Jan/Feb 2015

“My first task in the show was to act as assistant stage manager. This meant I had to make sure everything was in its right place both on and off stage.

When it was confirmed that everything was set and ready to go and the actors were in their starting positions, it was my job to stand off stage and hand Andy his props that he needed. To make sure i remembered which order he needed his props to come, i made a song in my head. Well, it wasn’t really a song, unless you call six words being repeated again and again a song.

‘Screws, manual, manual, outfit, teacup. ALIEN! Screws, manual, manual, outfit, teacup. ALIEN! Screws, manual, manual, outfit, teacup. ALIEN! And so on…’

Overall, I think it went well. There were a couple of times I should have been ready sooner, but everything still went smoothly.

When it came to the first show, for some reason I wasn’t expecting an audience reaction.  So that meant I had to improvise and add a little extra to go along with the audience and actor interaction.

In the production meeting, it came up that too many people were standing on stage right, making it very congested. So it was arranged that Charlie, after finishing her role, would come over to stage left ready to give me help if I needed it.”

Claire, participant on our 5-week course in Chichester