Still feeling the fallout of the recent Newton Teachers Association (NTA) strike, Chicago, Nitrous Oxide, and Lost and Found are facing rescheduled show dates and altered rehearsal schedules.
According to Theatre Ink Director Adam Brown, the shows are all experiencing differing accommodation plans. For example, Lost and Found, which only ran one day out of the expected Jan. 18-20 show dates, had one additional performance Friday, Feb. 10.
“We had an opening night on the 18th,” said Brown. “We were hoping to reschedule two shows, but many of the students had conflicts and that sort of thing so we decided to combine everything into one night.”
To satisfy student needs and prepare them for their newly scheduled shows, directors and advisers of Lost and Found quickly set new rehearsal dates.
“We had two rehearsals, one for singers, one just as a brush-up before the show, but I think most of the rehearsing was done before the strike,” said senior Surya Gopal, a Lost and Found director.
Likewise, Nitrous Oxide’s show dates have also been postponed, shifting from their original run date of Feb. 8-10 to Feb. 14, 16, and 17.
“We moved it to next week, but even that’s kind of funky because it has to be Wednesday, Friday, Saturday because on Thursday there’s a music thing going on,” said Brown.
The Spring musical, Chicago, is also facing scheduling problems. According to Brown, the performance has been shifted back by one week from its original run date of March 14-17.
“Now the show is March 21 to 24, which, thank God, because we were probably a little bit screwed if it was not that,” said junior Nell Ranalli, a Chicago cast member.
As show dates are moved, accompanying rehearsal schedules are forced to accommodate the changes: an ongoing process for large productions like Chicago.
“Our directors said that they’re not going to make up rehearsals by fitting them all in somewhere, but basically what they’re doing is rescheduling the whole thing,” said Ranalli.
Furthermore, as the strike led to a necessity for school during February break, a time when many families will be away, productions are uncertain whether they will be able to schedule new rehearsal dates over this period.
“It’s really going to depend on people’s availability,” said Brown. He added that the rescheduled dates were selected while accounting for cast members’ needs. “I meet with our theater staff, our directors, the advisers, and we all have a conversation about it and see what works best for everybody,” said Brown. “It’s by consensus, but it’s also based on what the calendar looks like because sometimes that dictates where things happen.”
Following a theme of uncertainty among directors and advisers, cast members are additionally left in the dark about their new rehearsal dates.
“It’s hard because obviously not everyone’s going to be here for what should’ve been February break, so rehearsals then are going to be weird,” said Ranalli. “They’ve talked about utilizing Saturdays.”
Directors, advisers, and cast members alike have adjusted to their new circumstances, turning their focus toward continuing their shows with the utmost effort.
“I know it was a tough two weeks for everybody, and rescheduling is really hard, but everybody is really working with it,” added Brown. “All the shows are going to be great.”
