The Diary of Anne Frank

The summer plays, working on the fireworks and having fun with my friends was a nice cap to the end of my first full year in Brockport.

My younger brother Mark, then 20, drove up to visit during the summer and I gave him the grand tour and we had a few beers with my friends and some fun along the way.

I was eager to begin my second year at Brockport.

My first year was exciting and I felt I had learned a lot and had a new confidence in myself and my skills.

I was no longer the new guy; I had a good working relationship with the older students and had a good crop of freshmen and transfer students to work with.

Our first play in the fall of 1983 was The Diary of Anne Frank.

It was a large set with three levels that started 11 feet below the stage with stairs and platforms coming up from the orchestra pit to the stage level.

There were two side rooms that were raised platforms and an attic level above the kitchen area upstage.

Above the set was a large roof section resting on a long ridge beam hanging from cable from the grid.

It was a large and complex set but somehow we got it done with the time we had.

When we set our production season today I try for us to avoid large productions in the first slot in the fall because of the short period of time we have to get it ready.

I had 19 students in my Stagecraft class plus at least 5 or 6 work study students working together to get the set done.

The play had a good cast and the production was well received.

I remember that the strike lasted late into the night and it was one of the last where we had beer onstage when it was over.

I recently posted some of the photos seen here on my Facebook page and got many positive responses from the students who had worked on the show.

One of the actors reminded me of the cat we used in the play and how it infested the set and actors with fleas.

I remember waiting at someone’s house for a the cast to come for a party when the photo call was completed after of the performances and they were all late and pissed because it took longer than the play itself.

The director wanted pictures of ever moment and I remember seeing photos of scenes that I never saw during the play as she most have reposed things just for the photo call.

It was a good start to my second year and the next play was all together different, but fun, always fun.