16The Opening Performance
People working in theatre will go through many opening performances in their careers. In the most academic and traditional sense of theatre, there should be no difference between the level and intensity of work given during rehearsals and what will be done in performance.
In theory, by opening performance (more traditionally called “opening night”) the cast, crew, and SMs should have had the full experience of the show. There should be no differences, no surprises between what took place in dress rehearsals and what will happen in the opening performance. However, with all the hype and excitement generated backstage, on opening night things that went smoothly in the dress rehearsal on the day before can all fall apart. ...
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