15 Days Later

Hey, if I wait another 13 days I got a movie... Ok, so maybe things have been a little crazy and I haven't quite got everything up to speed in the land of the internet. I'm over it so whatever.

Back Dating.

Glass Menegerie. Well it opened and all seemes to be going well except that the horse has a problem breaking prematurely. Install had a few issues like not doing the genie work over where the deck was to be placed so scenery kind of sat and twidled their thumbs. Good task for them since they don't need to be organized to do that.

Here are 2 pics of install. The set is very simple. 2x4 wall covered in chicken wire. 7 stock platforms hanging out in the middle of the room. I have to the set is um, well itneresting? I will update again later with some show pics and then rant.



Chairs had tech and run and done.

This picture is from tech. It is still rather green but I Have to admit that while I Had my doubts about the set, it works well with the show. These are just the last pictures I had to put on. I Have more that I will continue updating the world with. Really though, I was quite happy with the way it all worked out. JOb lead did a good job working on all her stuff and really stayed "with the show" She took ownership, and when she screwed up...she just fixed it. Think back to the door upside thingy.

Urinetown finished it's install and tech has kicked into gear. Here is a dark shot from focus.



There is a better story here...but i need the pics and can't get to them since they are in a room where a meeting is being held right now.

so stay tuned to find the real hub-bub

silly internet

I tried to write my update after crew last night which seemed to go forever (I guess it does though when you ar enot done until 2:30am.) but the internet wasn't happy with me or maybe I just wasn't happy to around, who knows. Anyway, so I set out now to finish what was started 7 hours ago...sigh

REPORTS!

Urinetown.

Um, well install continued.

And while the picture is dark and kind of iritating in that way if you click on it, the bigger picture is a little bit easier to look at. There are 2 more walls standing and in place and big steel gate that connects to the walls. Otherise if you look at the picture fromt he day before not much else changed...except for one minor thing...Look at the floor, See that brown circle?

Yeah I don;t either there just isn't enough work light in there for how dark the set is. Anyway, there is a trap in the floor now which runs to our trap room. Our trap room runs under the deck and we can access about 18'x24' through the deck. It isn't perfect...actually far from.


The stage traps are not square (or rectangular) they vary in size by about 1/2" and finding the traps is pretty annoying since they are covered in maso that doesn't match an seams. Inorder to get to 1 trap you may have to remove up to 5 sheets of maso. None the less, we did more than it looks like.

Lighting got most of the portal wired up, it will have a little chase sequence for about 20 seconds during the show. That is why there is a bunch wire and cable hanging down the sides of it. Maybe tomorrow the for pipe will be hooked up and you can see the beautiful plumbing that is happening. Running something 200' of hose and PVC tube to carry fog to the vents on the portal.

And in the shop, Barbed Wire. Stretching from wall to wall in a nice arch are 3 sets of barbed wire. Yesterday I rolled the steel for all 3 of them (although I think one might be rolled a bit to far I will test it today) and got Barbed Wire Attached to 2 of them. I would love to see some set designers work with the material that they want for their own shows. Barbed Wire, eh. So i am a bloody mess, yes i was wearing gloves, but I have scrapes going all up my arms and little holes were the barbs went right through the gloves and into my hands. So now I am all tingly and kind temperature change feels like death. Washing my hands, I wish I didn't have to. Hot water: Hell No. COld Water: yeah right. So I bite my tongue because I still have the biggest one yet to do.

Side shot of the middle one about 1/2 complete



The Chairs.
The chairs continued it's load in tonight. It is just not as exciting.


The design is interesting but I am not sure how it will play with people on it and if it will read to the audience. I am curious to see what will happen. It is also seems like the scene designer /paint charge is just letting people roll over him. He needs to put his foot down and act like he cares. we (the production team) new that he needed last night and tonight to paint the entire deck. Last night we were still working, which was planned. But tonight they want to put a genie on the deck which sucks since painting needs top be done. BUt there he goes again rolling over and acting like he doesn't care. I think if he portrayed that he cared he might be taken a bit more seriously.

I talked to the job lead awhile after install tonight about the process. The junior TD types are going to be in some trouble next year. I realize this as they keep making silly little mistakes. I think this lead though has taken the most ownership over her show. And while, yes, she is making mistakes it doesn't bother me at all because she is trying her damndest and it shows. That is what counts my mind. You can fuck up all you want that is why this is educational theatre, but if you ar enot going to care and you are not going to learn from your mistakes then you should just walk away now, because that is what this style theatre is about. Learning.

She is budgeting the next mainstage show and she has to do it on her own for part of a class project. I met with her to go over some different ways of getting into the budgeting stuff because she has to have it turned around pretty much by tomorrow. Her numbers aren't due until MOnday but she has to have stuff to the advosirs today and tomorrow so that we know she knows what she is doing. I went through things with her because she whasn't really had to budget a show before and this is a pretty big show. So more will be comin gof that show soon.

What else is in the cooker....Glass Menagerie.
Is still in it's build phase. It installs on Saturday. The walls are still walls, there was not crew for it last night. we have only had 2 days of build, 1 the job lead was out sick for and we are apparently already not being trusted to do the set correctly. Notes should wait until we say soemthing is complete or if we ask something about a unit. Coming through while the set is still in process and pointing things out is annoying and says to the crew that you think we actually put something on the stage that could hurt someone. Those kind of things are what a walk thru before actors are on stage is all about.

Ok, so there is barbed wire in the other show, it is really high though. And the fake stuff was just way to expensive.

Beast on the Moon also stepped up. It is in it's first budget pass. It is going into it's second budget pass now. It is just a bit (read as a shit load) over budget. It is a cool concept and a neat idea and I really hope we can find some way to make aspects of it work, but for how little money (read as why bother giving them a budget) they get, it can't really happen. Maybe we can 'find' the material somewhere.

well, I think it is time to run because I have a weekly meeting to get to and I am sure I have already pissed off a few readers, eh. That's what this is about though and if you don't like it, don't read it.

Time travel Exists

For anyone who does not believe that there is a such thing as time travel, they should walk into a theatre.

The Chairs was doing brilliant but it suffered from that same wonderful disease (as so many shows here suffer from) of not being built during build. I think the designer wanted a few to many platforms moved and as a result other things (like the set) did not get done.



First of all, yes the picture is sideways...why is this picture of any importance? Well, the job lead (who is running desperately away to hide from her mistake) has hung the door upside down. Personally I find this funny. 1 because the doors should have been fit during build, 2 because 5 people stood there staring at it going...yup looks good. Come on guys just a little bit of quality control.

Well the doors (another one on opposite side of stage) where re-hung, "because it ain't done right unless we done it twice..." And all the audience platforms were finished being laid out. The deck was also laid out. Now we just need to get the last door fit up and hung. Although I am hard on her, being her first show...not an awful job.

Meanwhile, other job leads didn't show up tonight. I understand that people get sick, but maybe those people shouldn't stay up all night doing things if it is going to reflect in their work. When you have a show that only has 2 days of build, I highly recommend not missing one of those 2 days. Because yes, desicions will be made and life can go on without you and we just proved it.



I know, I know...lay off the sideways images. Maybe tomorrow. Honestly I am just tired and want to leave. Just added my hours fom last week and gave myself a headache.

Anyway, this wall, if turn your head or your computer screen, is a 2x4 wall covered in chicken wire. the set consists of 2 such walls. One wall has a door. Unfortunately for the job lead (who was out sick tonight) the door was not brought in time for drawing the walls. The directions on the drawing said to follow overall size but fit door opening for door. We even discussed this...sigh The doorway was really not the right size. So tonight they cut part of the doorway and part of the door inorder to make it the right size. I think I should give the Freshman (that's right a freshman) credit for this show.

And on the mainstage...oh Urinetown...

The portal was raised, yehaww. The Window and Sign were hung and the soft goods change over was finished. Isn't that just the most exciting stuff ever? Oh yeah and let's add another set of rolling stairs. But these can be big and bulky and ugly and wait, you want what?


The electrics also all got hung over stage. See things are just sooooo exciting. Forward moving process, forward moving most of the time.

The theatre is a wonderufl place, it's hard times heko enforce it, really. It's the people that make a place a wonderful thing or not. And right now the people (minus THEM) are great to be with. Most people have the same problems, to much homework ontop of show work (hello, that's called conservatory) crews that don't care/don't want to be there...I don't know, it feels like it is almost always the same old story. Just ate something different for dinner is all.