It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing this column for a month, but I’m glad I’ve been able to be your guide to “The Skin of Our Teeth,” the Virginia Tech Department of Theatre and Cinema’s upcoming main stage production.
At this stage in the rehearsal process, the show is on its feet and getting better every night. We’re pretty much done learning the lines and we know when and where we need to be. So what’s left, really?
A lot.
“Skin” has three acts and in order to get them as close to perfect as possible, we’re dedicating a night to each. When I explained blocking last week, I said it involved the constant running and repetition of scenes. Now we’ll be running these acts over and over.
Each 30-minute block of the play will change and grow in this staging process and eventually come together to form “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
In exciting news, the cast is finally getting the chance to hit the stage of Squires Studio Theatre this week. We have been using the rehearsal room in the new Theatre 101 building for the past month, but now it’s time to stretch out in the actual performance space.
Things change in the performance space. To this point, our stage in the rehearsal room has been a bunch of lines taped on the floor. Now the cast is going to have to deal with lights and set pieces.
Which is really lucky because our director, Greg Justice, had a comforting little piece of information for us.
“There’s detritus all over the stage,” he said. “It’s wood and corrugated metal and if you step in any of those areas you will go to the hospital. So watch where you’re stepping.”
“You’ll at least need a tetanus shot,” added Adam Ressa, our set designer and a senior theatre arts major.
Oh, theater.
The cast and crew of “Skin” will be spending the coming weekend locked in Squires Studio Theatre for tech rehearsal, one of the last major hurdles a show has to jump before it is performance ready.
Tech is when the cast and crew finally put all their work together. The tech crews have been hammering out their parts of the show just as hard as the cast, but they have no idea where we’ll be on stage or how light will hit us. No one quite knows how the sound will be or if anyone will get tetanus.
For the entirety of the tech weekend we will work these issues out. It’s going to be awesome. Hopefully.
Another exciting development came in the form of costume fittings. Costumes add a huge dimension to a show and they communicate so much about character. Every actor is different, but I know that when I’m in costume it becomes much easier to get into the scene.
I’m excited to say that my costumes are amazing and if they are any indication, the cast is going to look fantastic. From eight-foot dinosaurs to presidential suits, the play has it all in terms of costuming. I’m super excited to wear my tacky Hawaiian shirt and short-shorts in Act 2. I’m sure you will all look forward to seeing that. Mmmm.
I’m going to leave you with that delicious thought this week and invite you to check back next Thursday for a final pre-show update. We’ll be opening up that night so expect a proper description of “Skin” and why you should come.