Edinburgh Fringe Festival Post #5

My father continually asks me, “Stevie, if anyone would have told you in ninth grade what you would be doing right now, would you have believed them?” My response is always, “...Heheh.” Today, I asked myself that question: Would I have believed them? The answer today was a resounding “NO!” which I shouted from about 250 ft. up on the top of a mountain we hiked today overlooking all of Edinburgh. From there I could see the coast, Edinburgh Castle, and the much larger mountains behind me, making me feel simultaneously small and huge. I got the chance to think, atop the mountain, about what got me here and about the people who helped me do it. Sometimes, in the course of duty in the states, when I’m climbing 20 ft. in the air to fix some widget that absolutely must work for the show to go up, I think about the same question in my head. How did I end up here? I don’t think I want to tell you about it though, because I think I’d rather you thought about it yourself. Not about my experiences, of course, but about your own. I don’t want to turn this into some sort of self-help cathartic blog like PostSecret.com or anything, but here is an opportunity for self-reflection. What got you here? Are you happy here? What can you do to get yourself where you want to be? I know that had I not attended school, this opportunity would never have presented itself and I would not have been qualified to take it. I also know that if I want to achieve more in this career, I need to pursue more opportunities. This one has opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities and new experiences, and I am left wondering what new experiences I will find with opportunities in the future.

It’s difficult to believe we’ve only two more performances left! My apologies for not posting more frequently, but frankly I’ve been too tired! I mentioned that the Fringe is no cakewalk and I was not kidding! With over 2,000 individual theatre companies, some bringing more than one show, the audiences here are not in want of more choice. This makes things very difficult when you consider that we are only a four person team with one show. The advertising is never ending! Every day we walk the streets, handing out postcards to people we think might want to come to see our show. Occasionally, I instead install huge numbers of posters in the windows of friendly shop owners. Then, when a review comes out, I revisit every site like a squirrel revisiting it’s acorn cache, and post strips of paper over all of our posters with selections from the review and the number of stars that we received from them. I’ve worked out the numbers recently, and it looks like I’ve been walking approximately 6 miles every day!

Of course, the entire process would have been much easier in the beginning had I had my tools and office supplies available to me. I did not, however, for the first three days as both of my bags were lost somewhere in Amsterdam! So, unfortunately, we opened the show without the essential supplies that I had packed to rig a projection screen in the theatre, and we did what all theatre people seem to have taken coursework in: we improvised. Our wrinkled screen was ironed in the middle of our apartment and took up more floor space than we actually had! A broom handle briefly became a stiffening rod! Finally, three days later, I was reunited with my bags (containing all of my clothes)! And now I’m very tired. Although it is 9:00 PM in Ohio, it is 2:00 AM here. Until next time, Annyounghasseyo!

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Post #4

Today, my Korean friend Jungi (pronounced, “Choon ghee”, by the way) told me, “Steve, you are a...now Korean!” I had just tasted the spiciest soup that I have ever tasted and in response I said, “...” “...” “...” “Cough!”. But what I meant was, “That means a lot.” They had found the most authentic Korean restaurant this side of France, and it only served takeout. The owner, however, being as nice as I’ve found all Koreans to be, had set up a special table for us inside of the small bathroom-sized establishment. There, he prepared a special meal for us on a hot plate in the middle of the fold-up table. We cut pork into small bite-sized pieces and seared them on the hot plate. Then, we dipped the pork into a sesame sauce and placed it into a large leaf of lettuce taken directly from one of the two heads on the table. We then put various condiments - bean sprouts, pickled radish, and bean paste - on top of the pork and folded the lettuce over all of it like a sandwich. Rinse, repeat, amazing. Why don’t Americans do this? I also learned that if you plan to “clink” your glasses together with a Korean friend, you first need to determine your friend’s age, as it is disrespectful to allow your glass to “clink” above theirs if they are older than you are. I’m learning all sorts of manners and words!


But when I left you, I was talking about hand signals and the fact that they totally worked...for the most part. I hold up my hand and put up either one, two, or three fingers. One finger means projections, two fingers means sound, and three fingers means both together. Then when I extend my arm, they push their respective buttons. Of course, I’ve never called a show this way, so it was a bit of a learning process for myself as well as my crew, and professor Jakyung Seo was instrumental in her role as translator while I explained and rehearsed the system. But we quickly realized that we needed a system in case there was a problem. What happens if they miss a cue? What happens if the actor jumps a line? And out of necessity, the emergency post-it system was born. If an operator believes there is a problem, they raise their hand. I then write on a post-it the number of the cue that I wish to be taken next and hand it to them. Then, the next time that I put my hand down, they execute that cue. Whew! And if I believe there is a problem, I just hand them a post-it with the number of the cue that I want to go next. Thank heavens both of my operators can quickly read numbers in English! The Korean language does not write the same numerals as we do. They have their own entirely unique numerical characters. They are “dok dok ke”, very smart.

The whole process would have been much easier, however, if I didn’t have to cope with having to locate my lost baggage containing all of my tools and supplies while simultaneously trying run and prepare for the tech and dress rehearsals! But that is a story for another time. Until next time, goodbye! Annyounghasseyo!

Very exciting!

Mark your calendar for November 6, 2010 and celebrate the opening of the Roe Green Center for the School of Theatre and Dance!

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Post #3

These things have something in common: Korean food is extremely spicy, luggage insurance is a good idea, and the Fringe Festival is no cakewalk. Give up? I’ve learned all of these things in...drumroll please...Hello from Scotland! I arrived on the 1st of August actually, but I’ve been so busy that this is the first time that I’ve been able to sit down and write. Even now it is 1AM Scotland time! So, my plan is to split up my experiences from my first few days into a multi-part blog that I will end with a cliffhanger, because I can.

Indeed we have all been very busy, all 7 of us. I joined an already-existing team of South Korean theatre students and teachers, along with Kent State’s own lighting design professor, Jakyung Seo and we have all been living in a flat in Edinburgh about a mile from the theatre that we rehearse and perform in. The day after I arrived - without my bags containing all of my tools and supplies, I might add - we went to the venue, called C Soco, to complete our tech rehearsal. A tech rehearsal, traditionally, is a rehearsal during which we add things like lights, sound, and projections to an already rehearsed show. Usually, theaters will take at least three days to complete this process. We were given four hours...yeah.

Some of the many responsibilities of a stage manager include organizing and conducting these rehearsals as efficiently as possible, and “calling” the show. Calling refers to the responsibility of the stage manager to instruct the various operators of the show - lights, sound, projections, scenery, lasers, pyrotechnics, pneumatic squirrel cannons, etc. - on what to do and when to do it during the show, usually via a headset system. I do not have the benefit of a headset system as our technical booth is open to the audience, and they would hear me talking. Not that it matters, because I do not speak Korean! Instead, I developed a hand signal system. Which totally worked...for the most part...

Also, I told you that I would set up a special email address that you can use to send me feedback, suggestions, or just to comment on a post. You can reach me at steveatthefringe@gmail.com. Until next time, so long from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

A Message from Dance Division Director Andrea Shearer

Hello students!

With the beginning of August, we are only weeks away from the start of the 2010-11 school year. The date brings on a sense of urgency for faculty and staff as we scramble to prepare for your arrival on campus.

The Dance Division’s move to the new office and studio spaces in Music and Speech is complete, more or less. We are deeply grateful to Ms. Roe Green whose financial support made this move possible and whose love of Theatre and Dance continues to sustain and inspire us.

The studio space is huge, the sprung floors are more resilient than those we have had in the past and the whole place has a feeling of power and energy. Details such as sound systems, projection screens and projectors, a piano and bulletin boards still aren’t quite there yet, but for the most part, we are ready for YOU! DO remember to come to Music and Speech for your classes!

Just one reminder about the Dance Majors/Minors Meeting on Wednesday, September 1 at 6:15 PM in MSP 303. PLEASE NOTE: That is MSP 303, and not the Faculty lounge in the Annex! As usual, there will be pizza and beverages prior to the meeting.

Also, please pencil in Sept. 2 when Dance Majors and Minors are requested to meet in the Black Box Theatre at 6:30 PM. More info on that at our Sept. 1 meeting.

And, while you are at it, reserve Friday, Sept. 3 from 4:15-6:15 for Dance 2010: TranscenDANCE auditions. (Let your parents know you won’t be home for the long Labor Day weekend until a little later!)

This is a unique and special time for Theatre and Dance at KSU; I am so looking forward to sharing this momentous year with all of you.

See you real soon!

—Andrea Shearer (Associate Professor/Dance Division Director)

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Post #2

Hello from Amsterdam! After a six hour flight from New York, I have arrived in Amsterdam and am waiting to board my final flight to Scotland. I am already having an excellent time! Let me tell you, KLM international flights are top notch...apparently. And of course, they are even better when you sit in an exit row. I could have swung a cat over my head in my seat and not hit anyone, had I remembered to bring my cat. And the airport! Oh, man the airport! Coolest airport I’ve ever seen! I’ll upload some pictures if I can figure it out. It’s like a Mall Of America in here! I’ve just returned from eating my honest-to-goodness Dutch Haagen-Daas, while viewing paintings from famous Dutch Masters in the airport art gallery. There’s a library here, where you can choose to read either via iPad or a real paper and glue book in plush 1970s style spherical lounge chairs hanging from the ceiling. Or perhaps you’d like to lounge around or sleep in front of a fire in a nice leather gentleman’s armchair, of which there are several. Or you can get an aqua-massage, where you lay inside of a plastic tarp and they pelt your back with high pressure water. Or...I was thinking on the plane about how bored I would be during my four hour layover, but now we’re forty minutes from scheduled boarding, and I have yet to begin the work I should be doing!

I’m amazed how much English there is here as well. In fact, my friend from the plane informed me that Holland requires that all official signs be in English. How spoiled we are! Almost everyone here speaks English and the few that do not are standing next to someone that does.

But alas, I have work to do. I need to make sure that the script that I will use to instruct the crew every night on what to do and when during the show - called a production book - is up to snuff. After it’s completed and I’ve spoken with the designers and the director, I’ll take a picture of that too. So long from Amsterdam, next stop Scotland!

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Post #1

(Moderator's Note: Steve Meshenberg is a KSU Theatre student who is working with Professor Jakyung Seo and the FACE Theatre Company at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Steve's agreed to write some blog posts about his experiences there-- we all can't wait to hear how it goes. Congratulations to Steve!)

Hello from the Cleveland Airport! I am sitting in the terminal, waiting to board the first of three planes scheduled to take me from Cleveland, Ohio to New York, then to Amsterdam, then finally to Edinburgh, Scotland some twenty three hours later. When I arrive in Scotland, I will take a black cab to an apartment in the center of the city, where I will live for one month. After finally arriving at my apartment, I will sit down with three theatrical designers and a director/actor and will systematically work through each page of the hour-long play which I will stage manage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for one month!

The catch(es): my crew of two, who will be doing the work of three, do not speak English as their first language. They, like the rest of the entire theatrical company - which will be one of over two thousand performing at the festival this month - are from South Korea. We will have one day to prepare, one day to rehearse, and we will open the next night! I have never seen the show and I do not speak Korean.

What I do have are experience and training, and I owe these to my experiences and professors in the Theatre Department at Kent State University. My name is Steve Meshenberg, I am an undergraduate senior theatre major at Kent State University, I am the Stage Manager for FACE, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival during the month of August, I will be blogging about my experiences in working as a technician with an international crew in a foreign country, and I am so ready!

You can check back here for updates on my experiences. I’m not sure how often I will have internet access while I am away, but I will update as frequently as I can! Soon, I will post a special email address, where you can talk back, give suggestions and feedback, or ask questions about my experiences. I’m excited to undertake this experience, and I’m excited to share it with you. As our professor Terri Kent famously says, “Theatre is a communal art form, and our work is not complete until we share it with an audience.”