Creating TOSCA - The Chorus
I have the best job in the world.
It is Monday evening and I am sitting outside the Tosca Chorus Rehearsal with my laptop. I must sit here and be serenaded by 35 exceptionally talented people who are rehearsing Puccini while I work. Darn! What a hardship!
As the Production Manager for Opera Grand Rapids I am in charge of getting everything and everyone that you see in an opera and getting it/them on the stage. That may sound like a tall order, and believe me, it is! This is my second season with Opera Grand Rapids and I have relaxed the death-grip on my desk ever so slightly. Oh, I’m still a bit white-knuckled, but I have already fallen into most of the pits that come with this job and while still wary, I’m getting better at dodging the new ones.
I actually began working on this season’s operas last January. Once the operas are agreed on the promotion and planning begins immediately. Scenery, costumes, props, lighting, wigs, staff, music, principal singers, chorus, orchestra—all these components must be agreed on, assembled and assigned and that takes time. Lots and lots of time.
There are some components that must wait until the last minute, though. Locating and securing a place to rehearse and a place to work on costumes is always a last-minute item. You would think something that is as vital as having a place to work would be top priority, but without a facility of our own, we must rely on finding a big, empty space with parking and bathrooms for a cast of 50 or more that can be used 24/7 for two or three weeks at a time. As some of our former cast members can attest, heat and lights are optional. Usually that takes the form of vacant retail space. Because landlords are justifiably holding out for someone to lease their space long-term and pay market-rate rent, they are reluctant to allow the opera to take over a prime location until they are absolutely certain that no one else will rent it. This certainty usually comes 7 to 14 days before I would like to move in and start using the space.
Today I signed a lease on a costume shop (extra thanks to Spatz Development, Inc. for the bargain basement rent!) with only 72 hours to go before my costumes are scheduled to arrive. Whew! I’ve still got 10 days to find a rehearsal hall. Keep your fingers crossed!
Am I sure I have the best job in the world? (pause to appreciate the music drifting into the hallway) Oh, yeah!
It is Monday evening and I am sitting outside the Tosca Chorus Rehearsal with my laptop. I must sit here and be serenaded by 35 exceptionally talented people who are rehearsing Puccini while I work. Darn! What a hardship!
As the Production Manager for Opera Grand Rapids I am in charge of getting everything and everyone that you see in an opera and getting it/them on the stage. That may sound like a tall order, and believe me, it is! This is my second season with Opera Grand Rapids and I have relaxed the death-grip on my desk ever so slightly. Oh, I’m still a bit white-knuckled, but I have already fallen into most of the pits that come with this job and while still wary, I’m getting better at dodging the new ones.
I actually began working on this season’s operas last January. Once the operas are agreed on the promotion and planning begins immediately. Scenery, costumes, props, lighting, wigs, staff, music, principal singers, chorus, orchestra—all these components must be agreed on, assembled and assigned and that takes time. Lots and lots of time.
There are some components that must wait until the last minute, though. Locating and securing a place to rehearse and a place to work on costumes is always a last-minute item. You would think something that is as vital as having a place to work would be top priority, but without a facility of our own, we must rely on finding a big, empty space with parking and bathrooms for a cast of 50 or more that can be used 24/7 for two or three weeks at a time. As some of our former cast members can attest, heat and lights are optional. Usually that takes the form of vacant retail space. Because landlords are justifiably holding out for someone to lease their space long-term and pay market-rate rent, they are reluctant to allow the opera to take over a prime location until they are absolutely certain that no one else will rent it. This certainty usually comes 7 to 14 days before I would like to move in and start using the space.
Today I signed a lease on a costume shop (extra thanks to Spatz Development, Inc. for the bargain basement rent!) with only 72 hours to go before my costumes are scheduled to arrive. Whew! I’ve still got 10 days to find a rehearsal hall. Keep your fingers crossed!
Am I sure I have the best job in the world? (pause to appreciate the music drifting into the hallway) Oh, yeah!
posted by Cat W. at
5:30 PM
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