I've been stubborn.
Throughout the years I've stage managed The Nutcracker, I've held onto the idea that I could continue to call projection cues by their rightful name. Even in the battle, even in the big transition to Land of Snow, I stubbornly clung to 'Projections 5 Go.'
And then this year happened.
One of the wonderful things about working with the Champaign-Urbana Ballet is their dedication to continually making their productions better. Each and every remount year something has been added, redesigned, or improved. This year, the Battle was reimagined and the amount of new projection cues in those 8 minutes alone caused the total number to double.
The result is amazing, and exciting, and a whole lot more to call.
I found myself sitting at the tech table after first dress, combing through the Battle for ways to make my call cleaner, easier to understand, and more efficient. As I sat there with the video playing, trying to rehearse the windup for a large transition, I realized it was time to drop 'projections' for something shorter.
I struggled to make numbers connect with 'Pro.' 'Vid' got stuck in my mouth too often. 'AV' was only losing one syllable.
With a sigh, I texted my fellow stage manager, Josh, to tell him the news.
Throughout the years I've stage managed The Nutcracker, I've held onto the idea that I could continue to call projection cues by their rightful name. Even in the battle, even in the big transition to Land of Snow, I stubbornly clung to 'Projections 5 Go.'
And then this year happened.
One of the wonderful things about working with the Champaign-Urbana Ballet is their dedication to continually making their productions better. Each and every remount year something has been added, redesigned, or improved. This year, the Battle was reimagined and the amount of new projection cues in those 8 minutes alone caused the total number to double.
The result is amazing, and exciting, and a whole lot more to call.
I found myself sitting at the tech table after first dress, combing through the Battle for ways to make my call cleaner, easier to understand, and more efficient. As I sat there with the video playing, trying to rehearse the windup for a large transition, I realized it was time to drop 'projections' for something shorter.
I struggled to make numbers connect with 'Pro.' 'Vid' got stuck in my mouth too often. 'AV' was only losing one syllable.
With a sigh, I texted my fellow stage manager, Josh, to tell him the news.
As it turns out, it's a change I should have made eons ago. I love the simplified call, the ease of the word, and the fact it doesn't sound like any other department.
Plus, the response of the crew when I warned them of the different call they were going to hear was pretty hilarious. There were requests for it to be changed to 'best,' 'fav,' or 'fab' (I almost said yes to that one...), as well as guesses as to what I was actually meaning with tab (the best being the number of drinks on my tab for the crew that evening).
The moral of the story being, I'm a new convert to Tab and am unsure why it took me so long to get there.
Plus, the response of the crew when I warned them of the different call they were going to hear was pretty hilarious. There were requests for it to be changed to 'best,' 'fav,' or 'fab' (I almost said yes to that one...), as well as guesses as to what I was actually meaning with tab (the best being the number of drinks on my tab for the crew that evening).
The moral of the story being, I'm a new convert to Tab and am unsure why it took me so long to get there.
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