Curtain

Curtain Rises For DLT

Filed Under Curtain Rods | Posted on November 17, 2008

Long before the curtains ever rise and fall on a production, many people are at work, doing their best to ensure that the event is a success.

Beth Ann Hough, the production’s director, said it really all began in October, with the reading of the play.

“After you choose your play, you have to read it very, very carefully,” she said. “You have to consider things like set design and how many actors are needed.

“This has been a bigger show, so we really needed six weeks. Some of the smaller shows, like an ‘Evening of Shorts’ only take four weeks.”

For the popular Charles Dickens story, several men were required to fill spots. That was one of the hardest things to do, Hough noted, because in community theater, it is often difficult to find enough men to take on the role.

Rehearsals also take up a lot of time, and because of work schedules, they’re often done at night.

Even with all the work that goes into learning lines and where to stand and how to move, the process continues up to opening night when the cast has a chance to practice in the venue it will be performing in.

“You’re learning you lines and your blocking in a different space,” Hough said, adding that once they’re in the theater’s space, they have to adjust their bodies and projection to fit the larger space.

“In the meantime, we’re designing the set. We have set designers who can just work magic,” she said.

For “A Christmas Carol,” actors had to step beyond the typical actor role. The sets change constantly and that means nearly everyone has something to do when they’re not on stage.

“A lot of us help with the set changes, costume changes, bringing food,” said Dan Flanders, a performer. “At times, it seems like being an actor is this is the less of the roles.”

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