Typically when working on a show at the ADC Theatre or Corpus Playroom, the part of your show timeline (a spreadsheet, the dreaded CallTime or LettuceMeet) in blinking red is the famous “GET-IN”. In some senses carrying its own mythology in the often confusing, method-based madness of the Cambridge theatre scene, it’s telling that despite having completed six of them – three at the ADC and three at the Corpus Playroom – I faced a fair amount of head-scratching as to how I could (semi)-comprehensively explain how they work.First, the simple stuff: a “get-in” always takes place, whether you’re a Corpus or ADC show, the Sunday before your show’s opening night.

“From a director’s perspective it’s the point at which you concretely see the show come together”

It’s a real crunch point in the process regardless of how prepared you think you are – from a director’s perspective it’s the point at which you concretely see the show come together, and it’s also exciting for cast members who often rehearse in a spectrum of strange college meeting rooms and tiny music practice rooms to finally be able to fully feel the space they will imminently be performing in.

It’s also important to know that plenty of things tend to go temporarily wrong: faulty counterweights, lighting gels on the loose, that sort of thing. There’s a messy beauty to get-ins which explains why many fantastic people in the Cambridge theatre community volunteer their time, even on shows where they’re not directly involved. Your first can feel a bit overwhelming, which is why initiatives this year like ‘Get Involved’ get-ins seem like a great idea.

There’s a fairly drastic difference between the ADC and other get-ins, particularly in terms of time and commitment required – the big part of Corpus get-ins, for example, is the famous trolley, whereas for ADC get-ins there’s a fair few more steps (counterbalanced by a whole-team breakfast to raise morale). To some extent get-ins are what you make of them, and are incredibly varied depending on how ambitious your set is as well as the amount of hands on deck.

“It can be a really effective and worthwhile experience for team-building”

Lighting-ins in the ADC start around 5AM, three hours before the rest of the team come in, and those are normally left more to the techie experts. Organised chaos is the name of the game and, for many, the get-in is one of their favourite parts of the whole production process. It’s certainly one of the few chances your production has to have its whole team in the same place working to a common goal and, managed correctly, it can be a really effective and worthwhile experience for team-building, realising everyone’s collective vision of the show together.

From my own perspective, having worked on get-ins in different places both as a cast and production team member, most recently as a director, perhaps the most profound thing I can note is that even if by 3PM you’re despairing (your flats aren’t flying, loading isn’t loading), everything tends to come together, and everyone’s on the same team. There are definitely some downsides to get-ins – I’ve only ever worked with effective technical directors (the production team member primarily responsible for the get-in), but there’s definitely a tangible difference translating your vision to the stage in the ADC as opposed to other spaces. As organised and militarily efficient as you’d like to be, things are always going to go wrong, and you just have to take that in your stride. Hard hats, vegan sausages and conquering your fear of heights are a few of the things a get-in offers.

There’s also the chance to learn something new, and to work with seasoned technical team members who know how to maximise your potential. Simple things like making yourself ready and available to help, ensuring everyone’s on the same page and, if you can, trying to remember to have a bit of fun go a long way, are all a key part of a successful get-in. Just remember to thank the people who make the experience run so smoothly!