Tale #30: Slightly Off-Center

People that know me well know that I love things to be organized, look professional, and have consistency (and yes, I’m aware that I can be downright obnoxious about it). I’m sure people would complain behind my back over my need for typed door signs, having each email contain the exact same language, and making sure cast lists are formatted the same way each time. I have an innate desire for order.

So, for example, when something isn’t perfectly aligned, it can cause me physical anxiety.

In 2018, I directed a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was my first time directing an all-adult production on my own. I had only co-directed with Mama Terry on a production of Billy Elliot in 2016. I was so proud of the cast and the crew for working so hard to create such a beautiful piece of theater. Producer Dale, Lighting Guy Steve, and Set Guy Alex did incredible work and I am forever grateful for their dedication to the project.

There was really only one thing that still bothers me to this day: the damn bells.

A high school in Appleton, WI had done a production of Hunchback in 2017 and had the most beautiful bell set pieces. They reached out to us early in our design stages to see if we would be interested in renting the bells.

We decided to go for it since they were beautiful and frankly, we weren’t sure how we were going to create bells ourselves.

Now, my schedule during this show was really busy. I was working on multiple projects and teaching a lot of private dance lessons. Dale was my forever hero for handling the bells delivery and dealing with their return to Appleton.

Fast forward to load in week. We had a massive set, endless costumes, and the bells. Lighting Guy Steve had a beautiful light design ready to set up. However, with how the lights needed to be set up on the pipes, that meant something very bothersome to me:

The bells would have to be hung slightly off-center.

Steve knew I wasn’t going to like that before he even told me. I definitely pushed back a little. However, when you have a team of people working their asses off to bring your vision to life with very little time and very little manpower, there is a firm limit to how much you get to be pushy. I had already come close to my limit by repeatedly asking Dale for real fire on the stage for the torches. That was a hard no there.

The bells were hung slightly off-center. Steve hung his lights exactly where he wanted to. I was going to have to live with it. I was doing ok with it too, that is until the cast came in for their first dress rehearsal.

I cannot tell you how many cast members, and even some pit members, came up to me to inform me that the bells weren’t centered.

It drove me nuts.

Did they really assume we didn’t know the bells weren’t centered? Did they just want to poke me? Were they trying to be the smartest person in the room? Or were they just making an observation out loud?

For whatever reason they did it, they would always start with “Hey Alyssa. Did you realize the bells aren’t centered?”

My patience with answering that question, you know among dealing with all of the other normal things a director deals with the week of opening night, got thinner and thinner each time someone dare mention the bells.

The show went amazingly well. Our design team did a brilliant job in bringing the world of Quasimodo to life. I was so proud of the cast, pit, crew, and production team.

But Steve, it still irks me that the bells weren’t centered. I’m sorry but I can’t help it. I’m sure a therapist could charge me an awful lot of money to determine why, but it is what it is.