Author Archives: Alyssa Dvorak

This post best pairs with “When You’re A Wimp” from A Christmas Story the Musical (2012). I have always been jealous of pit conductors. Their ability to lead a group of musicians to make beautiful sounds is a skill I so badly wish I possessed. I thought I would never get to experience the thrillContinue reading “Tale #13: You Need To Make A Hand Signal”

This post best pairs with “Giants In The Sky” from Into The Woods (1987). DISCLAIMER: Please do not use anything in this vignette as actual technical theater instruction. I am a choreographer/director first and foremost, and should never be in charge of teaching technical theater. There are so many different areas one could be involvedContinue reading “Tale #12: Falling Far and Falling Fast”

This post best pairs with “What I Know Now” from Beetlejuice (2019). It is always fun to work on a show with pyrotechnics. Pyrotechnics is basically anything that involves a spark or a flame on stage. For our production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2018, Clopin Trouillefou (the King of the Gypsies) usesContinue reading “Tale #11: Let’s Use The Green One”

This post best pairs with “Friendship” from Anything Goes (1987). I took a few weeks off from sharing stories in order to get settled into my new job in North Hollywood, focus on my course at UCLA Extension, and oh yeah, finally get married to the amazing Jeremy! After two years of being engaged, weContinue reading “Tale #10: My Fake Fiancé”

This post best pairs with “Accident Waiting To Happen” from The Drowsy Chaperone (2006). There is a very important rule in technical theatre that everybody likes to break. That rule is: do not duck under the pipes. In a theater with a fly space, there are pipes that run horizontally above the stage. These pipesContinue reading “Tale #9: I Found A Chunk Of Tooth”

This post best pairs with “Big Girls Don’t Cry” from Jersey Boys (2005). Sometimes in life you have moments when you feel really, really dumb. I have many.  I wore multiple hats during my time at VACT, but one hat that I was strangely very fond of was program designer. I did the graphic designContinue reading “Tale #8: They can’t all be like this!”

This post best pairs with “The Kite” from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1971). By 2020, our lighting guy Steve had finally gotten the tech assist of his dreams: a drivable scissor lift. The days of having to climb on a ladder stacked on a scaffolding piece or pushing the high school’s outdated genie,Continue reading “Tale #7: This Isn’t Going To Work”

This post best pairs with “Don’t Break The Rules” from Catch Me If You Can (2011). When a community theater has been in operation for almost thirty years, you find that it acquires a lot of stuff. From set pieces, to vintage furniture, to costumes, to props, to extra show t-shirts; it just can createContinue reading “Tale #6: It Was The Slide”

This post best pairs with “Strike That, Reverse It” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2017). Continuing on the subject of parades, let’s jump ahead to a more recent example. In the summer of 2018, VACT was set to take a trip through Mr. Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory with our production of Roald Dahl’s WillyContinue reading “Tale #5: Up A Chocolate River Without A Paddle”

This post best pairs with “If I Only Had A Heart” from The Wizard of Oz (2011). The Verona Hometown Days parade will always hold a special place in my heart. It is a whimsical celebration that perfectly exemplifies a true midwestern small town. The Hometown Days parade is part of the yearly Hometown DaysContinue reading “Tale #4: A Parade of Imposters”