(Arky Michael, Paul Blackwell, Kerry Walker, Keith Robinson, Tyler
Coppin and Bob Hornery in The
Ham Funeral, 1989. Photo: Stuart Campbell)
When a show is running at STC, the company receives a daily email
from the Stage Manager in charge of the production giving details
of the previous night's performance. The report outlines everything
about the performance including props or costumes that misbehaved,
the response of the audience and improvisations in the staging. The
reports are designed to describe events during a performance so
that relevant members of staff are aware of requirements or duties
that need to be undertaken prior to the next performance.
For instance, if a piece of furniture breaks during the show, this
is communicated via the Performance Report so that the Props Makers
can repair it; if a patron is unwell, and has to be ushered out of
the theatre, or if a mobile phone rings, effecting the
concentration of the cast, it is explained in the report; if
special effects are not working, the Lighting or Sound Department
can be alerted to that fact.
Most of the time, things go as planned, but sometimes during a
performance several unusual occurrences are experienced, allowing
Stage Managers to give full rein to their descriptive powers:
(Scanned Performance Report from The Ham Funeral, 1989, by
Patrick White, directed by Neil Armfield.)
Due to STC's long term commitment to documenting all of the work
that takes place within the company, thousands of performance
reports are housed in the Archives, which were established 15 years
ago and are looked after by our professional archivist Judith
Seeff.
STC Archives aims to identify and preserve the significant records
of the company and make (most of) them available to staff and the
public for reference.
It is a veritable treasure trove of documents and photographs
tracing back through the decades.
As soon as records created by departments including Production,
Marketing and Casting have ceased to be used on a regular basis,
they are deposited in Archives for evaluation. If they are
considered worthy of permanent preservation, they undergo
processing, listing and storage in a purpose-built space. Records
or information contained in documents can be located and used for
the on-going operations of the company: as evidence of
statutory obligations satisfied, of conditions fulfilled, of
transactions completed, of precedent, of ownership, to prove a
point, to make a case, to check facts, to inform speeches, to mount
an exhibition or to re-mount a production.
Feature: Rogue petticoats and broken chairs
Date posted: 14 Jul 2011Author: STC