Week 5 - Thursday

Day two of our technical rehearsal, or 'tech', and perhaps now would be a good moment to explain briefly what a tech is. Basically, it's the first time every element of the production comes together. Costumes, lights, sound, scenery and props are from now on exactly as they will be in performance. We start from the very beginning and work gradually through the whole play, going over every scene- and costume-change, lighting and sound cue, entrance and exit, until each one is happening smoothly and at the right time.

It's a slow, laborious process and usually takes several days just to get through the play once. West End musicals and other big technical shows can have techs lasting a week or more. There's a lot of waiting around while lighting cues are re-plotted, or more efficient scene-changes figured out, and all the while the costumes are being observed under the lights, and changes made where necessary. For us actors, it's also an opportunity to get very familiar with the layout of the theatre, and plot our various journeys through the play: where to go for each change, what entrance to use etc. We can also use the time to get accustomed to the performance space: what the acoustic is like, or what the sight-lines for each part of the audience are like and so on.

So there you have it. When you next hear an actor talk about 'going into tech', hopefully you'll have a bit more of an idea what that means.