Behind the Scenes of the 2010 Olympic Ceremonies

After 2 weeks of extreme sensory overload and more versions of ‘O Canada’ than I can count on five hands, the 2010 Olympic Games are sadly over. I spent my weeks both in and outside the bubble – visiting the pavilions and taking in the free attractions in between my volunteer shifts at UBC Thunderbird Arena and the rehearsals/performances as an “Athlete Marshall” in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Yes, I can now share the fact that I was one of the “snow people” that danced behind the athletes. I think Stephen Colbert said it best when he said: “The only thing whiter than their costumes was their dance moves.” Gotta love it!

Being in both of the ceremonies was quite an experience, especially considering it was far different than any other performance I’d ever been a part of. Below are, what I would consider, the most interesting elements of the ceremonies that only those working them would know:

1. There were understudies for the understudies. Not all the performers you saw on stage were those we saw in rehearsals. For example, the flying boy in the Opening had a female counterpart that performed at the dress rehearsal earlier that week. Likewise, there were three snowboarders practicing the memorable jump through the Olympic rings. One injured himself, which left two boarders to duke it out over a coin toss the night before.
   
2. To stay on on time and synchronized, all the cast members had in-ear monitors. Every cast group was on a different channel that listened to a choreographer or director walk them through every “call.” Our calls were simple: at ease, attention, sway, groove, mosh, and “too funky” (my favourite choreographed move that only appeared in the Closing ceremony, but got quite the applause from the crowd). Once we were out on the stage (or “field of play”) we had to turn up the volume on our monitors in order to still hear our instructions. When Team Canada first walked onto the field in the Opening Ceremony, the crowd erupted with such force that we couldn’t hear anything but the cheers. 
   
3. All the stage managers, crew, and choreographers were dressed in white. If you’ve ever worked in theatre, you would know that if you work behind the scenes, you are usually in black. Since the entire set, and cast, were dressed in white, this allowed crew members and choreographers to freely walk around on the field without drawing too much attention to themselves. In the picture below, those two lovely ladies are actually choreographers! Sneaky, but so effective!
   
4. You were a number and a coordinate. During rehearsals, cast members wore bibs with numbers on them. The floor of the rehearsal compound was marked out in a grid. The choreographers had huge floor plans of the field in the stadium that was also marked out in a grid. When doing formations, they would say “#31, you are on -1A” and then “walk to B6.” Those points and that path would then be your choreography markers. When we got into the stadium, all we had to do was find our coordinates on the field to know exactly where we were and where to go.
5. Some performers never showed. Joni Mitchell was supposed to be singing live in the Opening, and Martin Short was supposed to give another comedic speech during the Closing. No idea what happened to either, but we definitely didn’t see them when on their big nights.
   
6. Everything was top secret. This meant we did everything from not talking about what we were doing with our friends and family to going to a rehearsal from 10:30 pm – 12:30 am to practice the pyrotechnics in the snowboarding jump section. They wanted to keep everything as secret as possible. Same went for the “major talent” – all very hush hush until we got into the stadium and they were standing mere meters away from us. All this secrecy was pitched to the cast as part of our role in “enhancing the mystery around the ceremony.” And most of us just ate that right up and played along the entire time! It was part of the fun.
7. The gold touch. During the Closing Ceremonies, a mere hours after we had won our final gold medal, the creative team decided to celebrate by adding gold medals around all the giant hockey players’ necks. Sassy – but frig did we love them!
   

All that being said, the best part of the “behind the scenes” were the other cast members. I can easily say that they were the ones that made the experience so memorable. Waiting around for hours and “enjoying” the same boxed meal every day never seemed so bad when surrounded with such a positive and eclectic bunch.

Thanks so much for all the smiles! … now onto the Paralympics!

Pick of the post: 3OH!3 ft Katy Perry – Starstrukk (official music video)

Related posts:

1. Getting drunk off the Olympic Kool-Aid
2. The Highlights of 2010
3. Underwear Affair 2010 – Your Great Assets