Field Trip

So, for seemingly no reason at all, I took an afternoon train trip to Garrison to visit the Depot Theatre.

Okay, so I did have a reason or two. Chiefly, I was worried about the amount of time we’d have for tech this week—that it’d be too short, and we’d be rushing along. So I took it upon myself (maybe because I wanted to take a more active role in this production, like last time; it’s a silly notion, but … I’m at a loss.) to go to the theatre a few days early to do a preliminary check of the light board, sound system, and just generally run through things, as well as build my light cues. So with yesterday afternoon free, I took off for the country.

Maybe I’m just easily impressed (not really, no), but the scenery along the Hudson was once again absolutely gorgeous. And a round-trip train ride, as well as strolling along the water’s edge in the hamlet of Garrison’s Landing, really lends itself to appreciating such a beautiful panorama.

After walking the minute from the current train station to its predecessor, I found the Depot empty and locked. “Seems as if someone forgot I was visiting today.” I called the artistic director, and sure enough, hearing him curse on the other end of the line confirmed my assumption. But, such a trooper that he is, he guided me into and around the theater over the phone. (I guess a real trooper would have shown up to let me in, but neither of us had the luxury of time.) And while he did give me the key code, and could accurately describe from memory the placement of most light switches, his knowledge of the sound system was a little more vague. However, before hanging up, he did impart with me one more tidbit of Depotrivia: the technical director had not set up the five designated lighting zones for the festival plot. Great, thanks. So, needless to say, I could play with the board’s sliders all I want (which of course I did), I really couldn’t design the looks for the show. So … how’s this trip going to save me time later? Whatever, let’s move on to sound.

Though I enjoyed the solitude of having a theater to oneself, especially in a unique and historic place like this—its musty air mixing with the fumes of burning gels—things can be a tad lonely and creepy. Especially when the answering machine in the office begins playing suddenly, and you unexpectedly hear a voice other than your own. So, to provide some comforting noise, I tried to get the sound up and running quickly. My CD failed to play, but the speakers were not on—the bigger fish to fry. Fortunately, troubleshooting this problem is as simple as running around flipping on and off random switches. Speakers on, I tried the iPod, the cable for which I discovered in the meantime. It worked, but not after sorting through the dizzying array of knobs and buttons that comprise the sound board. Then I ran my cues, focusing on achieving smooth transitions manually by moving the volume sliders. Yeah … we’ll see about that. And while doing this, I realized I might not have enough hands to manage this booth. Someone will have to operate the light board for me. Fortunately, a lighting girl (how patronizing I can be) will be provided by the organizers for me to frustrate. So, this bit of enlightenment seems almost worth it all. But not really, for what I spent on rail fare—the trip was nice, don’t get me wrong—I only was in the theater all of an hour. And what do I have to show for it?

No more whining. Tech on Wednesday. Bring it on.