Day 5
Describe a place that’s important to you
Unbeknownst to most of the population of Miami Beach Senior High. There was a whole realm beyond the scope of their imagination. They were content with roughhousing and making jokes at the expense of performers in the auditorium. Boys in sagging pants and unnecessarily expensive shoes, obnoxiously throwing change onto the stage during “The Diary of Anne Frank”
We were not content with being part of the crowd. Sitting idly by in the audience, while a whole world passes by.
The moment you step into the lobby, you’re greeted by a wall covered with plaques. Names and faces of the most notable people to walk these halls. Doors off to the sides lead into Ticket booths, and a Concessions stand, Restrooms, and an upstairs wonder known simply as “The Booth”
From the booth, the world comes into focus. From the audience below, and the stage far ahead, all that exists for the audience can be seen. All of it controlled by 5 behemoths. Boards and boxes and lights, covered with buttons, levers, faders, inputs and outputs. Every light, and every sound is ordained and executed, orchestrated precisely to serve the needs of the people occupying the stage.
Back in the lobby, Two sets of Double doors, lead sloping down into the Auditorium. Almost 900 seats, Every seat positioned with the intention that the stage should be seen and acknowledged.
The stage looks much simpler from the audience.
A rectangular proscenium, bordered by some sort of decorative golden wood. The stage floor is built for dancers, not actors. But it’s versatile enough that either one will do just fine. Three sets of black velvety curtains on tracks, with pulley systems manned by crew members in all black. A large white cyclorama, slightly battered and mistreated. 4 sets of cyc lights, used for washing the large white curtain with colored lights.
Overhead there’s a grid of pipes, Used to hang every sort of stage lighting imaginable. Fresnel lights, Leko’s, Par-cans, and more. There are even occasional uses of hanging set pieces, possibly even covered with Spanish moss.
Backstage there’s a loading dock filled with unused set pieces, and stage dressings in storage. There are two desks on either side, belonging to the stage managers. There’s also a tall staircase leading up above the grid of pipes, far above anything the audience can hope of seeing. This leads to the catwalk.
A harrowing experience it is, ones first experience up in the catwalk. It’s hot, dusty, and very far above the solid ground. The rails don’t seem to offer much protection your first time up there, but they seem to grow more supportive with every passing venture. There’s one single row of lights. About 50 Leko’s in a row, providing a large amount of the light necessary for any show.
Across the catwalk on the other side, there’s a rickety ladder leading down into what seems to be the depths of tartarus. Once the lights are turned on at the bottom of the pit, you can finally see that it’s just a tightly packed storage area, with one tight path through to the door. This door leads to another door straight ahead. This door leads into a vestibule backstage where performers are often held before being ushered onstage. In this vestibule, there are two dressing rooms, and a door to the “Outside World” that is high school.
The men’s dressing room doubles as storage for Stage Crew’s equipment. Projectors, microphones, a lectern, monitors, and even a laser light show machine.
The women’s dressing room doubled as extra storage for costumes, and set pieces.
Most people, performers and tech alike, spent most of their time in the men’s dressing room. They would all sit and eat, chatter about life and love, play games, relax, prepare for the show, and anything under the sun.
Many a tradition has been carried out in these dressing rooms, varying from the bizarre and unspeakable, to the sentimental right of passage known as “Passing the torch”
It’s rare to find a place that you can recall from memory in such detail. A home where your fondest memories, and occasionally your deepest regrets, have been solidified.
That’s when you know a place is of deep importance.
When it has changed you.
