Business Tech Week
For those of you who haven’t lived through it, one of the most intense phases in the life of a theatre production is the dreaded tech week.
Once a show is selected and the team’s mostly aligned on design decisions, everyone splits off to work on their part:
- The actors rehearse.
- The set gets designed and built.
- Costumes, props, posters, and programs are created, tested, scrapped, and rebuilt.
Throughout it all, the director and stage manager are checking in with every group, tracking progress, managing timelines, and quietly bracing for what’s coming.
Then comes technical week — when all the elements finally come together for the first time. And it is rarely pretty.
What looked good in theory doesn’t quite work in practice. What no one anticipated now must be solved. Everyone is exhausted, stressed, and painfully aware of how close the curtain is to rising — and how unprepared they feel despite months of solid work.
But somewhere in the chaos, something… shifts.
A scene clicks.
The timing lands.
The lighting, the cues, the costume quick-changes — they begin to gel.
There are these little flashes of smooth sailing, and for the first time, everyone gets a glimpse of what the show might become.
It starts to feel fun again.
As a veteran theatre practitioner turned business owner, I thought I was well prepared for the entrepreneurial version of tech week.
The highs and lows.
The quick fixes and structural rebuilds.
The tired eyes and adrenaline-fueled breakthroughs.
And to be fair, in many ways I was prepared — I’m still here. But in others? It’s been one long, unpredictable learning curve.
That old producer line — the show must go on — applies more than I ever expected.
I try to keep my eye on the future glimpses. The parts that feel like fun again.
Where are you in your business right now?
Still rehearsing? Mid-tech week chaos? Or starting to catch glimpses of what’s possible?
If a little community, collaboration, or creative problem-solving would help, let’s talk. Book an Exploration Zoom Call and let’s see where your show is headed.
