TONY'S GUIDE TO SWINGING

A friend of mine is going out on tour with SHREK as the female swing. She asked me my advice about swinging--since she hasn't yet.

Because it's such a specialty skill, I thought I would share my thoughts not only with her, but whomever searches the internet looking for tips and tricks of the trade.

I've only swung once (17 tracks...), but I learned a lot that could help others more easily obtain daily equanimity. So here it is folks...

TONY'S GUIDE TO SWINGING

My advice...

1. Don't be afraid to be proactive. You have 10x what everyone else is learning. Stand up!! Come early, stay late, work on breaks...you have to get it in your body and feel the spacing/staging, too.
2. Look at patterns. If you remember what the patterns are and whether things are going US/DS or IN/OUT, you can usually figure out memory lapses yourself...
3. VIDEO! You'll have something to reference at the end of the night or later in the run. Know that people change things and/or make mistakes.

I'd focus on "the woods" first--and then "the trees" and then "the leaves" :D For example...

THE WOODS
I made a bible with my dance captain. We did it digitally in Photoshop through layers. Every track (M1/F1, M2/F2, BEL, POT, LUM) had a color that matched costumes. If your S.M. has set diagrams, you could easily do the same with photocopies and colored pencils...

We labeled ACT. SCENE Bar# of "Song" (Name of section/choreo) so that they would be in order on the computer! :)


THE TREES
Once you head towards getting all that done...you start connecting the dots for each track. It's good to list all details (who you follow, meet/partner) so you won't panic on or off stage. It's also good to list props, costume changes (dressers had colors), and possible set changes. Your wardrobe and stage management departments are making their own spreadsheets, so ask them for any info that'd be helpful to you--and offer yours to them! :)

THE LEAVES
I also found in helpful to have a notes template made with the scenes/songs in chronological order. You can then transfer changes/notes to the spreadsheets as the creatives mold the show.

Since the tracking sheets will be digital, it's also good to go back and finesse them with details as you follow or do each track!

Merde!!!