If you have ever been in a theater production, then you understand the craziness that is the dreaded tech week. It's the last chance to polish the show before it opens and although it can be tons of fun, it's also pretty stressful. Here are some of the things you understand if you've experienced tech week in full force.
1. Drinking coffee all the time to get through everyday tasks.
When going through tech week for a show, you will be at the theater until at least midnight every night that week. Therefore doing everyday tasks such as walking up the stairs or talking to people not experiencing tech week seems near impossible. Drink coffee as much as you breathe to get through!
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2. Doing homework in the dressing room.
You better remember your book-bag, because your only downtime is when you’re not on stage. Do homework any time you can, because free time is a great blessing that you won’t know until it’s gone. Appreciate it while you have it.
3. Sleep… What is that?
Sleep is a foreign concept. As soon as you get all of your things done when you get home and your head hits the pillow, you will be snoring.
4. Forgetting what you look like without stage makeup on.
When you take off your makeup and you have a "Mulan moment"… No, not the Reflection song moment but a “Am I a man?” moment. You won’t wear makeup for weeks after the show closes.
5. Eating dinner at 4:30 P.M. because call is 6:00 P.M.
You might as well eat dinner with the elderly in town, because you will be eating dinner as early as they do if you want to eat before the show.
6. Hold Please.
Heard almost constantly while on stage.
7. Wearing your blacks to class every day.
“No, I’m not a ninja, it’s tech week.”
8. Anyone have cough drops?
You basically live on cough drops and tea or your voice will be gone.
9. A throbbing head from bobby pins and hairspray.
Having a headache for the entire week because of the ridiculous amount of hairspray and bobby pins it will take to keep your perfect hair perfect for the whole show.
10. Glow tape everywhere.
Making sure you won’t fall backstage in all black and with the safety lights off.
11. Becoming uncomfortably close with everyone in the show.
Changing in front of the whole cast gets less and less weird as the week goes on, to the point where you’re stripping as you walk in the room getting ready for closing night.
12. Hold Please.
Hmmm, that phrase sounds familiar.
13. Knowing every line in the show, except your own.
Sitting backstage saying every line that proceeds your own and blanking on your own lines that you’ve spent hours memorizing right before you go on.
14. Flowers from your family.
Getting bouquet after bouquet of flowers that will just die in your room, but it is fun to look like Miss America for a little when you first get them.
15. Stress. LOL.
Being beyond stressed the whole week about when you are going to get everything done and also not slack on your responsibilities for the show.
