4: Making Plans

Today was definitely our most productive day thus far. We met at school to start pulling props and look at the stage and really see what we could do with blocking, lighting, and sound. We realized that this is a show that didn't really need that many personal props, which is good because there is less for us and the cast to keep track of. We also knew we needed to make the stage smaller because as is it is way too big. Mr. L was really helpful today because he gave us ideas with spacing and design of the set that we didn't even realize we could do. Instead of just having a black curtained background we be able to move the cyc closer downstage and that would become the new back of our set and we'd be able to light it in many different ways.

This is what a cyc looks like:

We were also struggling with where we'd put the band because Gary needed to be able to see the cast but not block the audience, Mr. L told us we could put the band on stage which would be great for sound and not block the audience. He also brought up a concern that we had and that Ms. Samet voiced through email, that we weren't be assertive enough with the cast and taking control. Mr. L suggested we do a small divide and conquer where each person becomes a "head of a department". One person would be the director and they'd be the go to question for blocking and things having directly to do with the cast, one person would be the stage manager who would deal with cast and crew and making sure everyone is where they need to be, and one person would be the producer who would deal more with public relations and publicity. I think this a really good idea because before we tried so hard to make sure everyone had and hand in everything it took much longer to make sure everything got done.

Since today we finished blocking the show and created a mental set, next on the agenda is to create a lighting plot for each song. Mr. L will help us cue next week and we are hoping to be able to get a rehearsal in at the Upper School so the cast can start getting a feel for the space and the set. We still need a drummer but we are very close to getting one.