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Retro RFH Tower Players’ Tech Week

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RFH tech crew for Plaza Suite in 1977
Photos/George Day

Another RFH Tower Players show opening, another tech week. So it goes in the theater world, high school or not. This opening is for the musical Footloose and, yes, it goes like that. This week is tech week. And while tech week has always been run during the week of the show, there are lots of techie differences from decades ago to now.

What happens during tech week? All of the behind-the-scenes magic is set and rehearsed. All technical glitches are worked out — sound, lighting, scenery, props … and action! It’s all the stuff that makes the show go on — or not. From a telephone that doesn’t ring on cue to something or someone flying through the air, a faulty mic, or leaving someone in the dark, it’s a debacle if it’s not just right by curtain on opening night.

Back in the day, there was a bit more of a struggle to nail tech rehearsals — literally. Nowadays there are some technical gems that a Tower Player would never dream of doing without. Never had to.

Rewind and it’s a bit of a different story. Some tech elements are pretty standard and consistent, no matter what the era.

For instance, props have always been a consistent show staple. In RFH productions, the search was always on for some quality props. And they were obtained. The set of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, for example, was a mock-up of the posh Plaza Hotel in New York. Fine silver was used (check out the photo). Near identical wallpaper and antique furniture. And then there are small props, that still require honed attention to detail and proper placement, down to a pair of glasses or bag for a character.

Lighting technology has been beefed up tenfold. There used to be a small booth with hand-operated spotlights that the techie would have to carefully maneuver to follow the actor spotlit for a song or monologue. If it moved too fast or slow, the techie and actor were playing catch-up. And God forbid the cue was missed. Someone was in left in the dark to improv until the spot found its spot. There were virtually no computerized boards — certainly not ones that jibed with music. Oh, there were small ones with a few levers for the lighting set in the ceiling and on stage, but to only dim and flick ’til final bow and curtain.

And then there was sound. The sound check, back in the day, had a lot to do with setting microphones above the actors’ heads and in the orchestra pit, angling up to catch each every note or line that they could and making sure actors stuck to the blocking that placed them near them for dialogue or songs.

No, there were no lavalier mics. Can you hear me? No lavalier microphones. They were considered super professional, expensive and rarely used in any show in the 1970s, much less a high school show.

So, without lavaliers, during tech week, the actors, especially those with solo songs in the musical, braved the orchestra rehearsal. And you really had to be brave to get it right without being drowned by a Tsunami of instruments. A full orchestra is loud, even at its lowest volume. Standing near those mics and trying too belt out a song without the accompaniment swallowing you whole was a feat. And it took hours of getting it just right.

The orchestra members had endurance and so did the singers. To this day, seeing a lavalier mic, with its hidden magic little box of sound, on the side of an actor’s face after the show brings a sigh of relief moment for old show folk. It’s a reminder that there was no more engulfment to face when trying to belt that tune.

Who remembers those moments?

With all these new tech gadgets available now, what’s the worry? It takes teamwork to run the show. Without the crew, the cast and show cannot go on. And vice-versa. A well-oiled machine: sound, lighting, scenery, props, cast, orchestra … aaaaaand curtain up!

So, the Retro Pic(s) of the (George) Day hone in on the mastery of the techies behind every Tower Players production, from then ’til now.

Take a look. Recognize these RFH techies? What exactly are they building in these photos? Share a tech moment gone awry in a show. Anyone in the 1978 RFH cast of Fiddler on the Roof remember when the angled bed in the dream scene nearly ended up being rolled right into the orchestra pit? Tell us your tech nightmare.

Thank you, techies! Break a leg!

Thanks again to the fabulous George Day for this look back in time on the RFH stage!