Room Service Rehearsal, Day Seven

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

Saturday, 5 July: Work Session and Designer's Run

Hello! I'm Eric Silvertree, a member of the acting company with Tibbits Summer Theatre in Coldwater, Michigan, bringing you yet another backstage report on the rehearsals for Room Service, the mile-a-minute comedy opening this Thursday, 10 July.

This is the end of the first week of rehearsal, and also the opening morning of the other show I'm acting in at the moment. The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Fables by Aesop is part of Tibbits Popcorn Theatre for young audiences. The Popcorn shows are performed on Friday and Saturday mornings at 10am. Because of the holiday, the theater was dark all day yesterday - which means there were no shows scheduled. Also because of the holiday, our audience for Aesop was relatively small. A little over a hundred kids came to see the show, which was pretty much what we'd expected.

Besides the free popcorn and juice during intermission, Popcorn Theatre shows feature a meet-and-greet after every performance, where the audience can get autographs and their parents can take pictures of them with the cast. With a small audience, the reception went by quickly, and I was able to make it to the morning Room Service rehearsal before it was halfway over. When I got there, we were in the middle of working Act 3.

The afternoon session was the designer's run. The heads of all the technical departments were in attendance for a complete run-through of the show. The designer's run is a final check for props, costumes, lighting, and set, so that they know - for example - whether a water pitcher on stage will actually need water in it or not, and which corners of the set need to be lit for actors' faces, and which just need lighting for atmosphere.

We'll be moving onto the actual set on Monday, and although there are always a few minor surprises and hiccups when we make the transition, all the departments (including the actors) do everything they can to make the transition as smooth as possible. You've met the cast. Let me introduce you to the designers.

First, on the left, is Sarah Simrau. Sarah is the properties master. Properties, or props, are any objects in the show which are moved or handled by the actors. In Room Service, that includes things like luggage, newspapers, champagne bottles, a stuffed and mounted deer's head, a serving cart of real breakfast for three of the actors to wolf down on stage, and much much more. Sarah has a theatre degree from Mid-Michigan Community College, and interned at the Florida Studio Theatre before joining the staff at Tibbits.

Next is Lex vanBlommestein, the set designer. Sets are anything on stage that doesn't get moved around. The walls and doors are part of the set, of course, but so are the furniture and decorative objects arranged on them. Lex holds an MFA in scenic design from Wayne State University, and is soon to take up a professorship at Southern Illinois University.

Moving on, we come to Melissa Swanson, costume designer. Costumes, obviously, are the clothes that the actors wear on stage, but her department also covers things like the actors' hair and makeup styles. Melissa is a student at Western Illinois University majoring in both art history and costume design.

And on the right is Kat Lanphear, the lighting designer. In addition to the lights for the show, her department has a hand in anything on stage that requires electricity and remote control. Kat has a degree from Alma College, and is working toward her lighting design MFA at Wayne State University.

The boundaries between these departments are not rigid. Lex and Sarah collaborate on the knickknacks that dress the set. Sarah and Melissa work together on the items of clothing that aren't actually worn but are tossed around as props. Kat and Lex consult on the light fixtures mounted on the walls in the room. And, of course, they all work together with the director to make sure that the actors look the way he wants them to in their costumes on the set when they're lit and carrying props.

My next report will be a closer look at the stage as the set goes up and the lights get focused on Sunday. Be back soon!