Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Director/Composer: Todd Siff
Scenic Designer: Devon Drohan
Lighting Designer: Dylan Bollinger
Costume Designer: Rebecca Huguet
Videographer: Jenna Schad
Sound Engineer: Emma Anthony
Photos: Bert VanderVeen
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was produced by North Carolina Theatre for Young People at UNCG in the fall of 2017. I had the opportunity to stage manage this production that consisted of a cast of 22 adults and 5 children ranging from ages 5 to 12. This particular production's concept was Wonka TV. The tour through the factory and the winning of golden tickets was supposed to all be a part of Wonka Television, almost like a game show. To bring this concept to life, there was a large projection screen that was flown in and out when necessary for music videos, projections, and a live feed of the action on the stage and in the audience. This production had extensive preshow action. The majority of the performances were in the morning and for houses full of children.
Working with the children as a stage manager put me in contact with their parents and in charge of making sure all scheduling was done with the children in mind. The children rehearsed once a week and then were present for most of the tech nights, and all dress rehearsals. They sang and recorded the original songs with the director and then worked with the videographer on the music videos.
As is the nature with rehearsal rooms, the rehearsal room was smaller than the stage that the show would be performed on. Sections of the set had to be overlayed on other sections in the rehearsal room tape-out for this reason. That along with the slide in the show provided a unique situation for communicating the realities of the set to both the cast and director as the process moved towards the stage.
There were moving set pieces in the show that were set as the show moved into space. Due to the floor not being sealed yet, we were unable to mark the positions of these pieces and thus had to take numerous photos for reference until we were able to tape the floor.
The live feed camera was primarily used during preshow and the beginning of the show. During preshow, the camera crew focused the camera on various children in the audience as a way of including them in the world of Wonka TV. Once the show started, the camera was focused on the narrator and the golden ticket winners seated in the audience. The camera required cues to turn the feed on and off. As is the case with most things in theatre, troubleshooting was a requirement with this equipment as the cable sometimes would short out and the screen would go black. Working with the ASMs and the members of the team knowledgeable about the camera, the group was able to fix the issues and continue with the performances.
Included with the production were the music videos and projections used throughout the show for moments like the Bucket House, Oompa Loompas, and elevator scene. These cues required not only video cues, but also fly cues, light cues, and sound cues as they all came together to enhance each moment. This created lengthy cues to call and required definite practice outside of rehearsal!
I have included examples of my paperwork from this production. This production had two crews for both deck and wardrobe due to the morning performances. There was a total of 54 crew members who were often all called at the same time. This would result in around 90 people in the theatre during tech rehearsals and required very clear and concise communication and people management on my part to keep the rehearsals running smoothly and efficiently. I have included a daily call, a performance report, and a set of production meetings notes to display my skillset at the time of this production and some of the needs of the show!