Closing Time

Today was the last performance of LONY, which marks the end of the insanity that has been the past quarter. I've been working on a show literally since before the semester started, and I'm finally done.

LONY was such a unique experience. Every performance was sold out and we had people waiting on a stand-by list to see if they'd get in. And the cast definitely improved as performances went on. There was even a minor scene thrown in right after opening and our lead, Dan, picked it up and memorized it flawlessly. It was so exciting to work on this show and to get to see it built from the ground up. Our director John described it as a "workshop with a bit of stuff", meaning a workshop with added costumes and props and sets that a workshop might not normally have. Well, we had quite a bit of stuff. It took 45 minutes every night to clear and put away all the props and costumes every night.

It was an interesting experience, working backstage. At times it kind of felt like Alex (the other assistant stage manager) and I were being taken for granted, but then there would be moments when cast members thanked us profusely, and made comments like "the program is lucky to have ASM's like you guys". After the closing show, the cast gave us and the stage manager "I <3 NY" cups with our names on them that they all signed. It was so sweet! We all had to help strike, and afterwards the cast went to Silver Spurs and had dinner, and I was invited as well. It was kind of nice to hang out with them as people, instead of just interacting with them backstage. The drummer was there too and we all got to know him a bit as well.

Overall this has been a really rewarding experience. I'm so glad I signed on to do this. In the beginning I wasn't too thrilled, just because I felt like I wasn't doing much, but once we got into the theater that all changed. I've always been interested in the backstage work and this show gave me a great opportunity to be a stagehand. I earned three of the four crew credits that I need to graduate, but a lot of the seniors are encouraging me to argue for four, because I worked so hard and put in so much time. We'll see about that, I don't mind doing spots for a show next year and getting two points for that. I might ask about working the Senior Showcase in April for one point, so that I can get it all done this year.