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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-09-08, Page 18BRUSSELS OPTIMIST CLUB 20th Anniversary September 18, 1993 BMG Community Centre Social time 5:30 p.m. Dinner 6:30 p.m. Dancing to Nightwind 9:00 - 1:00 $30.00 per couple $15.00 per person Dance only $15.00 per couple $8.00 per person Anyone wishing to help us celebrate our 20th year of serving our community contact: Gord Finch 887-6368 Dan Pearson 887-6144 PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1993. Stage manager pulls sound, effects together By Bonnie Gropp Though the curtain will stay down when Ceili House and The Glorious 12th wrap up the Blyth season this weekend, the latter will begin a new life touring Ontario in September and October, then the Alberta Theatre Projects next spring. One person, who has played an integral part in the production of The Glorious 12th this year will not be part of the touring company, however. Stage Manager Colin McCracken handed the headphones over to Laura Astwood as he had prior commitments for the fall at the Alberta Theatre Projects where he is resident stage manager. Mr. McCracken says there is a challenge for the stage manager to maintain a constancy for the actors, so he spent one week introducing his successor to the special sub- tleties of this particular play. "It's one thing for me to be in the booth calling cues, but the actors are the ones out there; they need to trust that the stage manager has things under control." The job of a stage manager Mr. McCracken says is a "catch phr- ase". "It's a mix of many things, but basically the definition is to main- tain the artistic intention of the director," he says. From the time his job begins on the first day of rehearsal until the show is over, the stage manger must keep an objective eye to see that the bounds are not over- stepped. "Characters will grow within a production; the show you close with is very seldom the one you open with; but there are subtle things, such as a line being deliv- ered too harshly, that may overstep the bounds," explains Mr. McCracken. The first day of rehearsal, is Mr. McCracken's least favourite part of the job. "I'd rather have everyone over the nerves and butterflies." While the actors come to terms with being where they are, the stage manager sits beside the direc- tor during the reading to pick up on his or her work. "It's always a sup- portive role," he says. The next step is to start develop- ing things like blocking patterns. The stage manager will record all the movements, put them into a script, which will change on a daily basis. He begins to anticipate prob- lems, such as how to throw a bowl of water off stage and approaches the departments for the solution. "We provide the problems, the shops provide the solutions," he says. Mr. McCracken says it is also his responsibility to sense and alleviate any tension amongst the actors. In repertoire theatre once the show opens the director typically goes home, leaving the production in the care of the stage manager, though they are usually just a phone call away. Mr. McCracken says he was fortunate this year as the director of Ceili House, which he also stage managed, was acting in The Glorious 12th, "so I was able to confer with her, but typical- ly that only happens if you really need some help in finding a way to get back to where you were with the production," he says. Sitting in a booth at the back of the hall between the lighting and technical director, Mr. McCracken cues the assistant stage manager, who is back stage, and co-ordinates the light, sound and effects. He times the show every day for con- sistency and pace, while keeping watch for changes that enhance or detract from the original intent. "The right changes will keep it fresh; I have the pleasure of discov- ering new things." Notes are written in a book. In the case of a touring production Mr. McCracken puts in as much detail as possible. As a student at the University of Calgary playing behind the scenes was not his original intent. Howev- er paralysing stage fright changed his dreams of acting. Mr. McCracken said he believed then he would leave theatre behind completely, but the university required a certain number of tech- nical hours so he assistant stage managed a production. "I thought it would be easy hours, so I was a lit- tle bitter about the time it did take, but it grew on me." He began concentrating on stage management and design, then after leaving school did his apprentice- ship at a noon hour theatre in Cal- gary, "Lunchbox", for a season and a half. "They really threw me in lock, stock and barrel. It was a great learning experience," he recalls. The next move was to the much larger Alberta Theatre Projects. "I found myself about the fifth person down the ladder and there were very specific ways of doing things," Mr. McCracken says. But Continued on page 19 On the job Stage Manager Colin McCracken called the shots behind the scenes of Celli House and The Glorious 12th in his first season at Blyth Festival. While listening to what's happening on stage, through the box speaker to his right, he communicates with his backstage assistant and the sound and lighting technicians who sit on either side of him in the booth at the rear of the Hall.