The weekend of Nov. 11-13 is a busy week for Carleton’s theatre company The Sock N Buskin. The director, stagehands, and actors flock to the Kailash Mital Theatre to take part in Tech Weekend so they can get ready for opening night on Thursday Nov. 16.
Although the director and the actors are the ones to bring the show to life in front of your eyes, the stagehands are the ones to make sure everything flows smoothly between scenes during the show.
“So, for a show in KM, which is what this one is, we do cue-to-cues, for all techs really, we do cue-to-cues, we do a run generally out of costume, and then we do a run in costume and we’re able to go over any problem scenes, we also do an Italian and we make sure everyone is comfortable with everything and we kind of just work out all of the kinks to make sure that the show can be as best as it can be. And it’s something that is really fun but really long,” Mary Sword said about what it’s like from an actors’ perspective at tech weekend.
Mary has been part of the Sock N Buskin for three years, this year being her third year. This is her seventh show with the company and it is definitely not her last.
As well as Mary, Tom and Emily also gave their insight into tech weekend but unlike Mary, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon is Tom and Emily’s first show with the Sock N Buskin.
“I’m really excited for once we start the show dates, just like the energy amongst the cast and just hoping people enjoy the show and they all laugh and that’ll be fun to hear,” Emily said about what she’s excited about.
“It is really fun, but it almost feels like a big sleepover or camp. I was talking to some of the other actors earlier and it’s like, the first all day activity I’ve done in a long time that’s almost pure fun, even though we have to work hard and get stuff done it’s still just a blast,” Tom said about his experience so far at Tech.
There is also a small little world below stage that the audience doesn’t know about. One level below stage is where the actors get to hang out in the green room and where the dressing rooms are located. If you venture down even further to the next level, you’ll come across the workshop where sets are built and the costume room where all the costumes from past and present shows are kept. These lower levels are where all the running around on show nights takes place to get the actors set up for their scenes and to move set pieces around on stage.
Natascha is one of 4 stagehands working on the Brothers Grimm.
“So far it’s been really fun, so we got to work with the cast, then we’re going to listen to when they’re reading through, we’re part of the show this time so we’re part of the dance at the end so we got to learn the dance this morning with them. And then we’ve gone through props a little bit and we’re gonna be focusing on that, doing the actual tech part,” Natascha said about being at tech weekend.
The show wouldn’t be a show without Meg Sutton, the director, who pitched the idea of the show to the Sock N Buskin last year.
“Well, I tried to use my acting experience to shape how I chose to direct, because directing is super different but you do have to remind yourself what it’s like to be in the actors’ shoes when you’re deciding what goes on. I think the biggest difference is once you’re a director you don’t get any say on the actual nights of the show, you have so much build up and practice and lead up before the show nights, but when it comes down to opening night and any performances afterwards, it’s all up to the actors, so that’s the biggest difference,” Meg said about the difference between being a director to being on stage.
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon opens on Thursday Nov. 16 and runs until Sunday Nov. 19 at the Kailash Mital Theatre at Carleton University so if you’re a person who loves fairy tales or if you just don’t have anything happening next weekend, make sure to come check out the show because it will definitely be a fantastic show and you’re sure to love it.
