Wednesday, November 3, 2010

What's this blog for

For me, the greatest buzz of a performance comes right at the
beginning. I may be waiting in the wings, in the dark, listening
to the bustle of the audience. Or I may be sitting in the control
room, watching for the doors to close and feeling like one of those
men in short-sleeved shirts and ties behind the consoles in the
Apollo launch centre. It's a moment of quiet contemplation. Then
the Stage Manager gives the Go and we don't have time for contemplation
any more.

The buzz comes because a theatrical performance is a cooperative
enterprise. We are all working together to a common goal and yet
each of us has our own unique part to play and each is essential
to achieving that goal. It's not a competition, it's a game where
we are all winners, where the score is kept by the laughter or
attentive hush during the performance, by the applause at the end
and by the bums-on-seats the next night.

The purpose of this blog is to bring this buzz, this excitement to
many and to entice them to join us and experience it themselves.
Many people, old stagers, newcomers, actors with huge, demanding
parts, actors with two minutes and four lines on stage, stage crew,
directors, set builders, sound and lighting designers and operators,
stage managers and front-of-house will all write here to tell you
their personal stories of the shows they are in and the shows they
are going to be in.