All Eyes on Me

I really liked the set design. It is a spin on the oft-used lego-block platform configuration of several HTP sets, with some major alterations that made it actually look very different. First of all, the platforms are not fronted, instead painted with dark wood stain to make them look more like real structures. The open air beneath them gives them a very different look, as does the stain. I also approve of not having to deal with fronting, or having to use the router to cut the fronting to size.

I have experience with wood stain, so I got to lead the crew on that particular task. It really isn’t hard, just paint it on in the direction of the grain and wipe off the excess, so once you know that it’s easy. We didn’t bother with multiple coats because it doesn’t have to be perfect for the stage, besides the fact that it had to be dry enough to rehearse on by the next day. I’ve always loved the look of stained wood (so much more elegant and expensive-looking than when painted) and it ended up quite lovely. To steampunk it up, we bought metal corner pieces that we screwed onto the front edges of all the platforms.

Also to that end were the streetlamps. These were especially cool given all the various theatrical departments contributed to them—lighting, props, and set crew. They found these great lantern tops which were placed on top of PVC piping spray painted black on the poles and bronze at the joints, with a cord running down through them that when plugged in actually made it possible to turn them off and on. They looked really lovely burning softly up there, and I am pleased to say that they will be saved in the Hold Thy Peace storage locker for possible use in another show.

The crew working on the show this time around was fabulous, both the dedicated techies and the actors doubling as set builders. Plesser in particular must be commended for his work as master carpenter, especially since he gave his all at that and then turned around and threw himself into four amazing performances as Othello. He is shaping up well in the position and is learning to be a real crew leader, so props to him. As a matter of fact, we had a remarkably competent group of people around, most of whom had developed some technical theater skill in building, working with lights, or anything else that needed to be done. It was a lucky thing, too, as some of the materials we used ended up using turned out to be harder to work with than what we were used to, such as the four-by-four legs that were so dense they required a lot more strength and finessing than the two-by-fours to attach to the platforms.

The only real criticism of it is the use of the moving bits. This is the first dynamic set we've had since Hamlet, which consisted of metal painters scaffolds that rolled around. They were reconfigured in various positions to represent different places in and around the castle of Elsinore. In Othello, there was a freestanding platform that represented the bed, among other things, a bridge in the middle that pushed in and out of the stage right platform cluster, and a low roller that came out of the front of that side. While the bed mover worked pretty well, I feel like the other two didn't do a huge amount to change the shape of the set. The front mover in particular didn't much affect anything. But I like the idea of dynamic sets, so I think we need to work this into the design with more mind as to how it will be used in the blocking and what change it will make to the look of the set.

Turned out not half-bad, now, didn’t it?

So I feel like a real stride forward has been made in HTP set design and construction. Hopefully what was learned here will be used to push the envelope even farther for the next show.

Saturday was the first rehearsal for nennivian's Magic at Midsummer piece. I'd been excited to get going for a while, and on Saturday I had a blast. I was a bit nervous for my own performance; I'm not a bad dancer once I memorize my steps, but it takes me a while to learn the choreography to get to the point where I can go through it smoothly and fast enough. But I feel like I followed along really well, and I didn't even confuse right and left that often (which has been a lifelong problem of mine.) Charlotte's choreography is really great-- it's fun to do, it tells the story really well, and it has neat moments where one phrase will have similar but not the same elements of a different phrase that connect them and contrast them at the same time. It's very clever. She also did a great job of teaching it to us; I think the clear way she could describe it and then demonstrate it really helped me get through my typical difficulties absorbing the movements for the first time.

There are several cast members from HTP's Midsummer in this show, and I like the fact that all of us are playing different roles in this show than we did in the other one. I am Titania where I used to be Puck, Plesser is Bottom where he used to be Lysander, and Zanna is Puck when she used to be Hermia. Heck, we even have some Midsummer crew members who now took on roles-- Marissa the costume designer is Hermia, and Jenna helped with makeup and now is Helena.

It felt like a great workout, fun to do and actually physically demanding. I am lucky, I think, that my partner for a lot of the movements will be Plesser, who is strong enough to help me out with some of the paired ones like the dips. The only downside is that I am now very sore. Scratch that-- most of my body is just fine, but my thighs are pretty ripped up. Charlotte incorporated this one move that I was flattered to hear was inspired by my performance as Puck, the movement that was kind of Puck's signature, crouched down on the ground with one leg bent and one leg fully extended.
 

Once we started doing that, it came back to me just how rough moving like that was on a body that isn't used to it. I'm walking kind of gingerly now, and getting up and down stairs is a real pain. I had lofty ideas of practicing the steps a little every night between rehearsals, to get them more solidly in my mind, but I think I'll have to just stick to spending some time visualizing them until I'm moving better. But I think I'll be okay soon. As it was during Midsummer, I expect I will be uncomfy at the very beginning of the process while it's new to me and at the very end of the process when I'm doing it every night for the week leading up to the performance. :-)