WHAT!!??!?!?!!!! Did that just happen? Did we in fact put on the biggest and best show that Duke has ever seen? The weird thing is I’m not sad about it all being done. I mean I loved the process and those involved and everything, it’s just that it doesn’t feel done, you know? When I turned off the amps, flipped the switch on the mackie board and powered down the sound board I wasn’t drowning in sorrow but was flushed with success. In less than a week I mastered a board I had never worked with and memorized the sound layout for an entire show.
Oddly enough I grew really close to the kids. I know it seems random to say it, but I didn’t expect to really interact with them. But since there were all the mic checks and the taping and the conversing I just grew to love them. I mean, I’m fairly sure that Paul and I are on the same level of maturity.
I guess I should talk about the Sound. But was that all there was for me. I mean, yeah I did some publicity too, but was my role just that which can be put as a title. I feel like I was acting as an administrator of happiness to some degree. To say I didn’t entertain and enthuse the cast would be rude to me. There I go talking about myself again. That really is a problem I should fix. That and my tone of speech. I feel as if people don’t pick up on the underlining satire that I deliver in every satire. If you pay attention you may find out that I’m actually a genius. But that’s just my opinion
Fun Fact about the show: The sound was flawless except for the last performance when during Journey On every single sound cue went off in consecutive order and underscored the entire song (this included the two explosions and gunfire). Since I was so focused on the levels I didn’t even noticed until it already happened.
But I don’t want to end on that note, but rather that the production and it’s people are meaningless because the next show will come along and these will just be the badges of a past show’s success. But what is important is the memories and connections made along the way. You may not know it yet, but Ragtime will creep up on you and the clear chords that once moved your soul will echo once again as an ever looming reminder of the times had and the memories made.
-sam
Posts in category Shop Diaries
Sadly Aftermost Message
I’m pretty sure it’s not coincidence…
…that yesterday evening, MINUTES after sending off the capstone I’ve been working on (more or less based on all you wonderful people), Pandora played ‘Til We Reach That Day’ for me.
My initial reaction was, “OMG NO STOP KILL IT WITH FIRE”, but before I could skip to the next song, the part where the ensemble came in, after not-Kyler’s solo, started up, and I was inclined to listen.
I swear, I was nearly in tears before the end of the song. Part of it was pure joy at having turned in my final project (and thus essentially FINISHED with my Duke career), but part of it was the understanding that, cliche as it is, said ‘day’ has not been ‘reached’ yet.
It’s like what Ivy said when we had that last class last week: for all the work we’ve done, and how far you’ve come as a production class, and the amazing show you put on, absolutely nothing has changed in terms of social relations. Which is fine, maybe. I mean, if I had chosen to sit with a lot of the H ‘n’ H veterans, instead of #Harlem, I doubt folks would have flown to Vacaville California to trash my 1996 Acura Integra.
But I don’t know that, on accounta I didn’t sit with HnH, I sat with my friends in the Harlem chorus.
It’s the same bent my capstone project ended up taking. We finished the show. We know each other’s names. Everyone is very friendly and receptive–but aside from some Ragtime reunions, and other HnH shows in the future, it seems unlikely that we’ll be making plans to hang out with each other regularly if we didn’t already do so before.
Which, again, is fine. Art doesn’t always imitate life, aside from that pretty glaring parallel between Sarah’s death and the Trayvon Martin case.
I’d like to thank you all again for putting up with my constant picture taking/audio recording (Martavius reminded me ‘the thing had become an appendage’…do you see what he did there? Tyler just thought it was an MP3 player with a hat. I do not see what he did there). It was a great show, and I’m so glad to say I was able to work on it, particularly as my last here.
~Z
PS–Why is WordPress telling me “Sarah’s” is not a word? Lame.
PPS–Here’s Martavius eating a brownie:
Well, it’s over now.
Whew, that was a lot of work. I mean a lot a lot of work. I am incredibly proud of everyone that was involved and I I want to say that I think you’re all amazing. Working on this production has been an honor and a privilege and I am excited to become more involved in theater at Duke, whether it be on or off the stage. I really enjoyed being backstage with all the actors. Ya’ll are hilarious to be around. I also want to thank everyone for being really nice and listening to me…even when already knew five was called or you weren’t needed on set, at those times…well thanks for being polite. You all were truly fabulous.
One thing I was even more impressed by was everyone’s hard work after the show was done. I’ve never been on a stage that large that needed to be struck. It was actually a lot of fun, I never thought power tools would be so entertaining. It was great seeing everyone pitch in and help and take the set down in such a short while. I hope to see many of you again in the fall whether I am in a performance with you or backstage helping things run smoothly. I will definitely miss Ragtime though.
Brigit Out.
Ragtime Rage Time.
Someone wise once told me that after every show you should kill the character you’ve played. Forget their habits, their storyline and their influence on you as a person while going through the process. This hasn’t been a problem this time around – Brigit and I never really bonded, our sole interaction revolved around text from a script. So, bright and blustery Brigit is gone, leaving behind Jamie the skeptic.
I had hoped to write a part 2 to Brigit Mac Giolla Bháin’s Diary, but towards the end of the show, I didn’t feel the impetus was there. Yes, I am about to take a stance very similar to Michael Oliver’s in this blogpost. If you’re easily offended or don’t want to taint the amnesia that everyone is usually hit by once a show is over, then I suggest you stop reading and move on to a happy clappy author.
Ragtime was a success- a massive success: three-quarter houses and standing ovations every night. Not bad for an undertaking like this. We received accolades from newspapers and peer reviews, and our principles were idolised and everyone carried themselves just that little bit straighter during the run. I have always maintained a raised eyebrow about this show, and unfortunately the amazing run did not assuage the disappointment I felt in the rehearsal process.
Like Michael, I cringed at the Ragtime Rage Time bringing sexy back call me maybe party in the USbloodyA posters. Our principles looked gorgeous, and the shooters setting was a particularly interesting touch. I have to ask – who were we trying to impress? The ever-present and apparently highly important party culture here at Duke? I am in full agreement that it was indeed an excellent marketing strategy, and if that was the goal – hats off to you. I think it undermined the “depth” we were searching for in the show and turned into something of a pantomime.
I am also disappointed at the ego that got in the way of artistic creation during the show. Every worker, a cog in motion? I think not. I don’t believe we stopped to think that the instruction and direction we were under from all three departments was from professionals. Our director runs the professional company and theatre house Manbites Dog and has been trained in methods that we probably can’t pronounce. Dr Kelly and Barbs are also masters in their field, and yet we expected them to pander to our incessant noise and grumbling. At 19,20,21 years old, we’ve seen it all. Jeff should ask us now while we still know everything. In the professional world, turning up drunk to a rehearsal would have you fired before you could hurl into a bucket. Why should our artistic directors have to put up with it?
It was a great show, we got the applause and we got the waiting crowds, and we got to take our bow in the spotlight. I think, however sad it may be, that the greatest lesson learned from this show is that if there is going to be another Hoofn’Horn/ Theatre Studies collaboration, we need to leave our egos at the door and come prepared to work and respect the people whose brilliance deserves at the very least our attention and gratitude.
Thank you to Jeff, Dr Kelly, Barbs, Jules, Ruthie, Torry, Dave, Kevin and the backstage crew for your undeserved patience and commitment.
I’d apologise for this post, but it’s the back door for Brigit.
Shop hours: walking for tech 1h30
Strike: Left the theatre at 10.20
Untitled
Unfortunately, I was not able to work on the behind the scenes portion of ragtime as much as I would have liked. I participated in the publicity side of the production, doing the photo shoot and performing at a banquet for Duke trustees, but my shop hours were mainly limited to strike. During strike, I showed my true skill at stagecraft. This included handing Lindsay tools, picking up screws, carrying props up to the prop shop, and letting more qualified people than me do dangerous things with large pieces of wood.
After this, I moved down to the loading dock, where I spent the rest of strike moving the disassembled set from the shop’s freight elevator to a dumpster. It was a rather macabre goodbye to the set, discarding it piece by piece.
I really want to thank all the people who did more substantial work on the set. It was a remarkable accomplishment, and lent a credibility and professionalism to the production that the cast carried on stage with them every night.
Reception and Striking
Reception: Some of the audience that I knew liked the show a lot. Quite a few of them came to me and said I stood out a lot. I don’t know if they were pointing out my being an “honorary Harlem” as one of the audience put, or if they just wanted to generally congratulate me, or if they actually thought that I had a good stage presence—but as a performer it doesn’t feel bad to be noticed.
A handful of the audience, on the other hand, had their share of criticisms on Ragtime, which mostly concerned less with the performance but more with the script itself. Some of them felt like the subject matter was dealt with less complexity and depth than they would have liked to. But still many people were impressed by the scale of the performance.
Strike: I had dreaded strike ever since I saw the enormous set. I even asked Ruthie if I could hire three people to work instead of me—to which she said a flat no. But once we started, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Surprisingly many people stayed, and a lot of them were quite enthusiastic. Jamie and Michael were practically running around the set, and the student crew members and the orchestra people were very dedicated to help strike the set. I wasn’t as skilled as some of the people there and while using heavy and dangerous tools, I kept hurting myself, so I decided to help with the more peripheral stuff. I collected sharp objects from the floor, I swept, and then I helped bring out dance floors for the next show.
But not everyone was as helpful. Ruthie told me that a good number of people either left without telling her or stayed in the dressing room to show up every once in a while without actually helping. There were also people who just hung out in the Green Room after dinner while the rest of us were working. Some people were chatting on the stage when someone was shouting for more hands.
Still, I am really glad that I stayed pretty late for the strike. I think the physical act of taking down the set gave me a good sense of closure to this piece.
Shop Hours
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to help much in the way of shop hours. I was however able to table 3 times during the run of the show. That was certainly an interesting experience especially since it was right around blue devil days and many parents of prospective freshman were. The act of shouting “free shot glasses” to the crowds that consisted of young high schoolers and their parents was interesting to say the least. But I know that it got their attention and I know that it is for that very reason (the attention grabbing marketing campaign) that got people in the seats of Reynolds.
During strike I was a part of the costume crew and that was interesting because I learned that there is so much more to costumes than just picking the clothes to put on bodies. It’s a lot of work to sort the clothes and make sure everything is accounted for and that the clothes are the same condition it started in. I’ve definitely grown a new appreciation for the costume shop and all the work that it does.
Strike and final class
Last Tuesday during the final class, a few of us talked about how close the cast and crew of Ragtime had gotten. We really bonded while making this huge project ready for the stage, and that was also clear to me during strike. There will always be those people during strike who don’t stay long or who don’t do as much work as others, but after Sunday’s show, there were a lot of people who stayed in Reynolds to get the job done. Many of us were there until 10pm and later, and I know one of the things that kept me going through the exhaustion of doing 5 shows that weekend and then taking down the set was the people who were there with me. We were all clearly exhausted, but we kept each other laughing and smiling through that exhaustion. The last of the students involved with strike left the theater around 10:30pm, and rather than being tired of each other and going to bed, we sat outside McDonald’s, ate ice cream, and chatted. It was really amazing to me that even after hours of hard work that day and throughout the rehearsal process of Ragtime, we still wanted to be with each other.
Strike
According to the syllabus, I am supposed to have accrued crew hours before the opening of the show. I did not do this. But, I did stay at strike until 10:30pm which is much later than a lot of the cast. I’ll count this extra time as my crew hours. I understand it might not actually count as crew hours. During that time we finished taking down the set and began to move trolleys stacked with platforms around downstairs. Besides getting my hand jammed between one of these busty trolleys and a door, it was good fun. I was surprised that our help was still needed. The set had been struck. There was not a trace upon the stage. Yet, there was still a lot more to do. The lights and booms had to be tended to and the stage had to be prepped for the next show. I really appreciate now the endless effort of constructing and deconstructing such a popular venue like Reynolds. The Theater operations staff are amazing! It was great to work with them during the production and for strike. Cheers!
Michael Oliver
Shop Diaries
During the show I tabled twice. It was a lot of fun because I had at lease one other person tabling with me both times. Also, we usually saw a bunch of people from Ragtime on the plaza who would come sit with us. It was really fun to talk to people about the show. I found that parents of prospective freshmen were really interested in the show. Some people looked like they had heard of it while others had not.
During strike I was on the set crew. At first it was surreal to take apart this set that we performed on just an hour before. However, it soon became clear that the crew that was in charge of the set worked like a well oiled machine. Before I knew it, beams were being taken down and things were being unscrewed. The cast was hesitant to step in and help because they all seemed so professional and we didn’t know where we fit in. Eventually, we were fighting over screw guns because we all wanted to help.