The calm before the storm.

Rehearsals are just beginning, you meet your tech crew for the first time and pray to God that everything will run smoothly.

Establishing dominance…

You quickly assess any trouble makers and let them know you don’t want to be the “bad guy/gal”, so they just need to listen up and be professional. Nothing wrong with firing a few “warning shots” to let them know you mean business.

Trying to keep your cool when actors forget lines/notes…

Listen to the director, remember your cues, and for goodness sake learn your lines or so help me God I will say the name of the Scottish play!

When people play with and/or break props That Do Not Belong To Them…

Do we really need an explanation for this? Just. Don’t. Do. It.

When people start blaming the techies for mistakes that aren’t theirs…

Even though they tend to get on your last nerve when they forget a cue or forget to mop the stage, the techies are your children. Nobody is going to mess with them, and if they do, they’ll have you to answer to!

When the director hands you the reigns for tech week…

You’re all mine!!! Muahahahahahahahahahahaha…

First couple days of tech week…

You wonder how is this going to work & why did you even do this in the first place.

Halfway through tech week…

Come at me! I dare you to bring slider thirteen up when I clearly said slider fifteen! Please, God, if I hear one more bad pun in the headset…

3/4 through tech week…

Yeah go ahead and keep messing with that prop, I’ll tell you where to put it…

Tech week has ended…

You’re tired, hungry, and you just want to go home…but everyone won’t stop horsing around! Come on y’all, we have been here for sixteen hours. Wrap. It. Up. Now. Please.

Opening night…

You’ve done it! All your blood, sweat, tears and sanity have not gone to waste! You have reigned supreme and ran a wonderfully smooth show, heaven help you tomorrow though, you’ve got to do it all again. Correction, you get to do all of it again. Being a stage manager is one of the most stressful, time consuming jobs in the business, but hey, it’s a beautiful ride!

And remember, we are always watching you…

Thank you to all stage managers for making this whole thing work, we love and appreciate you! You are truly queens (& Kings) of the stage!

The post Life Of A Stage Manager Told By Queen Elizabeth II appeared first on Theatre Nerds.

Most of us in the theatre world are no stranger to the #struggles of rehearsal life, so enjoy this timeline of the process (emphatically told with gifs).

The First Day

The first day of rehearsals is always filled with (in my experience) odd ice breakers, funny new vocal warm ups, and trying not to laugh too hard when you can’t get your hip isolations down just right. In general, everyone is in a new environment and has no clue what they are doing… but, it ends up being one of the best days of the process. This is because the whole group is at the beginning of their ride together, and what can go wrong with a fresh group of friendly faces?

Dance Rehearsals

We all think that we know what is going on, that we are going to be amazing and look exactly like the choreographers had planned. But in reality, it may look a little…

Blocking

All of our favorite parts, the meat of the play, the storyline…You start to go for it, because why not? The director is super hyped up and you are wondering how they can have so much energy while you are flopping through your lines and dropping props left and right.

In other words, you become super stressed and have to remind yourself that what you’re going through is your passion for a reason. Then, your co-star gets super emotional because they kept forgetting what their cue was, or a dance step, or their significant other just broke up with them and you just try to comfort them like…

Showmances…

You know, THAT couple. They get cast as significant others so much they just become significant others.

Music rehearsals

What key are we in? You want me to do what? Five part harmony for two pages whilst doing the hardest tap combo I have ever experienced in my life? WHY NOT?!? You become so exhausted of singing, so you complain about it all the time…in song.

You inevitably bring rehearsal home…

And… your roommate(s), family, significant other, neighbors or pets become increasingly ready for this show to be over with. Openly eager for the day in which they don’t see another box step, or hear you wailing “There’s No Business Like show business” ever again (or so they hope). 

Late night meals.

Rehearsals have killed your “clean and healthy eating” habits. Why are the few places open at three o’clock on Tuesday morning only interested in serving pizza? (not that you are complaining…too much).

But….

You would not exchange a single hour of rehearsal time for anything else on earth. The loving bond you form by creating art with others is one that will never break. Theatre is a wonderful, magic, festival of greatness, and no matter how stressful rehearsals can be…You know nothing beats that diva-type feeling you get during the curtain call on opening night! #lovethestruggle

Have a rehearsal story? We’d love to hear it, just leave a reply below…

The post Before The Bow: A Hilariously Accurate Look At The Rehearsal Process appeared first on Theatre Nerds.

Tell us you need a show designed with a fully furnished kitchen and living room, a starry night prom set, a high school classroom and a city street with a $300 budget? Don’t worry, we’ve got this.

2. We Gracefully Deal With Rejection (most of the time)

For thespians, handling rejection (well) is a great skill to learn. So what, we didn’t get the part…we think on how to better ourselves, keep calm, & be more prepared for the next audition. Remember that we’re all in this together, and rejection is part of the business. If we need to go cry into our cup of coffee, we do, but only for a moment because there is always (hopefully) another audition/opportunity around the corner!

3. We Can Tie Knots Better Than Any Boy Scout

Thief’s Knot? Got it. Clothesline Hitch? You betcha! Bowline? Now, do you want that right handed, left handed, upside down or right side up?

4. We Come In Clutch With Costumes

Costuming is probably one of the best parts of theatre (in my opinion), when an opportunity such as Halloween or Comic Con comes around… you’d better believe we are right there with our best efforts at hand!

5. We Understand The Human Condition And Have Great Amounts Of Empathy.

Thespians are some of the most understanding and caring people on the planet. Being an artist is a vulnerable rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. Whether an actor, who has to step into the minds of people in all situations, or a techie, who has to deal with the actors and their multiple personalities; you learn to understand everyone and every situation. At times, everyone in the industry needs a shoulder to cry on, or is ready and willing to offer their shoulder to someone else.

6. We Basically Keep Caffeinated Beverage Companies In Business

Who else needs to be highly caffeinated to do eight shows a week…once every day of the week and twice on Sunday? We do! Who needs to be at work call at 4:00am before the actors get in? We do! Who needs four shots of espresso five times a day? We do! (Not really, I think you might die if you had that much caffeine, but you get the point).

7. We Work Spectacularly Well Under Pressure

Thespians have a great ability to work well and even thrive in high-pressure situations. Actors have to go out on stage every night and perform their part, knowing many things could go wrong. Directors feel the heat for getting the show ready, musician’s need to know the music flawlessly, stage managers need to memorize the cues, and the list goes on. We even like the pressure, its exciting, and gives us fuel when the time for execution has arrived.

8. We Can Adapt To Any Situation & Solve Problems (quickly)

The lead actress’ dress just ripped and her cue to go back on is on 45 seconds, stitch that rip! A Fellow actor flops on a line or is not there for his/her cue on time? Improv is life! Term paper due in the next hour? Turn on Wicked and defy the gravity of that situation because you are a Thespian who can handle anything with grace and poise. Now, go out there and be the beautifully talented, crazy resourceful person you are!

What skills did we leave out? Leave A Reply Below…

The post 8 Life-Winning Skills All Thespians Possess appeared first on Theatre Nerds.

1. Gee, Officer Krupke – West Side Story (1957)

2. It Sucks To Be Me – Avenue Q (2003)

3. My New Philosophy – You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (1967)

4. Time Warp – Rocky Horror Show (1973)

5. Summer in Ohio- The Last Five Years (2002)

6. La Vie Boheme – RENT (1993)

7. Blow, Gabriel, Blow – Anything Goes (1934)

8. Put On a Happy Face – Bye Bye Birdie (1960)

9. Go Into Your Dance – 42nd Street (1980)

10. I Enjoy Being a Girl – Flower Drum Song (1958)

Do you have a song(s) that you think should be on the list? If so, leave them in the comments below. Let’s spread the word about great tunes!

The post 10 Showtunes You Can’t Help But Sing Along To appeared first on Theatre Nerds.

In honor of actors everywhere, here are some of those emotions we experience, represented through gifs from one of my all time favorites, ​The Graham Norton Show​.

Walking into the audition with confidence.

When you see how long the line is to get in and someone asks you if you are here for the audition…

When someone speaks to you in line.

Then you recognize someone and say all the wrong things…

​

Your number is called and you walk into the warm up rooms to see something like this?

You go back and the director seems woefully unimpressed…but they send you on to dance call…

You think you’re completely unprepared for the dance call….

They question you on your special skills which you have listed ‘Stage Combat’…

And whatever this is…

When you’re reading with someone and there’s a big kiss at the end and only ONE of you goes for it… #awkward

You walk out not really knowing how you did.

It’s been two days and no phone call…

BUT, after about a week of worrying, you (hopefully) get the call saying you got the part!!!​

Though the life of a performer is full of uncertainty and disappointment, we live for the rush of it all. Now you just can’t wait for the adrenaline that you’ll feel on the first day of rehearsal!

Have a similar experience? We’d love to hear your audition stories, leave a comment below…

Post by Samantha Shepherd, Theatre Nerds Contributor

The post Showbiz: The Hardest Profession In The World appeared first on Theatre Nerds.