Atlas and Kelly hard at work

Running crew and stage management interns Atlas and Kelly are on top of it.

Someone with a notepad has probably counted the number of props and costume changes

Below are pictures of the prop tables and costume racks (keep in mind there are more costumes in the dressing room).

There's also a list of notes to help them keep track of what to do when.

This is all for FOUR ACTORS - who really never leave the stage except to fly through a costume change, pick up or drop a prop.

THE 39 STEPS is a mad, two-hour dash, and it's probably as funny backstage to watch as it is out front.

Press Release for The 39 Steps

The Depot Theatre’s production of “The 39 Steps” open Friday, July 23 in the renovated historic Westport, New York train depot. This comic thriller is a theatrical riff on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film. The 39 Steps premiered in London in 2006 and won two Tony Awards for its Broadway run in 2008. It features four actors performing 150 different roles. The stage script was adapted by Patrick Barlow from the Hitchcock movie of the same name – which in turn was based on a spy-thriller by novelist John Buchan. The plot follows Richard Hannay as he sets out for a night of music hall entertainment only to be ensnared in a dangerous attempt to smuggle top-secret information out of the country.

Two actors play the leads – Patrick Toon as the dashing Hannay, and Margaret Loesser Robinson as the ingénue, Pamela. Two other veteran actors – Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto – play the other 148 roles. The action takes place all over Scotland, England, in and around London – on trains and in out-of-the-way manors. The setting was condensed onto the cozy Depot stage by master set designer and former SUNY Plattsburgh Theatre Department chair, Tim Palkovic. Palkovic has designer a number of sets over the years at the Depot – notably Little Shop of Horrors, and most recently, Sherlock’s Last Case (2008). His designs are executed by SUNY Plattsburgh grad and Chazy native Kurtis Rivers – the technical director for the 2010 season at the Depot.

The Depot production is staged by former Depot actor-cum-director, Mark Shanahan. Shanahan last appeared at the Depot in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and has directed “The 39 Steps” twice before – at the Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas.

The stage version of “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced spoof of the genre with hidden references to Hitchcock’s oeuvre throughout. Though the script plays more for laughs, the staging and plot keep the element of surprise that was integral to the original thriller.

“The 39 Steps” plays at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY from July 23 through August 1 before touring to the Wood Theater in Glens Falls and the Lake Placid Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets to the Depot Theatre are available at depottheatre.org, or by calling 518-962-4449, and tickets to all shows are $22 each.

Tim Palkovic's Cool Set Drawings Part 2

Tim Palkovic, designer for The 39 Steps, makes such great set drawings. Come to the show at the Depot Theatre, and see how much of this you recognize!

Decoration for Upper Proscenium

Train Scene

Sightlines from Seat A9
(this is how we figure out where we can hide things where the audience can't see them)

"Mr. Memory"

Elevation Sketch and floorplan of "Hotel Scene"

39 Steps Rehearsing

The 39 Steps started rehearsal this week. Directed by Mark Shanahan and starring Patrick Toon, Margaret Loesser Robinson, Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto. A comedy/thriller based on the Alfred Hitchcock film. The 39 Steps opens at the Depot Theatre in Westport on Friday, July 23rd.

Pictured above are Michael DiLiberto and Wynn Harmon as the Clowns.

Below are Margaret Loesser Robinson as Pamela, Patrick Toon as Hannay, and Director Mark Shanahan.

Kurtis makes us all look good

Kurtis Rivers (technical director) grinds a weld on a door frame for The 39 Steps. He's bringing the frames to rehearsal tomorrow so the actors can get used to using them in blocking. What we really like about this photo is that it really looks like work, which adds an air of legitimacy to the whole place. He's working where people can see him which is a big plus.