Final answer:
Zack's concerns could encompass a range of elements—from his performance to the ensemble's cohesiveness—but it's the anticipation of the live audience that typically heightens anxiety before the curtain rises.
Step-by-step explanation:
Zack's main concern before the play begins is likely to be opening night anxiety. Just before a play begins, everything the actors, director, and production team have worked on culminates in a performance before a live audience. During Dress Rehearsals, which mimic real showtime conditions, the focus is on ensuring that the play looks, sounds, and feels polished. Zack could be worried about memorizing lines, but given that dress rehearsals are often focused on the fine-tuning of the production such as pacing, and after technical rehearsals where the design and technical elements are integrated, the main stressor is often the impending performance itself.
The technical aspects of theater, which become more pronounced during tech rehearsals, require coordination among actors, set design, costumes, and lighting. These factors can also contribute to opening night anxiety, offering realistic conditions that actors and the director must adjust to. Moreover, proper pacing is crucial as it ensures the plot is conveyed effectively, and actors are not lingering on their lines or rushing through them. Such attention to detail is important to maintain the audience's engagement. By the time opening night arrives, the director's work is finished, and it's up to the stage manager and actors to deliver a successful performance, interacting with the audience in a meaningful way.
With the knowledge that an audience's presence is a significant change from rehearsals, actors must be prepared to project their characters beyond living the part to energetically sharing the experience with the audience. Therefore,
Zack's main concern before the play begins is most likely opening night anxiety. Dress and tech rehearsals aim to refine the production but the addition of an audience brings a new dimension to the performance that can contribute to the anxiety experienced by Zack and the rest of the cast.