This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to run the light board for Casa Manana's production of Les Miserables, and I have to say I had a blast. Before this weekend, the only experience I'd had with lighting is hanging, focusing, and discussing leopard gobos with Zoe. I worked with a couple of days with a professional lighting designer, watching him program his board, and light a show. Even though my stage manager and I never really got a break during the shows (around 250 cues in a 130 minute show means approximately one cue every 30 seconds), I got to watch all 4 performances and the dress rehearsal for free, which was nice considering Casa doesn't have the cheapest tickets in town.
The cast was terrific. I thought I only knew three or so people in the cast before I signed on to work the show, but it turned out I had a lot more familiar faces than I expected, which was nice. I also got to talk with Tammy, the costume designer at Casa, and she still remembers me from two summers ago, which was really nice. In fact, one of the guys in Les Mis wore the exact same coveralls that I wore for Footloose; they still had my name in the tag. And I also got to go into my old dressing room and see that my name was still sharpy-ed on the wall. It's so nice just being in a familiar theater. I also got to see a bunch of nooks and crannies at Casa that I hadn't seen before, including the booth, and all the way around the perimeter of the dome.
I'm really glad that I'm getting to experience different aspects of technical theater. When I was in highschool, even though I got the chance to direct my senior year, I really was oblivious to the kinds of things that go into a show to make it technically sound. I feel like I have a much greater appreciation for what it takes to make a show, and that I can view theatrical productions more wholistically, and with an eye for all the aspects.
As much as I want to continue learning about tech theater--I've really enjoyed doing sets work; I love building things; and I really want to learn more about lighting--I ultimately don't think thats where I want to be. I haven't been in a musical since Footloose, and that was two summers ago. I miss doing musical theater. It's ridiculous, and passionate, and stirs the soul, and it's just plain fun to go on stage and act and sing and dance. I love doing straight plays, don't get me wrong, probably more than musicals, because I, personally, fare better with them, but I'd love to do the occasional musical.
There's just so much I want to do theatrically, I want to keep trying more things to see what I really like. Writing, acting, teching, directing, who knows maybe even producing. I can't seem to keep myself away. Many of the people in the cast of Les Mis and at Casa asked me what I'm doing in college, and if I'm majoring in theater. I'm not majoring in theater; I don't know what my major will be, but I can say with almost certainty that it won't be theater. And yet, I can hardly keep myself away.
A friend of mine, Andy Baldwin, directed a production of Once Upon a Mattress, which I saw last weekend. I went with him, and some of the cast to an after-show dinner/party, and I started talking with the show's pianist. He said that he recognized me from somewhere, and we got to talking about theater in the Fort Worth area, and then I talked a little about the theater I've done at Yale, and he too asked me if I wanted to continue doing theater, perhaps as a potential career path. I told him I didn't know, and he told me that it seemed like that's where my heart is. I'd talked with this stranger for no more than 15 minutes and he recognized the home theater has in my heart.
I once asked my mother what our family was going to do when I became an actor, my sister became an artist, and my brother became a philosopher. She said we'd all be broke and starving, but we'd all be happy. Who knows what tomorrow brings?
