EAST COBB, Ga. — It’s a busy time of year for many people, now that we’re within three weeks of Christmas. The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is also staying busy with a full slate of performances over the next few days.
“It goes in spurts,” Tom Rowland, director of marketing, sponsorships, and programming, said. “We'll have 4 to 7 shows in a row, and then we’ll be dark for a few days, and then we'll pick up again, but yeah it stays pretty busy here.”
The stage is currently set for “An Evening of Conversation with Julie Andrews.” Rowland says preparing for this was easy, compared to the usual setup efforts.
“For a very simple performance like tonight, which is Julie and her daughter, custom carpets, rugs, a few armchairs, and maybe a projector and a screen. It's a pretty simple setup,” he said. “Then, we go to tomorrow night or Friday night with a full musical production where there's lots of lights, additional lights coming in, additional speakers, riggings, staging, and lots of instruments.”
It’s all-hands-on-deck for the bigger performances, Rowland said.
“It does require a good bit more work both from the crew loading the show in as well as prepping and getting things ready to go for the performance that night,” he said. “Typically, the shows finish early enough in the evening that they're able to load the show out before midnight, and they go on their next tour stop. Beginning the next morning, usually, sometime between 8 or 9 in the morning, the next set of crews and trucks and that sort of thing arrive and start loading in the stuff for the show that evening.”
He says the easiest type of show to prepare for is stand-up comedy.
“If a comedian comes in, they’re basically themselves,” Rowland said. “They might need a microphone and a stool, and they may have some projection screens. Those are probably the simplest shows we do because there's really not a whole lot else going on.”
CLICK HERE to learn about upcoming shows at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
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