Too Many Scenery Changes?

planks and trestlesIt was a lovely sailing holiday, but that time is now over. As in, it was all marvellous and all that, doing something entirely new and getting away from it all, but I did get a lot of time to think about the musical as well, and I’ve come back brimming with ideas. Ideas about how it could’ve been better, ideas on the writing, ideas for NEW musicals. Obviously the old one is done with now, so I must look to the future.

Still, the moment I get home, I’m making a detailed spreadsheet on all the things I could do better. In particular, the planks and trestles I brought in during the final week of dress rehearsals were too much of a last minute decision. They served the narrative, to be sure, but I realised it far too late and the actors weren’t as used to performing atop them. There needs to be far more of a buffer in the future…because I can’t really expect people to instantly adapt to major changes to the scenery.

It was already difficult enough setting up mobile scaffolding on the stage. There was a constant concern that it was going to be interfering with the light and sound systems, since people aren’t usually that high. I wanted to create a feeling of actual workman on top of actual platforms, however, so I wasn’t about to compromise on the artistic integrity of the piece. I’m thinking I should find a way to incorporate them into my next creation. Perhaps they can be my calling card…all the great directors have them. But if mobile aluminium scaffolding is a pain for the stage-hands to work around, perhaps it needs to be something else. I have too many ideas to confine myself in such a way. I’m going to need far more than just the one spreadsheet.

-Aubrey