Her Red Umbrella

GO SEE IT!

The 11:11 Theatre Company presents
HER RED UMBRELLA

Dec. 10-11, 16-17, 8 pm
Dec. 12, 3 pm



Featuring lighting by yours truly, it's a totally cute, romantic story from the wonderful folks at 11:11 Theatre Company!

motion

Today i finally tried something that i have heard about for a long time. I am in tech for this wonderful show Her Red Umbrella (come see it!!!) and there is a scene on a train. It is one thing to make interior lighting, but the scene called for motion to help us understand that there is a train and not just an interior space. The solution: a big fan on low sitting in front of the light. My associate (Gary) suggested going from the top angle (in order to have the motion not be directional from a single side). Remembering my TV lighting class, we placed the fan very close to the front of the fresnel, in order to avoid sharp shadows. And it worked! It's actually really beautiful and totally effective. It's amazing how simple it is sometimes...

Here is a picture that Gary took showing the setup.

sometimes lighting arrests you

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/12/03/theater/20101203-metamorphosis-ss.html?ref=reviews

losing sleep over...

maybe i just need to use this:
http://ismythesishotornot.com/

in other news, I am submitted all my materials for the USITT YD&T Lighting Design Award. It was an interesting process--pulling together a good presentation and trying to convey my approach to design in a few concise statements. I'll post the plates here:

designing the air

a few days ago, kevin decided to change a moving light cue based on the picture that it was making in the air. the lighting on the actors wasn't really affected: he was interested in the visual effect of the beams through the air. i asked him about it last night, and we had a conversation about how designing lights can be as much about where the light is coming from visually as it is about what it's hitting and how. thinking back to his other designs that i have seen, this is very true. hair, american idiot, spring awakening--they all have a very designed air space.

i can certainly see the link to rock and roll in that respect. when there is haze in the air, i think we all tend to pay a lot more attention to how light moves through space. but next to normal has no haze--and it's still something that kevin pays attention to. it is amazing how much of a difference that little change he did ultimately made to the overall effect of the cue.

so last night, while i watched the show, i paid attention to how the moving lights were moving around and where they were coming from. it was very interesting to watch when they are really focusing the eye (symmetrical, clean, etc) and when they are creating what kevin called "anarchy" onstage (all colliding, messy, contrasting, etc).



and just for fun: here is my official badge!!

zip strips

hello from LA! Today was my first day to see the show (Next to Normal)--during spacing-- and is my third official day working on the tour. It is really quite a lot of fun...and I am learning a ton. The last few days have been spent focusing and troubleshooting--today was about cueing and putting in moving lights. I've been dealing with tracking--mostly for the movers--and basically reconciling all the paperwork down to one correct set of documents.





the best thing about LA? DEF the amazing weather. i can sit outside during meal breaks...and not only is it warm but it's sunny!

each day is like no other

in december, the ART is producing The Blue Flower

In addition to being a really interesting collaboration between movement and visual arts, the lighting designer is Justin Townsend--who also did Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson--a show which I am dying to see.

I am totally excited about seeing it--the music is beautiful, i love the projections, it simply fascinates me from all angles. so EVERYONE. GO SEE the blue flower at the ART in December.

parting shot

neoclassically speaking...

open and on to LA

Good opened last night at BU...and it couldn't have been a better artistic/production/acting team. Congrats to all!
picture by Gary Slootskiy

And now: I am off to LA to be the Lighting Intern on the Next to Normal National Tour--with Kevin Adams! I am so incredibly excited I can barely stand it! I have never done anything on this scale before, nor have I really spent any time in LA. BUT, no matter what happens--the weather will be wonderful!

it's all good

Good opens on Saturday in Studio 210. Tonight was our first dress (preview is tomorrow). Some lovely pictures, taken by Jay Zawacki (ALD). SO excited!!

my mommy's book!

READ all about it!

when scenery gets in the way...

...you move the lights.

a few days ago, I discovered that the drafting of the pipes in the space where I am designing GOOD was off by two feet, putting very larger headers directly in the way of a great number of lights. It was an interesting night, trying to figure out how to put 2 lights in the space where 1 should be. Altogether a rather tricky procedure. As it stands now, it seems to have been a success--focus tomorrow!

Boston's best small theatre companies?

YAY 11:11!

CBS News Article on Boston Theatre

I'm doing the next show, "Her Red Umbrella", in December. Original Script by Brian Tuttle, Directed by Robyn Linden. Come see the SHOW

GOOD: part one

today was the photoshoot for Good, which is a lovely play about.....nazis! ("Good", by C.P. Taylor, plays in Studio 210 at Boston University from Nov. 6- Nov. 21.) Anyways, it was the first time I got to see anything of mine with the costumes and the director. Kind of like a preview. It was a good thing (haha)--and I am very happy with the amount and type of green that comes through the palette. And thanks to the ever wonderful Erik Teague (Costume Designer) who took these photos.

it's not lighting, but....

i love this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuRWRqpQXQ

i want to do this

http://vimeo.com/15514121

bounce light as a structural object

In a show that I am currently designing, there are three sets of columns that hold up headers which span the width of the stage. Each of column/header has a 6 inch slit on the onstage edge out of which a soft even light needs to pour, without seeing the source.

after much discussion with mark and others, here is the proposed solution. those are 1k pars---now if i can only find enough!

I think it will work. If the interiors are painted white, there will be tons of light bouncing around--some of that 1k power is bound to come pouring out. And when it does, boy will it be even and pretty!

hydrogen jukebox research

so in two days, there will be a beautiful application for a production of hydrogen jukebox. here is some of my initial research that is going into that application.

for we can see together
the beauty of souls
hidden like diamonds
in the clock of the world

place

i want to design HERE

structural light

research for a play in november...

inspiration for today

Nicolo Fonte: choreographer

There are some beautiful pictures of stunning shape and movement. Some of my favorites:

hedda/pianos/color
frames/boxes/walls/size
bubble/entrapment/happiness

cool photo booth

http://www.laphotocabine.com/

now i can have a photobooth all the time! and, its has a much cooler quality than the mac Photobooth app.

mundo and road trip

my second show in nyc has come and gone--altogether a good learning experience for me with a new style of design that i had never really embraced before. and some interesting knowledge gained about dimmable florescents. :)
and NOW: i start my road trip to tulsa tomorrow morning to go and be the ALD at the Tulsa Ballet and the Tulsa Opera for a month. I am SO excited--I can't wait to be there and watch how these regional companies operate. Plus, the lighting designers that I am assisting are really exciting. I am going to learn a lot for sure!

watch the 30 sec spot for the Ballet's "Swan Lake".

final pegleg post for the summer

and so it comes to an end. but, not without SOME PHOTOS!



the exploration of portable lighting was fantastic for me: everyone was able to play with that idea! i was really happy about the frames, especially as the actors began to experiment with breaching the "wall of light" with their hands and faces and the affect of spinning the frame in midair.

another review and a final show!

only one more show! come see it!!

REVIEW

PEGLEG photos

sigh. my month is NYC is almost over....but here are some lovely pictures!

ALSO: come see "One Arm and a Leg" at HERE ARTS CENTER!!

145 Ave of the Americas
Thurs: 8:30
Fri: 8:30
Sat: 8:30

click here

video of "One Arm and a Leg" plus........a review!!

SO excited about this show. please please come see it.

Here is some quality footage of the show.

Here is a lovely review.

"One Arm" is open!!!

After a crazy crazy full day at TNC, "One Arm" is open! Please come see it.

"One Arm"
Theatre for the New City
Thursday 6 pm
Friday 9 pm
Saturday 2 pm
Sunday 8 pm

reason number 1 to come see "arm and a leg" these next two weeks

ladies and gentleman, presenting the rosco litepad. glo book glo!

thinking about hedda

my last assignment for graduate school: hedda gabler. it's the last mainstage of the year and a show i really wanted to do with a FANTASTIC artistic/directing team--i am SO excited!!
anyways, i have been seeing things all over nyc that are inspiring me for hedda. here is one of them.

information about "One Arm and A Leg"

I randomly did a google search and found this! Everyone: come see "One Arm and A Leg" here at the end of the month!

my latest inspiration

i went to coney island for the first time a night ago.

summer 2010

technical theatre at camp greystone took a giant leap this year. first flying scenery (6 elements!!!), first followspot, first set of wireless mics, first decorated curtain. it was an absolute blast! seeing those girls operate all of the backstage elements flawlessly with only one tech rehearsal was amazing. they really did a fantastic job.
(working on the train car right before the bats attacked!)
plus, the chance to work with one of my best friends of all time again was absolutely wonderful. and, with some exciting plans in the works for the pavilion--it's an incredibly exciting time for the drama department at camp!



this month i am going straight into tech with two shows in nyc. the first, "one arm and a leg" is a devised piece that is part of some end of summer festivals in the city: the "dream up festival" at theatre for the new city and the "summer sublet festival" at HERE arts center. i am so looking forward to getting to see a rehearsal in the city this week and start playing with the director and the design team--it's going to be a beautiful show! the second, "mundo overloadus", at performance space 122, goes up right at the beginning of september and promises to be a lot of fun. i am looking forward to meeting with the director this week to talk about the piece. the producer is an old friend of mine, so that is very exciting!

in other news, something really exciting is on the schedule for november----but im going to keep it a surprise for just a little while longer!

theatre can blow your mind

this weekend i saw a show in nyc that everyone should go see. it's a new devised work, conceived by one of my friends from undergraduate. and it's one of those show that when you see it, you think--"that, my friend, is a piece of theatre". i don't want to say much else for fear i will ruin it--so GO SEE IT!

the untitled project (click for a link to the show website)

the gene frankel theatre
24 bond street
6/4-6/4 & 6/11-6/13

chicago!

i have spent the last week and a half working on a show in chicago with my dear friends jenny and kira from bu! i designed their most recent project, "cta: coming to america", which opened this weekend. it has been the most amazing experience. the ensemble style work, the wonderful people, the amazing city, and the whirlwind process have made this the most incredible trip ever!



the show went up in theatre building chicago, on belmont avenue. it's got three theatres in it and the staff there was incredibly helpful and nice. we went on a weekend retreat in michigan before load in, which was super helpful in terms of clarifying the work and getting us all ready for the tech process.



the show itself is really cool: its stories of immigrants (all living) who came to chicago from over 6 different countries. jenny and kira have spent the last year doing interviews and have created a really cool theatre piece that connects them all together. it was wonderful to watch the ensemble work together to create an hour and a half of non-stop physical engagement with the text. it is beautiful!

from places unknown

another adventure with 11:11 has come to a close....and i have more pictures! the final show of the season was this saturday at 8 pm--and it played to a sold-out house! once again, working with 11:11 was a fantastic experience...everyone should get a season pass to next year and come visit the factory!

blood wedding

last week, i opened Lorca's "Blood Wedding" in the Fuller Building, 808 Commonwealth Avenue as part of the BU S.T.A.M.P 2010 festival. it was an incredibly fun project with a fantastic cast/production team. the group made their own translation and transformed the space in an incredible way!



the space used to be an automotive shop. currently, it is random stuff storage and a parking deck. the challenge of taking that huge, dirty (and i mean YEARS of automotive grease and dirt) space and making it into the surreal world of Lorca's play was a HUGE one, but in my opinion wildly successful! getting power to the space was the biggest hurdle, but the actual finding and placing of the right fixtures for the aethestic and the lighting needs was one of the most creative and fun projects I have worked on this year.

perhaps my favorite part of the show is the entrance of Moon in Act III. i found a frosted globe and created a glowing mini moon that the actress carries around with her. the movement that she has found with the prop is so beautiful and the image of the moon rising in the dark forest is really exciting!

also, creating sense of intimacy throughout the play was a fun challenge for such a deep space (100+ feet). The group did a fantastic job with the scenic elements and it was a joy to create tight little spaces for the various scenes, especially in Act I.

some fun opera photos

lovely lovely opera photos! (courtesy of my fabulous assistant, who took them!)





i have been really lucky to have an assistant and lots of friends who take wonderful pictures--otherwise i would be out of luck when it came down to getting good pictures of my shows. it is really hard to take one's own pictures bc if you have time you want to be using it to work.