Crack Down Time

Crack down time. Yep, that is actually an official term in Lehi Jr. High Schools drama department. Crack down time usually refers to 2-3 weeks before the show opens when everything should be perfect, but its not. This happens every show. We shouldn't be surprised every time, yet, it always shocks us when "crack down time" becomes necessary. Crack down time is not a happy time for actors. The directors are fierce, and they are never satisfied. Ms. Boren no longer believes in "fun, light rehearsals," but hard, disappointing, stressful rehearsals instead. I never liked this time as an actor. Little did I know, its even worse for the directors. This is my first time on the flip side of the coin. As the director, the whole show rests on your shoulders. Crack down time is stressful and irritating. The actors should be memorized. They should be completely off book. Yet, most of them still rely on the stage manager who they can easily call "line" to anytime they want to. The actors should be able to enunciate and project, yet can they? no! The directors give the same note thousands of times, and the actors can't seem to fix it. The directors have to try to finish the set. Painting still has to happen, and we have to find a dog! Don't the actors realize we have more things to think about than the note we have given to them 30 times? We counted one note we gave, and we gave it 31 times to the same actor. Ridiculous! No wonder the directors were always so hard to work with this close to the end! We want to pull our hair out! We want to pull their hair out! I know it sounds violent, but don't worry, this happens with every show. Final dress rehearsal will come, and everything will pull together and be absolutely amazing and we will wonder why we were so horrible. Its the same pattern every year, yet, why am I so worried still?
(Sorry guys, this is just another one of those rants no one understands except those who have experienced "crack down time")

STRESS

Here is a new acrostic poem for you...
S chool
T erm ending
R ehearsal
E verything happens all at once
S leep... or lack of it
S o much homework to do

Homework, Homework, Homework. That is what I will be doing all break.