Okay, if Josy is reading this, I promise I'm doing work.
No, seriously, I've been putting off Cherry Orchard stuff like I just don't have a deadline. For the record, I do have a deadline and it is Monday afternoon when I drive to Antioch for the first read through.
This is pretty par for the course for me. At UNCG I put off doing work until the last minute too. It was this weird desire to feel rushed and stressed in order to get stuff done that I think grew out of my busy, hectic life in high school and, especially, Grinnell.
And now that I have nothing else to do but this design, I am sitting on my hands and dragging my feet. (And watching lots of stupid TV on-Demand.) One of these days I have a feeling that this is going to bite me in the butt. Fortunately there isn't much more that has to be done with the design. The prelim drawing was approved, I just need to get a floor plan together and working drawings from which to build. And since there are only 4 set pieces, which are all identical, I think that will be pretty easy.
In the meantime, does anyone have any thoughts on putting a chandelier on a traveler?
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A Blossom Cyc?
Hello! Two posts in one week! It's because I have been busy busy busy trying to make headway on this design for The Cherry Orchard. Keep in mind, it's hard to be that bus or productive (or excited) when I only have one floor plan out of two for the spaces the show is performing in. And no sections. And no idea what space #1 looks like (that's right, I have no idea what the first space the show is performing in looks like... wah-wah).
BUT! I have done some sketches. Based off of this research image of a Victorian sun room:
I like it because it's open and airy and has an linear quality that evokes the idea that the house is made of those taut strings that snap at the end of Act II.
And so I rough-sketched this:
And, though you may not be able to see it, have been toying with the idea of a cyc (that's short for cyclorama) that is composed of "cherry blossoms."
I've since sent my sketches and thoughts off to the director, and now I wait. Fortunately I have a walk through scheduled at theatre #1 on Tuesday, so that will also answer a lot of questions, and potentially dash some of my hopes and dreams. So woo?
In other news, I'm also updating my website with my big paint show for CTC. And just realized I never got photos up for Orpheus Descending. Must go remedy that now. Or after lunch. :)
BUT! I have done some sketches. Based off of this research image of a Victorian sun room:
I like it because it's open and airy and has an linear quality that evokes the idea that the house is made of those taut strings that snap at the end of Act II.
And so I rough-sketched this:
And, though you may not be able to see it, have been toying with the idea of a cyc (that's short for cyclorama) that is composed of "cherry blossoms."
I've since sent my sketches and thoughts off to the director, and now I wait. Fortunately I have a walk through scheduled at theatre #1 on Tuesday, so that will also answer a lot of questions, and potentially dash some of my hopes and dreams. So woo?
In other news, I'm also updating my website with my big paint show for CTC. And just realized I never got photos up for Orpheus Descending. Must go remedy that now. Or after lunch. :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Horse and the Cherry Tree
In many things, once you fall off the horse, it is hard to get back on. You beat yourself up for faltering, you feel embarrassed that you didn't get back up sooner, etc. That's how I feel about this blog. What started as a creative outlet for writing during the spring semester of my second year at grad school has turned into something I dread sitting down to write. In part because I'm embarrassed that I have been away so long, and because all I can think about are things to complain about.
Well, it's time to "Suck it up, Buttercup" as my friends at CTC are want to say. Okay.
So, what have I been up to lately? A whole lot of not much. CTC is on summer hiatus Aug 3 to Sept 16th. So for 6 weeks I am left to my own devices and unemployment. I did manage to snag a job at Hapgood Theatre in Martinez/Antioch, about 1.5 hours north of here. It's a bit of a stretch, but it's for The Cherry Orchard and after my design for The Seagull a couple of years ago, I was more than happy to make arrangements to make it happen. It will be a bit of juggling because the show opens a week after I'm back at CTC. But I'm a masterful organizer, so I'm going to make it happen and not let either theatre company down.
This also means that I'm racking my brains for ideas for the show. The time period is staying the same, but the directer wants to strip it down. (She really liked my design for The Seagull.) I have the added bonus of having to move the piece from the theatre in Martinez to a theatre in Antioch... so it can't be anything too big or complicated. I've got some great ideas swirling in my brain, but my big thing right now is trying to get up there to see the spaces in question. [Update: Not happening until next week... we're going to start drawing tomorrow w/ no idea whatsoever about the spaces. Check!]
So, my ideas about The Cherry Orchard include focusing on windows, and the way that they denote looking in and out. And the fact that they can indicate an interior/house/exterior without being very heavy visually or in real life (remember, changeover). For me, The Cherry Orchard's surrealist feeling is epitomized in the sound of string breaking that happens in Act II. I want to know if I can include that in the design. Perhaps there are intentional strings hanging the windows in place and indicating the wall expanse that they are floating in. Perhaps there is a sense of the trees, or the linear qualities of the trees, indicated by taut rope. I'm not sure. The one thing I am sure of, which is both good and kind of saddening, is that Chekov didn't set any of the scenes in the cherry orchard. So, while it feels like the orchard should somehow be visible, the fact that Chekov doesn't show it to the audience is significant. This is because the orchard only exists as each character describes it. And it means something different to each one. It represents hope and longing and the past and the future (once it is torn down) differently to each character. So if I tried to visualize the orchard, I would be taking away the ephemera that it represents. Thus, no cherry orchard in The Cherry Orchard. At least not directly.
Like I said, sketching will begin in earnest tomorrow. I've got lots of research images. But I will leave you with one that is both research and inspirational:
Well, it's time to "Suck it up, Buttercup" as my friends at CTC are want to say. Okay.
So, what have I been up to lately? A whole lot of not much. CTC is on summer hiatus Aug 3 to Sept 16th. So for 6 weeks I am left to my own devices and unemployment. I did manage to snag a job at Hapgood Theatre in Martinez/Antioch, about 1.5 hours north of here. It's a bit of a stretch, but it's for The Cherry Orchard and after my design for The Seagull a couple of years ago, I was more than happy to make arrangements to make it happen. It will be a bit of juggling because the show opens a week after I'm back at CTC. But I'm a masterful organizer, so I'm going to make it happen and not let either theatre company down.
This also means that I'm racking my brains for ideas for the show. The time period is staying the same, but the directer wants to strip it down. (She really liked my design for The Seagull.) I have the added bonus of having to move the piece from the theatre in Martinez to a theatre in Antioch... so it can't be anything too big or complicated. I've got some great ideas swirling in my brain, but my big thing right now is trying to get up there to see the spaces in question. [Update: Not happening until next week... we're going to start drawing tomorrow w/ no idea whatsoever about the spaces. Check!]
So, my ideas about The Cherry Orchard include focusing on windows, and the way that they denote looking in and out. And the fact that they can indicate an interior/house/exterior without being very heavy visually or in real life (remember, changeover). For me, The Cherry Orchard's surrealist feeling is epitomized in the sound of string breaking that happens in Act II. I want to know if I can include that in the design. Perhaps there are intentional strings hanging the windows in place and indicating the wall expanse that they are floating in. Perhaps there is a sense of the trees, or the linear qualities of the trees, indicated by taut rope. I'm not sure. The one thing I am sure of, which is both good and kind of saddening, is that Chekov didn't set any of the scenes in the cherry orchard. So, while it feels like the orchard should somehow be visible, the fact that Chekov doesn't show it to the audience is significant. This is because the orchard only exists as each character describes it. And it means something different to each one. It represents hope and longing and the past and the future (once it is torn down) differently to each character. So if I tried to visualize the orchard, I would be taking away the ephemera that it represents. Thus, no cherry orchard in The Cherry Orchard. At least not directly.
Like I said, sketching will begin in earnest tomorrow. I've got lots of research images. But I will leave you with one that is both research and inspirational:
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