Friday, September 27, 2019

Ladders and Snakes by Jess Gow

So. There is an important little sentence that sometimes you just have to say out loud. And some people say it a lot, and some people hardly at all. It can be a tough thing to vocalize, an…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 02:57AM
Friday, August 24, 2018

Like a Press Night Without a Tech by Jess Gow

‘So when are you due?’ asked the young actor stood before me, politely. He was handsome and sweet and barely out of drama school. It was probably one of his first auditions, maybe his fi…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 03:14AM
Friday, December 22, 2017

This House by Jess Gow

Several years ago I was working as Deputy Stage Manager in a theatre where I cued the performance from a position within the auditorium. I was basically sat within the audience, which gave m…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 07:55PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Why I'm Really Happy About Emma Rice Leaving The Globe by Jess Gow

There has been so much talk recently about the departure of Emma Rice from The Globe, and I simply had to wade in and express my thoughts via the internet. I mean, I’m a theatrical blogger…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 07:22AM
Friday, August 14, 2015

Welcome Home by Jess Gow

It is two o’clock in the morning.And I am wide awake.I’m lying on an alarmingly soft mattress underneath a wafer thin duvet, staring at the cracks in the ceiling and trying to place the …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 04:36AM
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Touring Together by Jess Gow

Touring is hard.One of the hardest things you’ll ever do.And they don’t tell you that in your interviews or auditions.On the first day of rehearsals for a tour, I can never help but star…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 04:28PM
Thursday, July 23, 2015

Boring Bitch by Jess Gow

I am boring.Seriously.Really, truly, fucking boring.Although I had been having suspicions about this prominent characteristic of mine for quite some time, it was only about a year and a half…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 03:18AM
Monday, September 22, 2014

Haunted by Jess Gow

I'm not scared of ghosts.Not in the slightest.I don't think I really believe in them and when I lie alone in my bed in the darkest and stormiest nights, it is my tax bill and the Tories whic…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 02:12PM
Friday, July 25, 2014

88 Miles Per Hour by Jess Gow

 I love ‘Back To The Future.’I do. We had it recorded off the telly onto a VHS (complete with 80’s adverts) and I just watched it all the time.  All the time. I don’t thi…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 02:29PM
Saturday, July 19, 2014

Three Little Holes by Jess Gow

'Close your eyes, Jessica. Be a good girl and close your eyes. Just count to ten and close your eyes.'I closed my eyes obediently. I was very obedient in the hospital. More obedient than I e…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 04:45PM
Thursday, June 26, 2014

Flying by Jess Gow

'Right here is where you start paying. In sweat.'I love the movie 'Fame'. I really do. However, I sometimes wish they showed more of the stage management department. You know, some harassed …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 05:33AM
Thursday, April 17, 2014

Theatricals Assemble (That's Not My Job: Part Two) by Jess Gow

I published my last blog post, 'That's Not My Job', on Thursday morning not long after I had woken up. I guess it was around 8 o'clock in the morning. I had submitted the brief column to 'Th…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 04:42AM
Thursday, April 10, 2014

That's Not My Job by Jess Gow

‘That’s not my job.’Yep, I’ve said it. Or mumbled it.Or maybe just thought it. There has been many a tech period when I have sighed, exasperated, at the fact that I am being asked to…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 03:20AM
Thursday, July 11, 2013

Bathroom Cabinet by Jess Gow

So now I’m in the second week of rehearsals for my next play. During Week One, the cast, director and DSM have mostly been sat around the table ripping the play to shreds. And I’m not sp…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 07:18PM
Friday, July 5, 2013

Meet and Greet by Jess Gow

I’m starting rehearsals for my new play and I am actually pretty excited about it. Even though it means that I will have to get up at the ungodly hour of 7am again, it does mean that for f…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 11:12AM
Friday, June 28, 2013

Crying On The Tube by Jess Gow

 Do you ever see people crying on the tube?I do. Lots.And I always try and catch their eye and offer some kind of encouraging smile. Because I know how it feels.I mean, we’ve all done…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 11:59AM
Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Planet Futon by Jess Gow

   One night I sat up late in a B and B in Inverness. The day before, Friday, I had posted a status on Facebook joking about how there was only an hour left until you could ap…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 08:42AM
Sunday, June 2, 2013

My Application for Artistic Director at the National Theatre. by Jess Gow

  Dear Nick Starr (Any relation to Ringo?)My name is Jess Gow and I would like to apply to be Nicholas Hytner’s successor as Artistic Director at the National Theatre. I believe …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 05:50AM
Monday, May 20, 2013

Fifteen Pounds by Jess Gow

Guys!!! Please click here and nominate my Blog for Best Lifetyle in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2013. Would mean the world!A few days ago I stood, completely naked, in a stranger’s bathro…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 08:21AM
Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Little Blue Dot by Jess Gow

I have arrived in my first digs. Me, my suitcase and my Lego shaped luggage tag (sock present) boarded the first train of many and I am now tapping this out from a lovely double bed in a lar…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 09:32PM
Monday, January 7, 2013

Tears, Tensions and Illicit Indiscretions by Jess Gow

Touring can be hard. You are away from your friends, your family and you end up spending pretty much all of your time with your colleagues. I live in London and when I do a show here I do so…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 04:59AM
Thursday, December 27, 2012

Hello Goodbye by Jess Gow

It’s almost the end of the year. I have just enjoyed a particularly fabulous Christmas and rather hope that my readers and friends did too. If you are an actual acquaintance of mine I have…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 01:57PM
Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Things I Have Learnt by Jess Gow

What have I learnt?This is a question I try and ask myself towards the end of every production. Being a stage manager can be an odd thing and the skill set required varies from job to job. D…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 09:24AM
Saturday, September 1, 2012

Sometimes by Jess Gow

Sometimes, being a Stage Manager is pretty shit. There. I said it. It seems to me that admitting this fact or saying it out loud is slightly frowned upon. It’s one of those thoughts which …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 02:20PM
Thursday, March 22, 2012

Broken Compass by Jess Gow

Unemployment.I am currently unemployed.Bad news for my bank balance, my mental health and my general demeanour.  Good news for next year’s tax bill and my local off license.It also se…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 06:01PM
Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Artefacts by Jess Gow

It is with great regret that I have decided to leave my little boat. In the early hours of New Years Day, I stood at a bus stop in Hackney and counted down the minutes until I could remove m…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 03:56PM
Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Slipper and the Rose by Jess Gow

Why did you get into theatre?This is a question I have been asked many times and, if you work in theatre, you have probably been asked it too. By people interviewing you for a job perhaps. O…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 08:16AM
Friday, December 16, 2011

The Shoe Report by Jess Gow

I have done many daft things when I have been inebriated; agreed to run marathons, forgotten I’ve left my mobile in the ladies toilets of a pub, fallen asleep on the night bus and ended up…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 11:45AM
Friday, December 9, 2011

Playing Teacher to the Taliban by Jess Gow

Like a lot of people, I’m not really a fan of the Taliban.They do rather nasty things, don’t they? Like banning chess and kite flying and other fun things. And randomly slitting peo…

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 10:14PM
Thursday, October 27, 2011

Am I Having Fun Yet? by Jess Gow

Working in theatre is fun. Apparently.I got into this industry under the impression that I would never need to rise from my bed before midday and could skip into a theatre, do some cues for …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 02:04PM
Monday, September 5, 2011

Why I Hate David Nicholls by Jess Gow

‘One Day’ has come out at the cinemas and unlike the vast majority of my friends I won’t be going to see it.  Definitely not.This is nothing to do with how I feel about the book. …

SOURCE: Girl in the Dark at 11:33AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards