Entry by Mo Brady (Barnaby) March 2, 2009
As an actor, I've had some great first entrances on stage. I've emerged from lockers, slid down banisters, and scaled down brick walls in various shows to make my first appearance on the set. But HELLO, DOLLY! gives me my first chance to enter from "the pit," the space below the stage. , Greg McCormick Allen (who plays Cornelius) and I took some photos to show you how the twists and turns we make into get to our "places."
Greg and I share a dressing room with Matt Owen, our Ambrose Kemper. Our room is on the second floor of the Theatre, above the Brooks Brothers store in the Skinner Building. Our first entrance in the show isn't until the Scene Two, which gives us a bit more time to get dressed, style our hair, or (in my case) take pictures of ourselves in the mirror.
When we hear Jenifer Lewis begin singing "I Put My Hand In," that's our cue to make any last minute costume adjustments, grab a cough drop, and head out of dressing room (Hey! That's me!)
We twist and turn on our way to the stage, walking through the green room, past the wardrobe and sound desks, the water cooler, and the sound booth (where offstage vocalists sing), and to the stairwell.
Passing the entrance to the stage, we head down one more flight, into the catacombs of the Skinner Building. (You can tell its dark because I forgot to turn on the camera flash.)
Here we are in the pit. Its a large, mostly empty room, virtually the same size as the stage. The ceilings are also very high, to house any large scenery that may come up from the floor. However, in HELLO, DOLLY!, the only two things coming out of the floor are Greg and I.
Since the ceilings are so high, we climb two ladders to reach the bottom of the stage. (Be careful, Greg! Use the handrail!)
Our platform is so high up in the air, it feels like a treehouse. We like our little home in the floor, so we're a bit protective of it. That's why we made this sign. NO GIRLS ALLOWED...
... except, of course, our Jessi, our wonderful Production Assistant. She's down in the clubhouse with us, talking to the other stage managers on her stylish headset.
Just before our entrance, we crouch below the trap door, and wait for our cue from Jessi.
And just like clockwork, Barnaby and Cornelius pop out of the stage floor and into Vandergelder's Hay and Feed Store. TA DA!
Greg and I share a dressing room with Matt Owen, our Ambrose Kemper. Our room is on the second floor of the Theatre, above the Brooks Brothers store in the Skinner Building. Our first entrance in the show isn't until the Scene Two, which gives us a bit more time to get dressed, style our hair, or (in my case) take pictures of ourselves in the mirror.
When we hear Jenifer Lewis begin singing "I Put My Hand In," that's our cue to make any last minute costume adjustments, grab a cough drop, and head out of dressing room (Hey! That's me!)
We twist and turn on our way to the stage, walking through the green room, past the wardrobe and sound desks, the water cooler, and the sound booth (where offstage vocalists sing), and to the stairwell.
Passing the entrance to the stage, we head down one more flight, into the catacombs of the Skinner Building. (You can tell its dark because I forgot to turn on the camera flash.)
Here we are in the pit. Its a large, mostly empty room, virtually the same size as the stage. The ceilings are also very high, to house any large scenery that may come up from the floor. However, in HELLO, DOLLY!, the only two things coming out of the floor are Greg and I.
Since the ceilings are so high, we climb two ladders to reach the bottom of the stage. (Be careful, Greg! Use the handrail!)
Our platform is so high up in the air, it feels like a treehouse. We like our little home in the floor, so we're a bit protective of it. That's why we made this sign. NO GIRLS ALLOWED...
... except, of course, our Jessi, our wonderful Production Assistant. She's down in the clubhouse with us, talking to the other stage managers on her stylish headset.
Just before our entrance, we crouch below the trap door, and wait for our cue from Jessi.
And just like clockwork, Barnaby and Cornelius pop out of the stage floor and into Vandergelder's Hay and Feed Store. TA DA!
1 comment:
OK...as a former employee I might find this a little more amusing that the average reader. But this is FRICKIN' HILARIOUS! You have to give that "no girls allowed" shot to John L in Marketing to use as a press photo. Brilliant. Break a leg from Jen Rice...I'll be in the audience for one of these shows. I just need to lasso a babysitter!
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