Wednesday, January 23, 2008

OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES

Originally Posted by Marianne Miller, Company Management Intern, November 9, 2007


Extensive, numerous, and challenging tech cues.
Ever-developing budget alterations.

All of these situations posed a genuine threat to the Company in successfully preparing Signature's current show, Queens Boulevard (the musical) for an audience. Challenges are not new to the Signature Theatre Company, however, and in genuine Signature form, each and every new obstacle was met with tenacity and determination, and opening preview was a delightful and fun-filled evening.

The entire staff here at the Sig threw all of our weight behind helping the cast, crew, and designers to get the show up and running. One of the most memorable events of the evening of Opening Preview (which was even joked about during a subsequent staff meeting!) was watching my supervisor and our General Manager, Mr. Adam Bernstein, vacuum the front lobby before the show. The time-crunch demanded that everyone pitched in.

Our hard work paid off. Pre-show, a nervous and excited energy permeated the air. Patrons were clearly delighted upon entering the transformed house at the Peter Norton Space-One can't help but to develop a visually-stimulated high after being inundated with neon lights, bright decorations, and an extraordinary set. Actors passed out wedding reception jellies to and greeted the incoming audience. From the beginning, one could tell this would be a very different theatre experience.

Ultimately, this experience is one that would not have been possible had it not been for the fact that the Signature Theatre Company works as family. We face these challenges with the security that we all work for each other and for the greater good of the company.

Despite the setbacks, all is well. The lights went black at the end of Opening Preview, and we all breathed a sign of relief. We have a fantastic show to prove we can handle even the toughest of obstacles.

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