Hello Out There, Internet!
Hello, interested (I hope) readers! My name is Madeleine Ash. I just finished my first year at Wake, and I can’t believe what a whirlwind it was. The whirlwind continues this summer as I work on a world-premiere musical at the Dallas Theater Center in my hometown! I’m a stage/production/company management intern, so I’ll be bopping from department to department, learning how a theater runs from the ground up. Because of a summer study abroad course, I won’t actually be around when Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure officially opens, but I’ll be there from stage management (henceforth abbreviated as SM) prep week to the final preview.
The carpenters loaded in parts of the set for Hood rehearsals on Floor 9. That top platform is 12′ off the ground!
I’ll start by saying this: I’m living the dream. About two weeks before I started at DTC, it was announced that the organization would be the recipient of the 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award. That excitement is still in the air in the offices! It’s clear to me just how much people love working here. My cubicle is on Floor 8 with all the administrative offices, but I spend most of my time either out running errands or up on Floor 9 where the rehearsal hall and stage management office are. My duties include shopping for any of the managers (stage, company, etc.), assisting the Hood SM team with anything they may need (putting scripts in binders, laminating contact cards, etc.), and working backstage when necessary. For instance, I’ll be running scene shift for a couple nights on Inherit the Wind and shadowing stage management on Electra (see photos below) next week. Being asked to work Inherit the Wind was probably the highlight of my week — they already trust me!
DTC’s production of Electra starts in Annette Strauss Square behind the Winspear Opera House, pictured here, and moves to three other locations.
Electra ends by setting candles on the reflecting pond in front of the Winspear, looking out at the DTC’s Wyly Theater and the rest of the Dallas Arts’ District.
It’s been a tiring first week, as was to be expected. But I’m glad I got to just dive in headfirst. I’m looking forward to the next seven weeks! I hope to spend most of my time in Hood rehearsals being useful any way I can. I know that I’ll learn so much from Eric Tysinger (DTC’s Production Stage Manager and Hood SM) and his team of amazing women. I can’t wait to be leading a team like that of my own!
P.S. I hope you theatre-lovers out there get the nod to William Saroyan’s 1941 short play Hello Out There! in my post title.
