The Final Countdown!

Hello all!

During the last couple days of rehearsal we thought it would be fun to have the cast talk about how each night is going! Check here for updates about the final days of production and to get to know some of the awesome cast!

Also, come see the show! It's this weekend Nov. 11-15th at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. All shows at 8 pm, with an additional Sunday matinee at 2:30.

See you there!

Emily Ellis,
Executive Director of Publicity




Tonight's post is brought to you by: Alex Herzing
Role: Gambler/Havana Dancer
Year: Junior

Hullo!

6:00 – Today we started off rehearsal with some re-working of the “Hotbox” numbers. One of the girls in the number, our cherished Maria Palombo, got injured yesterday and has to be careful about actions on her ankle the rest of the week. Thankfully, Maria’s still part of the show – she is also featured in the show as part of “The Mission” and hopefully she’ll be back to dancing by Friday. We’re still setting up lights, and we’re starting work with props tonight as soon as we start the cue-to-cue—that is, the plan for the lights during the show.

7:00 – Tensions are high during a last-minute substitution by Nathaniel Swofford during a complicated trick while fixing the Crapshooter’s dance. (Richard’s arm muscles are insane). The lights are hot, and any changes are welcome, but a bit stressful for each individual involved. We are finally starting cue-to-cue! This time with set pieces. The (“well-painted,” says Max) newsstand is the first to be put onstage. Exciting!

7:30 – Cue-to-cue is not only well underway, but going rather quickly! We’re about to set up the Mission. It’s actually really exciting to see the set in action for the first time, even if it is very briefly.

9:00 – As you can see, time is flying by. We’re already at the end of Act 1, and I’m a dancer in the Havana scene, so I just got to do some staging and choreography work. SPOILER ALERT: IT LOOKS HOT. Also, I just want to take this time to give a shoutout to the tech crew and our wonderful pianist, Samly Kritchevsky, who is so patient and kind.

10:00 – The lighting designer just took a picture of me without telling me she was. Not cool. We’re almost finished with cue-to-cue (last scene!) and about to run as much of Act 1 as possible before 11, which is when we end every night this week. It’s late, but we tend to need it a lot. I personally love tech week because we are here more. It’s an intense, emotionally high-strung week that brings everyone a lot closer and in the end makes them feel even more proud of the show they have just put on as a solid, together team. Also, we tend to go out to eat a lot afterwards, which is wonderful for both the friends and the food. Last night a bunch of us went through the Wendy’s drive-thru in packed cars and then ate in the parking lot until past midnight.

10:30 – Rehearsal is finished! Our director, Hayley, decided not to have us run some of Act 1 tonight and instead, we’ll start tomorrow when we get here at 6. Overall, it was a successful rehearsal, but I can’t wait to actually run the show tomorrow and start to get a concrete feel of the finished product!