BY KATIE WOODZICK
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
Dec. 9, 2015
On Friday, Dec.4, we opened “The Addams Family: A Musical” at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. During tech week, I snapped some photos backstage and in the dressing rooms.
We arrive at the theatre at 10:30 on Sunday morning. First order of business is the cue to cue, where we walk through the show with no costumes or makeup. We jump around in the show to hit the parts that have technical cues: shifts in lighting, sound effects and pulling the grand curtain open or shut. Our cue to cue went from 11 to 4 p.m.
It’s time for a break! Cast members bring dishes for a potluck, which is set up in Zech Hall.
After eating, we go back to the dressing room and get into full hair, makeup and costumes. I took some time to review my lines and music.
At 5:30, we do a full run of the show. This is the first time we’ve incorporated lights, sound, costumes, makeup, all together. We’ll keep doing full dress rehearsals Monday through Wednesday.
On Thursday evening, we have an invited dress rehearsal. Yay! Our first audience members! The show is a comedy and it’s extremely helpful to start learning where the laughs will come so we can adjust our timing. We warm our voices up together 40 minutes before each performance.
We had a packed opening night house on Friday! They were very warm and enthusiastic. Most of the women in the show are wigged, and there is a great feeling of relief each evening when we can release our hair from beneath our wig caps.
Oh, the joys of live theatre—during the final performance of the weekend, I slammed the chalice prop down so hard on the dining table that it cracked! I almost forgot the lyrics to my song because I was so surprised! Luckily, I was able to recover and the prop is salvageable!
One of my favorite theatrical traditions is the ghost light. It’s a light that stands alone and gets placed on the stage after everyone has left. The purpose is mainly practical—if someone comes into the darkened theatre, the ghost light offers them light by which they can see.
There’s something emotional about the ghost light as well—I like to think of it as a benevolent guardian of the theatre. It watches over the space while the actors go home to rest between performances. During performances, it stands in a backstage corner and quietly observes the actors, the musicians and the audience.
And, because it’s The Addams Family, perhaps it even acts as a beacon for ancestors who want to come and watch the show from the wings.
We hope you’ll join us for the remaining two weekends of “The Addams Family: A Musical.” We’ll keep the ghost light on for you!
Read more about the director Lani Brockman in this WLM feature “Beyond the Crypt: Lani Brockman Directs ‘The Addams Family: A Musical.‘” For tickets and showtimes go to http://www.wicaonline.org/.
All photos except the last are by Katie Woodzick.
Katie Woodzick works at Hedgebrook as an External Relations Manager. She is also an actor and director who can be seen on local stages and the host of the Theatrical Mustang podcast: theatricalmustang.podbean.com.
_______________________
CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.
WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.
