Performance Evaluation - Flying and Falling

This term I could not perform on stage with my dance company due to a serious ligament injury in my right ankle. However, I wanted to be a part of this performance project somehow and I took up a production role during the rehearsal process. It was a very interesting role as I have never worked on the production side of a performance. I learnt a lot about lighting and stage direction, which has improved my choreographic skills and I would most certainly like to learn more.

During the show, I was given the opportunity to be a backstage manager. I thought this role was very interesting as I am often given this role in the dance company I work for outside college. However, there it's a full team of people who work collectively in making the show run smoothly and here, in college, the only people I could fall back on were the teachers.

My main aim was to make sure the dancers are ready in the right costume for their performance, as many dancers were performing in more than one piece. I had to make sure the dancers were on time for their performance and were prepared backstage. We had a 30-minute call,  which was a call for all the dancers that they have got 30 minutes before the show and also this was important as their choreographers wanted to wish them well and give them a little token of appreciation for all the hard work they have put into this show. We also had a 5-minute call so the dancers are completely ready in their first costume to go on stage.

My preparation for this role included planning as I had to get dancers backstage ready for their performance. In order to do so, I required a copy of the show order and I also had to be aware of which group of dancers is located in which room. This tested my time-keeping skills as well, as I to make sure the dancers were completely ready for their performance in the wings.

Strengths/Challenges:

On Day 1, the show ran quite smoothly however there were a few things that weren't supposed to happen and yet they happened. For example, two HND dancers were not with the rest of the group and so they were not on stage in time for their performance and the show could not go further without all dancers being in position, therefore, I had to go around the entire college looking for them. Another major challenge that I faced was that in the studios, which had been allocated to the groups, loud music was being played and I had to shout in order to be heard. Also, for the dancers I was still their friend and so they did not take me seriously, which was challenging to deal with.

Personally, I thought that the show ran smoothly on Day 2, simply because the dancers were also aware of the backstage process and were easy to approach. Also, all the dancers were in correct costume. On Day 2, the choreographers were quite happy with the whole show and the way backstage was handled as they did not have to worry much about it.

Overall, it was a good experience to work as a backstage manager on my own. However, I thought it was more tiring than actually performing on stage as I was running about in college looking for dancers, their costumes and making sure that they have not forgotten anything in the studios which was going to be used in their performance. I enjoyed this role and would like to take this role up again if I have someone to share the responsibilities with.