So this week we opened our current show here at my college and I can safely say that we survived Tech Week. Now, "what is Tech Week?"one might ask. Hell. That is Tech Week. It is where every single bit of the production comes together for the first time, meanwhile, you are all trying not to kill each other because of all that is going on. I asked some of my fellow production members what the most stressful thing about tech week was to them, not specifying our own show, and here are the responses I got.
"Bring everyone together" - Danny and Jordan
Which is so true! Yeah, it is the basis of tech week but actually bringing it everything from props to costumes, to lights, to sound, to actors, it can get mighty stressful. You have to keep running things over and over until they get just right. Sometimes you have to change whole pieces of scenes or work just a couple days before the show because of what you found out in Tech Week. Nothing goes right the first time either. It's either too slow or too fast and you have to spend half an hour going over the scene again and again. But hey at least that helps the actors run lines.
"When other people don't have their jobs done" - Kaitlyn
This is from a stage manager's perspective, and I hold strongly to this because I was her assistant stage manager for this show too. As stage manager, you constantly worry over if people's jobs are complete. Reason why is because if they aren't, you will probably be the one doing their job on top of everything else. I was frustrated a lot with myself because I was also Dramaturg for this show, which is researching different aspects of the show and sharing them both with the actors and the audience in a way that'll help them understand the show without giving it away. I really wasn't getting down to the wire and had just finished putting everything up opening day, so I was frustrated there because I felt my job wasn't done fast enough.
"Getting your shit together" - Andrew
This is especially true when you are doing theatre while you are still in school. You know you got to get it together and get everything ready, and in the back of your head you are silently praying that the rest of the team is getting their shit done too. Because not only are you worrying about the show, but you have school! You have school and/or work throughout the day and then at 6 pm you go to rehearsal and get out God knows when depending on the director only to go back to your dorm and spend the night doing the homework you put off because you didn't have time to do it before. And guess what, you still don't really have time to do it!
While tech week is stressful as all hell, the production and its completion is something you can take pride in. Once you are done sleeping the weekend away after the shows over.
