Putting a Face on Theatre
January 2011 Blog Posts (32)
Basic Stage Manager Tools - Fix-It Shop
To follow-up with "Stage Managing 101" and "Basic SM Duties," and "Basic SM Tools: Clothes," here is Part IV in my series:"Basic Stage Manager Tools - Fix-It Shop."
…
ContinueAdded by Trish Causey on January 31, 2011 at 8:00am — 2 Comments
Fatal Familial Insomnia and Melanie Marnich's 'A Sleeping Country'
A lot of people I talk to about A Sleeping Country ask if Fatal Familial Insomnia is a real disorder. They’re wondering if it actually exists, or if Marnich invented it for the play. I was able to find an article about FFI by Pierluigi Gambetti, MD. I found it at the Merck Pharmaceuticals website because if I were Julia and thought I had FFI, that is the first place I would look, especially since she’s been trying to take so many different…
ContinueAdded by Mattie Roquel Rydalch on January 29, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments
Stopping the Moon, Part 2
(My apologies for the lateness of this post: blame it on snow, ice, a preview, and a long drive!)
Last week, we looked at the physics of moving and stopping a large rolling platform. This week, as promised, I thought we’d take a look at keeping that platform in place when actors are doing the sort of unexpected, dynamic motion you might expect of them on top of it.
To recap: We have a wagon that weighs approximately 900# (last week’s post indicated the wagon…
ContinueAdded by Rich Dionne on January 28, 2011 at 1:55pm — 1 Comment
"BUNNICULA" PUPPET
I am directing the children's musical BUNNICULA for Altoona Community Theatre (Altoona, PA) in March and am in need of the puppet that portrays the vampire rabbit ... anyone have any ideas where one can be rented?
ContinueAdded by Steven C. Helsel on January 27, 2011 at 5:46pm — No Comments
Involving Design Professionals Early in the Project Process
A Theatre Consultant's design fees are a small fraction of the project cost. Invest in someone's experience, knowledge, and abilities to help your project be as grand as your vision. Design it right from the outset and you will only have to upgrade equipment due to age and wear — not because of dysfunctional or unsafe concepts.
The…
ContinueAdded by Erich Friend on January 27, 2011 at 6:00am — No Comments
Play Readings as a Marketplace
Every Labor Day weekend in DC, the Kennedy Center becomes the temporary home of a tremendous gathering of new plays. The Page-to-Stage Festival offers about 40 different local theater companies the opportunity to hold staged readings of work they're currently developing. It's a showcase for audiences, and audiences do come. They get to see work-in-progress, contribute to a discussion about its development, and get excited about the eventual full production to come... all for the price of a…
ContinueAdded by Gwydion Suilebhan on January 26, 2011 at 5:00am — 2 Comments
Protecting the NEA
As the State of the Union address ends tonight I am heartened with the hope that we will find a leadership which works across party lines to manifest the best future for our country. However, I am concerned that the future the President mapped for us did not contain one mention of the arts or our culture.
The NEA is a necessary aspect of the economic life of this country. There is no argument against the fact that the arts are a major industry in our United States. …
ContinueAdded by Bari Hochwald on January 26, 2011 at 12:20am — 2 Comments
Radio Show: "Auditioning for College" - Feb. 3 @ 11a EST / 10a CST
"Musical Theatre Talk with Trish Causey" presents "Auditioning for College."
On Thursday, February 3rd, at 11 a.m.…
ContinueAdded by Trish Causey on January 25, 2011 at 5:23pm — No Comments
Chapter 4 of the Care and Feeding of Wireless Mics... Sweat Protection
No matter how much time you've invested in setting up your wireless mic systems - planning layout, tuning frequencies, tweaking gain structure, EQing actors, never mind making your system sound good - it's all for not if you loose a mic mid performance due to a sweat out.
As mentioned in an earlier chapter, the two areas most susceptible to sweat are at the connection of the mic transmitter (or belt pack) and the lavaliere element, and the head of the lavaliere element that…
ContinueAdded by Richelle Thompson on January 25, 2011 at 4:00am — 1 Comment
Basic Stage Manager Tools - Clothes
To follow-up with …
Added by Trish Causey on January 24, 2011 at 9:00am — 3 Comments
Sound Effects
Added by Aaron Crosby on January 21, 2011 at 12:59pm — 5 Comments
Stopping the Moon
For an upcoming production of Mary Zimmerman’s Arabian Nights at Purdue, the designer and director have envisioned a large, open stage, veiled with sheer fabrics, through which a 12’ diameter round, raked platform representing the moon sails and glides. As I understand the concept, the majority of the stage action will take place on or around this moon, which will become a dais for a king, or a barge, or various other locations required by the play. In terms of technological…
ContinueAdded by Rich Dionne on January 21, 2011 at 6:23am — No Comments
The Myth of the Freebie
Frequently an Architect or Owner will be tempted to ask a contractor to "design it for me and I'll see that you get to bid on it". This may be tolerated for copy machine and lawn-tractor specifications, but it does not work for complicated theatre systems. Does the Architect really know enough about theatre, lighting, sound, and acoustics to determine whether the sound system or the lighting system must take priority in…
ContinueAdded by Erich Friend on January 20, 2011 at 1:59pm — No Comments
What Do You Read?
I've been feeling a bit guilty about something lately: I don't read enough plays.
The problem started when my dear wife decided to subscribe to the New Yorker again. I've had an on-again, off-again love affair with that rag my entire life. When I first sign up for…
ContinueAdded by Gwydion Suilebhan on January 19, 2011 at 5:00am — No Comments
An Interlude from the Wireless Mic Chapters... Adventures in Remounting a Production
Instead of carrying on to the next installment on the care and feeding of wireless mics, (which I'll get back to, I promise) I'm going to enter an interlude blog about remounting productions.
In the last few years, I've done several remounts in different circumstances. Each experience has presented a unique challenge for me - either as a supervisor or as the designer - in some cases my own design, in others that of other artists.
The first (and perhaps easiest as it was…
Added by Richelle Thompson on January 18, 2011 at 4:00am — No Comments
Character Building
My next project is a script that has been gestating for a long time—a steampunk, multi-culti epic set in the heart of the… Continue
Added by Jacob Coakley on January 17, 2011 at 5:47pm — No Comments
A Little Peace and Quiet (A One-Act Play)
Setting: A library in Los Angeles.
At rise: JESUS is sitting at the desk, scanning books.
BOB (O.S.)
(yelling)
Hey, librarian, I need some help!
JESUS
Rude…
(BOB storms onstage.)
BOB
…
ContinueAdded by Crystal Smith on January 17, 2011 at 5:21pm — No Comments
Basic Stage Managing Duties
Stage Manager duties vary from production to production, as I discussed in Part I of this trilogy, …
Added by Trish Causey on January 17, 2011 at 4:00am — 3 Comments
Stage Managing 101
This begins a 5-part series on the job of the Stage Manager, considered by many as the most important role in a production. Follow-up articles: "Basic SM Duties," and "Basic SM Tools: Clothes," and …
ContinueAdded by Trish Causey on January 15, 2011 at 1:30pm — No Comments
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