|
r0ff13c0p73r posted:Load in from hell ended up opening great. Not really anything specific but a show I was ME for opened tonight and I was also working as a scenic carp. Hang started Sunday morning at 12:30 AM as that's when I finished striking the previous show. Set Load in was 8 am Sunday morning, finished at 7 pm for 7:30 rehearsal. Rehearsal ended at 11:30 PM so focus call ran from midnight till 2:30. I have been on shows with tight turn around times before but this is the first time where I didn't have access to the space until 5 days before opening It made for a very interesting week. I did almost electrocute myself twice when I picked up cables that had no strain reliefs on them. The joy of working 26 hour days.
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2012 06:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 05:59 |
|
|
Golden Bee posted:A local theater I submitted to months ago wants a full script of Apocrypha. If they like it, it'll join their really good reading series.. Nice work! I love that script, so good luck! Geekboy posted:
Buy your tickets right now; it's selling out.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2012 14:15
|
|
|
OSheaman posted:Buy your tickets right now; it's selling out. I bought tickets for Thursday night about five minutes ago. Thanks a million for telling me about this. Sunday In the Park was the show that made me realize that I wasn't satisfied with my life and it was time to start working on making a change. Move On pretty much changed my life. None of that is hyperbole, either. Be sure to PM me with details for your show, rantmo. I'd love to see something small and independent while I'm in town, too. More along the lines of the things I'll probably be auditioning for some time next year when I move.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2012 16:52
|
|
|
Geekboy posted:Be sure to PM me with details for your show, rantmo. I'd love to see something small and independent while I'm in town, too. More along the lines of the things I'll probably be auditioning for some time next year when I move. So is that a decision made then?
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2012 17:42
|
|
|
The first review for our show has come in, praising the "subtle but effective sound effects." Audiences have reportedly praised the sound after the show as well  Ehhhh whatever Edit: I think audience laughter has covered the most cartoony sound effects, though. Sulphuric Sundae fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Oct 21, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2012 21:29
|
|
|
I'm looking for a 25-30 minute one act with a cast of around 4-8 people. Help me, What? No theatre thread? thread.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2012 23:18
|
|
|
r0ff13c0p73r posted:Load in from hell ended up opening great. This is about how it always is, until you work somewhere with a ton of money, then you only need to fix them every other day.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2012 01:09
|
|
|
bunnielab posted:This is about how it always is, until you work somewhere with a ton of money, then you only need to fix them every other day. After that, it's worked pretty well *knocks on wood*. I actually was volunteered to go on stage as an extra this weekend and it was a pretty smooth ride. T-Bone posted:I'm looking for a 25-30 minute one act with a cast of around 4-8 people. David Ives has a couple that run that long, Tony Kushner has a "10 minute play" that isn't 10 at all. Honestly, look at "10 minute plays" because that's really just a generalization, a bunch of them are actually 20-30. That being said, a bunch of them are also 2-5 minutes
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2012 03:40
|
|
|
bunnielab posted:This is about how it always is, until you work somewhere with a ton of money, then you only need to fix them every other day. Hell, we have a very expensive and reliable setup from Hudson Scenic, a 40-year vet who may literally know all there is to know about doing automation, plus three guys that work under him with at least ten years experience each, and they're still tweaking just about five days a week.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2012 08:51
|
|
|
rantmo posted:So is that a decision made then? I . . . I didn't . . . maybe. There's some relationship stuff that might convince me to move elsewhere, but I really like Chicago, dammit.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2012 22:46
|
|
|
So this is gonna seem like one hell of a random drop-in, but gently caress it, don't care. I just got back from the crew viewing of Welcome Home Jenny Sutter here on my local campus, and in watching it I realized something. Holy living gently caress, did I ever miss the theatre. Even just there as the guy who'll be running the lightboard once tech rehearsals start on Saturday, I had more fun just listening and watching the actors warm up than I had in years pursuing computer science. Maybe I should dust off a few monologues, nut up, and give auditioning a shot next time it comes around. Lord knows I've got the poverty thing down pat, might as well go the extra mile and start acting again. (Also, anybody else familiar with Sutter? I thought it was an amazingly well done play.)
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 06:05
|
|
|
Grinnblade posted:So this is gonna seem like one hell of a random drop-in, but gently caress it, don't care. I've only read it, and I wasn't particularly struck by it. So far of what I've seen or read, 9 Circles and Blackwatch are the best plays about recent wars. Speaking of plays, we're in the midst of reading mountains of scripts for season planning. Anyone have any suggestions for recent scripts they really like? Rakekniven fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 16:01
|
|
|
What are your strengths as a company/what is your casting pool like?
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:17
|
|
|
Grinnblade posted:So this is gonna seem like one hell of a random drop-in, but gently caress it, don't care. The theatre down the road from my house (Next Theatre Company in Evanston) is going to be putting Jenny Sutter on in a few weeks. I've been thinking of seeing it. Would you recommend it? I should learn more about theatre in general, I think. I live right by Chicago, so there's no way I wouldn't find a show. Sometimes I'm not sure where to start, though. My girlfriend is a recent BFA grad and miraculously landed a job as a tech assistant doing community theatre for one of the nearby park districts. If nothing else, knowing how to support her as an outsider would be nice. I'll be attending all of her shows for sure.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2012 03:39
|
|
|
Nameo posted:My girlfriend is a recent BFA grad and miraculously landed a job as a tech assistant doing community theatre for one of the nearby park districts. If nothing else, knowing how to support her as an outsider would be nice. Find out when her tech weeks are (if she works those as it sounds like she would). Try not to stress her extra during those weeks, and just be patient with her schedule.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2012 07:35
|
|
|
Next is a good company, so chances are decent the show won't suck!
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2012 00:09
|
|
|
Nameo posted:The theatre down the road from my house (Next Theatre Company in Evanston) is going to be putting Jenny Sutter on in a few weeks. I've been thinking of seeing it. Would you recommend it? OSheaman posted:Next is a good company, so chances are decent the show won't suck! I've been working tech on it for the past month and I still sometimes pay more attention to the show than the stage manager asking for light-cue standbys. So yeah, if it's being put on by a good company and it's not too far out of your way, I would recommend it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2012 19:55
|
|
|
I just got some un-retouched headshots back from NYC photographer Robert Mannis. If you are in the tri-state area and an actor really consider going to him for professional headshots. Expensive but worth it 
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2012 20:53
|
|
|
I saw rantmo's production of Pirate Bones, Steppenwolf's Good People and the Chicago Shakespeare Company's Sunday in the Park with George while I was in Chicago last week and am officially in love with the city. I'll be back soon. Permanently. Good People loving owned. Everything was good of course, but holy poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2012 04:03
|
|
|
So I said I would play a bit part in a play, and now it looks like I'm helping with the lighting too. Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about lighting and neither does anybody else  Any advice would be appreciated! I think I can figure out the control board (it looks a lot like DJ control boards which I have used before), but I have no idea what to do when it comes to actually making things look good.We did have a lighting guy come in once, and apparently we don't have enough lights to do things "properly" as we only have one spotlight and 6 small lights. Apologies if this is the wrong thread.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2012 20:52
|
|
|
Fruits of the sea posted:So I said I would play a bit part in a play, and now it looks like I'm helping with the lighting too. Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about lighting and neither does anybody else How large is your stage, what does your space look like? what kinds of lights are they? Could you take some pictures of everything and link to them? Where are they plugging into? Are the lights dimmable (This would mean they are mostly likely attached to a dimmer rack and therefore you might have more spaces, called "circuits," available for more lights). If you do have more spaces, any way to beg, borrow or steal more lights?(local community theatres, high schools, colleges, etc.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 05:28
|
|
|
Wow, lots of questions. I'll try to take pictures and answer some of the more specific questions tomorrow, but here's my best shot at a description. It's an old fashioned schoolhouse, so basically a really long room with a high ceiling and a stage at one end. If I had to guess, I would say the stage is 6 meters wide and 3 deep. Pretty small, in any case. The stage itself is raised about 2 feet off the floor. The walls and stage are painted a dark beige like what you get on pantyhose (god knows why). There are two doors at the back of the stage, one in each corner. Both doors are painted bright white. The lighting guy explained dimmer racks to me! We have two of them, attached to the walls on either side of the stage. I think the dimmers have four "circuits" each. The smaller lights are attached to bars on the walls and we, uh, don't have anything to attach the spotlight to.  Hopefully some pictures should give you a better idea of what's going on.I don't know if we can borrow equipment from anywhere else, but it's certainly possible. We do have some budgeting leeway if something becomes absolutely incredibly necessary as well. Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Nov 21, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 07:19
|
|
|
Lighting systems are intimidating as hell. But if you have someone to walk you through the circuits, you're already past the worst part if it. Are you just helping with the light design, or are you running the board during the show?
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2012 17:03
|
|
|
It turns out my post is less "how do I do a thing" and more "oh god, lighting is complicated". I'll leave it here for now, but perhaps there's a better thread or forum for it? I'm not sure the theater thread is the right place for help with lighting basics and installing stage fixtures, all for a two night performance of A Christmas Carol  After taking another look at the place, I think the priority is to find out what changes need to be made and if anything needs to be purchased or borrowed in the next week. For context, the play is part of an ongoing restoration/revival of the village's schoolhouse. It's being used as a venue for music, plays and other community events. So, if there's an improvement that requires cash and can be justified in the long term, I could make a good case for it. I would really value any input from people with experience in this sort of thing. Ideally whatever changes we make now can be used and added to in following plays. It's obviously very humble, but so is the village  Apologies for the crappy cell phone pics. We have 6 of these lights:  3 mounted beside each dimmer rack, on opposite walls. Turns out the dimmer racks actually have eight circuits each:   The big light (spotlight?):  The stage, under construction:  The biggest headache is finding a place to mount the large light. I've suggested that we mount it high up on the wall opposite the stage. The director is pushing for attaching the light to the wall, but only about 7 feet up, so the angle can be adjusted between scenes. I'm wary of that idea, as having expensive, heavy and extremely hot objects sticking out at head height seems... risky. The ceiling is another possibility, but it seems to be made of loose wood boards, so installing something safely could get expensive. Keeping future events in mind, what would a pro do? I'm also worried about insufficient lighting. The plan was to add color filters to the smaller lights for mood lighting, but that leaves me with even less illumination for the rest of the play. Dividing lights (and scenes) into "warm" and "cold" colours, while leaving 2 of the lights untouched would leave 4 of 6 lights usable at any given time (plus the big light), but I'm not sure if that's enough. The house lights above the stage can be dimmed, but they can't be controlled from the board, and their light is a bit harsh. I'm not sure what else could help, apart from borrowing more gear somehow. CaligulaKangaroo posted:Lighting systems are intimidating as hell. But if you have someone to walk you through the circuits, you're already past the worst part if it. Are you just helping with the light design, or are you running the board during the show? Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Nov 23, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2012 21:40
|
|
|
Hah, doing a refocus during a show is amazing. With that small amount of lights your best bet is to just light the stage with a wash and play with intensity and areas. Maybe safe that S4 looking thing for a special, but if it really is a 50 then you are going to be kinda limited in what it can do. If you have spare dimmers then call every theatre in the area and try to borrow a few source 4s or anything similar. I used to do a ton of no money theatre and generally I found that by staying simple you can avoid looking cheap and let the play take focus. I was always a huge fan of black boxs and acting cubes rather then trying to build a actual set with $300 or what ever. When you have limited money costumes and decent sound are the most cost effective places to put it towards. bongwizzard fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Nov 23, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2012 23:36
|
|
|
Are the houselights just simple On/Off or are they dimmable? Are the lights over the stage on a different switch than the lights over the audience? Fun thing about small theatre spaces is playing with the standard lighting. With the space you have, you can probably get a decent front wash out of 4 of those fresnels (the small lights) and use the other 2 to get some side light going. Side light is the best thing ever. You can mount these pretty cheaply just by making a wooden box, and then taking off the c-clamp from the yoke and bolting the yoke to the box, and putting them offstage. As for the elipsoidal, it's usefulness is limited by the fact that you can't change the aperture size. Saving it for a single pool of light is really your best bet. With the size of your play space, you could just focus it down center and it would look fine, especially with all the other lights out. As for color, wouldn't worry too much about getting hots and cools. With the production you're talking about, going with a no color/frosted/amber wash seems like a safe bet, and if you want some real color differentiation, try a no color blue in that elipsoidal. As for hanging, your best bet is to mimic the way those fresnels are hanging, bar attached to the concrete wall with some nice, heavy duty, concrete lag bolts.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2012 08:23
|
|
|
"A Christmas Story" is opening on Broadway soon. One of my roommates is obsessed and apparently it's had a superb run with regional theatre companies all over the country. Looks like companies have a winter money maker besides "A Christmas Carol" now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2012 04:08
|
|
|
Ksrugi posted:"A Christmas Story" is opening on Broadway soon. One of my roommates is obsessed and apparently it's had a superb run with regional theatre companies all over the country. Looks like companies have a winter money maker besides "A Christmas Carol" now. There's a local production of "A Christmas Story" opening this week, and I had no clue there was a stage adaptation floating around. I was asked to stage manage, but I knew I couldn't commit. I was also asked to stage manage (and later, after I said no to that, to fill in as lights operator) for a local production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" also opening tomorrow. I remember loving the book as a kid, but I hadn't heard of a stage version of it either. My son was just born two weeks early, so I'm glad I turned down both plays, but it's a shame I'll be too busy to see if either one's any good. Sulphuric Sundae fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Nov 29, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2012 14:17
|
|
|
"The Best Christmas Pageant" ever is great if you've got a lot of kids to cast and you need a money maker. It's cute and people like seeing it. Like "A Christmas Carol." Guaranteed money makers. It's almost like "The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged." Except that show is a real marker to see if a Shakespeare company had a rough season the year before.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2012 06:49
|
|
|
Ksrugi posted:"The Best Christmas Pageant" ever is great if you've got a lot of kids to cast and you need a money maker. It's cute and people like seeing it. Like "A Christmas Carol." Guaranteed money makers. The best Shakespeare is always the tongue in cheek Shakespeare (unless it involves Kenneth Branagh)
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2012 08:55
|
|
|
If you're not laughing at all while watching a Shakespeare-any Shakespeare-they're not doing it right.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2012 22:24
|
|
|
I caught a preview of Tennessee Rep's "A Christmas Story" this week. I enjoyed the show, it was a little long for some of the kids in the audience at almost two hours ten minutes plus intermission. Maybe that will get tightened up in the run but there are so many moments from the movie that the show needs to capture so I think it is just a long show. Not sure if it was a choice the director made or a call out from the script but their was a lot of audience participation. We were encourage if not expected to bark like dogs, make wind noises and echo the line 'you'll shoot your eye out'. It wasn't sold on the barking or the wind, and felt it was more of a distraction than anything. In a few scenes kids form the audience were brought up on stage to fill in, I thought that was cute. The show was presented in a 200 capacity black box in 3/4 thrust set up with excellent production values. The set was great and very functional. Our seats were far stage left so I didn't get a good look at the back wall but from what I saw it was well done. Most of the furniture pulled double duty to facilitate all the different locations and it flowed very nicely. The lighting was well done, helping to establish the locations and create some isolation when Ralphie was speaking to the audience directly. When we would go into Ralphies dream world the looks would get funky and cartoonish which fit perfectly. There was one special that I would have frosted a little and a burned out practical in a light box but I know how the week before opening can be. Now let me bitch aout college students that 'HAVE' to see a show for class. I went on preview night so tickets were $20 instead of $40. The house was about 7/8s full. A good mix of blue hairs, families, and young couples. There was no late seating for this show because the cast was all over and the way the entrance was it was impossible to enter while the show was going on with out tripping a cast member or drawing attention away from the show. This was made very clear when I purchased my tickets and when we got to the theatre. At intermission a group of ten students showed up and sat behind us. During the intermission they bitched about how they weren't allowed into the show and how that was crap. They talked through the whole show about where they were going after and took pics with flash several times. Center stage was less than 20 feet from them. The same things that kept them outside during hte first act kept ushers from getting to them during the second act. I get sending students to shows. I'm sure the company needed their $20 and several glasses of wine, but if the students aren't going to enjoy it is it really helping them appreciate the arts? Seems like rewarding bad behavior to me.
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2012 01:11
|
|
|
To be fair, most students aren't that bad.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2012 02:05
|
|
|
David Mamet really dropped the ball with his new play. Somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty previews and sixteen actually performances and it's set to close in two days. Patti Lupone's in it so I thought it would've run a few months at least. Couple that with mediocre reviews of "Glengarry Glen Ross." There was an article in the New York Times about people making special accommodations for our famous American playwrights. Producers investing in and opening plays that should use more time to incubate and playwrights going ahead because of a lack of checks and balances. Not to say they should be censored, but that someone should take the time and have the balls to say to David Mamet, "Yo dawg, this script sucks."
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 19:26
|
|
|
Race and November both bombed though didn't they? His adaptation of Voysey Inheritance was the last good thing I remember him being involved in, and that was back in 05.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2012 01:47
|
|
|
Ksrugi posted:David Mamet really dropped the ball with his new play. Somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty previews and sixteen actually performances and it's set to close in two days. Patti Lupone's in it so I thought it would've run a few months at least. Couple that with mediocre reviews of "Glengarry Glen Ross." There was an article in the New York Times about people making special accommodations for our famous American playwrights. Producers investing in and opening plays that should use more time to incubate and playwrights going ahead because of a lack of checks and balances. Not to say they should be censored, but that someone should take the time and have the balls to say to David Mamet, "Yo dawg, this script sucks." Mamet's career is pretty pockmarked with this sort of thing. You'd think there'd be more oversight on productions he's involved with, especially as a playwright who's pretty much infamous for creating hard-to-tackle material.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2012 19:30
|
|
|
So I'm working on a production of Caucasian Chalk Circle, which has been a wonderful experience and is going be a fantastic production, and I've encountered two reactions when I tell people about it that have surprised me. The only time I've ever seen the show was about 20 years ago when my little brother was in it, so I really don't have a great recollection of it, and so I'm hoping some of you would have more familiarity to see if we are indeed doing some odd stuff. The primary one is that people are surprised that it's a musical. I guess I understand the confusion because there's not a score that goes along with it and no composer who was involved as near as I can tell, but the narrator is called the Singer in the script and characters are constantly breaking into song. Hell, some of the lyrics couldn't be plausibly spoken aloud by an actual human because they're just terrible as dialogue. The second one, and this actually came from one of the older women in the cast, who also happens to be a respected Shakespearean teacher in Chicago, is that isn't not intended to be a comedy. Ours is unambiguously comedic but when I read the script, it read like a comedy to me. So are these odd takes on the show or are they pretty typical?
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2012 21:18
|
|
|
rantmo posted:So I'm working on a production of Caucasian Chalk Circle, which has been a wonderful experience and is going be a fantastic production, and I've encountered two reactions when I tell people about it that have surprised me. The only time I've ever seen the show was about 20 years ago when my little brother was in it, so I really don't have a great recollection of it, and so I'm hoping some of you would have more familiarity to see if we are indeed doing some odd stuff. A lot of people just don't get Brecht. He liked to use comedy because he felt people connected better with it (the better to alienate them later of course). People tend to associate his name with avant-garde productions and pretentious theatre majors, they forget that he used a lot of standard stage convention and mainstream ideas just so he could gently caress with them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2012 21:33
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:Mamet's career is pretty pockmarked with this sort of thing. You'd think there'd be more oversight on productions he's involved with, especially as a playwright who's pretty much infamous for creating hard-to-tackle material. Oversight? What do you mean? Broadway productions of a new play by a "big name" playwright like David Mamet have the playwright himself involved in every step, as well as the director. Mamet directed "The Anarchist" himself, which I didn't see, and when he's not directing his own plays he has a top tier big name directing. And of course his producers who have been producing his plays for years and are veterans of dozens of productions. Unless you just mean that he shouldn't be directing his own work, which seems to be the case based on how The Anarchist went.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 00:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 05:59 |
|
|
r0ff13c0p73r posted:A lot of people just don't get Brecht. He liked to use comedy because he felt people connected better with it (the better to alienate them later of course). This is pretty much right, and also most of Brecht's theory is pretty dumb and/or obvious if you spend any time thinking about it, so when people get super-obsessed with Verfremdung and all that it ends up being bad. I had a fellow-director in a class I took years ago do a production of "Threepenny Opera" that was the results of months of slavish research on Brechtian theory, and was faithfully staged the way Brecht said it should be, and was also awful. The reason Brecht is important is because he wrote a bunch of really good plays, was popular, and had some excellent collaborators. A lot of his writing about "how to do theater" doesn't really stand up outside of his own personal zeitgeist.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 00:35
|
|