business.

Actors have much time to rehearse and prepare - techs only have that very short time frame. It's all done for you and the show. We're not doing it for fun, you know. Actors show up for the rehearsal/tech, but maybe you don't realise other people are there long before you get in and also long after you leave. Seriously, suck it up and quit whining.

DD925, your quote? "Am I cut out to spend my time this way?" Seriously consider that. If tech is too much of a hardship, get out. And jam man, not sure what to say to you. How hard you must suffer standing still while others are working.

I work on Broadway, and 8am-10pm (with the occasional midnight thrown in) for 4 solid weeks is not uncommon during production.

And thanks, Tag.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 3:23am

Hah...thanks guys for backing me up :P

In North American theatre, tech has been pushed to the bottom of the scale of importance of a show. In an ideal world, actors would be able to rehearse in sets in costumes for a month, allowing the designers to tweak their creations, and allowing the lighting designer to play aorund with lights at his disposal.

Akiva

[Tag]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 3:39pm

It's what I do so ofcourse I will back it up!
Updated On: 1/10/06 at 03:39 PM

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 3:43pm

Jesus Christ, I understand how hard it is for tech. That's another thing that makes this week stressful. Maybe I was whining but it's a stressful time in any show and last night I was so drained. Trust me, I appreciate what goes on behind the scenes during the show (and with the lighting, costuming, hair and makeup and everything else that gets thrown together in the last week). It's very stressful and who likes stress? But I do it because I love it and stress and all it's totally worth it. Everyone's entitled to some complaining every once in awhile. I'm sorry if I offended you because I hold tech people in very high regard ("Without techies, actors would just be naked people standing on a dark, empty stage").

Jam Man- I'm in Honk

[ihearttheatre]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 3:47pm

I'm currently mid-way through a Hell Week. Since it's for our cabaret-style talent show, I end up just sitting bored for 95% of the extremely long rehersals. My act is the absolute last, so I can't leave early. Ever. *groan*

[Kellie]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 4:06pm

Honeys, I'll take all of your tech weeks.. I don't get to do any real stage work coz I live in hell (well, I won't exaggerate. Le gutter then.) so all the work goes to trained actors (and actors only. where to go when you've got a killer voice but don't wanna end up in some crappy european version of American Idol?), and I'm actually glad when I get to do the freakishly long run-throughs. But I do understand it's te-di-ous when you've done the real thing, lol.
Sorry about that, I just love the trashdumping possibilities of the internet..!
Updated On: 1/10/06 at 04:06 PM

[stylinbohemian]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 4:11pm

Awww Im sorry you guys are suffering through Hell Week...I hate hell week. one thing Im kinda happy about being kicked out of my schools fall production as assistant stage manager(long story to do with some kid framming me for something I would never do, and wasnt allowed to finish the production even after they proved my inocense :sigh: school sucks) is that it was the day before hell week kicked off. My next week isnt til the end of Feb. So good luck hang in there! Arg I kno it can be draining, I usually work myself sick during hell week.

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 1/10/06 at 4:23pm

Stylin- that really sucks! School theatre is awful.