Wednsday was line-run! For every show, we have a rehearsal where we sit in a circle and speed run the show with no scripts. Today was a success, which is always an important factor in the success of a show.This means that the whole cast is now off book. From here on out we can block and rehearse without holding binders. Scripts are a hassle to hold and prevent us from seeing how a scene is really going to look in the actual show.
-Riley

The last set-build for Flipping Channels took place on Saturday, and we made some really good progress! Although the sky was sunny, it was a very windy, and we decided to take full advantage of the spring and paint the office tables on the sidewalk. There are two tables that we built out of wood in the previous set-build, and we are painting them the color of natural wood to give them a finished look. The table top would be stained. Painting the tables outside on a windy day meant that the drop cloths were flailing around all the time. After two nice coats that dried very quickly thanks to the weather, we were able to finish the tables for The Office. Another group also built the hospital bed for Scrubs with the help from Dom, our technical director.

We are having a pre-line run tomorrow in the De Windt basement to check on everyone's progress on their lines. The show is a week and half a month away!!!

Drink water, get some sleep, and memorize those lines.

Yours truly,

Maggie

4/20
    Monday was mountain day! After a long day of hiking, eating, sleeping, or whatever else people do on mountain day, many of us came back to Allen Theater for our second set build. We spent much of the time sanding and constructing the tables for our set (sitcoms make use of many tables). While most of us left to eat dinner, a select few stayed to paint. While Tuesday was another, run of the mill basement rehearsal, today will mark our first day rehearsing in the Berkshire Hall Atrium. As the atrium is where we will be performing, this is a great opportunity for us to better understand how the show will be broken down and how we will utilize the set. It also showed us how much we need to project and send our voices across the room. We practiced projection and diction and how to make sure we can be heard. Having audiance in the round presents new oppertunities and with that comes new challenges. But as a team we are workig them out together and learning how to rise up.
-Riley

What are we up to?
                                                                               
After a couple weeks of rehearsals we figured you would want to know what we have been doing so far. The Atrium will be broken into four quadrants, one for each show. The stage managers have taped out two of these quadrants in our make-shift basement rehearsal space, one in a back room to allow for simultaneous rehearsals. Still on-book, we have been roughly blocking, trading off shows. To maximize efficiency, Mr. Howard and Annie worked over March Break to create the best system to block four TV shows at once. The result: an A cast and a B cast. As previously mentioned, there are four sitcoms involved in the spring play. Everyone in the show is part of two different sitcoms. For this to work, everyone in Scrubs, for example, is also in The Big Bang Theory. Those people are known as the B cast. The A cast is rehearsing their two shows at the same time. Rehearsals generally start off with meeting as a group and getting a briefing from Mr. Howard before starting our warm ups. Then we split off into our A and B casts with Mr. Howard and Annie switching back and forth. Every so often, to help remain as one team, we have show & tell. Essentially we set time aside for the A cast to show the B cast what they have been working on and vice-versa. May is coming up quickly!
-Riley

Set Build/Tech day
 
Last Saturday we had our first tech day! Half of us worked with Dom outside to do some spring cleaning at the shed. The other half worked with Annie on organizing the props closet.Halfway through we had bagels as a nice surprise treat after some hard work. After we had enjoyed our snack, all of us headed back outside to help finish what we had started in organizing the shed and had some good assembly lines going on to make quick work! In the end, we had a busy afternoon, but everyone’s participation and high spirits made the afternoon go by in a flash. Check back soon to hear from Riley about what we’ve been up to in rehearsal!
-Anna

SITCOMS!!!

Welcome to the Berkshire Theater blog! This spring, we are working on a show called Flipping Channels, which is a collection of classic American sitcoms featuring Friends, Scrubs, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory.

My name is Maggie Zhu, I will be writing for you throughout the production process. If you happen to recall, I am back to the theater from the winter musical, In the Heights, and ready to write more! I am playing Monica in Friends, and Julia, who is actually a female version of Oscar, in The Office. Flipping Channel is the first straight and the third production overall for me. I am very excited to get started again.  

I’m Anna Flaherty, and I’m also one of the writers for the blog this season! I was on blog crew last spring in The Crucible and I’m so excited to be back. I am playing Phoebe in Friends and Phyllis in The Office.

I’m Riley, this is my fourth show at Berkshire. I am playing Sheldon in Big Bang Theory and Todd in Scrubs.

As Berkshire Dance takes over the theater in the spring season, we have moved to a spacey basement near the student health center to rehearse. It is a new environment for us, but we still try to do everything in the same positive and inclusive way. The show itself will take place in Berkshire Hall atrium in mid-May, and we hope to see many of you there!

Best Regards,

Blog Crew.