Arsenic and Old Lace

“Drama critic Mortimer Brewster’s engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts’ window seat. Mortimer rushes to tell Abby and Martha before they stumble upon the body themselves, only to learn that the two old women aren’t just aware of the dead man in their parlor; they killed him! Between his aunts’ penchant for poisoning wine, a brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and another brother using plastic surgery to hide from the police – not to mention Mortimer’s own hesitancy about marriage – it’ll be a miracle if Mortimer makes it to his wedding. Arsenic and Old Lace is a classic dark comedy about the only thing more deadly than poison: family” (Concord Theater Website).

Written by: Joseph Kesselring

Directed by: Shari Setchell

Stage Manager: Wren Becker

Sound Designer: Aurelia Graves

Elements

- Cast of 13, Crew of 5

- Remote-controlled candle

- First show doing tech - sound design

- Reprojection through a window seat

- Food and Drink consumed onstage

Tech Week

The picture on the right shows a window seat that needed to be opened throughout the show; it took about 3 hours to build and make sure it wouldn't tip over. I learned that "good enough" also applies to things being square or level. The director also wanted it to look like it was outside, so I learned about rear projection and how to operate it.

In the left photo, we wanted to create a sharp outline of light that felt ominous. It took three lights (one source four and two stand lights on the floor) and two ladder setups; we did something similar with the window (two source fours) angled around other pieces of the set.

Arsenic and Old Lace was the first show I worked backstage, and I fell in love. Coming in with no skills, I learned fast. I fell in love with the process. I learned sound basics a week before opening night. We were a crew of 6; we had grit and determination to get it done. In the show, there were so many light cues that our cue caller couldn't call sound, so I learned how to cue call by myself.