Room Service Performance, Shows One and Two

Prior Reports:
Day 1 - Sunday, 29 June: Read-Through and Act One Blocking
Day 2 - Monday, 30 June: Act Two and Act Three Blocking
Day 3 - Tuesday, 1 July: Act Three Blocking, Publicity, and Working Act One
Day 4 - Wednesday, 2 July: Working Act Two and Meet the Cast
Day 5 - Thursday, 3 July: Run-Through and Meet the Cast
Day 6 - Friday, 4 July: Run-Through and Meet the Cast
Day 7 - Saturday, 5 July: Work Session and Designer's Run
Day 8 - Sunday, 6 July: Load-In*, Hang and Focus, and Running Lines
*Including one-minute timelapse video of the set going up!
Day 9 - Monday, 7 July: Costumes, Props, and Adjusting to the Stage
Day 10 - Tuesday, 8 July: Stage Management, Box Office, and Dress Rehearsal
Day 11 - Wednesday, 9 July: Final Dress Rehearsal

Thursday, 10 July: Opening Day Double Run

Hello! I'm Eric Silvertree, taking you behind the scenes into life in regional professional theater, with a day-by-day weblog covering Room Service, the third production in Tibbits Summer Theatre's forty-fifth season, from the first day of rehearsals to the last day of performance.

The rehearsal process is over now, and today we hit the stage and performed for an audience for the first time - and the second time. Today was a double run, meaning we had both a 2pm matinée and an 8pm evening performance. Our volunteer ushers had their work cut out for them preparing enough program flyers for the day.

First, though, for the morning session. I'm also performing in The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Fables by Aesop, part of the Tibbits Popcorn Theatre series for children. We have two more shows Friday and Saturday morning, but we haven't done the show since last week. To refresh our memories - and make sure that the set changeover from Little Women to Room Service hasn't created any problems for us - we had a brush-up rehearsal Thursday morning. It went great, and we'll have no problems re-opening the show tomorrow.

On to the afternoon. The stage manager of a show determines what time the cast is due to report in for a performance. That check-in time is referred to as call. Call times vary with the needs of the show. If the whole cast is in very elaborate costumes, or special makeup, or in a musical that requires time to warm up the voice, call may be an hour or more before the curtain goes up. Room Service has fewer pre-show demands on the actors, so Justin set our call at half an hour.

We're free to show up early, of course, and an actor who doesn't appear on stage until late in the show may be given a call time later than the rest of the cast. We each, by now, have a pretty good idea how long we personally will need to get ready, and we each have different ways of using the time. Some actors prefer to arrive early and get ready long before curtain time, then spend the extra time relaxing in the dressing room or greenroom. Some actors would rather get everything done just in time to hit the stage, because extra time spent waiting makes them nervous and jittery.

Either way, we're kept on track by Justin, who makes regular announcements of the time remaining before the show begins. One important timing mark comes just under a half-hour before curtain, when we hear that the house is open - meaning the ushers have begun showing the audience to their seats in the auditorium. The final announcement comes at two minutes to curtain time, when the stage manager calls us to take our places for the beginning of the show.

Then the house lights go dark, the stage lights come on, the curtain rises - and we begin. I'll talk more about what goes on backstage during a performance in later reports. Today, I'd like to tell you about some of our friends in the community of Coldwater, Michigan, and the special things they did for us on opening day.

The good folks at the United Methodist Church have a kind spot in their hearts for the Tibbits company, and on the days when we have two back-to-back performances they take special care of us by having the whole company over for dinner between shows. After washing off the makeup and changing back into our own clothes, we walked three blocks over to the church, where they had a great buffet with chicken casserole, tacos, rolls, salad, fresh fruit, iced tea, orange juice, coffee and dessert laid out for us. They've hosted meals for us on double-run days for many years now, and besides being grateful for the food, those of us who return to the Tibbits season after season are always happy to see them again. It's a delightful time spent catching up with friends. In the photo above, we raise our glasses to United Methodist volunteers Linda Luce, Diane Godfrey, MaryAnne Bair, Jerry Welborn, Carol Tinervia, and Marianne Hodson. Thanks again for your love and support!

We're just as grateful to the Northwoods Coffee Shop and owner Michelle Milnes, who started a new tradition this year. On opening nights, Northwoods re-opens late after the show, and we have the chance to relax and mingle with some of the folks who've just seen us on stage. It's wonderful to be able to meet and chat with the audience in such a pretty and comfortable place, and both the coffee and the food are excellent. Many of us at Tibbets make Northwoods a regular stop during the day, and the opening night receptions are a special treat - Michelle gave us each a beverage and dessert of our choice on the house!

As for the shows themselves, we couldn't be more pleased with how much the audiences enjoyed themselves. A lot is said about how much actors like the sound of applause, but there's one thing we love even more - the sound of a whole houseful of people helpless with laughter. Our double run on opening day left us very tired, but very very happy. We hope you'll come down and share the fun!