News

Assistant Stage Manager Ruth Moore takes a few minutes out of the busy school performance schedule to talk time, trees and life post-Pinocchio.

The New Year feels well and truly underway now and with only a week and a bit to go we’re heading into the final stretch now. Like Rachel (stage manager) I am staring to loose all sense of time. Our days off are on Mondays and Tuesdays; so with the beginning of the week feeling like the weekend, we have little chance of keeping up with what day it is. This morning I had to ask Rachel, and she said she was sorry, but that she honestly couldn’t tell me! 

This week and next week we are being kept on our toes with special school shows that start at different times. This helps break our routine and keep us (reasonably) sane. It’s a bit tricky getting up for the early morning shows (I have to be here at 8am for the 10am shows), especially when it’s dark and raining like this morning. But once you’re here doing shows for a boisterous audience of primary school children they are often the most rewarding; they’re certainly usually the loudest. 

There is a definite air in the dressing room that we know this is coming to a close and I know we’ll all be sad when it’s over. But we are looking to the future. Everyone here is making plans, juggling jobs and generally working out what they’re going to do next. Our costume assistant B is one step ahead of the game and is leaving us on Sunday to move onto her next engagement in Germany (lucky for some). It will be a great shame to loose her. I don’t know exactly what my next job will be after this but I do know when this is all over, I’m going to burn the tree.