Something Rotten
“Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as "The Bard." When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz” (MTI summary).
Written by: Karey Kirkpatrick, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and John O'Farrell
Directed by Bob Gregory Bjorklund & Marc Robinson
Choreographed by: Shari Setchell
Music Director: Samuel Dwyer
Stage Managed by: Aurelia Graves
Elements
- Cast of 26, Crew of 5-7
- First musical: stage managing, cue calling, & lighting design
- Worked with Ben Wang
Rehearsal Process
Something Rotten was the first ever musical I worked on, and it was a welcome challenge. I stage-managed this show; it changed my life. Rehearsals for Something Rotten started on the first day of school and ran until mid-November.
Ben Wang, an actor known for Karate Kid and as Wyatt Callow in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is a Northfield High School grad. He was in town and volunteered to work with us to block a problematic scene. My main takeaway from working with him is how small reactions make a big impact on the overall feel of a scene.
Sound & Problems That Come With It
Something Rotten was a challenge for all of us. But it presented different issues for tech. We have a total of 14 sliders that can accommodate mics; with a cast of 30, you have to get creative. We gave the 8 leads mics and had 2 handhelds backstage and 4 floor mics that had an unintended problem of picking up all of the shoe squeaks and tap shoes backstage. We problem solved by writing in mute cues for the floor mics so they wouldn't pick up the footsteps.
Light Design
In addition to stage managing, Something Rotten was the first time I designed lighting for a show. I worked with a director who knew what he wanted the lights to look like. The video is of the finale of Something Rotten, called Welcome to America. My director, Bob, wanted something punchy for the end of the show because, in the context of the story, the main characters got kicked out of England and went to America and found out that Shakespeare's hit is Hamlet, not Omelet. Every single light that was LED or gel that was red or blue was used to create a red-to-white-to-blue flash on the syllables of American and return back to stage lights on the fourth syllable.
Opening Night & Problems with Other Shows
Opening night was interesting, to say the least. One of the leads was 30 minutes late to call; it was stressful for all involved, but especially for sound. The day before, we had a lot of feedback from the floor mics during his solo. On opening night, it kept screeching because we had to rush his mic check to open the doors on time. We had the same problem for the next three shows; we were determined to figure it out: it was the choreography that pulled in the mic cable, so it kept coming loose and then feedbacking.
How Do We Portray Night?
This was a fun challenge: ensure the audience sees actors' faces while keeping the stage dark. Like most projects in the Midwest, it took three trips to Menards to find all the right pieces, including lanterns that lit up the actors' faces. We used them for two scenes. The second scene pictured under the tent didn't have to be as dark; the scene was a party at twilight. I designed it to be colorful using a gobo placed over the tent.
Bro Cave
The Bro Cave was born out of necessity. The costume designer envisioned long curls and heavy makeup for the 17 female actors; one small, 8-outlet dressing room was not going to suffice, so the female actors were assigned both dressing rooms. The 5 male actors were unhappy to be displaced to the shop until they realized they could build a blanket fort, use both couches and a Nintendo console.
Four words tell the story of this page: no one could agree. The Director had a rough idea of what he wanted for light cues, so we took his idea and programmed it. The Choreographer hated it. So we programmed her ideas and ran it again. Now the Director hated it. As the light designer, I revised the cues based on both their feedback, and it worked for everyone.
