October 2, 2014

Hamletmachine Build Begins!

The backstage crew of Hamletmachine takes its first week of production seriously. Carpentry, paint, and props crews have started work in the carp shop over in ACE.

Alex in CrewAlex is a first year theatre student and she was assigned to paint crew. Tonight, her and her teammates’ major task is sanding the black boards, which serves as an important component to set designer Hayley Pace’s concept. Alex loves crew. Despite having asthma, she still aims to contribute as much to the show as possible. She suggests at the end, “I am kind of a princess, I learned that you just have to breathe and relax during crew and you cannot let problems frustrate you.”

Ellen, a second year production student, reveals in detail her work as an assistant head of props. This is her first time in a role that contains a lot of leadership. She admits it is a bit scary to lead and set an example for the first years, but she is guided by the faculty.

Ellen’s tasks of the day includes unbolting the drill press in order to realign “the machine” as well as reinforcing multiple chairs for the classroom setting. Her hard work is evident through the dirt on her jeans.

A lot has to be done for the upcoming week. A shopping trip is scheduled and the paint crew is still collecting 20,000 sheets of used paper. They have gathered recycled paper from York Federation of Students, the copy centre at York Lanes and Scott Library, and the theatre and film departments for misprints and past files and homework.

When asked, what is the most important lesson you learned so far in crew? Ellen answers, “patience is a virtue.”

Photos: Ran Zhu