Crew Jobs FTW!

"There's extra work that needs to be done. Who wants to do it?"

In most situations, the person asking that question can expect dead silence, or maybe an uncomfortable cough. So I got the best surprise in a long time tonight, when I told the cast of "Pied Piper" that there were crew positions that needed to be filled -- and nearly everyone's hand went up! I only had eight jobs, not twenty-eight!

Two girls are the props crew. They'll make sure that personal props go to the right people, and that everything gets back to the props table at the end of each tech/dress rehearsal and performance. Two boys and two girls are the costume crews - check in pieces, spray a little Febreeze. The run isn't long enough for laundry. I've got someone to help the Light Board Operator with dimmer check. (Note to self: make sure dimmer check happens, or I'll never hear the end of it from Hailey.)

And the kid who takes martial arts and imitates the fencing moves from "Princess Bride"? Weapons master! He diligently informed me after rehearsal that there were worn areas on a three-foot wooden broadsword that's probably older than him. Which is exactly what I asked him to do.

I didn't assign these jobs to the cast because we couldn't get grownups to crew the show. We have the grownups we need. I want the kids to get the bigger experience of what goes into making theatre. If you do something extra besides act or sing - help build the set, paint some props, hit the thrift stores for costume pieces - you have a deeper connection to the show. You give just a little more of yourself to make the show that much better, and it makes a difference.

There are practical results, of course - production skills can get an actor a job in theatre rather than waiting tables. But most of these kids are way too young to be motivated by that. Extra skills make it easier to create your own opportunities, your own art, when positions in existing organizations are scarce. Again, far in the future. This was all about this moment, this show right now, and a chance to do more.

It didn't make me cry in rehearsal, but now... yeah... I'm a little teary. I've encountered too many performers who couldn't be bothered to hang up their own costumes, let alone go through thirty with a checklist. These kids get it. We're all working together to make something wonderful.