Strike and Cast Party

After a great full day of two shows on Saturday, the cast and crew of “Don’t You Forget About Me” piled into a van and headed over to McDonald’s to celebrate.  And we did celebrate- a wedding at McDonalds – yeah that happened- Pratima wore Jojo’s wedding dress and all.

At Berkshire Theater we like to wrap up the experience with a cast party to celebrate and reflect.  This time when the show’s over is always bittersweet for everyone for each show, but especially for the spring.  With so many seniors who have made such a big impact on this program it brings things into perspective.  During "hot seat” we gather together and share wholesomely positive things we learned about each other.  The cast party of course would not have been complete without breaking into a round of our “Don’t You Forget About Me” mash up and singing “La la la la la” over and over.  I don’t think we’ll be able to get that tune out of our heads for a while.

Finally on Tuesday we “striked” the stage, taking away all the props and scenery to set up for BIMP (Berkshire Theater Improv) and other upcoming performances.  Strike brings the experience full circle, doing the reverse of a set build.  You could say we got to know the theater on a different level after this strike- that is underneath the stage.  Led by ASM Carrie people soon after followed Carrie into the mysterious fun of underneath the stage.

On another note we’d like to give a special thanks to Hayden’s mom for capturing some great moments on stage.  You can check out her newly launched website to find some of these amazing photos:

http://www.kristinegrahamphotography.com/client-gallery.html

Happy Tech Week!

 Happy Tech Week! This is probably the most exciting week of the spring. After seven weeks of rehearsals, preparations, line runs, and warm-ups, things in Allen Theater are beginning to look exciting. People not involved in theater usually give Tech Week a bad rep, but I just love everything about Tech Week. There is something about the ambiance in Allen that completely changes everything. This shift is what we call “Robo.” It’s a very important element to have when involved in a theater production. 

Robo is the state of readiness, focus, and contained excitement that each one of us carries on stage and off stage. So what exactly do I mean? Unlike sports events in which teammates will cheer for one another during a game, Robo is a form of contained excitement. It is actually counterproductive for actors to cheer and yell for one another backstage; instead, we silently cheer each other on by giving someone a firm pat on the back or a high five. Nothing more. 

The purpose of this is to keep each other focused on the goal and to help keep everyone ready. And it’s really fun. There’s nothing that I love more than going backstage and having everyone focused before they go onstage. It’s relieving. During our Dress Rehearsal, this was definitely something that got all of us through the night. Thanks to Robo, we were able to put on a successful show!

-Jeffrey Erazo 

Load In

Load In!

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​So when exactly does Tech Week Begin? It all begins with Load In. Last Friday the cast of Don’t You Forget About Me came together to finalize the set of the play. When I first found out that this play was going to consist of four different 80s movies—Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Mystic Pizza,and Say Anything—I had a hard time trying to picture how we were going to build the set. Everything suddenly became clear to me; The Mystic Pizza shop, Ferris’s bedroom, the library, Corey's bedroom, and Diane’s living room all seem to coexist together even though they come from different movies. It all feels right.

The Green Room was buzzing with excitement as the costume crew got everyones costumes into place. I could already smell the hairspray and gel. Backstage the props crew set up a props table with all of the show’s props. For the first time in 8 years, I got to see an actual boom box upfront. That just comes to show how obsolete this iconic music player has become. 

​The stage managers took charge in steering the ship toward the right direction. Under the watchful eyes of Dom everyone was able to finish their respective tasks. The Green room was spotless, the stage was set, the costumes were in order, and the props were accounted for. Finally, the play had become one.

-Jeffrey Erazo 

Costume Interview