(submitted by Sarah)
Horror! So, here I am, stage managing for A
Midsummer Night's Dream and it is our final preview before opening. The
house is full, and full of important people, the important kind that
donate to needy university theatres. Well, here we are in Act IV, and the
fairies are getting ready to do their victory dance because everything
worked out so nicely, thank you very much. Oberon says to Titania,
"Call Music." Of course, Titania replies, (it being her turn to
say her line) "Music, ho!" at which point sound Q 33 is called
(makes it easy when the line cue is “ho” which sounds so much like “go”).
Silence. Titania and Oberon stand on stage, arms raised in expectation of
a lilting melody moving to crescendo, but nooooo. I look at my sound guy,
and say, "Sound Guy, make the music happen,
where-oh-where-is-the-music-Sound-Guypleeeasseeeeoh
pleaseohpleaseohpleasemakeitworkSoundGuy." Finally, he gets it cued
and...it's SQ18. "Hold please," I shout out the window, to the
audience's mixed delight and consternation. We back up a bit and try it
again. "Music ho!" Silence. Titania drops her arms and begins to
giggle. “Hold please.” I look again at my sound guy and say, “I will
buy you a case of Barq’s if you get this right, right now.” Third time’s
a charm, right? I mean we’ve been surrounded by magic and flowers of
purple dye and all that, all night long. “Call Music.” “Music ho!”
SQ33 goes fine, the fairies are dancing and I think we are in the home
stretch. All of a sudden, the mini disc player has a seizure and the
music skips like Shirley Temple. The fairies stop mid-leap and turn to the
booth and glare. “Hold please.” I now begin to look at my Sound Guy
with something like pity, because the director is in the house, ready to
blow a fuse. I use my eyes to plead, and he promises me it will work this
time, it must be the theatre ghost, angry for our portraying his kin as
such aristocratic boobs. “Music ho!” SQ33 goes…the fairies are
twirling, here comes the music swell, and…YAY! IT WORKED!
It almost made me cry.