Technical week (also called tech week, tech, techweek, production week or Hell Week) is the week prior to the opening night of a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

or similar production in which all of the technical elements (such as

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s, lights,

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

and

makeup Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...

) are present during rehearsal for the first time.

Definition

Prior to this point, the actors may have been rehearsing in a separate rehearsal hall, or on the stage but without all technical elements present. At this point in the rehearsal progress, it is expected that the creative aspects of the production are ready.

Actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

s have their lines memorized; lights, sound,

scenery Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether the item was custom-made or ...

, and costumes are fully designed and completely constructed. If the production is a

, then the

pit orchestra A pit orchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in Musical theatre, musicals, operas, ballets, and other shows involving music. The term was also used for orchestras accompanying silent movies when more than a piano was used. ...

has rehearsed the music completely, and any

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

rs are prepared with their

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

memorized. If the production has any form of

stage combat Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...

, the actors should be already familiarized with their props and movement. Aspects of the set, performance, and any interactive digital media that the performers directly interact with will generally be introduced prior to technical week to avoid the actors using the time of technical week to learn these interactions. During technical week all of the various technical elements are fully implemented, making the rehearsals very similar to the actual performance.

Purpose

The purpose of tech week is to rehearse the show with all technical elements in place. This allows the actors to become familiar with the set and costumes, the technical production crew to iron out unforeseen problems, and the director to see how everything comes together as an artistic whole. Tech week is when practical problems with the implementation of production elements are discovered. For example, an actor may report that their costume restricts their movement or that a hand prop is overly cumbersome. A set door that performed fine the week before may bang shut too loudly now that there are live microphones on the stage. While the primary purpose of technical week is to implement the technical elements, there is not a defined procedure that every show will use to go about technical week.

Prior to Technical Week

Soon before the beginning of tech week, there is expected to be a "paper tech," which is a meeting between the

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

, the director, and all of the designers to go over where all the cues are intended to be placed within the show to avoid conflict during tech week. The first few rehearsals are characterized by the frequent stopping and starting of scenes so that the technical crew can practice their necessary duties (such as executing their cues or scene changes correctly). Everything that goes wrong during a rehearsal is expected to be fixed by the next day.

Controversy

Controversy exist surrounded the work hours of technical week, as the common daily schedule during this week is the "10 out of 12" schedule, in which the members of the production will be actively working for ten hours out of the twelve hour shifts. This movement sparked as actors and other production members do not believe productive work can occur in twelve hour shifts, as well as two hour breaks were often not fully given. Magic_Cue_Sheet

References

{{reflist Stage terminology Stagecraft Week-long events