Christmas in the Rearview Mirror is a holiday show with all the trimmings. It contains all an audience would hope for, including a minor Christmas miracle. It is a holiday tale...a show with a storyline...with rich, developed characters that entertain and engage the audience.
Christmas in the Rearview Mirror is an inside peek at the creativity, construction and Christmas spirit it takes a theater troupe to rescue a holiday show from a snowstorm. It is a prequel, a show before the show. It is a delightfully different take on Christmas shows, designed to capture attention, elicit response and please audiences of all ages.
An unexpected snowstorm cancelled last night’s dress rehearsal of a Christmas show and this is the afternoon of opening night. All costuming, lighting, sound and set preparation scheduled for last night has been left undone and the stage is a cluttered mess of trash, janitorial supplies, cardboard boxes, a ladder, a clothes rack, and assorted other paraphernalia.
The director is onstage pushing a broom and talking to himself, ranting in disappointment, frustration and anger, spouting ‘the show must go on’. He has called everyone in to try on costumes, set the lights, sound and stage and run as many numbers as time will allow. Cast, musicians, stage and tech crews dribble in and begin a frenzied effort to bring order out of chaos.
Performances are run, lighting plots and audio settings are adjusted, costumes are given one last look and final notes are given, all amid beehive activity to clear and clean the stage of debris, create the holiday props, construct set pieces and...put up and trim the tree.
Although quite circus-like, the rehearsal is surprisingly productive...and most entertaining. The director tells everyone to go home, get ready and be back in two hours. They all pack up their belongings, put on their coats and make their way down the aisles toward the door.
An offstage tech voice reminds the director the closing number hasn’t been set. The director calls all back onto stage. Backpacks and coats are dropped to the floor as the finale is begun. Lights and audio are tweaked, blocking settles in and music fattens as the song progresses. The piece culminates in softening effects, the turning on of the tree lights and, finally, snowfall. All the seasonal ingredients and emotional impact of a truly moving closing number.
Christmas in the Rearview Mirror is a surprisingly special holiday offering.
Christmas in the Rearview Mirror is an inside peek at the creativity, construction and Christmas spirit it takes a theater troupe to rescue a holiday show from a snowstorm. It is a prequel, a show before the show. It is a delightfully different take on Christmas shows, designed to capture attention, elicit response and please audiences of all ages.
An unexpected snowstorm cancelled last night’s dress rehearsal of a Christmas show and this is the afternoon of opening night. All costuming, lighting, sound and set preparation scheduled for last night has been left undone and the stage is a cluttered mess of trash, janitorial supplies, cardboard boxes, a ladder, a clothes rack, and assorted other paraphernalia.
The director is onstage pushing a broom and talking to himself, ranting in disappointment, frustration and anger, spouting ‘the show must go on’. He has called everyone in to try on costumes, set the lights, sound and stage and run as many numbers as time will allow. Cast, musicians, stage and tech crews dribble in and begin a frenzied effort to bring order out of chaos.
Performances are run, lighting plots and audio settings are adjusted, costumes are given one last look and final notes are given, all amid beehive activity to clear and clean the stage of debris, create the holiday props, construct set pieces and...put up and trim the tree.
Although quite circus-like, the rehearsal is surprisingly productive...and most entertaining. The director tells everyone to go home, get ready and be back in two hours. They all pack up their belongings, put on their coats and make their way down the aisles toward the door.
An offstage tech voice reminds the director the closing number hasn’t been set. The director calls all back onto stage. Backpacks and coats are dropped to the floor as the finale is begun. Lights and audio are tweaked, blocking settles in and music fattens as the song progresses. The piece culminates in softening effects, the turning on of the tree lights and, finally, snowfall. All the seasonal ingredients and emotional impact of a truly moving closing number.
Christmas in the Rearview Mirror is a surprisingly special holiday offering.