Geva Magic in the Making

Over 800 people showed up for Geva's open house Magic in the Making on Monday night. This annual event is part of the theatre's audience engagement program, and whether because the weather cooperated or because of people's interest in seeing Little Shop of Horror's man-eating Audrey up close, the turnout was almost double that of last year.

We all got a map as we entered, and were encouraged to wander throughout the theatre – to the basement prop shop and dressing rooms, upstairs to the rehearsal room and costume shop, and onto the stage and even backstage. It was a wonderful opportunity for people to meet the behind-the-scenes employees, who were on hand to explain what people were seeing and answer questions. I overheard a man marveling at the amount of room backstage, and was thrilled to see so many kids enjoying this experience. The big draw was on-stage, where the puppeteer, Raymond, explained the various stages of Audrey (1 is a marionette, 2 is a hand puppet, 3 is a large “hand” puppet – Raymond actually operates it from inside, and 4 is similar to 3, but larger and heavier still). In response to a question about how hot it is inside the puppet, Raymond replied: “Hot! But I have a fan and water.”

I had opted for the 5pm “VIP” tour, and joined about 20 other people as our guide, Mary Tiballi Hoffman, Institutional Giving Manager, led us upstairs to introduce us to Jenni Werner (Literary Director / Resident Dramaturg) and Jean Gordon Ryon (New Plays Coordinator). They explained the roles of the literary department, and that they read 300-500 plays per year, to find new plays to develop. One woman asked if they participate in writing the pre-theatre talks, which she praised as the best part of Geva!

Along the way, we met the Director of Production, who showed us several of the miniature set mock-ups for past shows, and the Master Electrician, who dizzied us with his explanation of the lighting requirements and a peek at the catwalks over the stage. Several members of the Costume Shop explained how the costumes go from design to implementation, and how important durability is, since the actors can be quite hard on their costumes night after night.

Down in the basement, we walked through the not-green “green room” and peeked in the sparse dressing rooms (these are on the renovation list, thankfully). We met a woman in the Props Department, who gave us a preview of what she's working on for the upcoming Katherine's Colored Lieutenant in the Nextstage, and were overwhelmed by the prop storage room (very dusty!) and costume storage (which represents only a fraction of the costumes, most of which are stored off-site, as are most of the larger props, like furniture, kitchen appliances, etc.). Someone in my group asked whether Geva loans out their costumes for local productions. Because of their strict policies and standards regarding costume maintenance, no high schools are eligible to borrow them, but other theatre companies and some colleges meet the requirements. For example, during a production, every bit of clothing that touches an actor's skin must be washed daily – who knew!

By the end of our tour, it was clear to everyone how much work goes into preparing a play for the Geva stage, and how many more people there usually are backstage than onstage during a production. It was also clear that for many of the Geva employees, it truly is a labor of love, and I was grateful that they gave up an evening in order to share their passion. I would encourage anyone interested in theatre to take advantage of this event next year!