Procrastination

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?

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. :)

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:

Life Thus Far

With no one holding me accountable to updating this blog, I have failed. That and life is busy and rather depressing right now.

The Intermediate/Advanced conservatory has begun. This means we're working with 11+ y.o. It's both great and frustrating, all at the same time. Some of the kids are interested, engaged and superbly well behaved. Many are still a little immature. But what gets me is the short timeline to create things. We go into tech for the Advanced shows on Friday and we have yet to erect the set on the main stage. This worries me immensely. But John and I are pretty much our own crew of 2 for 6 shows. And have to teach and visit Core Conservatory sites on a regular basis... just not sure how things are supposed to get done.

I'm just grateful that I came up with a design that does not involve a lot of shifting between shows. There is a rep set of platforms that is not going to move. We're just going to be dealing with things hanging in the air that have to come down and change out. Phew.

In related news, I've been soul-searching a bit about whether design is really my chosen path. I enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but having to do all the grunt labor for it: building/painting/propping is frustrating. I feel like some kind of lazy humbug when I admit this to myself, but I really would like to have a less physically demanding job. And I'd like to wear non paint-clothes on a more regular basis. Is that too much to ask?

Okay, off to work today. I leave you with a photo of the drop design for Los Altos 2 for a show called "Romeo and Winnifred."

These Are a Few of My _______ Things

It's Sunday, a week after my last blog, and I'm updating! Whoa.

This week I will touch on some stuff because I actually have to leave for tech in 1.5 hours as well as call my mom and get ready, so this will be more listy than usual.

1. This week I "designed" a backdrop for the first Summer Conservatory here at CTC. I did this by taking all of the ideas drawn and colored by the kids and mashing them together into something coherent based on the two director's opinions. It was fabulous! All my creative input was layout (which I actually enjoy) and some toy ideas, but the majority of what made it was the kids' drawings. Including an awesomely spiky, lime green dinosaur. (I will get a picture, promise). Then, after drawing out the final design on 18'x24' piece of paper (finally getting some use of of my huge sketch pad from Grinnell) I went to the site and drew it on 4 king-sized sheets sewn together.

Again, it was freeing. I can be so anal about drawing, but when you're outside in 80+ heat, in the noonday sun, on a blacktop w/ no shade, drawing w/ a permanent marker, you just accept the lines you draw. And it turned out great. I cannot wait to see how the kids paint it. :)

2. Tech! Is today, as I mentioned. Tomorrow is my day off. Seem strange? Yes, it is. While I do not mind coming in tomorrow to work if I need to (this is the first time the designer has seen any of the set), I also don't know if I get a day off instead. I really wish I had control over my own schedule. It would make me feel better about the hours I put in and more likely to work more, actually.

3. I applied to some jobs yesterday, and sent out feeler resumes for the 1.5 month that I have off at the end of summer. While I would like to be employed, it isn't life or death since CT will be bringing in money and I am planning to put as much away as I can to cover that open gap of income. So it was nice to send out resumes and not freak out about all the details. If they like me, great. If not, oh well. I do kind of hope that I can wrangle a job somewhere to start getting my name out there in the Bay Area. We'll see.

I think that may be it for this week. Next week starts 2 more Conservatories--so 2 more drops!--and Black Coffee opens on Friday. Followed by my own Intermediate/Advanced Conservatory teaching experience. I am definitely enjoying myself this summer. Perhaps I am more cut out to teach younger kids than college students. :P

The Business of Theatre

I make no claims that I am business-minded in any way. However, having worked at a fair number of theatre companies, from professional to opera to regional to community, I have learned a lot of what not to do. And, as might be expected, what I would do differently if I were heading up the theatre, or, for that matter, my own theatre.

Yesterday, CT and I had a very long conversation about theatre as a business. I've said before that many theatre practitioners do not view theatre as business; they view it as art. The problem is, if you're taking in money for a product, then you've got a business on your hands. And while most theatre companies do not have "make money" as part of their mission statement, it's a necessary goal in order to achieve whatever the mission statement is.

Along with thinking of theatre as business in relationship to your customers (aka audience members), is thinking about how to run the most effective business for your employees. I've worked at some really spectacular, morale-boosting theatres and some soul-crushing theatres (all of which will go unnamed so no one feels called out one way or another). And I know that I've done better work as an artist and wanted to bring more people into the theatre as a spokesperson at the former. But when, as an artist, you are working under crappy circumstances, you wonder, why am I doing this? Do I really want to sacrifice having a comfortable bank account for this? It's not a good thing. And I think, if there is any reason I would want to start a theatre company, it would be as much about having an artistic vision that I believe in, as it would be having a group of artists feel taken care of and happy in choosing a profession that burns you out with little financial reward to show for it.

This is all to say that, more so than ever, both because I'm done with school and was charged by many faculty members (not personally) to go out and start my own theatre, and because I am tired of being taken advantage of (I am more a rug than anything else sometimes) that I am, more than before, seriously considering starting my own theatre. I think it helps that CT seems to have a head for business ;), if I could convince him to take that financial plunge with me. Meanwhile, any of my awesome colleagues and peers want to join me?

Rhythm, Rhyme, Reason

Okay, so I have been trying to find a schedule that will allow me to post more. Ha ha. We are in the midst of the Summer Repertory at CTC and just opened Around the World in 80 Days last Friday and will open A Servant of Two Masters this Friday... so yes, schedule sh-medule. But, hey, we now have a chair! Which makes sitting down to write easier.

Well, the things that I have been thinking about to write about are the following:

1. Weekly schedules are not the best, but can be dealt with. However, getting the calendar less than 24 hours in advance of the beginning of that week makes it difficult to deal with. :( And not having a full day off, super :( .

2. The reason it is nice to have a paint/design assistant is not really to have someone fetch your coffee or do the grunt work, it's nice to have the company. Last night I had to stay to line the stage (AGAIN!) and was by myself. It was very lonely. Especially in a mostly dark theatre (because I didn't want to have to go to the booth to turn off the lights). I kept thinking about my awesome assistants in the past and how much I miss them for their help and company (and input).

3. Being a scenic painter for someone else is hard. I already knew that, but this summer really hit that home with me, in part because the designer is only around a few times a week. So I have to make decisions (without complete renderings) so I can continue and move on, hoping that when the designer is around, I didn't waste my time. I vow to be a more available designer, or, barring that, have complete renderings available.

4. Children's theatre is interesting. I have more to say about this, but I need to get my head around the best way to talk about the importance of the genre compared to the stigma and quality often associated with it. So more on this later.

On that note, it's my first full day off in 14 days. Time to go get my oil changed and go grocery shopping. Woot. Such a life.

PS. CT is employed!!

CTC's publicity photo for Around the World in 80 Days: