Bells Are Ringing
GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING
The bells are ringing the ‘chimes of love’ for our answering service operator, Ella, as she falls in love with the voice of a man she’s yet to meet! This bright and breezy musical comedy follows our heroine in her search for heart-warming romance. From the writers of Gypsy, Funny Girl, On The Town and Singin’ In The Rain.
Throughout my time at GSA, despite specialising in stage management, I have always been keen to nurture my skills in other technical areas. I took on the role of LX crew in my first year and am very capable of assisting in fit-ups but the one pathway I had yet to explore was sound - so I decided to take on the role of Sound No. 3 for the BAMT cohort's production of Bells Are Ringing in PATS Studio Theatre.
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The role was back to back was my role as stage manager on Caucasian Chalk Circle meaning I wasn't involved with a lot of the pre-production work and only came into the process once everyone had moved into the theatre, where I helped assemble the band pit and also helped with placing call and the sitzprobe.
The stage during placing call.
Me fixing Aidan Rider's mic in the interval.
Our mic fitting paperwork.
Sian Rogers (fellow Sound No. 3) fitting Aidan Rider's mic.
This was my first time fitting mics, a skill which I have continued to use - for example during Applause, despite being APM I assisted the sound team with mic-ing up the 23 cast members before every show . I also learnt more about paperwork, etiquette and maintenance, e.g washing mic belts and cleaning the mic heads.
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My track during the show was fairly relaxed aside from supervising a few quick changes especially involving hats and following around a certain few cast members whose mics needed checking on every couple of numbers.
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Despite not being my specialism, it is a role that I consider myself to be thoroughly capable of and do enjoy.
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PROFESSIONAL SHOTS by MARK SENIOR
