What a Dump!

The stage is nearly a complete wreck right now. That is a highly unusual circumstance for the first days after a long break. But there it is. There are pieces of scenery and tools everywhere. There is a large pile of wrapped cable as well as several travel cases here and there. Both of our fiberglass ladders are laying on their side at the rear of the auditorium. There, too, are some flats, lighting instruments, trees, and various props. What a dump indeed.

This is equipment is here and in such a disorganized fashion because we took it all to the State Conference and back again. Three Thespians and a couple of parents helped unload a 26 foot truck last Monday monring -- on our second day of Spring Break. We didn't waste a lot of time unloading and just worked to get msot of it into the auditorium and out of the way of custodians who were busily mopping and waxing the floors everywhere else. Now the Tech Class comprised mostly of ninth graders are putting it away. Or at least dismantling the pieces we will not be using again -- which is most of it.

We needed this for our production of MACBETH which was included in conference as a featured, full-length production. "Needed" might be too strong of a word. I was very concerned about leaving something behind that we really wanted to have or use as we re-assmbled our set on the stage of Ashland University's chapel in preparation of our final performance of The Scottish Play. So we loaded just about everything we thought we MIGHT want into a truck that was initially too small . . . or at leat too short. We had to take our first truck back for a larger version and made for much griping as we unloaded one truck to load all the same stuff back into a second one a short time later. We took all of our light cable as well as the electric cords and a large portion of our hand and power tools. Just in case. We didn't need everything we took but I am glad to have had the option to use it.

The show was very good. The cast and crew did a great job and seemed to have so much fun preparing and performing. I had told them in one of our brief rehearsals that I really enjoyed the challenge of taking a play into an unkown space and "making it work." I think maybe they do too, now that they have had this experience.

I am proud of their efforts to put on a good show for their fellow Thespians. I am proud of the hard work and professionalism. I could not have hoped for more than they gave. We have taken many plays to conference over the years, but none have turned out better than this one. And now we must put it away one more time. For the final time. Our MACBETH will finally be put to rest after many long months of sometimes arduous labor.