Behind The Scenes

Pulling costumes is always fun and chaos (like most things in theater)!  We happened to find the head used for a high school Macbeth production...

When you haven't got a sword, a mechanical pencil works just as well.

We draw diagrams and take notes, of course, but photos of stage positions are always good for verification.  Typically, actors are in character, but sometimes they are just too fast for the photographer...

Moth choreographed the dance for her lullaby song with Cobweb!

The last scene had lots of movement and specific positioning, so we had to constantly pause to take pictures.  Luciana was missing, so Antipholus got a stool instead!

During the last couple of weeks, actors with costumes that may inhibit movement (long skirts, for example) rehearse in them.

Tech rehearsal!  Antipholus and Luciana "hold" (freeze and wait) while the crew adjust the lights.

We did not have a green room for this show.  Actors simply hung out at the top of a stairwell which was just through the doorway leading to the wings.

Digging a grave and trying to remember lines.  Some actors still have scripts, but it is difficult to handle a script and a shovel at the same time...

The early stages of the graveyard scene.  Osric is trying to keep a straight face while looking down at the large doll we used as Ophelia's body (so the servants carry "her" onstage wrapped in a shroud).

Every 5 seconds of choreography takes about 1 hour of practice!  Hamlet would stay late after rehearsals so we could work on the final fencing match.

We sometimes struggled to keep the tragic scenes serious.  The graveyard scene was notorious for getting messed up, and sometimes the mistakes were quite funny.