End of Spring Training

What a week.  I’d say it went pretty well.  No fights, no complaints and a pretty decent show.  Phenomenon turned out to be a great choice of a show.  A solid script that had plenty to relate to and some pretty comedic moments.  It called for a simple but interesting set of a cabin in a bog.  The director, actors and other designers all brought something positive to a show that could have been a train-wreck.  It turned out to be a great experience, which is really all I could ask for.

The design process for this show was something that I will probably never come across again.  Living with the director and other designers for 8 months before the show opened leads for plenty of discussions and plenty of distractions.  Also I was forced to design a plot that could easily be hung and focused in under 5 hours.  But after the first tech, I had countless hours to make necessary changes.  It felt more like a college show as opposed to my summer work.

I called this show my spring training because I haven’t designed since last summer, and I knew it would be a simple show compared to the 7 shows I have coming up this summer.  It slowly became more important to me as we got into tech and got feedback from the Director and the Associate Artistic Director.  I realized the set was possibly the best I have ever lit, and I took full advantage of it by adding some lights after the first day of tech.  What started as a show that had some good cues and some moments that weren’t really working, quickly turned into a show I was extremely proud of and got plenty of positive feedback about.

I learned much more from this show than I thought I would.  By having the time to make each moment in the show really work I was able to achieve a new understanding about the choices I made, and what changes can be made a long the way to continue to improve the show.  I really think everything I took from this production and this season should make this summer so much “brighter”.

Time to play ball…

#22 and Phenomenon Tech

It may seem like a little thing, but programming a show in tracking mode is a big step.  The show I’m designing is shorter and more simple then what I have been doing the last few years, but the fact that I’m editing light cues with a different way of thinking is big.

That leads me to Phenomenon tech.  The load in process was the fastest turnover I have ever done.  We stuck 2 shows on Sunday, hung lights Monday morning, and installed the set that afternoon.  Tuesday I focused in the afternoon and pre-programmed the show before a 7 tech.  Thankfully the plot started very simple, around 60 lights and the set is quite small.  We finished tech in just under four hours and after some notes today I’m waiting to begin the first dress rehearsal.

This show has been a big step forward in my career.  The support from the staff at Long Wharf has been great, but at the same time I’ve been given most of the responsibility of the lighting for this show. After seeing what we have so far, I really feel like this show is going to help my grad school chances next year.

More on this after opening…

NY Times

Phenomenon of Decline was mentioned in the New York Times on Sunday.  I didn’t get my name in the paper, but they did comment on how the Next Stage residents come from all over the country, including Missouri.  I start hang for the show tomorrow and it opens on Thursday.  Exciting stuff!

Phenomenon on Playbill.com

The show I’m designing in April is sneaking up, and I found out that our show got an update on Playbill.com yesterday.  I’ve been mentioned in a few local reviews over the past few years, but this is the first national theatre publication that I have been featured in.

Full Speed Ahead

Today we had a meet & greet for the Resident/Intern production at my theatre.  It was pretty exciting to get the playwright, actors, the residents and all the theatre staff together to discuss the production.  The show is called Phenomenon of Decline and it opens in about a month and half.

I will be designing the lights for the show, and I’m thrilled to be doing some design work after spending the last sixth months as a technician.  I have the director, scene designer and sound designer as roommates, and I’m sure that will amount to plenty of interesting stories that I will have to blog about.