The FrINgeSIDER 08/04/2010 11:38am

Editorial
As I write this, 160 some shows at 15 venues are in "tech." This is the time when each show gets 4 hours to be in its performance space for the first and only time before performances begin. Actors, directors and stage managers will try out sets, costumes and props, and with the help of the Fringe Techs, create and rehearse sound and light cues. This is where experience counts. The touchy-feely-experimental-free-love-let's-just-play-around vibe of rehearsal must give way to the let's-just-get-this-done-you-can-cry-later discipline of a military campaign. Those who've been through this before know that clarity and simplicity are their best friends. Those who are unprepared might never make it all the way through their shows. Either way, it's kind of fun. And remember, however difficult tech is for any individual show, the Fringe Techs are doing this for 12-16 hours per day for five days straight. And when tech is done, they spend the next eleven days running the shows. Obviously, their dedication and professionalism is extraordinary. Equally obvious: they're sort of messed up. I mean like, you feel sorry for the guy who's Brett Favre's manager, but at the same time, he kind of asked for it, right?