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What it means to STRIKE

Kristian Lei
Apr 12, 2017
3 min read

Photo contributions from Chelsea Campbell, Melissa Kennington, Jonathan Reyn, and Raymond Rivera. Photos are from a past show produced 2012 in Hawai'i to assist in the story telling of this blogpost.

Flyer by Jon Reyn | Illustrations by John Tenniel

Thanks to one of the many great teachers, friend, and mentor, Paul Cravath – I have and will always think a theater production is about creating a world where people are invited to enjoy, empathize, wonder, and be inspired. Everyone in the production is crucial. The playwright is our mind and voice. Your director is the skeleton and vision. The set, lights, and sound is our environment. The costume and props embellishes the environment. The Actor is the body and soul who unites all the different aspects and brings the whole world to life.

So what does it mean to strike after a production?

I thought it would be interesting to write a POV on strike after a production is over. Surprisingly, I didn’t find much information online about what strike means to an actor. I only found the literal meaning of what most people in theater think "STRIKE" is.

A definition of strike…

The Laguna Playhouse, established in California 1920, has the best definition of strike. The Playhouse defines strike as a “term generally used to describe the process of disassembling the set when a production closes.”

In my experience, most people in theater think strike is more a process for the technical side. In terms to deconstruct the set, take down the lights and sound, clear the props, and sort out costumes. Basically, all the work (the designers created for the show) is to be dismantled, salvaged, stored, or thrown away.

But, what about the actor? Does the actor dismantle, salvage, store, or throw away the work he or she created? More specifically, his or her character(s) created for the show?

For me, the answer is yes. I don’t know about other people in theater, but for me strike is much more than disassembling the material aspects of a production. Strike is also the actor’s final process of “letting go.” It’s a disassembling of emotions, mentality, and spirit.

This final process is like death, but in a good way.

Depending on which theater you are involved with (specifically in Hawaii), a production may rehearse for 6-8 weeks and perform for 2-6 weeks. The rehearsal period is a time for the actor to develop his or her character by embracing the playwright’s words, the director’s vision, and the different aspects of the environment that will be created.

Everyone involved in this process is creating life, but the actor is the one who incorporates ALL aspects into themselves and becomes apart of it. Remember in performance, the actor is living, breathing, thinking, and being all these things.

As all things that live and breathe, eventually it will come to an end.

When it comes to strike, I am not only disassembling a set, I am saying goodbye to a world only I, my character, and others who shared the experience of the production know. I am letting go of a life. Everything I interacted with and embraced that became apart of me must end and return to the state of mind I first started with. When all of that has been let go, new life can be created in its place. All I take with me are the memories, the experience, and a deeper understanding on my craft of acting. Striking the set physically also helps me to strike the mind mentally.

On a side note, if strike is like death, then technically we will be in mourning. Which means the cast party is like the funeral. The cast, crew, and designers gather to celebrate all the work put into creating the world. Everyone shares their stories, memories, and experiences (good and bad) of the production and watch the life of the world created.

I am not sure if this is what most actors think about when they think about strike. But that is what I think about and why strike is important to me. To "STRIKE" is to let go of a life that will be no longer be apart of me which will allow new life to be birthed into the space.

As we start, our world is created from inspiration on an empty stage. When our world ends, it too should end with final thought and an empty stage. The parts of us that we leave behind shall inspire the next creation.