Noises Off
by Michael Frayn
Jan 22-Feb 1, 2004
Fridays, Saturdays at 8:00PM Sundays at 2:30PM Also,
Sunday, Jan 25 at 7:30PM
Saturday, Jan 31 at 2:30PM
| . . . . . . . About . . . . . . |
. . . . Notes . . . |
Photos
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Setting Theatres on the road |
CastDOTTY
OTLEY…....…Ginny Richardson
BackstageThe Play Behind the Play When I joined The Theatre of Western Springs as an adult member, I became fascinated with the carefully choreographed performance that the audience never sees. Anxious to immerse myself in the theatre community, I served on a variety of different backstage crews in a relatively short period of time. Four years later it still astonishes me that the show goes on at all considering the incredible amount of people it takes to put it all together. Ironically, in contrast to the performance that you see from the audience, the play that goes on backstage is usually considered a success if it transpires completely unnoticed. Yet each and every backstage duty is an entire production in and of itself. So much so that many crew chairs and their members spend just as much time "rehearsing" as the actors themselves. For each show there is a stage to design, build and paint. The stage must be decorated, dressed, and furnished. Consider building just one room in your home. Now imagine having to find furnishings, paint, window moldings, and décor from say, Africa in 1893. How would you acquire all of the necessary furnishings? How would you even know what they were supposed to look like? Now you must wire and light your home. Your lighting design must be wired so it is controlled from a remote location, and capable of illuminating the room so it can be viewed from all possible locations. Then you would have to make your lights adjustable so they can create mood, illuminate important items, and even simulate time of day while still looking realistic. The costume and makeup designers face similar challenges. They must research costumes, hairstyles, and fashions that fit the time setting and then not only find the costumes, but also find them in the appropriate size for the actors. The crews are constantly working backstage to assure consistency, keep costumes in good condition, sew on a loose button, make sure makeup is applied correctly, or even create special effects like wrinkles or scars. All the while these dressing room "men in black" must make sure that changes are timed and coordinated just right so that an actor can get back on stage in the right costume at the right time. The sound designer uses music and sound effects to time the pace of the play. Sound sets a mood, entertains you during intermission, or adds an audio effect, yet the designer must also make the sound appropriate for the particular setting. In a recent show, the designer had to go through at least 25 recordings of shooting arrows to find one that sounded like it was coming from the right direction, distance, and even lasted an appropriate time. A sound that lasted three seconds took over three hours to find! Even after all of the hours put into the preparation, the real "Play Behind the Play" begins appropriately, on opening night. For every single performance, there are people working in the box office, taking tickets, showing you to your seats, making coffee, and even baking the treats served at intermission. There are operators and a stage manager in the booth and one or often two assistant stage managers backstage trying to conduct the symphony of activity required to keep things running smoothly. There are people who write press releases, sell tickets and advertise the theatre. There is even someone who collects, inputs, and edits the very program you are reading right now. For this particular play, I have the opportunity to contribute to the program. Because Noises Off gives you a glimpse of the backstage world, I have chosen to highlight some of the activities I have personally experienced. I want it to be clear, however, that there are countless other crucial jobs that must be done to put on a quality production that I couldn't even begin to imagine taking on. Like the actors who only have 30 seconds for their award speech, I couldn't possibly acknowledge them all. They are the "awards received earlier in the evening". Tonight, I encourage you to take a look at their names under the Production Credits. At intermission, give an extra smile to the person pouring your coffee. Take a longer look at the stage and its design. Listen to the sounds coming from the speakers and the lights illuminating the actors. Tonight, take a moment to experience "The Play Behind the Play." Be mindful of its tremendous cast, the additional production they have created, and keep in mind, at Theatre of Western Springs - they are all volunteers! Acknowledgements
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Production Credits Director,
William Pullinsi About the PlayBy Stephanie Williams Noises Off was first presented by arrangement with Michael Codron at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, on February 23, 1982 and on March 31 at the Savoy Theatre, London. Before it opened, however, the play went through many revisions. In 1977, it was first commissioned for a midnight matinee of the Combined Theatrical Charities as a short one-act play called Exits. Michael Codron then commissioned a full-length version of the play. Even after the opening, Michael Frayn continued to rewrite the play only stopping when the actor who was playing Garry announced that the cast refused to learn any more revisions. The play transferred to the Savoy Theatre and before it closed in 1987, Frayn again rewrote it for two of the five successive casts. He also rewrote the play for its trip to Washington in 1983 and then for Broadway. Eventually real life imitated fiction when the confusion of so many rewrites inadvertently caused incorrect and equally humorous translations in other countries. In Italy, the cast introduced a 'Sardine Song' between the acts and in Prague they performed the play for almost ten years without Act Three until Michael Frayn himself arrived to see the performance. Noises Off has been performed in over 11 countries, and produced as a movie with an all star cast.
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