I started this technical placement in Summer 2011, for 4 weeks.
The Flying Karamazov Brothers are a jugging and comedy act that have been performing since 1973. They came over from Broadway to perform at London's Vaudeville Theatre in Charring Cross.
During my time there I assisted the Stage Manager in sourcing props, and with them being a juggling act the props had to be fairly unusual. For example, I had to source 30 different quirky objects that they said had to "weigh no less than an ounce and no bigger than a Bread Box." For me this was certainly a challenge, but I now know a lot of shops in London that are good for prop buying and that are cheap!
Once we had got into the theatre, the pressure to get things done was noticeable. During this time up to press night, I had to: help mark up, help with the Karamazov costume, source running props and more different props and help fire proof over 1,000 cardboard boxes! I felt that they gave me more responsibility than I imagined they would.
This experience shown me that I would like to explore other technical areas such as Lighting or Costume, as I think this could benefit me in the future. However, I do believe my strengths were keeping focused with what needed to be done and getting it done in a certain amount of time. I have learnt that even when things are going wrong or do not go to plan, you have no choice but to carry on and get it done.
I think one of my weakness is that sometimes I do not feel confident to ask the SM or Director a question about a task I have been given or question about something I do not think is right. However, being able to work on this show it has taught me that it is OK to ask questions. In fact, I have learnt that they do want you to ask them questions, as sometimes they themselves do not fully know the answer and have to find out.
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