Technical Rehearsal

Well, last night we moved into the theatre for our technical rehearsal. Gordon, Doug and team had obviously been frightfully busy bees on Sunday shifting the set from Gordon's garage to the stage and although they haven't actually finished building the whole thing, there was enough of it there for us to work with. I know the menfolk will be at the theatre this afternoon tinkering with their tools and I have no doubt that by the time I get there tonight Gordon will have a magnificent erection on his hands.

Getting into the theatre is always a tricky business because there is always so much to do and never enough time to do it in. At the same time as they are building the set, Martin (our lighting designer) is working around them, flying up and down ladders, putting floodlights up in the necessary places and it always amazes me that no one crashes into each other. Murder at Checkmate Manor is quite a technical show with a lot of lighting cues - in typical Agatha Christie fashion, including thunder and lightning! - and there will be lots of frantic action going on in the lighting box during performances. Martin will be very pleased, I know, to have Sarah to help with his knobs and switches. Oh, and Martin - you asked me to remind you that the floodlight downstage left still needs to have the safety chain attached. Consider yourself reminded.

The technical rehearsal itself passed off with only one or two minor hitches - I'm sure Mrs Cavendish will be able to do something with Felicity's best frock; Audrey didn't mean to pour red wine over it in the dressing room (I'm sure she's drinking too much again) - and, bearing in mind we started at 7 pm, I was quite pleased that we got finished by 11.15 pm (but then it is quite a short play after all). Mind you, there was a bit of dissention in the ranks at this juncture when someone asked if any member of the cast could stay for another half hour or so to help paint the set. Now, I am all for everyone 'mucking in' together to get the show on the road as it were, but sometimes it is important for everyone to know what their place is and to leave people to concentrate on just the one aspect. I mean, Thelma has enough difficulty acting without asking her to take up a paintbrush as well.

I still have one or two misgivings about the play as a whole. I'm not quite sure the authors have got the ending quite right. Or perhaps it's a question of miscasting, I don't know. Still, I don't suppose there's much we can do about it now - we open tomorrow night! You have got your tickets, haven't you? I can tell you that one lucky patron at each performance will win a prize, so it is well worth coming along just for that.