BUZZ COHEN I always say it’s an acre of show, and the size of it demands a size in the scale of the production and of the performances.... We’re very careful that every entrance and every exit has a pair of stage management eyes on it. Actors don’t always realize that it might take as long as five minutes to get from their dressing room to their entrance.

LUKE MCDONOUGH They often put a little grit on the floor for traction, and in Shakespeare, someone’s always on their knee. That can do a lot of damage to costumes over time.

JIMMY GODSEY It is also surprisingly challenging to give so many tickets away. The logistics of the line are mostly managed by the theater manager, but we all get to share in the adventure.

Hot Days ...

JESSE TYLER FERGUSON During rehearsals, I constantly looked like this emoting Shakespearean actor. And it’s just that I was crying a lot because I always had sunscreen in my eyes. ... Buzz Cohen used to be out there drinking hot tea in the middle of August. She always said it kept the body cool, but we were all horrified.

COHEN I remember having coolers of ice in Ziploc bags during the Patrick Stewart “Tempest,” and we would literally put ice on the actors as they came offstage.

STREEP My dresser on “Taming of the Shrew” clued me in to ice water with Sea Breeze [astringent] on a chamois cloth. You’d lay that on your back and then put your costume on. It probably leached every possible enzyme out of your skin, but it at least gave you the illusion of being cool.

... and Wet Nights

MCDONOUGH Heat is a consideration, but rain is the huge challenge. We often have dirt up there and rain up there, and we did this one “Henry V” where rain turned the dirt into this horrible mud that would never go away.