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| “La Bataille” scene in The Nutcracker- photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood |
This is my third year in a row working as a stagehand/electric through IATSE Local 205 for Ballet Austin's The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. Before that first year, I had never seen the Nutcracker before. Over the years I became familiar with the basic plot and I had certainly heard 5 or 6 songs throughout my childhood Christmases, most notably “The March”. In the 3 years working on this ballet, I have come to appreciate Tchaikovsky's music immensely but what is most thrilling to me about working on this show is the excitement backstage, especially during Act 1, after the party scene where we’re introduced to Drosselmeyer and the Nutcracker. It’s quite inspiring actually to see everyone involved coming together and making theater magic.
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| Clara meets the rats-photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood |
It is approximately 10 minutes between when the guests leave the party in Act 1(Le Départ des\ Invités-La Nuit) and the beginning of the forest scene(Une Forêt de Sapins en Hiver). During that time, most of the dancers are there, either onstage or waiting in the wings. This is when most of the action happens in the show with the most cues. There’s a crew of about 20 people consisting of props, carpenters, wardrobe and electrics(that’s me) in the offstage areas, plus there’s the stage manager, various assistants, dance instructors, choreographers and others. It’s quite crowded on stage left and stage right, where I happen to be, upstage right by boom 4 to be exact. It’s the young performers portraying mice and rats and angels and soldiers, not to mention Clara and The Nutcracker that make up this magical scene. The scene where the Christmas tree grows and props get pulled off stage and different backdrops fly out. This is “La Bataille”, a battle between the rats and toy soldiers culminating in the defeat of the rat king. This battle scene has some of my favorite choreography of the whole show. The toy soldiers are doing drill type movements while the rats flail and jump around. Both groups then move in and out each other and then do the same movements. It is a little hypnotic and very alluring. The rats are about to get the best of the soldiers but then the rat king is killed by Clara. From there we transition to the forest scene complete with fake snow falling through the small holes in the snow cradle, and that transition is one of the most stunning scenes in this ballet classic.
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My Vantage point throughout the ten minutes. Clara dancing with the mice
before the rats take the stage |
All through these ten minutes I am watching people. I’m watching the crew as they go about completing their cues. I’m watching the faces of the dancers before they are about to go on stage, especially the angels, who are absolutely adorable and portrayed by young girls who can’t be more than 5 or 6 years old, being instructed by the rehearsal director. I love seeing how concentrated some of the faces look. It reminds me of my burlesque performance days. There was one particular venue where the dressing/green room was right next to the stage so performers who were next to perform would stand at the threshold to the stage. I would enjoy just watching the faces of performers so focused, maybe nervous or excited too, as they were about to do something incredible on stage. After the rat king is killed, he and the rest of the rats exit stage right and I execute my last cue. The transition to the pine forest begins, with a lighting cue change and 3 sets of legs/backdrops slowly going out perfectly choreographed. I can only see this in the stage manager’s monitor and it looks beautiful there. One day I hope to see it from the audience. This is the scene of the snow forest where Une Forêt de Sapins en Hiver begins. This may be my favorite moment. The melody at the beginning of this song is so filled with hope and possibility, especially after the hard fought battle. Every time I hear it I’m uplifted. I feel like if everyone heard that music they would all relax, there would be a willingness and openness in all their hearts. That’s the power of music and theater.
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| Toy soldiers about to take the stage |
The music and the dancing do bring me elation but it’s really about being part of the crew helping to bring this great work to the stage in front of very appreciative audiences(every show is sold out). In addition to the previously mentioned crew there are also the flyman bringing the backdrops in and out, board operators, spot operators, The Austin Symphony Orchestra with Jeffrey Eckstein conducting and the entire house crew of The Long Center and of course choreographer Stephen Mills. Tomorrow is the last show of The Nutcracker. It went by real quick this year. I will miss all the pre-show set-ups, seeing the dancers doing last minute warm-ups and all the Christmas snacks people bring in. And I will miss the deep voice of the stage manager when he shouts, “Five! Five minutes to places!”
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