January 9th 2013
So, today we had our first audience and we didn’t do nearly as terribly as I feared we would. Actually in my opinion, we did very well.
The schedule for the evening was as it will be for the rest of the run.
5:30 – 6:00 putting on mics
6:00 – 6:30 mic check and warm-up
6:30 – 7:05 hair makeup and costumes
7:05 house is hot
7:25 places is called
House is hot: this means that the doors to the theatre have been opened and that there are now people in the audience. At this time, you are no longer allowed to go onto the stage until places is called.
Places: this is what the stage manager says when it is time to go to your position for the top of the show.
The first performance was so exhilarating and wonderful. By this time, we’ve ironed out most of the kinks, so we were able to put on a good show. The audience seemed to really enjoy it as by the end of the curtain call, they were all standing and clapping wildly. It was such an amazing end to my night.
Once the show was over, we again had notes. There weren’t very many tonight and at the end, Andrew took some time to explain to us common opening night practices in the professional acting world. I learned that it is commonplace for the cast to exchange handwritten cards with each other in order to remember each other and the show. As it turns out, CSOPA also bought cards for us to use to do this. I took thirty and will have my hands full over the next two days filling them out.
–Kate
