Here and Gone

Opened A Wonderful Life last night.  It was a long process but I was ultimately happy with my work and the production. I’ll delve into more after the big apartment move tomorrow.

Last Night in Lincoln Square

After a very slow transition to Chicago and an equally slow first few weeks here, my time in Lincoln Square has certainly served its purpose.  When I get back I’m moving to a nice place in a better location and I have made a lot of new contacts and job opportunities that I will take advantage of when I get back.

Tomorrow I leave for a short stay in St. Louis before I head up to the Quad Cities to design A Wonderful Life.  Going into this production I’m hoping to really collaborate with director and other designers to put on a quality production within the limitations of the space and production schedule.  I’m confident that the material and the artists will be strong, so I will do my part to enhance the audience’s experience and be a positive partner in the technical process.

On to the Next

I just finished my last day as Lighting Resident at the Long Wharf Theatre.  Its been quite a year, and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and put it to use this summer.  This also means the next post I will be making will be from Timber Lake Playhouse.  Bring on the summer.

The last two nights I saw the final shows at Long Wharf and the Yale Rep.  Carousel was the Long Wharf show.  I had never seen the show, but I was very impressed with the modern take on a classic musical.  The cast and the design elements were all great, and it made me proud to have worked on the show.  The Yale Rep show was the world premiere of Boleros for the Disenchanted. This may have been the best show I’ve seen in New Haven this year.  The set was absolutely beautiful and had a few interesting surprises as the show went on.  The story followed a young couple in Puerto Rico in the 1950s to the US in the 1990s, and told a very touching story about love through generations.  I have been able to see a lot of theatre during my residency which was one of my goals this year.  August: Osage County and Spring Awakening were by far the best, but the range I’ve shows I’ve seen should really help my developement as a designer.

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!

Not Ready for Grad School Designer

I can finally move on from my grad school pursuits because I got my rejection letter from Yale today.  It would have been an amazing experience to get accepted to the drama school, but I’m kind of relieved that I can start looking for a real job finally.  I have been out of high school for 6 years now and this is the first time that I will be looking for a full time job that isn’t an internship or a summer job.

I’m looking into touring first, because I want to travel and see the country (read:the inside of a tour bus).  But I also have friends on the road who seem to be doing well, and as long as my back can hold up I think I would enjoy some time on the road.  If the road thing doesn’t pan out I’ll be checking out my options in Chicago and New York and hopefully doing some freelance designing and assisting for a while.

I’m still very glad that I have my summer job to work and play before I take my next big career step.

I wonder how I will feel if I get the same letter a year from now…

Making A Living

After several attempts we finally had the big “career in the theatre” seminar with our Production Manager today.  I have yet to decide if the whole discussion was helpful or just depressing.  I’ve been told many times from professors that its hard to make a living in the theatre, so that was old news.  However, the PM did put a personal spin on the discussion, touching on his own problems with relationships, money problems, and having to choose work over family.  I’m certainly in no hurry to start a family and I’ve learned to live on the little money I’m earning right now, so the big picture doesn’t seem very challenging so far.  But as I start to look for jobs, or begin grad school, I will keep today’s discussion in the back of my mind.

Tomorrow is the first day I will be on acceptance letter watch.  Its been over a month since my interview at Yale, and I havn’t put much thought into the the situation besides thinking about what I will do if I don’t get accepted.  Its really crazy to think that the next 3 years of my life come down to a letter that will come in the next few days.  I saw Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance at the Yale Rep last week.  The play was ok but I’ve come to expect a little more out of Yale productions.  The show was student designed and it showed.  The set was a green proscenium with gold trim and a match portal.  Each Act had its own plug for the portal and furniture, but the whole thing just didn’t work.  The set didn’t evoke high society and completely clashed with the furniture and gorgeous costumes.  The lighting design was solid but not spectacular.  I’ve worked with the LD a few times and he’s a nice guy, but I don’t think there was much for him to work with.  Once again, I’ve come to expect a little more from their productions.

Baseball is back.  The start of the season has always been exciting because it means my birthday is soon and summer is not long after.  I’m playing in a couple of fantasy leagues this season, including one with my co-workers at the theatre.  Hopefully I don’t completely neglect my teams and finish in last place again.  And best of luck to fellow St. Louisan Tyler Hansborough in the final four.

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.

Spring Awakening

I’ve wanted to see Spring Awakening for over a year now.  I love the music and the concept of a rock musical infused with a 19th century groundbreaking drama.  I finally had my chance to take in the show yesterday.  And before I even entered the theatre I was happily surprised to run into Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen) on the street.

I enjoyed the show and the show fufilled every aspect of what I expect when I see a musical.   A solid story, an amazing score, great performances, and a pretty kick ass lighting design. However, I may have made a mistake by hoping for a perfect show.  There were some flaws, but not enough that I didn’t leave the theatre feeling fufilled.

The lighting design was very ambitious and included some fantastic elements that even extended into the audience.  But there were a few things that I found more distracting than amazing.  The transition from story to song was very bold which was established from the beginning.  And it completely worked in the big numbers, but it ultimately seemed to forced when a moving song is overmatched by the shift in lighting.  Also the use of moving lights following performers became distracting to me.  I like this technique when a round pool of light follows an actor in a slow cross, but when a shutter cut pattern follows actors all around the stage it turns out ugly and pulls me away from watching the actors perform.  And when will I be done with hanging light bulbs and neon lights.  I’ve seen around 10 shows since I moved to Conn, and all of them had HLBs or NLs and SA included both plus florescents.  I’m not against these elements, just a little tired of seeing them all the time.  But to be fair I hated glowing shapes and target circles after this summer and I’ve moved on from that.

The lighting was for Spring Awakening was very solid and I learned a great deal from it, but I expect a little more out of a tony winning design.

August: Osage County

I’ve been to New York City a number of times since I moved to Connecticut, but today was the first time I made it to a Broadway show in a few years.  I thought August: Osage County was brilliant.  It had the right mix of laugh-out-loud comedy, warm family moments, complete insanity and tragedy.  And the set was stunning.  A triple story home with countless rooms and a pretty cool set of staircases.  But I think the best part of the production was the great performances and the layers of secrets that each character embodied.  I will say that I predicted a few turning points, but there were a lot more that kept me engaged in the 3 1/2 hour play.  And I’m certain everyone left the theater thinking, “I’m glad thats not my family.”

#88 & Summer Fun

So I admit that I left this one a little vague.  But regardless I donated a dollar to MS today at the grocery store and I say that qualifies as donating to a charity.  Hopefully this good deed leads to more in the future…

I’m getting more excited about my summer job.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m returning to Timber Lake Playhouse this summer as the Lighting Designer & Production Manager.  This is my 3rd summer at TLP, my second as a designer and I’m creating the PM position this summer.  In just over 2 months I’ll be spending 3 months in the woods designing 6 productions and overseeing the production staff.

A major part of my excitement is the people that are coming back and some new TLPers that I’m excited to work with again.  Summer stock can be a trying experience, but its the people you work with that make the experience worth the stress.