Today at APT—38 Days to Open

This week everything is picking up and you notice a different tempo around APT. The parking lot is filling up, the building is louder, and you start seeing people you don't know. It's really exciting. It's been a few days since the last blog entry. Much of the staff took a little time off at the end of last week or the beginning of this week -- the last chance. The stage management staff started Monday. It is largely the same crew as last year, under the magnificent leadership of our Production Stage Manager Evelyn Matten. But there were a few new faces...and a couple returning after a few years away. They're getting their bearings and by this time in the week are hard at work on preparations for their shows that start rehearsals next week. We've also seen most of the costume shop staff around this week, so now the scene shop and the costume shop are officially in "the build." The other sign that we're getting close to starting was the e-mail from Assistant Production Manager Sara Stellick sending out this year's edition of the Company Handbook (in digital form to save on paper). This is an important resource for new members of the company, complete with a glossary of terms that probably wouldn't make any sense to people outside the APT family. It's good reading (although Sara helpfully highlighted the new material in blue so veteran staff could breeze through it). In other news, we saw the first draft of the playbill in its design format. Marketing Associate Jess Amend will spend the bulk of the next two weeks getting that 96-page book off to the printer. So much to tell, so little time. More tomorrow (or in a couple of days if we get too busy).