Dusting myself off
Several weeks ago, as I started to think about returning to work—cue equal parts elation and anxiety—I realized what a unique moment this is.
Not only has our entire industry, in large part, been shut down for an extended period of time, but our show (a long-ish running North American Tour) is coming back from the dead. We’re not starting a new production of an original piece, we’re not beginning a season at a regional theater. We, like most of Broadway and Touring shows, are aiming to pick up what we left in March 2020, get it back into shape, and present it in very much the same way that we did in the "before times" (with intensive Covid-safety protocols in place, of course). I thought, maybe, this might be something meaningful to document.
So, I’ve chosen to write it out and share it with anyone who may find it interesting or useful.
It’s been 17 months since the last time I walked into a theater. 17 months since the last time I got paid to work on my show. 17 months since I set my headset down and didn’t pick it up again. I initially, like a lot of people, thought the shutdown would last, what, a month? 6 weeks? 6 months? HA. But now, after a long wait, requisite emotional breakdowns, varying degrees of hope, and a few false start dates, it seems to be happening. We’re going back to work…..he types while knocking on every wooden surface within reach.
So where do I even start? I’m not on contract yet (read: I’m not getting paid for anything I do), so I’ve got to resist the urge to do anything too intense or employer-serving just yet. But we’re close enough that I have to do something.
Here’s where I chose to begin.
Who am I, where do I work, and do I remember anything?
The obvious thing to do is gently begin reviewing materials. I’ve already made my way through the archival video of our show, calling cues in my head when it happened organically, but often just enjoying hearing and seeing the company again. I’ll probably do this one or two more times before we start work, with a more intentional eye to cueing and/or backstage traffic. So far, a lot has come rushing back to the forefront of my memory. Fingers crossed that the “it’s like riding a bike” adage continues to hold true as we move forward. Although, uh-oh, because I couldn’t ride a bike until I was 12, and even now I tend to fall down a lot. (There’s a really nice speech somewhere in there about the challenges and rewards of working in the arts).
Once we get closer to our start date—my pre-production period or, knowing myself well at this point, likely a few days prior—I’ll start a more intensive review of the show: thinking through the show in order by spike mark/furniture placement, reviewing the prop preset, working through the run sheet and backstage events, all while making notes of things that may need clarifying/revising/updating.
I have also started a page of working notes where I keep adding “to-do list”-type items until the appropriate time to act upon them. These are mainly things that come into my head while reading an email, in the shower, etc…paperwork to update, a new company member to add to a document, things I need to do when we unpack the office for the first time after everything has been stowed away in a warehouse for many months, etc.
I also need to think about packing (things have changed a bit, now that I have a dog traveling with me), but that currently makes my head hurt, so that’s for another day.
So that’s where I am. I hope to continue documenting the re-launch process, whether in vaguely thoughtful blurbs like this, brief journal-style entries, or a combination of both.
I’ll continue to post here.
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