Note: This is the final part of a series of stories taking a behind-the-scenes look at the 野狼社区 University School of Music production of 鈥淎nastasia.鈥�
BY ROD JONES
OCU COMMUNICATIONS
Acting
The journey from a destitute Russian street sweeper to the Grand Duchess Anastasia is a total physical overhaul for the actor playing Anya in 野狼社区 University鈥檚 production of 鈥淎nastasia.鈥�
"She starts out really gritty," said musical theater junior Emily Sullivan. "She鈥檚 walked halfway across Russia defending herself. She has a very different posture鈥攄efensive, head down. As she starts realizing who she is, she holds herself higher and starts leading with different parts of her body. It鈥檚 like getting to play two completely different people."
45 seconds to royalty
The contrasting roles do come with a challenge: a costume quick-change. Sullivan鈥檚 Anya actually has two. The high-stakes athletic events can be intense, especially the transition into the ballet, she said.
In just 45 seconds, a team of three assistants helps Anya transition from a nightgown into a complex ballet costume featuring two underskirts, an overskirt, a zip-up corset and sleeves.
The finale Grand Duchess red gown, a masterpiece of jewelry, crowns and petticoats, wasn鈥檛 revealed until dress rehearsals.
"The performance was completely different the moment I put it on," Sullivan said. "Going from jeans in rehearsal to that dress... I held myself in a completely new way."
In tune with live orchestra
While iconic songs like "Journey to the Past" require a steady, recognizable rhythm, other moments allow for artistic interpretation. Sullivan and other cast members worked with the live-orchestra conductor, Dr. Matthew Mailman, to bring their vocal talents to light.
"In a song like 'In My Dreams,' where Anya is listing her past, Dr. Mailman lets us take the time we need to see those ideas come to life,鈥� Sullivan said. 鈥淗e picks up the orchestra wherever we leave off. It鈥檚 a true collaboration."
Because the music is drilled to 100% precision before tech week even begins, Sullivan said she doesn't have to stare at the conductor throughout each number. Instead, she relies on Mailman鈥檚 micro-movements to stay in sync while remaining fully immersed in the scene.
Sounding the crank
Actors often have a trigger that helps them find their characters鈥� heart. For this Anya, it鈥檚 the sound of an heirloom music box.
The sound design team recorded the actual mechanical "crank" of a vintage music box, and that specific noise has become an emotional anchor.
"It鈥檚 the same sound her grandmother gave her as a child," Sullivan said. "I definitely have a reaction every time that cue is played. It opens up a memory."
Poise under pressure
Despite the poise of a duchess, the person beneath the crown still deals with human nerves. Having a lead role like Anya can be overwhelming, leading to stage fright even for highly experienced actors.
"I freak myself out so bad," Sullivan quipped before describing her pre-show ritual that includes 鈥渟quare breathing,鈥� which is inhaling, holding, and exhaling on specific counts.
There鈥檚 also the method she learned in one of Opera and Musical Theater Director David Herendeen鈥檚 classes. It involves gently patting a fist above her heart to calm her heart rate.
And if necessary, she鈥檒l take off her shoes to feel the stage floor beneath her feet to literally become more grounded. In the end, she reminds herself why she came to OCU.
"Once I got to college, I started seeing it as: I鈥檓 here to do a job and tell a story," Sullivan said. "It鈥檚 not about me being perfect or my peers judging me. It's about the story. That helps a lot."
Links to other stories in the series: intro, props & costumes, scene design & lighting, sound design & music
Stage management
If the costume and prop shops are the heart of 鈥淎nastasia鈥� and the scenic towers its bones, Jessica Seaton is the nervous system.
As the stage manager for 野狼社区 University鈥檚 massive production, Seaton is the sole person in the building who knows exactly when every single light should flicker, every set piece should slide and every actor should breathe.
The junior stage management major has been handed the keys to one of the biggest shows in the university鈥檚 recent history, a 27-scene behemoth that requires more than just organization. It requires, as she puts it, 鈥渆nough ears鈥� to collect notes from the entire cast and crew. That鈥檚 a 31-member cast and more than 50-person crew.
鈥楤ible鈥� of 29 worlds
In stage management, the script is the basis for something called a "Calling Book." For 鈥淎nastasia,鈥� Seaton鈥檚 book is an integrated masterpiece of the libretto and the piano-vocal score.
"I'm reading a piano-vocal score in a mix of just the libretto as well," Seaton explained. "Designers give me their cues based on page numbers, systems, measures and beats."
The logistical math is immense:
- 29 ground plans, each representing a different set transition.
- The Neva Club peak: the transition into the "Land of Yesterday" number is the show's Mount Everest, requiring a platform, three cocktail tables, a bar, three stools, and a flown-in flat to all arrive simultaneously.
- In a unique move for OCU, Seaton is calling the show alongside a spots (or show) caller (Mars McCulley), coordinating follow-spots on a separate mic channel in real time.
Backstage packing
While Seaton is in the booth, her assistant stage managers, Tyler Mankinen and Angie Easterly, are the choreographers backstage. They created what the team calls a "backstage pack."
Before the show even moved into the theater, the ASMs took the ground plans and mapped out exactly where the massive scenic towers and costume quick-change booths would live. In the tight confines of the Kirkpatrick Auditorium backstage, at least for a production of this size, accounting for every square inch is like playing a game of Tetris. By the time tech starts, the floor is a roadmap of tape. Each piece is situated and pre-routed to ensure that whenever the stage lights shut off and before the cast and crew鈥檚 eyes can adjust to sudden darkness, no one (and no object) collides.
The 鈥楪od Mic鈥�
Communication is the stage manager's primary tool. To keep the show moving, Seaton works in a mental groove with pit orchestra conductor Dr. Matthew Maillman.
"When his hands go up to give them the downbeat, I know that I need to call my next light cue to get us out of a vamp," she said, referencing the filler music that plays while people and things shift around on stage.
But what happens when a tower gets stuck or any other massive disruption? That鈥檚 where the "God Mic" comes in. Unlike the page mic used for dressing room announcements, the 鈥淕od Mic鈥� broadcasts to the entire auditorium. It is the ultimate emergency brake to hold the show for technical difficulties, though Seaton is quick to knock on wood that it stays silent during the run.
Boss mode
Seaton鈥檚 day begins like any other student鈥檚. She juggles a full-time course load and classes with the very designers and actors she will be leading later that evening at rehearsals. She has her own ritual to mentally shift from class peer to production leader. She keeps all 鈥淎nastasia鈥� business to the later part of the day to avoid blending her personal and work lives. Before the stage management call, she鈥檒l sit alone in the theater for 15 to 20 minutes. She uses this time to shift into observation mode, prioritizing any potential safety issues and preparing herself to receive notes from her fellow crew members.
Final strike
For the audience, the show ends with the story's resolution. For Seaton, the show ends at the final bow. But the physical sensation is much different.
"It feels like you've been holding your breath the entire time until that moment," she says. "I sit back in my chair and think, 'There it is, and we're done.'"
Once everything is taken down, put away and the stage is clear, the stage management team heads to a restaurant to celebrate the fact that, for one more night, the 550 costumes, 29 set plans, and 80-plus cast and crew worked in perfect harmony.
Bonus info: Stage managers keep an 鈥渆mergency kit鈥� at the ready in case of the need for any immediate on-the-spot repairs. Seaton鈥檚 kit includes a pocketknife inscribed 鈥�#1 Daughter,鈥� a gift from her mother. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my prized possession in my tool kit because it reminds me of home on these long days in tech.鈥�
OCU鈥檚 production of 鈥淎nastasia鈥� will be performed April 24-26 in the Kirkpatrick Auditorium, 2501 N. Blackwelder. Tickets are available at .
Pictured above from left are Aidan Bartholomew as Vlad, Emily Sullivan as Anya and Micah Phillips as Dmitry. Photo courtesy of Performing Arts Photography.
