High School Tech Theatre - Blog Posts

oh the show that my high school theatre company closed 2 months ago had over 200 props if we're counting set dressing (it was a teenager's bedroom so it was MESSY)

[The show contains three props]

Production Manager: what do you think about the props?

Stage Tech: felt over indulged. A little much.

As a past Assistant Stage Manager and now full-on Stage Manager for my high school theatre company, here's some things to know: (some of them aren't really ASM but these will be important once you're a full-on SM!)

The actors may think they are better than you. Do with that what you will.

As early as you can, type up (or find an already-typed document) of the script, so you can add all the cues and notes straight on and not have to messily scribble cues on a piece of paper. I colour-code mine, but you can do whatever you want.

Remember, communication is key! Make sure to stay in touch with other departments.

Once you have your typed document (or 'masterscript' as I call it) share it with EVERYONE. The director, the actors, all the other Stage Crew people, and ESPECIALLY your other SM(s).

Stay in contact with your director, and if they have plans for the actors, make sure to let them know as soon as possible.

You will need to come up with a lot of plans on the fly, so know as much as you can! You don't want to be in the dark about anything.

Prepare to wear a lot of hats and do a lot of jobs. As my theatre department has 24 members (cast+crew) I have to do multiple jobs, such as: Scriptwriter, Head of Set, Head of Props, Head (and only member :/ ) of Costumes, and of course, Stage Manager. On top of all that, I am also the only run crew so yay!

Although, if your theatre department is big enough, you will also be responsible for delegating responsibility. Before every rehearsal, go through a shape of the day with your director, and make sure everyone knows what they're doing and when.

Also, drink a lot of water and make sure to keep your voice healthy! The cast for my show is very rowdy, and I've strained my voice on multiple occasions trying to yell over them to get them to quiet down :,)

Anyways, have fun! The only way you can truly make a show good is if you are passionate about it! Being a Stage Manager, and all the responsibilities that come from it are usually overlooked, but at the end, you're helping run an incredible show! Good luck!

Hi! more of a question i have about theatre stuff!!

I just got picked to be the assistant stage manager for my schools show (the addams family) !! im a sophomore in high school and this will be my 2nd year doing theatre at my school; and i hope to apply/get stage manager next year !!

any advice? thank youu !!

Hi!! That's so exciting! (In fair warning, I've not personally worked in stage management, I've only done a course on it, so I've outsourced a lot of this from @manicpixiemonster)

"Enjoy paperwork."

More seriously, the SM team is the centerpoint of information in a production so Be Organized. (Personally I'm a color-coder, but the Best method is whatever one works best for you.) People will be coming to you for questions so be prepared (even if it's about the thing that you really did send three emails and four text messages about already)

This doesn't mean that you have to know everything automatically. If there's something you're wondering about, ask. Especially since you're still in school and (I am assuming here) fairly new to this, take it as a learning opportunity and get involved and ask questions rather than trying to blend into the background.

Be focused because you're a model of behavior for the cast and crew. You want to be approachable but also an authority figure in the room. (This can be tricky, especially in HS since theater tends to be a very social experience)

Confidence is key! And remember you've got a whole team (and production) working with you to make this show successful.

stay hydrated :) also if you've got one, wear a watch.

"[actor name] does The Thing" What thing?

"Lights go on [actor name]" Where are they?

"[actor name] grabs prop" WHAT PROP!?!? WHERE IS IT??

Do you ever leave yourself a note

And go “This is going to be very unhelpful when I read it later”

…and then do it anyway???

Theatre Update or something

Hey, if ya'll have been following up on my theatre debacles, you'll know that I was Assistant Stage Manager for my last show, even though I did more work than the Stage Manager themselves.

Well, because my old director left, (Moon talked about it in their post here, we work in the same theatre company) we got a new one, and because I was the most senior member of the Stage Crew, the Sound Designer was talking to them, and mentioned about me being ASM last year but doing more than the SM, and my director made me the Stage Manager! I finally get the title to go with all the work I'm going to have to do for this production! I'm so happy!

(is this how actors feel like when they get cast as one of the main roles istg)

Anyways I'll try to be more active with my theatre updates, as this is one wacky show and we've got a lot of new people in our company.

There was one actor that was on stage crew like twice and was like 'She always communicated with me!' like im sorry bro were you TECHNICALLY the ONLY PERSON on stage crew for a super set-heavy and tech-heavy show? Did you have to paint multiple set pieces last minute during tech week? I don't think so.

My stress inducing director is gone!

She decided to move to another school and didn't tell us, just like how she never told me whenever the show order changed. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I am relieved. That woman was the cause of so much of my anxiety and she is finally gone.

Some of the actors are like: "omg she was so nice!!!". Honey, please. "She communicated with me so well!!!" Seriously?

Ah, the duality of man.

Anyways, we're getting a different drama teacher to run our theatre company this year, so that's gonna hopefully be fun.

I have some great news to tell my therapist.

Yeah, I love singing and I perform whenever my theatre company does a fusion show (a cabaret show with music, improv, poetry, and acting) I always sing and play piano for it, but don't act.

Even though I do that, I still love doing my job as stage crew, and whenever I'm actually performing onstage, I remember to be nice and respect my fellow techies. (please for the love of everything put you dang costumes away thank you)

Let's normalize tech theatre kids who are also regular theatre kids

Dear Person In My Drama Class Who 'Tripped' Over A Cable And Almost Broke The Soundboard A Few Days Ago...

Why did you not apologize? Why were you even near the tech booth in the first place? Why did you walk away when the director was crying because the soundboard is expensive?

(Don't worry it's fine now, the board has seen better days but I guess it's still kicking)

that face when the stage manager has a better singing voice then most of the actors...

Show Week Update!

Before our last day show, the 2 board ops and I replaced the carpet for some reason, after the sound designer knighted me with a broom and the lighting designer talked about how magenta isn't even a real colour, it has to do with the cones in our eyes and how it's actually green but the green cones aren't stimulated. Read up on it, it's really interesting.

For the last show ever of this production, the actors had some fun with their lines, like in scene where an actor was supposed to say 'wow!' they said 'WHEE!' instead. For a scene where everyone had number cards, everyone turned them upside down. One of the characters gave me a bottle of hand sanitizer when i brought out a set piece. Overall, great way to end it, and the seniors graduating said a few words before the show.

Yeah that "WHEEEEEEE!!!!!!" during a scene caught everyone off guard lol

Our last show went well!

There were no sound mistakes (ok that's a lie there was a really small one but no one noticed) and only a few lighting mistakes but whatever. At least no one noticed that much.

Also, the actors included some funny off-script lines for this last show, so me and the lights designer had to keep ourselves from laughing while doing transitions.

And, after I made the announcement on our group chat and pinged all the actors, some of them had the AUDACITY to say;

"Oh thanks, (my name) you're a life saver! People might have forgot their props."

That came from an actor who forgot their costume piece and had to run to get it, and who forgets to put their prop back all the time.

and "THANKS (my name) I'M LAZY"

That came from my friend, who's been on stage crew before. I swear...

Speaking of bad behaviour from the actors, when I was going and doing my rounds and checking everything so we didn't have another mishap, (this show, an actor almost forgot their costume again! Luckily I reminded them to double-triple it!) and they got really annoyed that I was shining my flashlight so I didn't trip on anything. I even had my hand covering half of it! (I attached my flashlight on a chain of carabiners to make the ultimate flashlight)

SPEAKING of tripping on things, while I was going on the stage to stage left, I almost tripped on one of the set pieces we had onstage, conveniently painted... non-reflective black. My shins hurt so much :(

Show Update!

First night show one and done, woo! Still got one more night show tho...

Also, one of the main leading actors was delivering a monologue towards 3 other characters and accidentally did one of their names our of order so just said "and you" but it worked! (I don't think the crowd remembered anyways)

Also, we got our concession stand selling overpriced snacks for the 'experience' so I hope we can get back at least as much as a bucket of paint :/

one litre of paint was like 50 bucks :(

Ok reblogging this because IMMEDIATELY afterwards when I was putting back props and stuff, even made an announcement to the actors on our cast group chat, some actors decided to just leave their props and costumes lying around! This is how mishaps happen!

Since the night show was done and everyone was talking and whatever and getting food from our concession stand, I was running props back, and an actor had a prop. I told them to put it in the props box, but they didn't. I hope they didn't take it home.

SPEAKING of things people took home, I couldn't find my charger block, and I don't think I left it out in the open, so the sound designer pinged everyone in the cast group chat to tell them I lost my charger but no one's gotten back to them yet.

Show Update!

First night show one and done, woo! Still got one more night show tho...

Also, one of the main leading actors was delivering a monologue towards 3 other characters and accidentally did one of their names our of order so just said "and you" but it worked! (I don't think the crowd remembered anyways)

Also, we got our concession stand selling overpriced snacks for the 'experience' so I hope we can get back at least as much as a bucket of paint :/

one litre of paint was like 50 bucks :(

Show Update!

First night show one and done, woo! Still got one more night show tho...

Also, one of the main leading actors was delivering a monologue towards 3 other characters and accidentally did one of their names our of order so just said "and you" but it worked! (I don't think the crowd remembered anyways)

Also, we got our concession stand selling overpriced snacks for the 'experience' so I hope we can get back at least as much as a bucket of paint :/

one litre of paint was like 50 bucks :(

Show Week Costume Mishap!

Since I'm the only stagehand backstage, I have to run props and costumes to actors. No big deal, all the actors double-triple check their costumes and props.

Well, for our third show, which was this morning, an actor forgot one of their costume pieces! Since there's another room with extra costumes that haven't been used, another actor and I looked until we could find something similar.

That was on stage left. I had to cross over to stage right for a set change, then had to go BACK to stage left to grab that costume for the actor, then back to stage right. All in a day's work, I guess.

lol we were wildinnnnnnn that rehearsal!

we made many inside jokes and funnies

The most crazy Queue To Queue I've done:

so, the actors decided instead of just skipping over scenes by having their first and last line, to give a summary of what happened in their scene, sparking lines such as "so I'm sad and I hate you" and "well, my dad left me. Time to leave!"

other times, due to such quick changes, some actors would mess up their costume changes. An actor arrived onstage with his jacket practically on his face. Another abandoned their high heels and stood on tip-toe half the time.

I also got to RickRoll everyone during the sound check.

Production Update:

Just as i thought i was done painting something, another wild set piece appears! it's Tech Week next week, I don't have time to paint! I need to do all the set transitions by myself!

(But hey at least i got a black shirt and some wonderful black cargo pants and i'll update you all about what i can carry on my belt that's needed for the show)

Today during rehearsal I was painting something for a run and some of the actors begged me to come back and help them because everyone was missing the set changes. Hey, it's not my fault if NO ONE WRITES IT DOWN!

And they told me 'oh that table's in the wrong spot' even though I only just knew there was a table there like 2 minutes before...

Production Update:

My director assumes that I can organize a whole cable layout for our theatre in less then a day.

They also assume that I can record audio in less then an hour. I'm gonna need at least ten minutes to set up everything :(

They also think that the tech team (me and one other person) can see in pitch black dark and somehow get the cues right on time. And no, we can't have flashlights because that would be "too distracting". (I just turned up the brightness on my phone homescreen and used it kind of like a glow stick)

One of our lights is broken but they don't understand why the lighting designer can't get a good wash. "It's not that hard", they say, not understanding technology. (We literally only have like 13 channels on our lighting console, so one out of commission effects everything)

and don't forget:

"Oh, we can figure it out next week." *Doesn't give time to work on it next week*

*Laughs when someone is stressed* "I'm not laughing."

"Why are you all so tired?" *It's literally 8oclock*

*I slightly raise my voice* "Don't yell at me."

*Doesn't tell me the set for a scene* "You should know the set!"

things my director has said and done that makes me hate them so much:

"Oh, we don't need to worry about lights and sound until tech rehearsals, you don't need to write anything down." *a little later* "Why didn't you write anything down?"

"This show will be much less stressful." *adds projections*

*casts new company members as actors instead of letting me ask them about backstage work*

"You have no reason to be stressed out."

Yeah, I had to unlock the prop room but they wouldn't give me the key so one of the actors going with me literally tried to pick the lock with a toothpick lol

So today in rehearsal, I was working with the lighting crew to re-adjust some lights. (I held the ladder, so helpful) We weren't sure where the ladder was so we had to ask the director for their keys to open various rooms, but here's the catch: They wanted their keys back IMMEDIATELY. So we had to ask them multiple times for their keys, but they were chatting with some actors and whenever we went into the other room to get the keys, they were always mad at us for some reason because we interrupted them? Like what else are we supposed to do, lockpick the doors?

Production Update

Bought a tape measure and a carabiner on the weekend so I didn't have to borrow the director's. This one is even better, and lighter. Why did I not think of this sooner.

At rehearsal, the Stage Manager, the Sound Designer, a few actors that volunteered and I all painted set pieces for about 2 hours. We had to do it outside because the director claimed, "It's a beautiful day!"

I mean it didn't rain but still! Anyways, I got paint on my pants so now I have a trophy to show anyone who asks. Will also have to paint next week, just doing the sides of some flats and a few touchups. The director only told me once I started panicking that 2 of the vertical flats I thought we were painting we actually aren't using. Good going, director!

Anyways, rehearsals are actually going better than expected, so hopefully the actors should get off-book soon.

Don't forget the actors forgetting like you exist and your director convinced that the stage manager can totally act in 3 SEPARATE SCENES and being enormously behind and having the show being in a different order and the actors not telling you anything

Someone: Why do you do theatre tech?

Me: Oh I like it it's really fun

*flashbacks to me today at rehearsal in the tech booth, just after crying, eating a protein bar because I didn't have time at break to eat food because I needed to explain something for twenty minutes*

Yup. So fun...

Production Update

Today at rehearsal, we did a full-cast line run, with a good 5 minutes spent trying to figure out how to number the pages, and a few rearranges.

After that, while people practiced, I stole the director's tape measure to measure a very tall flat that we're (me) gonna paint.

Although, because I am not the tallest, I asked the tallest actor we have (who was conveniently near where I was measuring) if they could help me measure the flat.

It worked, and I kept that tape measure on my belt for the rest of rehearsal, as well as a Sharpie if I needed it. My stage manager, upon seeing my ingenuity, wanted to try, but it didn't work as their pants had no belt loops for some reason.

Anyways, for the rest of rehearsal, because us on tech had nothing to do, the sound designer, the stage manager and I all played Hangman.

Anyways, only 6 weeks left and we've only just started actually rehearsing!!!

Production Update:

During rehearsal last week, we got our projectionist, and this is their first show, so I was kinda giving them a rundown of how stage crew works, since they're also going to help with set construction.

Well, since our director wants the actors to do *exercises* while stage & tech DOES NOTHING I had a lot of time to explain that we don't usually sit around, just this show is taking longer than usual.

(I am actually genuinely concerned for this show as we haven't even started rehearsals yet and we're a month and a half in. The show is in late May.)

lololololololol so my director decided that the stage manager for our upcoming production is gonna be acting in a scene???? like wHAT??? it's only me backstage, because high school theatre budget, so what if it all goes to heck?????? and that scene is actually going to be cut and carried through the entire show????

Directoral Whimsy is a serious concern.