24.08.23
Hello!
Happy last week of August! How has that happened already? This is your friendly reminder to start stocking up on your Telfast or whatever antihistamine you might need because SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER!!!
So lovely to e-meet you! Tyler here, Griffin’s Production Manager 🙂
Production manager… Managing productions… what does that ACTUALLY mean? It means a lot of time on Microsoft Excel!
Lots of scheduling, and lots of organising people.
I guess production management is like being responsible for completing a puzzle. A puzzle comprising of the production components (sets, lights, sound, props, costumes), stage management, creatives/designers and cast members. And the puzzle has to be completed in a week. The week. Production week… or tech week depending on who you ask. As you may imagine, fitting all this into one week is intense and often stressful, but I’m yet to work on a show that wasn’t worth it.
Speaking of a show that was worth it! It’s hard to believe that we’ve just closed the premiere season of Jailbaby by the amazing Suzie Miller. For six weeks Jailbaby played to sold out audiences, holding them on the edge of their seats and opening their eyes to the realities of our justice system. It’s been amazing hearing the trails of discussions and reflections the show has sparked as audiences have left the theatre. What a mammoth achievement from the Jailbaby team—special shoutout to director Andrea James, Suzie, the cast and our wonderful stage manager Madelaine Osborn on such a successful and impactful season!
That all being said, sadly, we’ve spent the last couple days dismantling the set, packing away the costumes and taking down the lights… all so we can embark on another one of those jam-packed production weeks to bring Nakkiah Lui‘s Blaque Showgirls to the SBW Stables Theatre.
They do say there is no rest for the wicked!
What can you expect from Blaque Showgirls? Laughing… A LOT of it! Shiny things, fluffy things, sparkly things!
Declan likened the Jailbaby x Blaque Showgirls period to our own version of Barbenheimer and IT’S SO TRUE! No spoilers for Barbie or Blaque Showgirls, but keep in mind, there’s always more to the girl in the pink, plastic Barbie dream house… or in our case, the girl who moves from the town of Chithole to the glitzy, rhinestone-filled world of Brisvegas. You don’t want to miss it! I promise.
I want to take this opportunity to properly welcome our Technical Manager, Sam Gray, to Griffin! Sam started during the whirlwind week that was the Jailbaby production week and it’s been an absolute delight to have a partner in crime leading up to the Blaque Showgirls production period. Yay Sam! Or as Sam would say “Go team!”
Last but not least—Griffin’s 2024 Season is launching in late September—so there’s just a month until you get to hear about the incredible works will be on next year.
You’re in for an absolute treat!
That’s all from me 😄 Have an amazing day!
As the kids say, slay!
Ty x
Tyler Fitzpatrick (she/her)
Production Manager
