Putting a Face on Theatre
Photo of the Week! - 11/8/2010
Welcome to another Photo of the Week poll! Our three nominees this week are playing for a grab-bag of lighting goodies, including an RC4 Wireless mini multitool, with tiny screwdrivers and other implements designed for flipping dipswitches and tweaking other objects on lights, a Techni-Lux screwdriver, and a limited edition Field Template “Orange” card, which features the template for the daquiri blender, signed by Steve Shelley (creator of Field Templates along with Fred Allen).
So who’s playing this week?
WORKING: Cleaning Women, uploaded by Steven C. Helsel.
I showed this picture to my wife, and she immediately started singing. If that’s not a recommendation for a show photo, I don’t know what is. I do have a few deeper things to say than just that, though. First, off, I like how the lighting and the costuming mesh. The actress in the foreground has splashes of color (her yellow gloves, the blue/purple print on her white shirt), but the pink-ish smock is the dominant color, and its repeated in the background, washing over the support actors. I also like the gritty feel of the set (what we can see of it) and the fact there are lots of different levels for the actors and director to play with.
Grapes of Wrath, by Tim.
There’s a bunch of different photos from this album by Tim, of various angles and various configurations of the set. I chose this one because it was a good representation of the set and had some nice color accents in the background. Grapes is a technically demanding play—the subject matter calls for a muted color palette and there are lot of different locations to hit. The “truck” in the center of the photo was made up of objects that could be taken apart and used for other camps, which I thought was a clever solution. And I liked how there was a bit of color added in the background to make things pop.
Dracula – Set Design by Kim A. Tolman.
This is luscious. If ever there was a set to make me root for the vampire, this is it. An off-kilter “erratic” set, with enough period and location details to make it explicit where you are and enough room to change location with a lighting or sound shift, plus lots of different areas and levels. Beautiful costumes that look well-made and cover a range from formal to vamp-y/trampy. And finally, some knock your socks off lighting.
So there you have it! Be sure and vote for your favorite, and don’t forget to upload your pics for a chance to win!
So who’s playing this week?
WORKING: Cleaning Women, uploaded by Steven C. Helsel.
I showed this picture to my wife, and she immediately started singing. If that’s not a recommendation for a show photo, I don’t know what is. I do have a few deeper things to say than just that, though. First, off, I like how the lighting and the costuming mesh. The actress in the foreground has splashes of color (her yellow gloves, the blue/purple print on her white shirt), but the pink-ish smock is the dominant color, and its repeated in the background, washing over the support actors. I also like the gritty feel of the set (what we can see of it) and the fact there are lots of different levels for the actors and director to play with.
Grapes of Wrath, by Tim.
There’s a bunch of different photos from this album by Tim, of various angles and various configurations of the set. I chose this one because it was a good representation of the set and had some nice color accents in the background. Grapes is a technically demanding play—the subject matter calls for a muted color palette and there are lot of different locations to hit. The “truck” in the center of the photo was made up of objects that could be taken apart and used for other camps, which I thought was a clever solution. And I liked how there was a bit of color added in the background to make things pop.
Dracula – Set Design by Kim A. Tolman.
This is luscious. If ever there was a set to make me root for the vampire, this is it. An off-kilter “erratic” set, with enough period and location details to make it explicit where you are and enough room to change location with a lighting or sound shift, plus lots of different areas and levels. Beautiful costumes that look well-made and cover a range from formal to vamp-y/trampy. And finally, some knock your socks off lighting.
So there you have it! Be sure and vote for your favorite, and don’t forget to upload your pics for a chance to win!
Tags: dracula, grapes of wrath, photo of the week, working
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kim A. Tolman on -
Dracula – Set Design by Kim A. Tolman.
Dracula is currently running at CenterREP in Walnut Creek, CA through November 20. This is my second collaboration with director and CenterREP artistic director Michael Butler -- the first was the critically acclaimed A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2008. Dracula is one of my favorite scenic designs to date. www.kimtolmandesign.com.Lighting Design: Kurt Landisman
Costume Design: Victoria Hall
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Permalink Reply by Tim on -
This production of Grapes of Wrath was produced in fall of 2009 in the Stone Theatre at LaTech University. The concept and design of the trunk was done by myself and the groundrow and floor was by Mark D. Guinn with lights by John F. Keenan. This photo was taken by Mark D. Guinn.
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Tryed to view photos but it said i was not autherised
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Permalink Reply by Steven C. Helsel on -
We just finished presenting WORKING in September, which I directed. One of my main concerns was making this intimate show "work" in an 800-seat proscenium theatre with a 38' wide stage that's over 30' deep, so we set a course of scaffolding across the stage about halfway back, which compressed our playing area, gave us levels for our performers for company numbers and tucked our four musicians onstage but unobtrusive instead of in the pit. We also had a tower of scaffolding stage left and right to further compact the playing area and provide additional side lighting positions. We pulled the cyc and teasers totally out to expose the back wall and electrics battens, adding to the industrial look. And we also used two projection screens with slides to help set locales and titles to introduce characters and their occupations during the transitions one scene to the next, Because I knew most of our audience would be totally unfamiliar with the show, I added a brief prologue before house lights even went down, having our company of 15 -- ranging in age from 16 to 60-something -- stand in a line across the stage in black everyday wear, explaining just a bit about WORKING's origin in Studs Terkel's interviews of the 1970s and informing the audience they each would be playing several different characters all based on real people. The actors also each took a moment to tell the audience about themselves and their own occupations before breaking off to parts of the stage to put on simple costume pieces. Although the entire prologue was maybe 12 minutes long, it set up the presentational style of WORKING's monologues well and audience members told us how interesting they found it. I was also surprised at how the simple idea of projecting each characters name and occupation for 10 seconds or so as we transitioned into their monologue or song really cemented the idea that these were real people whose actual words were being spoken or sung.
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Permalink Reply by Jacob Coakley on -
Thanks, everyone, for all your comments, and thanks for the voting, too! We had the closest week yet in terms of voting, but in the end, Dracula, submitted by Kim Tolman barely edged out Grapes of Wrath from Tim. Congrats, Kim! Thanks everyone for submitting photos and voting!
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