Student Blog: The Ultimate Summer Stock Experience
How we go from closing one show to opening the next in 72 hours.
One of the most exciting parts about working at a Summer Stock theatre is the amount of shows that happen in a relatively short period of time. At my internship, we produce five shows in 10 weeks. The speed of the summer allows me to learn so much, connect with so many incredible people, and prevents me from getting bored of any show. However, this schedule is demanding and requires efficiency and determination. The hardest part of each show cycle (and my favorite part) is changeover, the 72 hours from closing one show to opening the next. The big sprint occurs in 24 hours (Sunday night to Monday night), when we completely strike one show and load-in the next before the actors arrive for tech.
Here’s a peek into what my life as an intern during changeover looks like:
Sunday -
- 9am I drive downtown to grab coffee for me and team stage management
- 10am Company run (Everyone gathers in the rehearsal room to watch the final run through of the next show, Pride and Prejudice before they move to the stage)
- 12:45pm Intern meeting to discuss changeover
- 1:15pm Maintenance (a daily task where the interns clean the common spaces)
- 1:45pm Lunch break
- 2:30pm Crew call (as lighting board op, I’m in charge of testing all the show channels and cue lights and turning on clip lights)
- 4pm Matinee begins - last show of Death Trap
- 7pm Show closes and we jump into strike (on team lighting, my immediate task is to strike all practicals from the set. Then, we move on to hanging lights for the next light plot)
- 9pm Dinner break
- 9:30pm Back to work! We finish hanging all the instruments according to the light plot and prepare for tech.
- 12am End of day
Monday -
- 8am Breakfast is served (I arrive around 8:30)
- 9am Shop hours (We focus all the lights)
- 11am Lunch break
- 12pm Back to work! We continue preparing things for tech and tidy our mess.
- 5pm Dinner break
- 6pm Crew call (For this show, I’m on deck crew, so I prepare the stage for actors and review my track)
- 7:35pm Start of tech
- 12am End of day
Tuesday -
- 8am Breakfast is served (I arrive around 8:30)
- 9am Shop hours (mad dash to get 6 additional lights mounted, cabled, and focused)
- 10:30am Lunch break
- 11:30am Back to work (We set up for day two of tech)
- 12:30pm Start tech
- 5pm Dinner break
- 6pm Crew call
- 7:30pm Invited dress rehearsal
- 10:30pm Show ends (My post-show tasks include sweeping the stage and washing the prop dishes)
- 11pm End of day
Wednesday -
- 8am Breakfast is served (I arrive around 8:30)
- 9am Shop hours (we pull cables, move ladders/tech tables, and get ready for opening)
- 10:30am Lunch break
- 11:30am Crew call
- 12:30pm Run difficult transitions
- 1:30pm Run the show
- 5pm Dinner break
- 6pm Crew call
- 7:30pm Show starts
- 10:30pm Show ends → opening night party (we have a party after each opening night to celebrate everyone’s hard work and enjoy each other’s company)!
Changeover is a lot of work, but it’s so much fun to accomplish so much so quickly alongside dear friends. It’s the ultimate summer stock experience, and I will miss it deeply when I return to the school schedule.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame Theatre Raleigh (8/12-8/15) |
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Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestras Kenan Auditorium (2/28-2/28) |
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White Christmas Temple Theatre (12/03-12/20) |
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Death Becomes Her DPAC (11/10-11/15) |
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ONCE Burning Coal Theatre (8/13-8/30) |
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Pirates! A Boy At Sea Switch Theatre Company (7/18-7/19) |
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Pleasure Toys Store Fredericksburg Adam & Eve Stores (7/05-7/29) |
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The Notebook Durham Performing Arts Center (7/14-7/19) |
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Mrs. Doubtfire DPAC (10/30-11/01) |
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Shadow Amok Time (An immersive, story driven, horror event) Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre (10/15-10/17) |