There is a buzz in the air as people are seated. You can feel the electricity and excitement peppered with stress and anxiety. The minutes are counting down and we all just try to breathe and prepare ourselves for what is about to happen. Everyone is finally where they have anticipated being for weeks now and we are all focused and ready. There is truly nothing like it. I’ve been on this ride for months and this is the most thrilling part: Opening Night!

As the Artistic Director of Children’s Theatre, I get on the ride before anyone else, as the title is decided in that first spark of inspired thought, and I get to stay on the ride until we strike the set after the final performance. In my role as production manager I work with incredibly talented and creative people who are at the top of their game as designers, directors, choreographers, stage managers and musicians. We start as a small team and add our crew a bit later in the process. We are all so excited on audition day as we meet talented, excited kids who are ready to take on a new challenge. 

We choose our cast and start a seven week rehearsal process that begins with blocking, choreography, and music sessions. In those early rehearsals, as we read through the play and members of the cast learn what will be expected of them, their reaction may be curiosity, timidity, sometimes excitement and often fear. Soon they start to discover new skills, talent that they didn’t realize they had and a growing sense of confidence and courage.

After three to four weeks all of the scenes are fully blocked and the musical numbers are choreographed. It is then that we begin to see the bones of our show. It is always exciting when a cast begins to think about their scenes without having to hold their scripts. As they better understand the writing and nuance within the story, they begin to fill out their characters and the show takes shape.

With every rehearsal, actors add a little more to their characterization. Soon they know not only their own lines, but the lines and cues of their scene partners. In the final week or two of rehearsals the cast members are not only thinking of their own character, they are investing more in the interaction of characters. It is here that they become story-tellers. When costume day comes just a week prior to the show, the cast truly begins to embrace the style and feeling of the work. It usually feels a bit awkward and unbalanced as we add props, costumes, shoes and headpieces, but it is one of the best days of the entire process!

Just a few days before we open we hold a spacing rehearsal in the venue. It is the first day the cast actually works on their set and there are many adjustments to be made. We are all called upon to be patient and flexible. Our mantra: everything is subject to change.  We add microphones and lights and run the show as many times as we can. The actors add something new with every rehearsal; a tilt of their head, a hand gesture, maybe an occasional ad-lib. They know their entrance and exit points, where to place their props, how long it will take to get into makeup, mics and costumes. They are ready.

So that brings us back to opening night – the point of no return. Whether everything works perfectly or things go wrong, the show belongs to the cast and it is their story to tell. They form a relationship with the members of the audience, employing their own emotions, sense of humor, humility and honesty as the characters created in the script come to life on the stage.  

From my vantage point I can see the stage and the house, noticing as the cast becomes encouraged when the audience laughs at funny scenes, gasps in dramatic moments or applauds at the end of a song. The children in the cast have grown from readers at our earliest rehearsals, to storytellers and performers. Now they are each sparks of light; motivators and influencers for one another and for their audience. And that is the best part of the entire ride. To inspire others… What is more thrilling than that?