Third Week of Rehearsal
page 7

I can't believe we've been doing this for only three weeks. It feels like months. We're about halfway through the rehearsal period and have started working in the War Memorial Opera House rather than in Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall. We've done one run-through on the real stage in real costumes, which was a real challenge.

Now that we're actually in the house, I have a better idea of what the rehearsal hall hangers-on actually do. Now they are in their element. To this cast of characters we add hordes of administrators and a large crew of construction workers in hard hats. I can't figure out why they wear hard hats and we don't: if it's a hard hat site, we should all be wearing hard hats.

In a week or so, we'll add the orchestra and whatever staff accompanies it. I am still astounded by how many hundreds of people it takes to put on an opera. Everyone has a specific job. Staff are divided up by position and task, and if you need something done, someone will find the right person for the job. Did you know there's a difference between Costume and Wardrobe? And that hats, as well as the blankets we wear over our heads during one of our entrances, are props rather than costumes? One great thing about having so many people around is that when I get tangled up in my costume, or I can't get into or out of something, I can just yell for help, and someone will promptly appear to deal with the problem.

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First Day - 1 2
Second Day - 3 4
Second Week - 5 6
Third Week - 7 8 9
Final Week - 10 11 12

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen . . . and the orchestra.” —Conductor