Its Opening Night!

The alarm goes off. You open your sleepy eyes and it’s the first thing that finds its way into your waking thoughts. Opening night tonight. Guaranteed, that will be your first thought. As you get out of bed, you realise that your heart rate this morning is slightly elevated. That’ll be with you all day, by the way, so get comfortable with it.

If you are in the amateur side of the industry, whatever you get up to during the day, thoughts of the show are never far away. You’ll be thinking of lines in a particular scene for Aladdin as you drive to work, humming through songs from Hansel and Gretel whilst on your breaks, or staring blankly at a computer screen whilst you go over movements for Little Red Riding Hood in your head. When it was show week for me, I used to book the week off work so thoughts of the show wouldn’t distract me at work or vice versa. Before you know it, it’s five o clock. Wow. That day went fast.

If you’re in the professional side of the industry, your day will probably start around ten in the morning. You are in for a long, hot and sweaty day, so make sure you grab that morning coffee; you’re going to need it. The morning rehearsal, although you could well be in full costume, will pretty much be all about tidying things up and adding that final slick sheen to things. This will probably go on to about one o clock when you will break for lunch. Once you’re back, this is when the final dress rehearsal will take place. Your last run through before you are in front of an audience. At the end of the final dress rehearsal You’ll have a little notes session with the creative team, then a couple of hours break, and all focus will be on the first live show.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the company, the house is now open, the house is now open.” Show time. Whether you are in the professional or amateur side of the industry, this part of the experience is pretty much the same. And even if this is your first show, or fifty first, backstage or onstage, first night nerves will always be there. Nerves are good. Being nervous means you care about the show and your performance. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your thirty-minute call, this is your thirty-minute call”. For performances that are taking place in bigger venues, you will hear a series of calls like this as the clock ticks closer to “Curtain up”. These are always called five minutes early. For example, for a seven thirty show, the thirty minute call or “The half” is called at 6:55. The fifteen-minute call is called at 7:10. The five-minute call or “The five” is called at 7:20 and “Beginners” is called at 7:25. This is to ensure that everyone who is involved with the start of the show is on stage and ready to start at 7:30.

As you get closer to seven thirty, you might well hear the audience chatting among themselves as they enter the auditorium and start to take their seats, especially if there is a tannoy, or relay system in your dressing room. This is when it starts to feel real. The excitement increases, and your heart rate that’s already been elevated all day, increases that little bit more. You start to think about your first few lines and movements in your head, again and again. Excitement among the cast has rocketed, but so has a laser like focus. Then, before you know it… “Ladies and gentlemen, can we have act one beginners to the stage please, can we have act one beginners to the stage.” This is it. No turning back now.

You make your way to the stage. Its dark and everyone is doing last minute preparations for the start of the show. One thing you’ll notice is how much louder you can hear the audience. They are just on the other side of that huge curtain or “House tabs”. If the show is a musical, another thing you will hear is the chorus of musical instruments being warmed up in the orchestra pit. All this adds to an electric pre-show buzz that permeates through the curtain to backstage. Then, suddenly, the audience falls silent. Just a few seconds now whilst you hear the front of house give their “no flash photography” speech, during which, your inner voice is screaming “Oh my goodness this is it, this is it, this is it.” The band strike up and after a few minutes of music or “Overture”, the stage lights up like the surface of the sun, and the house tabs are raised. Game on. Let’s do this.

As you progress through the show, you may find that your nerves dissipate a little, but concentration levels will stay at an all-time high. The biggest thing that you must quickly get used to is the presence of the audience. You’ll notice how being in front of an audience can really lift the energy levels of a performance. Also, if the audience are reacting well and laughing in all the right places, it can bring your excitement up to fever pitch level. Before you know it, you’ve reached the interval, and the first act will seem like it went by in a blur. Do whatever you need to do during the interval then take a minute to catch your breath, for act two is quickly approaching. “Ladies and gentlemen. This is your act two beginners call; this is you act two beginners’ call.” There it is. Here we go.

It’s the end of the last scene and the closing song has just ended with an energetic roof-raising crescendo. Now for the bows or “Walk down”. Enjoy this moment. You’ve earned it. Just as the rapturous applause that’s ringing round the auditorium starts to dissipate, the band strike up once again with the cheerful, uplifting finale music. The audience may start to clap in time with the music. As you stride on to the stage, down towards the audience, and hear that cheer as you take your bow, you can take enormous pride in the fact that you have helped create a really enjoyable experience for however many people are in your audience and whatever age they are. You can also take a minute to take a good look at who was in your audience. Admit it actors, we all like to do it. You might then all sing one last chorus of a song together before taking a bow as a company, and then finally, the house tabs being lowered.

One thing that is guaranteed in both the professional and amateur side of the industry is that when those house tabs touch the stage at the end of the show, the cast will let out a roar of cheers. It might be even more raucous if you have all spent the last two hours playing pirates in Treasure Island. That’s it. Your first performance is done and dusted. Just one thing left to do before you head home. And that is the small matter of the opening night party. The scale of these can range from a couple of drinks down the local pub, to a full blown, press-invited, lavish event at a big posh hotel. Whichever level yours is at, its always a fantastic opportunity to let your hair down with the rest of your cast and maybe even mingle with a few members of the audience, or even do some networking. Whatever you choose to do, Enjoy it.

If you have just recently had an opening night, then I would like to take this opportunity to say congratulations and I wish you well for the rest of the run.