Tech week, the first time everyone is in costumes, when microphones and the pit and all different crews come together, is definitely the most stressful part about being in theater. Most people in theater call it “Hell week,” and it definitely lives up to its name. Tech week is a long week, filled with five hours of rehearsal every day, not including the day before opening night. This week also includes a nine-hour rehearsal called “Tech Saturday” where you work with last minute blocking and choreography. This is the first rehearsal with microphones and lighting.
Balance is the key to surviving this challenging and exhausting week, according to Ms. Sadoff, orchestra teacher and musical director of this year’s musical, Seussical.
“You have to find your middle between being stressed and being calm while you’re in a full dress rehearsal,” she said.
Still, there is some excitement in the chaos, according to Julia Guarsico, a sophomore, who is a part of the costume crew and worked on Seussical as an assistant stage manager.
“Personally I love tech week,” Guarsico said. “I think it’s fun! It’s the first week everyone gets their costumes and when things go wrong we are there to help fix them.”
Elizabeth Monaco, a junior who serves as Props Master for Nanuet theater experiences the same chaos as others during “Hell Week.”
“Being a part of the prop crew is very chaotic to say the least,” she said. “A lot of the props tend to be small and fragile, especially for Seussical,” Props tend to go missing when people take them when it’s not their prop.”
The stress of it all certainly does not exclude the actors. Sam Mazariego, a junior, who played a lead, Gertrude McFuzz, in Seussical, elaborated on the stress from the actors’ point of view.
“In general, tech week is a very stressful but rewarding week,” Mazariego said. “The most important thing about tech week is not keeping your emotions in, doing what you have to do in the moment, and remembering this is the last time you’ll be with these people.”
Should you ever find yourself in the cast or crew of a musical, here are a few tips from the cast, crew and staff of Seussical :
“One tip for being less stressed during tech week is snacks and duct tape,” Ms. Quartironi said. “I keep my utility belt which has everything I need, duct tape, Band-Aids, and a flashlight.”
“The things that help me are meal prep,” added Ms. Sadoff, “drinking lots of water and making sure I have enough sleep at night.”
“One tip I have is [to] manage your time effectively,” Monaco said. “But don’t stress yourself out too much by consuming yourself with schoolwork.”
“To survive hell week,” said Peter Tynan, “you will need caffeine, lots of caffeine.”
“Have a positive outlook and be prepared,” said Guarasio. “And be ready for the show and know it will all have a positive outcome in the end.”
“On the day of tech week I will pack my tote bag with costume, makeup, snack, water, essentials for show night,” added Mazariago. “I always bring tissues, phone charger, air pods. I’ll prepare it on Saturday and it now has anything and everything I need for the week.”