I begin my bedtime routine by taking a nice warm shower. Once showered I dry and then moisture my face, chest, stomach and arms as my skin is very sensitive and I have very dry skin, so I always use E45. Once I have done that, I will put on my pyjamas and then brush and dry my hair because if I don’t it ends up a mess and horrible to sort out in the morning! I will then brush my teeth and grab a bottle of water. Once I’m ready I climb into bed and depending on how I feel I’ll either watch Netflix (usually friends) or put my earphones in, listen to music, and scroll through social media. if I find I’m not actually tired I will read from my kindle to try and relax my mind. I find no matter what time I get to sleep I always struggle to wake up early on a morning therefore I always make sure I have at least three different alarms set before finally falling asleep.
In one of our first rehearsals we sat down to come up with company rules which we were all to abide by throughout our process. One of our main rules was to always support each other, and listen when ideas were suggested. It is extremely important for a company to work in tandem with each other and show support and appreciation towards one another, in order to be as productive as possible.
It is also extremely important to show support for other artists in the field. For example, as a group of women in the arts field, Sherbet Lemon Theatre understands the importance of supporting other women and celebrating successes. One way in which we showed our support and appreciation for other women in the field was by attending the Women in the Arts (WITA) Festival, Lincoln. It was a fabulous event and the Sherby Lems met lots of amazingly talented women! It was also a great opportunity to network and promote our show.
Another way in which we have been supporting other artists is by working closely with one of our fellow theatre companies Bleeding Edge Theatre Company. Having another company to reach out to for advice and support has been a very important part of our process, we are very thankful for all of their support!
Overall, I have noticed that working with other artists within the arts has really given us, at Sherbet Lemon Theatre, a sense of what it means to be a part of a company in the arts and how even a little bit of support really goes a long way. This has helped up to become the hardworking and supportive company that we are.
So I start my sleep routine by watching the television downstairs until I can feel myself getting tired. I then proceed to go upstairs to brush my teeth, after I have done this I wash my face and then go into my bedroom to get into bed. While in my bed I go on my phone and go onto the internet, I do this for a few hours normally. I also get on with reading/ working on essays if I have to do this for uni. I do this until I can feel my eyes getting heavy, so then I make sure I have an alarm set on my phone for the next day and then turn off my light to try and get some sleep. However, it normally takes me about an hour to get to sleep, but when I have gotten to sleep I normally sleep throughout the night without being woken up.
We recently had a technical theatre session with Darren Page, LPAC’s technical coordinator. This was a session dedicated to all things technical that we would have to consider for the preparation and execution of our debut show, The Truth About Bedtime…
Technical Theatre (2014)
Although this was extremely handy for myself and our tech designer, it was really helpful for everyone when considering the decisions that were being made for the future of the show. We were reminded to look beyond the one assessed show that we were preparing for, and to always consider the future and how the company can prepare for the longevity of the production beyond the assessment. This encouraged us to think about the touring aspect of every decision we make. For example, as we are including a microphone and a stand in our piece, we were urged to consider pricing up a mic and stand for ourselves, so we would not need to ask every venue if they had a mic and stand, as this would be risky and potentially deal breaking. As we are still at early stages with the both the performance and the company we cannot guarantee that we will be pursuing it further, the use of a mic could even potentially change as we devise further, so buying a mic and stand may not be the best use of our budget at the moment.
The rest of the session was mainly a recap of all the technical documentation that is needed in preparation for a professional performance. I was aware of many of them due to previous modules such as Shakespeare and Production Skills. However, this session was really helpful as it had been a short while since I had to produce a lot of this documentation. We were informed of fundamental documents such as:
Cue sheets – documents that are dedicated to lighting, sound and/or AV which are used to programme.
Prompt script – script that include all cues for the production, used for calling the show.
Props/Costume List – document that lists all props and costumes used, who is in charge of them, where and when they are on stage, where they are stored and whether they have been returned.
Risk Assessment – document that considers all potential risks that entail with the performance, and provides actions that will be undertaken to prevent the probability of the risk happening.
Many of these documents I had encountered before but we were introduced to a technical rider in this session which I had not come across before. A rider is documentation of all requirements of the production from technical equipment to dressing room needs. Barrel M. Kay stresses the importance of riders as “A touring company must send a sheet of specific requirements detailing their technical needs … to the presenter as a rider or attachment to the contract. The presenter reads the requirements and either agrees to them or reaches a compromise with the company” (M.Kay, 1991, 8). The importance of both parties knowing what is and is not being provided from both sides was also stressed by Darren who informed us of the specificity that had to go into a rider, especially in terms of technical lingo. This has inspired me to research different specific technical terminologies for what we may need to request from the tech team in LPAC so that I can create a well informed technical rider. For example, I know I will not state that we need one microphone, I will specify that we need a wireless SM58.
In brief, always consider the future and tour-ability of the show and learn the lingo for the rider. So, if we do decide to take the show further, I can guarantee that a “wireless SM58” will be at the top of our “To Buy” list.
C.M.
Works Cited:
Kay, M. (1991) The Technical Production Handbook: A Guide for Performing Arts Presenting Organizations and Touring Companies. New Mexico: Western States Arts Federation.
Morris, S. (2014) Technical Theatre. Arizona: Horizon High School Drama.
So sleep is something I’ve had a love hate relationship throughout my life. As a child I despised it, I would scream and shout when put to bed and would refuse to go unless someone stayed with me and read to me until I fell asleep. As I’ve grown older, however, probably starting somewhere around my teenage years, my bed has become my favourite place and sleep my best friend. Though I sometimes still struggle to fall asleep I’m a heavy sleeper so once I’m out, I’m out and not much will wake me. In terms of my bedtime routine when I’m at university I don’t really have one. My schedule is varied throughout the week meaning I go to bed at different times every day with varying amounts of time to get ready for sleep. So, I’m going to tell you about my bedtime routine when, on the rare occasion these days, I go home.
My family will typically end the night sat around watching the television, usually whatever programme is on BBC One, and when the ten o’clock news starts we gradually migrate upstairs. I walk into my room, turn on my main light, draw my curtains and turn on my bedside lamp. From here I’ll put my phone next to my bed and change into my pyjamas, putting my dirty clothes in my wash basket and the clean ones on my ‘everything goes here’ chair. I then take off my jewellery, starting with my rings, then watch, necklace and earrings, followed by removing my make-up. Next I venture to my bathroom, picking up my tooth brush on the way as it’s more than likely on charge. Here I wee, brush my teeth and fill up my water bottle (in that order), after which I go back to bedroom. I turn of the main light, remove all the cushions and blankets from by bed and place my glasses next to my jewellery. I now get into bed and pick up my phone to watch pointless YouTube videos and scroll through social media until my eyes can’t stay open anymore. At this point I’ll put my phone on charge, turn off my lamp and toss and turn until I eventually fall asleep.
