Welcome to Gaia! ::

It's that magical time of the year again, production time. I was wondering if anyone else has any backstage rituals, or any memories of being backstage. Things such as someone falling asleep backstage and snoring loud enough for the audience to hear. I was the unlucky one sent to wake him up...

hmmm well I was in a play in high school where some of the other actors would tell dirty jokes right before going on stage but I just kinda tryed to compose myself before going on.

I've had some bad costume change experiences as well. We have an annual fundraising talent show for our Drama Club, and each year between the acts the hosts do skits to entertain the crowd. That job involves some major quick-change action. Especially when you find out that the dance routine that is between skits with a formal costume and a spanish soap opera theme (lots of ponchos and sombreros) is less than a minute. You really learn to get over the fear of co-ed dressing rooms.

I've got many stories to tell that are pretty good. Just a few for now, more later on.

The first was from Annie. Many of my fellow ensemble members were people I went to school and were friends with. Among them was my friend Shannon and her EX, Justin. One of Justin's parts was the president's assistant and right after "Tomorrow" Shannon was assigned to knock on the door, then he had to come and get a letter from her. First few shows we just did it like that, but after by the time we got to the second weekend, we were getting bored, so Shannon decided to have some fun with her EX. One night, Shannon kept pulling the letter away as he grabbed for it and he got like this demon look on his face and grunted like a bull. Another night she shined a flashlight in his face, and yet another night sprayed him with perfume as he took the letter. She was a bad girl, but her cheated on her... so power to her.

Next was when we did Damn Yankees at my highschool. I was Miss Weston and at one point I had to give the guy playing the devil a letter. Now, you need to know... you should NEVER give us paper to pass around ON STAGE, cus it turns into a contest of who's gonna crack first.
Well, there was this teacher that Keith had for English that was like his loveable arch enemy. They loved to hate eachother basically. So the one night I wrote on the letter... "Keith, I can no longer hold back my feelings for you! Met me in my room later so that we can make sweet, sweet love! I'm waiting, Gav" He was SO close to losing it, but he held it in and then turned and gave me a dirty little look and I just smiled innocently back at him.

Ha, I just thought of another one. redface
When I was in Guys and Dolls, Nathan had to read a letter from Adelaide's (sp?) mother. He'd read it off the paper every single night, so on the last show, Adelaide got mad that he hadn't memorized it yet, so she put white tape over most of the letter, only leaving him a few words to go by! The look on his face was so funny when he opened it, but he managed to carry it off pretty well. whee

All your talk of writing funny things on letters reminded me of another one! When I was in Beauty and the Beast last summer, during one of the scenes Gaston is supposed to give Belle a small picture of him. Well, we had some fun with that! There were some funny pics of the Disney Gaston, some fun ones of Eric (the guy who was playing Gaston), as well as Mr. T, Michael Jackson, and Gary Coleman.

Also, during a Christmas review I was doing followspots for, one of the numbers involved 2 girls singing to pictures, then after the song, they'd put them up on the mantle of the fireplace. Michael Jackson successfully made his way into one of those frames, then came back that spring in Meet Me in St. Louis, and the following fall during their production of Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. To my knowledge, he's still up in the prop loft!

We were rehersing and someone (won't say who) had a mike on and they said "Where's my God Damn Gun?!" Then the Directer said "no talking backstage"

Backstage is so fun! whee

Our school always puts on our productions at the Aloha Theater because we don't have a theater of our own. The Theaters back stage is SUPER OLD (1932). I'm talking stuff falling, the whole thing is held up by scrap boards, wholes in the wall you so you can see outside, 3 lights in all, old. However, it is also very awesome because it's so old. There is a long stair case that goes up through about 3 stories of the stage which eventually leads to an open plat form high above the stage. On year the directors brother and I found a pink bear stuffed animal thing and we lowered (by some rope we found) onto the stage during tech rehersal when the lead was practicing a song. I was supper funny, people all over where having a "WTF?" moment.

That little plat form is also awesome because from there you can walk on the ceilings cross beams to get to the other side, then there is a whole you can climb down into and you are now in the sound box behind the audiance. It's a handly little thing.