There are many people behind the scenes of any theatre production.
Volunteers take roles on and off stage in Table Manners, by Alan Ayckbourn, at the South Simoce Theatre (SST), located at 1 Hamilton St., in Cookstown, from March 5-22.
Ticket booth attendants, concession stand staff, and ushers are there to offer services when theatregoers first enter the theatre. This grouping, known as front of house, is co-ordinated by Pat Gibson.
Well before the audience arrives, a reading committee recommends plays for an upcoming season and the board of directors approves a lineup. The board chooses a director for each production. If it’s a musical, both a musical director and stage director are chosen. It gives the producer a budget.
It is then the job of the producer to oversee and organize the entire production. Mel Hinch is producing Table Manners. She says, “I am there for the pre-birth in terms of I find everybody else.”
The producer finds a lighting designer, sound operator, set designer, set builders, costume designer, choreographer, props person, stage and assistant stage manager, and lets them know what the expectations are and the time commitment involved. Sometimes production roles merge, with people taking on more than one task.
“I write the audition blurb, then take all the audition answers and put them together. I put a schedule together and book the space," Hinch says. "If the director wants, I give input because I am at the auditions. If not, that’s fine. It’s their show.”
Hinch calls moving into rehearsals the “birthing of the show."
“My job is to keep everybody happy," she says.
In maintaining a positive community feel, she makes sure everyone feels what they are doing is essential to the whole. She needs to keep people on track and the different departments talking to each other.
“There are a lot of people new to SST in the current production, both on and off stage," Hinch says. “I love getting new people on board.”
She writes publicity blurbs, adds photos, and posts them. Hinch likes to add something different to the shows she produces related to the play’s theme. For Table Manners, she has restaurant gift certificates to give away.
“Just for being here, you can win a prize," she says.
Once the production closes, Hinch says, “I put the play to bed in terms of tying up all loose ends, making sure bills are paid, and everyone has been thanked.”
She reports everything to the board and checks that costumes and props are put away.
Another key production player, director Wayne Noble, put his name forward for Table Manners because he really enjoys Alan Ayckbourn.
“He’s a great playwright, sort of the Norm Foster of England. His scripts are very funny," Noble says. "There is a wonderful sub-text in them. It’s not slapstick. It's just clever language, and as a director that really grabs my interest.”
He adds Ayckbourn’s characters are always three-dimensional.
As director, he has an overall vision for the production. He likes to take the lead in set design, as it’s very important to the success of the play and how people move around the stage. He works with all the designers to have his vision realized, as well as guiding the cast to its best possible performance.
Auditions took place in November.
“We got really lucky," Noble says. "The people we got are really, really good. I am very pleased about the casting.”
The rehearsal schedule is crucial, and based on the script. It’s divided into how much time needs to be devoted to what.
“It’s important actors hit their peak right when opening night comes," he says.
For tickets to this show and more information about SST chceck their website here.
Rosaleen Egan is a freelance journalist, a storyteller and a playwright. She blogs on her website rosiewrites.com.
