Post by David J on Jun 19, 2024 18:55:14 GMT
Actually I've got a story from when I was in an local dramatics company's production of Alan Ayckbourn's 'Ten Times Table'. Now this was during the tech run and naturally you get funny mishaps during rehearsals but this was special.
'Ten Times Table' is basically about a village committee deciding to put on a re-enactment of an event in the village's past and mishaps happen. The play is set during a series of committee meetings before the last scene where the event happens and everyone changes from their 70s costumes to their 18th century uniform.
Now that involves a quick costume change for a lot of the cast, and typically in local dramatics you don't have ready access to all your costumes till the tech run and that's your first chance practicing costume changes. Amidst the practicing of lighting and sound cues a few times.
So during the tech run for this production, we went through the scene before the penultimate finale, and the cast went off to finally practice the costume change. After a few minutes just when everyone had got into their uniforms the tech guys announce they want to practice the end of the last scene again. Cue a guffaw from everyone as it dawns what's going to happen.
So everyone eventually came back on and re-run the end of the last scene in what could be described as an alternative universe. And I could hear the director's distinctive laughter as they came on in their uniform. What was funnier was one of the characters is a soldier and he's threatening everyone with a gun in the second to last scene (typical ayckbourn fashion) and in the last one he first appears half dressed with union jack underwear. So watching him threatening a gun in his underwear made it even funnier.
And the strange thing was the same thing happened to me later the year in the company's outdoor production of Around the World in 80 Days (the Laura Eason version that also toured a few years ago). That time there was a lot of costume changes with everyone multi-rolling different characters in different parts of the world. I was at the beginning a member of Phineas Fogg's gentleman's club in my nice tails and trousers and then a worshipper in a temple in India.
So during the tech run I finished the gentleman's club scene, made my way to the back where the quick costume changes happened, got into my grubby white shirt, green trousers and turban and then heard I'm needed for the end of the club scene again. So I made my way back (barefoot this time going over gravel) in quite the contrasting get-up, and the Ten Times Table director was in to watch and I could hear her laughter from afar.
'Ten Times Table' is basically about a village committee deciding to put on a re-enactment of an event in the village's past and mishaps happen. The play is set during a series of committee meetings before the last scene where the event happens and everyone changes from their 70s costumes to their 18th century uniform.
Now that involves a quick costume change for a lot of the cast, and typically in local dramatics you don't have ready access to all your costumes till the tech run and that's your first chance practicing costume changes. Amidst the practicing of lighting and sound cues a few times.
So during the tech run for this production, we went through the scene before the penultimate finale, and the cast went off to finally practice the costume change. After a few minutes just when everyone had got into their uniforms the tech guys announce they want to practice the end of the last scene again. Cue a guffaw from everyone as it dawns what's going to happen.
So everyone eventually came back on and re-run the end of the last scene in what could be described as an alternative universe. And I could hear the director's distinctive laughter as they came on in their uniform. What was funnier was one of the characters is a soldier and he's threatening everyone with a gun in the second to last scene (typical ayckbourn fashion) and in the last one he first appears half dressed with union jack underwear. So watching him threatening a gun in his underwear made it even funnier.
And the strange thing was the same thing happened to me later the year in the company's outdoor production of Around the World in 80 Days (the Laura Eason version that also toured a few years ago). That time there was a lot of costume changes with everyone multi-rolling different characters in different parts of the world. I was at the beginning a member of Phineas Fogg's gentleman's club in my nice tails and trousers and then a worshipper in a temple in India.
So during the tech run I finished the gentleman's club scene, made my way to the back where the quick costume changes happened, got into my grubby white shirt, green trousers and turban and then heard I'm needed for the end of the club scene again. So I made my way back (barefoot this time going over gravel) in quite the contrasting get-up, and the Ten Times Table director was in to watch and I could hear her laughter from afar.
