Week of November 7th: How about a little fire, Scarecrow?

How about a little fire, indeed. This week might feel a little warmish, thanks to all of the stuff we have in front of us. But don't worry - keep cool and we'll all be very happy with the end result. (But I'd keep a bucket of water handy just the same.)

This is the week we've been waiting for and working toward: Production Week. It will be a long and involved week, and we need to make sure we don't miss anything.


Monday, Nov. 7th: Dress rehearsal. Crew call is at 3:00, and we'd like to get started by 4:30. If all goes well - and we have no reason to suspect otherwise - this will not be a very late night. We have a few new things to add to some scenes, and no doubt we'll have to adjust a few things. We'll also be adding sound to the party for the first time. Patience will be tonight's virtue of choice.

Tuesday, Nov. 8th: Dress rehearsal. Crew call is at 4:00. Same as Monday, without the new additions. This is the last dress rehearsal without an audience. Stay on your toes.

Wednesday, Nov. 9th: Preview Day. This is a big day, so read carefully:

• 7:00 AM: Call. It's early, but we need everything ready by 7:55 for the first preview.
• 8:00 AM: House is open for the first preview audience.
• 8:10 AM: 1st preview. We will do a 20 minute cutting from the show for half of the students at Wash (and this will likely be determined after Monday's rehearsal)
• 8:50 AM: 2nd preview. We will repeat the the preview for the second half of the school.
• 9:20 AM: We will spot rehearse scenes as needed. We will also be touching up some needed items on the set. NOTE: if you need to attend a class, please do so. Don't miss a test, a lab, a much needed graded activity, etc. if you can avoid it. 
• 11:30-ish. Lunch will be provided. By this time, we'll need to clear out of the auditorium so that our afternoon guests can be seated.
• 12:30 PM: Check presets for the entire show.
• 1:00 PM: While technically this is a final dress rehearsal, we treat it as a full production. We won't stop for anything short of a catastrophe - and even then, we'll try to gut through it. 
• 4:00 PM: After the show, we'll have a short meeting to tend to any issues. 

Thursday, Nov. 10th: OPENING NIGHT. 6:00 PM Call, 7:00 PM house opens, 7:30 PM Curtain. At last, the moment has arrived.

Friday, Nov. 11th: Performance. 6:00 PM call, 7:00 PM house opens, 7:30 PM curtain. Let's do it again.

Saturday, Nov. 12th: Performance. 6:00 PM call, 7:00 PM house opens, 7:30 PM curtain. One last time! After the show is over, we'll strike the set. Strike assignments will be posted during the show. Everyone is expected to work; we have a lot to do, but if everyone pitches in, we'll be done before it gets insanely late.

And then, we turn the lights out in the auditorium, lock the doors, and go home. Oz will return to wherever it came from. And we'll all get a good night's sleep.

Week of October 31st: ... And Your Little Dog, Too!

Tech week begins this week! The schedule is important, so please mind it carefully. Also pay attention to any schedule changes as there are a few already. They are listed below, and we will outline them carefully at rehearsals.

TECH WEEK

Monday, 10/30: Crew View. 3:00 call for crew, you will get your scripts and instructions at this rehearsal.

Tuesday, 11/1: Tech Act I. Crew call is 3:00 PM; we will go over assignments briefly, and then we'll begin the rehearsal as soon as we have the cast. Light board operators will begin sooner as we'll be programming in the opening cues before we begin. We will end rehearsal around 6:30, depending on where we are in the script

Wednesday, 11/2: Tech Act II. Crew call is 3:00; we will begin as soon as we have our presets ready. We will go no later than 6:30 with this rehearsal.

Thursday, 11/3: TBA, as we will need help setting up for the auction. It is doubtful that we will need the entire crew, so pay attention to notes on Wednesday.

Friday, 11/4: NOTE THE TIME CHANGE: All cast and crew ill be excused from 7th hour so we can begin rehearsal by 2:30. Because of the Warriors HUGE win over Lin-Mar on Monday, we will begin earlier so the band folks can get to the stadium in time for their performance. All names have been submitted to the office, and Dr. Plagman has give his approval to this change. Get down to the auditorium as soon as your 6th hour class is finished. DO NOT BE LATE. This is a one-time deal, and Dr. P has been kind enough to make this happen.

Saturday, 11/5: Set Saturday #9. In the immortal words of The Beatles, "number nine, number nine, number nine ..." This is the last change to get some big work done. Get in early, and get busy!

Stay positive - this is the witching hour for the show. Stuff looks ugly, it doesn't fit yet, and there will be confusion. Hang in there - we will get this show in shape!

Week of October 24th: I Could While Away The Hours ...

Yes, conferring with the flowers, unraveling every riddle, and being friends with the sparrows sounds perfectly lovely, but we have other things to do. More pressing things such as ... oh, I don't know ... maybe ... building a set for a show that opens in a little over two weeks? Yes, the sum what we have to do over the next two weeks may seem overwhelming, but with a concerted effort, we will achieve our Oz.

Two weeks. Yes, we're getting that close. But first, an announcement.

The winner of the "Name The Bullwinch Contest" is ...

(Cue the gameshow music:)

Cooper Shields for his suggestion of the name Eddie. 

(There's a long story behind that one that involves the nickname for a skeleton that we had in our prop shop for many years that finally left us this year ... so while it seems incongruous, it is fitting. And, it is the winner)

Thanks to all those who offered up a name and voted. (And it really was like a prohibition era Chicago election, except for all of the mafioso and the Sicilian thing.)

But I digress. Here is this week in a nutshell:

Week of October 24th:

Tuesday, October 25th: Light Rigging, 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Mainly rigging and focusing the acting areas on stage, and adding the accent lights.

Thursday, October 27th: Light Rigging, 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Our goal is to have all of the lights focused and gelled by the end of the work session.

Saturday, October 29th: Set Saturday #8, 9:30 - 4:30. We'll have to knock of an hour early today as the Iowa Caucus Debate Tournament will need to use the Auditorium for their awards at 5:00 PM. However, that means we'll need to ratchet up the effort to get all of the construction done by that time. That's the goal - get the builds completed. (Cue the driving, suspenseful action-movie soundtrack ...)

Which means that next week, the Week of October 31st, is TECH WEEK. (Cue the theme from Superman.) All crew members need to check their schedules and make sure that the rehearsal times are free and clear. It will be a big, big week. Prepare thyselves.

Week of October 17th: Pay No Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain

OK, I know - I'm a day late. And a dollar short. I'm out of town at the Iowa Technology Education Connection (ITEC) in Des Moines Monday and Tuesday, learning more about the quickly changing landscape of technology in education, and spending some quality time with my UNI IT Masters cohorts. It's been good to get away from thinking and working on The Wizard of Oz - but I know I'll be raring to go when I get back. Once again I digress ...

What's Going On This Week:

A few changes to the week, but in a nutshell:

Tuesday, October 18th: Light rigging @ 6:00 PM. Ben Godwin will be leading the charge tonight. We'll concentrate on hanging and focusing the loft and the first electric (E1.) There will also be some maintenance and perhaps a quick lesson on bench focusing. 

Thursday, October 20th: NO LIGHT RIGGING. Somewhere in my exuberance, I neglected to see that this is Senior Night and the final home game at Kingston. So ... we'll all be a little busy that night ... so ... no light rigging tonight. 

Saturday, October 22nd: Set Saturday #7. 9:30 - 5:30 PM. We'll keep building on the Witch's Castle, the Gates to Emerald City, and the Kansas House hard-drop. There will be painting of said set pieces along with drops.  Plus, there will be props, lighting, and costumes to tend to. This will be a big day to get a lot done.

We'll only have two Set Saturdays to work on the show after this, so let's get busy. That man behind the curtain may be a very bad wizard, but we don't need no stinkin' wizard for what we have to do! 

Week of October 10th: Follow the Yellow Brick Pit-Path

Thanks to the dedicated few students and adult volunteers who ventured in on a gloriously beautiful October Saturday to get the ball rolling for the set of The Wizard of Oz. Our primary goal was achieved: the "pit-path" that was originally created for our 2009 musical Into The Woods is back up and rehearsal ready. We also got a a great start on two backdrops, the storm shelter, and the wagon from the early Kansas scenes in the show. A good start, but a long, long way to go

This picture gives you a look at the pit-path structure. Rumor has it that this will indeed become the yellow brick road. It'll need some careful painting, but this gives you the idea of what it's all about. (I just home Mr. Messenger can fit his all-star pit orchestra in the center part ...)



Looking ahead to this week:

Tuesday, 10/11/2011: 6:00 - 9:00 PM Light rigging. Actually, we'll be prepping our lighting for the move to the gym, but we will also give instruction regarding the safety and procedure behind hanging lighting instruments.

Wednesday, 10/12/2011: ITED Assembly set-up. If you haven't picked up the orange sheet for attendance, make sure you stop by on Monday and pick one up from me. We'll need most of our work in the morning (2nd-4th hours.)

Thursday, 10/13/2011: ITED Assembly and strike. If you are one of the recipients of recognition, you can still help out for the assembly. Talk to me before Thursday and we can work something out. After the assembly is done, I'll need many hands to get the stage platforms, choir risers, lighting and sound equipment back to the PA area. The gym must be returned to normal by 2:30 PM.

Thursday, 10/13/2011: 6:00 - 9:00 PM Light rigging. This session will be dedicated to focusing and maintenance, with some actual rigging for the pit-path lighting.

Saturday, 10/15/2011: 9:30 - 5:30 Set Saturday #6. We will have the plans for the Witch's castle by then, along with the hard-surface drop pieces that we'll be flying in. (Could this be the day we get to use the bullwinch for the first time?)  Plus we should have a finalized props lists for the cast members to track-down/create.

And speaking of bullwinches ...

Here are the nominations from the "Name the Bullwinch" contest. Vote for the one you think is best, and by next Friday, we'll know what we're calling the critter. (And yes, I'm well aware of the fact that you can vote as many times as you like. If you can live with yourself by pretending you're in Chicago circa 1930, voting three times and registering dead folks as active voters and such, well then, you just go right ahead.)

Names are arranged alphabetically. Click on the one you think is best and then submit. Thanks to our nominators for their efforts.

UPDATE: The election is over. Winner to be announced soon.

Week of October 3rd: Oz Crew, schedules, and Bullwinch Contest, oh my!

"Hey, Auntie Em - I'm tired of big talking plants, so I'm heading off to Oz this week. See you on November 10th!"

Well done, cast, crew and pit of Little Shop of Horrors! You did well to continue the legacy of quality theater productions here at WHS. But, as they say in the theater biz, "you're only as good as your next show." So ...

Here's what's happening this week in and around the scene shop:

Wednesday, 10/5/2011, 2:55 PM: IMPORTANT TECHIE MEETING. If you are on the crew, you need to be there. Schedules will be handed out, so make every effort to be there!

Saturday, 10/8/2011 - 9:30 - 5:30 PM: Set Saturday. If you aren't marching or playing volleyball, you should be at the scene shop help get the pit path up and perhaps even help paint a backdrop. 

Here is the crew list for The Wizard of Oz:

Stage Managers

Cooper Shields (Tech Assistant)

Talia White (Crew Head)

Light Board Operators

Holly Christiansen

Hanna Schroeder

Sound Operators

Teddy Townsend

Bryan Cline

Fly Master

Ted Welch

Fly Crew

Baily Ziehr

Noah Vander Vaart

Props Master

Kassie Kittredge

Follow Spot Operators

Sarah Endicott

Bryan Christiansen

Running Crew

Clara Tosi

Jack Krebs

Sammy Nading

Tyler Biernbaum

Megan Rivera

Sally Timko

Tony Schmidt

Cassie Ward
Eli Wolter
Emma Bridges

Props Crew

Katie Pease

Makenzie Wallace

Costumers (See Mrs. Sulzer for schedule)

Gabby Hughes

Kaley Graves

Anne Seifert

Siera Roth

Shekinah Brooks

Kat Cross

UPDATE: WHS Auditorium Fly System Renovation: IT'S DONE!

Today, the final piece of the new fly system was installed - the control box for the rail lights.

Amen.

Last Friday, Randy Groves, the installation supervisor from Tiffin Scenic Studios provided the final training for the technical staff here at Wash. We've been waiting a long time for this.


(Blogger's note: It's not quite done. There are still some wires, and a knob or something, and then the electrician ... sigh ...)


Aside from the equipment that was directly replaced with industry standard pieces and parts, we received the following improvements:

• five battens that are raised and lowered by electrical winches
• a fire curtain that can be reset automatically on its own winch
• an illuminated rail ID system that can be read clearly during the run of a show
• dimmable rail lighting so 
• rope locks with safety catches that would prevent a runaway arbor or batten (a situation that would send scenery or stage weights crashing down uncontrollably)
• keyed access to all automated systems
• keyed locks to fly rail rope locks to prevent unauthorized curtain pulling
• an automated bull winch that allows us to raise battens loaded with lighting or scenery safely to a position where it can be counterweighted

And it's that last piece of equipment that we would like to focus upon. Observe the "bull winch:" an electrical winch that locks into the fly rail and is capable of raising and lowering a batten that is up to 1,100 lbs. out of balance. It's not something we will use every day, but when we need it, it will save us a lot of worrying and unnecessary exertion. It will become a very important piece of equipment - very useful.

Seems like it should have a name, right?

Oh, sure, it already has a name: the "Tiffin Scene Studios HW-1000 Mobile Winch." But c'mon - that's like me calling you "Humanoid 4,538,499,326." It's new home is our theater, and we can't let something like this go without a suitable nickname now, can we?

If you said "no," then you would be correct.

So, here's the deal. Submit your idea in the form below. You can enter more than one name, but they have to be entered individually. At the end of the nomination period - Friday, October 7th - we will post the suggestions (if the list is extensive, the directors will pare the list down for simplicity) and open it to voting. The name that gets the most votes wins. In the event of a tie, the people responsible for the suggested names will square off in a cage-match in the gym on October 15th using poison darts. (Kidding - we'll just conduct a very brief run-off election.)

The winner will receive a choice of fine prizes yet to be determined. Let's not rule out some tools, free tickets, or food somewhere in the WHS area. But it will be worth your effort.

So, take a look at the picture below, and put on your thinking touques. Names should be simple and snappy; ironic and iconic; theatrical and didactical; and most importantly, small enough to actually fit on the device. Good luck!

NOMINATION PERIOD HAS PASSED. THANKS TO THOSE WHO SUBMITTED NAMES FOR THIS CONTEST. FINALISTS ARE IN IN THE OCTOBER 9TH POST.