Amy Recinos

Reflection on "Cancel Christmas" fall production

When I was selected for this stage crew class I was very excited but scared at the same time. I didn't really didn't know what to expect. People were telling me that it was going to be hard, some people said that I wasn't going to like it, others said I was going to love it, so I really didn't know what to expect. I was just very excited that I was going to get a chance to do something important at school. Then I remember showing up that first day of the year 5th and I thought to myself everyone is so different from me I don't think I am going to get along with anybody, and when I heard the rules and everything that we had to do and all the time we had to spend in the auditorium I was really scared and not as excited anymore. Little did I know though that I was going to make some really good friends and that I was going to spend some of the best times in this auditorium and I was going to end up doing something that I really love to do, I always use to quit at everything and I am really glad that I didn't quit and that I stuck through this and that I had and that I am pretty sure I will have all this fun. I am thankful that I joined and all I didn't have any of these wonderful expectations when I first joined.

When they first told me that we were going to be building the set I honestly didn't think that it would end up as good as it did. I really didn't expect it. I didn't think it was going to be realistic, and because it was going to be built by students I really thought that you were going to be able to tell and that it wasn't going to look professional. I don't know if it was because of the actual play or because I really like the set, but to this set that we built look better hat about two of the plays that were done. It looked real and it looked professional. When I told my mom hat students, maybe not necessarily me but other students, were going to build the set, she didn't believe that we could it and she said that it probably wasn't going to turn out as good as done by professional. Surprisingly when she came to the show she couldn't believe that we did everything from the set, to costumes, to makeup and everything else. Although I knew that everyone was talented I really didn't expect such a huge set and such a great, amazing show.

One specific technical process that I experienced was makeup. I was so excited when they told me that I was going to be in the makeup department. I couldn't wait to learn about everything that had to do with makeup. To tell you the truth I was actually scared and a little nervous for my journey ahead dealing with makeup. I never wore much makeup so I was definitely clueless when it came to it. I honestly didn't even know the difference between blush and eye shadow. I didn't own but compact, lip-gloss, and mascara and that's it! I remember always going into MAC and makeup stores and thinking what the hell do you do with all this makeup and different brushes, and the letters and numbers and different names of color and everything, it just really confused me, but at the same time something inside me really wanted to learn more about it. When I started learning and Elly was teaching me I honestly didn't want to do it because of the conflict that we had. I wasn't excited anymore, but something told me not to quit, I wanted to learn that much, and thankfully we put or differences aside and got over and know you can say that were even good friends. I also can't forget the wonderful Carla Copley! She has taught me so much that I honestly never knew I could learn. Her teaching techniques and her wonderful personality makes me want to go the extra mile and learn even more. Its really amazing to me that she takes time out of her schedule just to teach the things we need to know. I really admire her and her life and her wonderful talent with makeup. Now because of her I know the difference between an angle brush and a lip brush and I know that my foundation color is NC42 which means that I have more olive in my skin as opposed to someone with more light skin. I know to use underworld lipstick is a red kind of lipstick and I also know the different color eye shadows and now when someone ask me about makeup or about doing makeup am so confident!

I think that on a scale one through ten "Cancel Christmas" probably managed an eight. Everything done was really good but not perfect. When we performed I think Friday our cues were really of and everyone seem to be messing up. But Thursday and Saturday really made that up. Everyone seemed to be working as a group from the actual crew to the actors and out seventh and eight grade stage hands. We all seemed to be connected in one way or another there seemed to be a great amount of communication. When someone needed makeup or lipstick I remember at least one of us being there, and when they needed an extra set of stage hand I remember the seventh and eight graders also being there. I am not going to lie it wasn't that easy being backstage sometimes there was chaos and people screaming but through all that we still managed to get through it and that made this all worth while.

I really have learned a lot in both the fields that I concentrated on which is makeup and also about the theatre industry. Makeup really opened my eyes and I feel that that is definitely something that I can definitely do and enjoy in the future, I don't want it to be my career choice I want to go to college and do all that school thing but I also want to have that on the side and be able to enjoy that as well as my career in school. Honestly it really did open my eyes and made me realize that I might not be the most athletic person in the world or at school but I am able to use makeup in right ways and I do know differences between brushes and color that a lot of my friends that haven't been in stage crew probably don't know how to do. I really did learn a lot thanks to Carla and Elly. I also learned a lot about the theatre industry. Even though I didn't really focus on things like lighting or construction or even marketing, I still feel like I picked up a few things here and there from all of that. I learned the things that it takes it be in real school production and that its not as easy as people think. I mean people probably think oh they rehearse they throw on a costume, makeup, and that's it, but they don't probably don't realize all the hard work that goes into it. Like all the different lighting and the cues and the really long rehearsals and the chaos and the stress that really goes into this. People just see the outside and am not saying everyone but probably people don't really appreciate as much as they should because they don't know of all this hard work. Now personally I know that whenever I go to a play or even a movie or anything like that I know to appreciate it more because I have some maybe not a whole lot but some idea if what its like.

I would like to improve my skills at makeup and especially since we are doing a lot of hair and I have never done hair I would definitely like to improve on that. I would also like to be more involved in maybe costuming. I don't know how to sew or anything like that so that is definitely something that I would like to try. I also wouldn't mind learning more in different fields of this ply. Although makeup and hair is something that I love to do I wouldn't mind learning more about different thing is this production. I am very excited about this coming up production and I actually can not wait to get back in that adrenaline and all that stress and hard work that we had during Cancel Christmas, which in the end to see all you work on stage is definitely worth it. I am open and can't wait to learn more than I already know and probably even teach people the things that have been taught to me. I can't wait to improve and learn.

I think teamwork is one of the most important things in a play production process. Without teamwork I think that a play would either not work or it wouldn't turn out any good. I don't think that everyone needs to get along or that everybody needs to act like they like each other but I we do have to put or differences aside and just do the work that we need to do. We are all connected in one way or another like I said before. Actors are connected to stage crew and crew is connected within itself, makeup and costumes, lighting and construction, and marketing and everyone else. We are all know as a stage crew and play production class, when people talk about it is always as a group all together. That's I think it is also important to act as a group, we essentially are a group, I think we even are a family. If one of us fails I think that we all fail. If something happens with light the show doesn't seem to work and if the costumes don't match the makeup or vice versa then it doesn't look good, and if the set doesn't look then all of us as a group don't look good, and if we don't advertise enough then nobody will come to our play. So I think that being a team is very important and if people don't like each other, like when I didn't like Elly, you just have to swallow your pride get over it and what your suppose to do, you don't have to like that person but just be able to work with them. We need to be a team and we all need to be connected and be the family and the stage crew and play production group that we are know for.

I think that we advertise really well. In my opinion our most effective advertisement are the posters. Those posters are everywhere and they attract so many people. They make people want to know what that all about the show. I think people get sick of seeing them but in a good way. Since they see the posters everywhere they think I have to go see this show that everyone is talking about and the I see everywhere, I think people look forward to seeing the next poster of the next play and am sure they hope its always better than the last. I think postcards are also very fun and effective. Those are also easier to mail and to get to everyone. I am sure that since everyone around here would get a postcard in the mail people are sure to go. T-shirts are also for me also the most effective. I love the t-shirts they are my personal favorites. Everyone wants one and want to know hoe to get one and they want to know when they see them what they mean and what they are for and just everything I think it is a very good way to advertise and the t-shirts are so cool that even after the show people still where them. The show programs are also very effective it give the audience a chance to get to know the actors and the people in crew a little bit better. It helps them know who does what and that not just actor are a big part of the show but everyone backstage is also. The only thing that I think is probably the least effective is out website. People I think don't take the time to check it out and see what it's all about. I personally didn't even know there was a website till I joined crew and they told me and to be perfectly honest I've only visited it about once or twice and that's it. One way that I think it could be more effective is through myspace. We should definitely create an account because that's what is in right now and what everyone has and I think it would be very effective everyone would have to look at it and people would really respond to it.

I think that all the leading people have lead us to success and each of them are all very special to this team. But if I had to pick one person I would probably say Reggie. I remember when me and her use to do ushering together before we both got into stage crew. I always thought to myself man this girl is so bossy and annoying she want everything done right and everything done her way. Then when I found out that she was one of the managers I really knew that they had picked the right person. She has something about her that just makes everyone do what she tells you to do. And people always look for her when something has gone wrong or when they need something, and she always seems to have the right answer to everything or at least a close one. She is more that just a person that tell you what to do but a also a friend and a person that you can trust and count on and that just gets along with everyone. She seemed one of the most worried and stressed person in Cancel Christmas. She wanted everything to go right to go her way. She knew all the cues and was down there on headset talking to Copley while telling someone else to do something. She seemed to be doing like twenty things at once. I truly believe that she was one of the leading people defiantly leading us to success.

The student that surprised me artistically the most was Elly. She was so dedicated in everything that she did. She was not only makeup manager but also one of the leads in the play. She not only taught us and was patient with teaching us, she also made things fun and made me at least really like my class. She always seemed so stressed because she wanted to do her best in the play and also her best in makeup. Although she seemed stressed with things wanting to go perfect, she always made things look easy. She never let things get to her and she had a smile on her face even when she was really sick and she didn't think she could do it. She always wanted to impress everyone and be on top of things and in my opinion she always was. She has discipline and to me she is very professional and I think that she will go very far in life and she will go very far in life. She had a lot of responsibility and she knew how to handle it.