Opening Night Butterflies
We get 1 week in DeVos Hall for each opera; seven days from the time we unload the first truck until it all has to be back out the door again. Sometimes that seems like an appallingly small amount of time. For Tosca, though, a week has been just about enough. The scenery is not complex or difficult to move. The lighting effects have all worked out beautifully. Aside from adding gold braid to the chaise in Act II, the props all seem to be ready. Costumes have been great the whole way through—even though some of the singers were less than thrilled with theirs in the beginning.
Last Saturday my loading crew and I got everything from the rehearsal hall and costume shop. We took some things back to our warehouse, where they will live until it is time to begin work on The Elixir of Love in January. The rest of it stayed on the truck overnight so that at 8:00 AM on Sunday morning I could back into the loading dock at DeVos Hall and drop it off. The union crews at DeVos are fast to unload a truck and helped me get everything where it was going for the week.
We always take over a large room in the basement of the theatre to use as a temporary costume shop. Repairs and final adjustments are made there and pieces that need to be cleaned are dealt with on the premises as much as possible. Unfortunately the washer and dryer are located right outside the orchestra pit doors, so cycles have to be strategically timed with the music or even the end of the rehearsal.
Up at stage level, the DeVos Hall scene shop is a large space fitted with giant overhead doors that lead to the stage. This is where we set up the props headquarters for the week. Folding tables are put up and tools arrive along with a small fridge and microwave. Yes, we do use those to keep the production staff snacks in, but there is also food to be consumed during the opera. The chicken is a prop. The chips and salsa are mine.
The opera owns a double-wide chaise that has figured prominently on our stage more than once. It is getting reupholstered once again for use in Tosca. All other furniture arrived with the set, but not a chaise. We all scratched our heads and wondered if Scarpia tried to have his wicked way with her on the floor when this was originally produced in Omaha. There was a lot for the Prop Master to deal with, so I volunteered to redo the chaise to help lighten his load. I know how to upholster things the right way, but of course I thought I’d take a shortcut and it would still look fine. Note to self: it is always faster to do it the right way the first time. It is never faster to have to start over.
Now it is 5 PM on opening night. It is time for me to leave my office and stroll calmly across the street to DeVos Hall. I have enormous confidence in the production staff, the union stagehands, the artists, the box office and the ushers. I know it will all go well, but I still have those little butterflies in my stomach from time to time. They are the reminder that we are about to attempt something incredibly difficult in front of a live audience.
I love those butterflies. I hope they never go away.
Last Saturday my loading crew and I got everything from the rehearsal hall and costume shop. We took some things back to our warehouse, where they will live until it is time to begin work on The Elixir of Love in January. The rest of it stayed on the truck overnight so that at 8:00 AM on Sunday morning I could back into the loading dock at DeVos Hall and drop it off. The union crews at DeVos are fast to unload a truck and helped me get everything where it was going for the week.
We always take over a large room in the basement of the theatre to use as a temporary costume shop. Repairs and final adjustments are made there and pieces that need to be cleaned are dealt with on the premises as much as possible. Unfortunately the washer and dryer are located right outside the orchestra pit doors, so cycles have to be strategically timed with the music or even the end of the rehearsal.
Up at stage level, the DeVos Hall scene shop is a large space fitted with giant overhead doors that lead to the stage. This is where we set up the props headquarters for the week. Folding tables are put up and tools arrive along with a small fridge and microwave. Yes, we do use those to keep the production staff snacks in, but there is also food to be consumed during the opera. The chicken is a prop. The chips and salsa are mine.
The opera owns a double-wide chaise that has figured prominently on our stage more than once. It is getting reupholstered once again for use in Tosca. All other furniture arrived with the set, but not a chaise. We all scratched our heads and wondered if Scarpia tried to have his wicked way with her on the floor when this was originally produced in Omaha. There was a lot for the Prop Master to deal with, so I volunteered to redo the chaise to help lighten his load. I know how to upholster things the right way, but of course I thought I’d take a shortcut and it would still look fine. Note to self: it is always faster to do it the right way the first time. It is never faster to have to start over.
Now it is 5 PM on opening night. It is time for me to leave my office and stroll calmly across the street to DeVos Hall. I have enormous confidence in the production staff, the union stagehands, the artists, the box office and the ushers. I know it will all go well, but I still have those little butterflies in my stomach from time to time. They are the reminder that we are about to attempt something incredibly difficult in front of a live audience.
I love those butterflies. I hope they never go away.
posted by Cat W. at
5:00 PM
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