breakinglight11 | Entries tagged with sets

Yesterday I took a moment to look at the piece of the Mrs. Hawking set I refer to as "the tower," the four-sided, two-storied structure that provided the bones of the climbable fireplace section, which currently resides under my house's back deck. Unlike the rest of the set, which was either furniture that could be returned to its home, or stored down in my basement, the tower section I had no choice but to wrap in a tarp and hope for the best as it endured the ridiculous weather we've had since it came home from Arisia in January.

There has been no effective way to manage the snow that basically buried it for the last two months. I tried to keep the tarp secured at first, but eventually it became clear that was a lost cause. The weight of the snow and ice has basically shredded it. So my precious set piece that me and my crew worked so hard on has been at the mercy of the elements for weeks now, basically unprotected.

It's not a huge deal. My stroke of set-building genius-- if I may say so myself --to use a children's exterior jungle gym made of pressure-treated wood makes it fairly impervious to the weather. Even the black paint is weatherproof. But I must say, there's something a little tragic about seeing a cornerstone of my beautiful set, which looks like this when assembled...

...currently looking like this.

Again, it's fine, and I certainly will have the time (and hopefully no snow storms in MAY) to fix it up if it needs it. Not the end of the world. But it serves as a reminder how rough and unsupported my work is right now. A bit discouraging, I won't lie. I think it's best to keep negativity mostly off the official website, but here on my private journal I'll cop to not always feeling super-confident and pleased with everything. And it all comes down to me, my effort, my resources, which are not endless.

I took this picture so that someday I can look back and laugh. When Mrs. Hawking is a major screen property, and I am internationally famous, and people are fighting to get to produce my pieces. This is the humble beginning from which I started, and worked my way through.

New post on Mrshawking.com!

"The set for Mrs. Hawking at Arisia 2015"

Building the set for this show may have been the most difficult aspect of producing it. I wanted a real set for it, not only to elevate the production values, but because the plot demanded that Mrs. Hawking physically scale it. I got a lot of heat for that when I was writing it in grad school, but it was very necessary for the spectacle of the piece— we should see what a gymnast Mrs. Hawking is –so I stuck to my guns on it. Unfortunately, that meant a pretty demanding standard for the building of the set. But because of our limited budget, getting shop space was unfortunately not possible. That meant we were forced to build the set in my backyard. If it had been May, that might not have been such a big deal, but we had a week in a Boston January.

Read the rest of the entry on Mrshawking.com!

I made these neat gas lamp props to dress the set of Mrs. Hawking at Arisia!

They're made of two kinds of candle holders, the brass wall-mounted kind and the glass tumbler kind. I joined them together with hot glue. I think I will try to get a hold of those little battery-operated electric tea lights to put inside them for a glow. They're not exactly like any actual Victorian interior gas lamps I could find pictures of, but they are reasonable approximations given the features of the ones I did see.

I like them a lot! I think they will look neat on the set.

Mrs. Hawking, by Phoebe Roberts, will be performed as part of Arisia 2015, at 6PM on Friday, January 16th at the Westin Boston Waterfront.

"Set building cleverness"

There are many challenges involved in bringing a theatrical production into being. A lot of elements need to be handled before the story becomes a reality that require a high investment of time and effort. One of those elements is figuring out how to put together a set.

While I don’t feel it’s necessary for it to be a literal representation of the Victorian parlors and gentlemen’s clubs specified in the text, there are least has to be some sort of physical structure for our hero to climb on. But desperation can motivate one to be very creative. I got an idea to secure some kind of found structure that could form the bones, at least, of the set.

Read the rest of the entry on Mrshawking.com!

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.

My schedule is about to be loaded up again soon. The next three nights will be full of pleasant social, and then I've got one more light week before I get slammed with all sorts of fun but demanding events.

During the day on Saturday I'm in a last-minute larp, a run of Two Hours in London for all the people who've been wanting to play but haven't yet. I have a costuming hint but no character, but I'm not terribly troubled. My costume is not going to be amazing since I don't really have many pieces in the Victorian way. When I have cash that is something I would be interested in rectifying, but for now I can throw something together. blendedchaitea has very graciously offered to lend me her black tiered skirt, and I have a bodice or two I can wear over a blouse for something that looks vaguely appropriate.

After next week is Othello tech week which I have promised to help out with. I actually really enjoy tech weeks, despite how much work and time they require, because I love the process of everyone working together to put together a piece of theater. It's also a rare occasion which I get to build things with tools and learn more physical skills. I imagine it will be helpful to have an extra pair of hands who doesn't have to worry about being ready to go onstage as well. I'm so excited for the set for this show, which is going to look and work differently from anything HTP has ever done before. The costuming and makeup, too, I expect to be phenomenal, so I can't wait to get a look at it.

The week after that is prep for Festival, which will happen the following weekend. I'm so excited to see how the first con I've ever chaired comes out. Things are looking good, except for one or two games I am still exhorting people to fill. I have done a significant chunk of the printing for The Stand, but most of the packing will have to get done that week. We still must figure out what game will be running in what space, but that won't be too hard once we have all the data we need.

After that comes tech week (after a fashion) for Magic at Midsummer, followed by the performance. I cannot tell you how amused I am to have a calendar item that says "undress rehearsal." ;-) One thing I've been really looking forward to is getting to rehearse with the full cast. Thus far we've only each done our own pieces, more or less at the right times in the song, but I really want to see what the whole thing looks like all put together. It'll be easier to learn cues that way too.

And that is my next month or so. Yowza. It strikes me that I would like to have a party, after all this madness is over. A fancy dress-up party, with tasty canapes and people in snazzy clothes, for the purpose of celebrating my general fabulousness. I find this a worthy and amusing endeavor. More updates to follow as I figure this out.

We have a set! I arrived at a little after 1PM yesterday to help, and sadly found that besides Bernie and Plesser only a handful of others had shown up to help. We were a wee bit disappointed in the cast and crew for that, but there was nothing for it except to get to work. The framework of the set was already in place, so the next job was to attach the fronting to all the platforms. That is always a harder job than I expect it to be; it requires somebody to know how to use the router and the jigsaw, neither of which I do, and a lot of careful inching to get the pieces to fit just right. Our small but intrepid band finally got the whole thing put together as more people showed up, who were promptly ordered to attack it with rollers and black paint. It's always remarkable how fast things like this can go when they are swarmed by a large group, so that was finished in short order.

Unfortunately, since the paint got put on later than we'd hoped, the first run on the stage was delayed by having to wait for it to dry. The run went well, for all that there was a ton of starting and stopping to figure out how to adapt our blocking to the stage. The possibilities and limitations of platforms for an actor's physicality are, for me at least, near impossible to internalize without actually working on the set. Fortunately we seem to be properly utilizing the space, and I look forward to tonight's run, which will be expected to go as smoothly as we can make it. I will have to do a mental shift away from my build mentality and get my focus back on acting again.

I am endeavoring to become as theatrically omni-competent as possible. Not only does it make me more useful as a member of the cast and crew, I feel I improve as a director the more I absorb about how shows are put together. It pleases me immensely to look at this set and see how much of the process I contributed to. I built frames, I put on tops, I attached legs, I anchored things together, I affixed fronting, and I was also one of the detail painters working under the director of the lovely Miss Liz Baessler, who served as our scenic charge. It's a very satisfying feeling, to know one is capable, and that if need be I can accomplish so many necessary theatrical tasks under my own power. I also like that people trust me to get so many jobs done right.

The set looks very good now, especially since all the small visual imperfections in the structures are masked by the paint. Painting went very late, but for the most part it was fun because there was music playing and lots of people laughing and singing. Seeing Plesser dancing around after all the long day's work he had put in made me happy in my belly. Not to mention how happy everything was making Steph. :-) Also, when I was painting on the vines over the cobblestone pattern on the set, I was ridiculously pleased with myself for this dual-wielding brush technique I developed. In my dominant hand I held a thicker brush laden with the lighter green base color, and used it to apply most of the vine's shape. In my off hand I had a narrower brush with a watered-down darker green color, and traced over the lines of the light green. Then I went over it again with the thick brush in my dominant hand, using it to blend the two colors together. Though my left hand is by no means as adept as my right, the tracing work was simple enough that I could manage with it, and having a brush in each hand made the application and blending of the two colors go faster. I wonder if any artists work like this regularly. I was absurdly proud of myself for coming up with it.

This afternoon will be all about lights, lights, lights. Focus is the only major job remaining, and I for one am praying that things go smoothly. As I've mentioned, lighting is the one aspect of the theater I feel like I don't know anything about, and I have spent two twelve-plus hour days in the theater, so I am hoping there are enough other people who can be useful in this that I can relax a little bit. I'd like to take a shower and maybe a little nap. Focus always seems to go painfully slowly for me; I remember the one for Caesar seeming to take forever, though I don't remember what the hold up was. This time we have one of the most ambitious lighting plots we've ever had, including DMX-controlled color scrollers. :-) Very fancy! I'm incredibly proud of Bernie for that. There has been a DMX machine in the Shapiro Theater for ages, but it's been sitting unused because nobody could figure out how to get it running. Well, Bernie has been fiddling with it and got it to work. Ha! Good for him. :-)

So we're in very good shape for this point. I am tired but not exhausted as I have been on other builds, and with any luck by the end of today all technical elements of this show will be set and ready to go. Steph, your baby is about to be born. Here's hoping that the rest of this day sees a shower. a nap, and a light plot!

Build for Winter's Tale has officially begun. We were very fortunate this time around, in that the show in the theater before us was a dance piece that did not have a set that needed striking. I saw the performance, it was pretty and fun. It also meant we had a nice early call of 4PM to get in there and get to work.

As Plesser said, "I'm a big fan of tech week." I love the collaborative aspect of everyone working together, contributing their effort and various skills to help build the show. I also like the chance to make things that I don't normally I get to do. I enjoy making all kinds of things, and where else do I get a chance to put together pieces of wood into useful structures using power tools? I was pleased by the wide variety of tasks I participated in yesterday, including platform-building with screw guns, hemming costume pieces, and cutting gels for the bottom set of cyc lights. I like when my theater experience gets to run the gammut like that; I feel like I'm contributing and learning more and more of the process of building theater.

We got a good chunk done yesterday. While there was no previous show's set that needed to come down, we needed to do a total light strike. I'm always impressed by the people who know their lighting stuff well enough to work on them. I'd always deferred to those with more experience and knowledge then myself, figuring I'd be more useful elsewhere. Helping Charlotte cut out those gels was the first lighting task I'd ever participated in. Perhaps someday I'll have to make a point of actually learning more about it, though I don't want to hold up the process during tech week. Hang was completely finished by the end of the night, and today we hope to get focus done as well.

We also made fantastic progress on build. This is the most structurally complex design (excepting one, but that was our only unsafe set to date :-P) we've ever had, with platforms stacked on top of each other in irregular ways requiring legs of different lengths even within one frame. Plesser is our master carpenter, and he's really doing a phenomenal job and has learned a lot about building a set and leading a build crew. He's working so hard that I'm hoping he doesn't wear himself out. But thanks to his efforts and those of our merry band, everything is built and anchored to the stage. Today will be painting and fronting, something I plan to help with once I can get over to the theater.

I'm proud of Bernie as well. He's seeing to it that people learn how to do these technical tasks for themselves, and doing more in the leadership capacity. He's organized things very well, even working out blueprints of Jenna's set design in a drafting program that also allowed him to make the plot for the lights. He's doing a wonderful job as a leader, and I am pleased and proud.

I'm also proud of Steph. She has done so much planning and worked so hard, and she's now seeing it all come together. I have really admired how organized she was, and how much thought an effort she put into the planning of the show, all the while working to respect and honor her actors and crew. I am hoping she is pleased with the final product; she deserves to have the show of her dreams.

And finally, Jared will be coming up to see the show! For a while he thought he wouldn't be able to make it, but at the last minute he got a flight and he will be here for the weekend. I wish I'd had a bit more notice to plan things; since this is tech week I'm afraid I'm going to be obligated for a lot of that time, and I want us to actually be able to spend some time together. Maybe he'll be willing to help out. We'll see what I can figure out in a couple of days' time.

Feeling unfocused and uncomfortable today. I didn't sleep well last night, my body is tense and knotted from the cold, and my stomach is all out of whack. The rainy weather is not helping me. Cannot really manage a detailed coherent entry today, so here are the broad strokes.

Signed up for Clockwork Cafe for first pick at Intercon. Surprised it didn't fill yet. The Stand has exactly one signup, and while I wasn't expecting many in the first round, I was surprised to see that one singup was natbudin. I figured all my local friends would wait for it to run around here. I'm shocked but grateful. Thanks, Nat! Though I feel in all fairness I should let you know I'm probably going to run it at this coming Festival, if in that case you want to use your signup for something else.

Having such a hard time focusing amid all the busy that I haven't worked on The Stand in a couple of weeks. Really need to get my ass on that. Certainly want to validate Nat's willingness to devote a slot to it at Intercon. ;-)

Stars of Al-Ashtara happens this Saturday. I am excited, but my brain has had trouble getting through the character sheet. I will have to make sure I sufficiently absorb the content by the end of the day tomorrow.

Stupid fogged-up brain can't remember what I did with my wallet. Hope to God's it's just out of place in my room. Heh, whenever I can't find my wallet it tends to be in its proper drawer in my desk, which I never think to look in because I assume I would never be responsible enough to put it there.

Despite everything, however, had an awesome rehearsal tonight. Got to see a lot of scenes I'd never seen before, and I am pleased and impressed. I felt pretty on my game, which surprised the hell out of me, given how I was feeling about everything else today. We're about to go into tech week this Sunday, and I think we're in damn good shape for it. We even got to load in our wood today, giving the shop a good cleaning in the process. Tomorrow I hear they got permission to start getting boards cut. This is awesome, because this means a lot will be gotten out of the way early. The show before us is a dance performance which doesn't have a set, so we'll only have to strike the lights and not the stage as well.

I am going to be ridiculously busy over the coming week. But I am always happy to have these sorts of things in my life, so I guess I can't complain.

Caesar closed to glorious work this weekend, and I am incredibly proud of everyone involved. Lenny and Jenna, you did it, guys. And Bernie, you are a fantastic tech director for getting that going so smoothly and so well.

I ran the camcorder during the Friday show and then photo call after it. There are basically two approaches one can take to videotaping a theatrical performance-- either pick a spot that sees the whole stage the whole time and leave it there, or try to follow the action from a general vantage point. I significantly prefer the latter, as it can afford you much better views for all the differing parts of the stage-- I feel like I can see the important stuff much better when I go back to watch that way. That way, however, requires a lot more attention and care in the process. I am roughly familiar with video cameras but have no real training or skill, so I am serviceable but not excellent at operating them. While I'm certain I could improve with practice, I unfortunately do not have the steadiest hand, and the tripod I was working with had some weird resistance that I had to, sometimes shakily, push through. All in all, though, with a little help from Jared in the second act, I think we produced a decent tape.

Photo call was done in less than an hour, and probably would have gone faster if there hadn't been a touch of "too many cooks in the kitchen" syndrome going on. People were also keyed up from having done a great show, and though I really didn't want to be a killjoy it can be tough to yell instructions at people who are being loud and silly AND getting contradictory instructions as well. Ah, well. Again, I got that shit done in under an HOUR, which, if you've ever run a photo call for a show that long, is freaking RECORD time.

Strike was done in record time as well. Basically the cast and crew just swarmed the set, tore it apart, cleaned up, AND helped Melcher carry in the wood for his upcoming show's build. Well done, guys. I love the dedication and work ethic of the real HTPers. Goodbye, gorgeous set. Thus goes the ephemerality of theater. A trip to IHOP was organized after strike, but by that point I was feeling for some reason, as I occasionally do, unattractive and unpresentable, and therefore had no further desire to be out in public. I kind of regret not sharing in the fun, but I hate inflicting myself on other people when I'm feeling down. So I went home and took a shower to scald off the feeling of ugly.

Yesterday I took Jared to the airport so he could go home for the Pesach break. This afternoon I will be making the same trip so Bernie can as well. That means I will have a few days to myself before I make my own journey home for Easter. I confess I don't particularly want to go, but I do want to be with my parents, who miss me. It just leaves only a small amount of time to take care of some of my own projects and chores without any obligation to others. I think right now I need that.

Caesar tech week continues to go well. Last night was mostly devoted to light focus, which is a grindingly slow and tedious process by the time you get to all four electrics. I was a little grumbly over this (though it was absolutely no one's fault and everyone was working very hard) because I wanted the run to start so I could watch it for my photo call planning, and I needed to leave by midnight. Still, things were getting done nicely, and eventually the show got running. Last night I watched the first half of the show for the first time before I had to leave. In order to run an efficient photo call, I took notes on what scenes needing snapping when, with what people, and in what costume.

So many great things going on up there. First off, the acting is phenomenal. Everyone really sinks their teeth into their roles. I've said this before, but Plesser improves in technique, presence, and nuance with every show. I love Charlotte's committment to her roles, the way she assumes the persona of the character. I was so impressed not only by Steph's acting, but how she made me buy the Marc Antony role as a woman. Caitlin had so much fantastic attitude. I adore the subtle force and slyness of April's performance. Zanna brought an unexpected but very effective strength and presence to Calpurnia, and I enjoyed the passion and even slight sternness of Gigi's Portia. And, of course, Frances and Brenda not only were great alone, they played off one another so well. I was very impressed by Frances's finding an alternate way of conveying Brutus's intensity without resorting to restless energy, which made a great contrast to the roiling anger Brenda brought Cassius.

The set looks fantastic, one of the best sets HTP has ever had, in my humble opinion. The marbling effect on the platforms is gorgeous, and the curtains are awesome. They not only serve for an interesting vertical addition to the aesthetic, they effectively divide the stage into useful smaller sections, and they can have color thrown on them from the lights. And when this show's over, they can be folded up and stored for any other show to use, ready to go and free of cost.

The costumes look amazing. They were very skillfully designed and look good on the actors. And they are all in dark, bold colors that contrast beautifully with the light-colored stage behind them. I was impressed by Shana's ability to emulate the look of the period so well.

The one thing that needs a little work is the level of movement onstage. Probably because they were used to rehearsing in spaces significantly more cramped than the actual stage, there's a lot of standing around and speechifying happening. It makes it look a bit flat. But they're aware it's going on, and I'm confident they can figure out how to utilize the beautiful space around them to create a more dynamic look. Most of the elements are so good that if they can just get over this one hurdle, they'll be golden.

I am now going to organized my notes for photo call. I wish I could have gotten the second act in order as well, but I couldn't stay late enough. Ah, well, I can do that during the run tonight. I want things to go as quickly as possible, so I plan to wow everyone with my awesome efficiency. ;-)

Spent most of yesterday helping out some more with Caesar build. Had a nice lunch with Jared after work, then the two of us drove over to the theater, where he sat and did homework until class and I pitched in with the various tasks of establishing the stage. Strike evidently went fairly well but very late, so when I arrived the platforms were positioned onstage but not much else. I participated in the anchoring of the platforms, fronting them, painting them, helping to hang and fireproof the curtains, and various other small tasks that tech week requires. We got a ton of work done, and despite some snags-- and there are always snags --the show is progressing well and is starting to look the way it's supposed to.

Perhaps because I've always primarily been an actor, I always admire the techies for how much knowledge and skill they have in the processes of putting a show together. Brenda, for example, was just amazing organizing the lighting over the last couple of nights, and I was really impressed by her command. But for all that I don't know nearly as much as the real crew people, I have learned a decent amount about technical theater myself in my time with Hold Thy Peace. Not being a current student, I can't use the saws or any of the dangerous tools anymore due to liability, but over the course of the last four years I was taught how to handle a fair number of them. Thinking back over ten shows at Brandeis, I learned how to:

- use a screw gun
- build a platform
- top a platform
- leg a platform
- anchor platforms to the stage and each other
- prepare a platform to be fronted
- front a platform
- tie various knots
- hang stage curtains
- properly move and brace a ladder
- use spackle
- use an electric sander
- use a circular saw
- make a cut block
- use gaff tape
- use spike tape
- use paint rollers
- paint a number of scenic effects
- use the headsets

Wow. I'm impressed with myself for how much I've absorbed just by helping to crew the shows I was in. And many of us can do even more. Others know how to run the fly rails, hang the lights, drop colors, run the light and sound boards. Wanting to be able to be capable in as many theatrical capacities as possible, it makes me wish I knew more. Especially if it can inform my ability to direct plays.

When it comes to my own theatrical productions I tend to take a very auteur approach, wanting to express my vision for the show in as many aspects of it as I can. While directing I have designed sets, costumes, sound, and other things, but the one thing I've never dared attempt on my own was lighting because I just never knew enough about it. It seems very complicated to me as I watch hangs and focuses and board operation. I guess one of the reasons I was so impressed by Brenda was she was getting a job done that has always seemed overwhelmingly difficult and specialized to me. It's probably not beyond me to learn, but I'm not sure it's something I'll ever really get the chance to study. Maybe I should make a point of that.

So things are going well. Focus is tonight, if I remember correctly, and then things should be in pretty decent shape to rehearse, cue the show, and run tech-throughs. I won't be able to get there until later tonight, but I plan to watch the run through this evening and take notes on scenes and their cast composition. I was asked by Lenny and Jenna to run photo call, and that will likely be easiest if I can write up a schedule for it. Hmm. Maybe I should make sure my camera is charged, just in case.

As I mentioned in Google Buzz, this past weekend held much theater for me to execute-- planning a piece, building a set, and seeing a show.

The piece I helped to plan was for the performance part of morethings5's post-bac show. We figured out in more detail the choreography and the direction of the piece, and threw around some ideas for costumes and makeup. The idea is that we will do a silent series of actions related to the pieces of visual art he's displaying to tell a connected story. I'm very excited, it should be really interesting. We plan to do a rehearsal of sorts in some public space, as Jonathan feels audience reaction is extremely important. The real show will go up Wednesday, April 14th from 5 to 7PM in the Dreitzer Gallery, the art gallery in the lobby of the Spingold Theater. It should be interesting and offbeat, and I suggest you come see Kindness's art, and me, in it.

This weekend we also got a lot of the set built for Julius Caesar. I have to say, this was the most efficient and most pleasant build I've ever been on. The core group of HTP by now has had several show's worth of experience constructing sets, particularly platforms, and with just some instruction this cast put together seven perfect platforms in just three hours. Bernie is a good leader and organizer, and the cast just worked so well together. After how tough the tech week was for the previous mainstage show, it was quite a validation that we could pull it off so smoothly. Last night was strike for the HTG show that went up this past weekend, which I could not attend, and I wonder how it went. It had to start very late due to the unusual Sunday evening time of the show. I'll be going back over to help today, though, after lunch with Jared. I hope there is more I can do to help, and that things continue as well as they began.

Finally, the show we saw was the Actor's Shakespeare Project's production of Othello, organized by katiescarlett29 for her boyfriend Walter's birthday. It was a very nice group we went with, consisting mostly of awesome Hold Thy Peace members. One thing that I've noticed recently is this is the first generation of Hold Thy Peace that I've been witness to where pretty much everyone in the group is friends and spends time together outside of the group. I mean, previous generations have certainly liked each other, but their main connection to one other was that they were all in Hold Thy Peace, and they weren't particularly social outside of it. I like how now everyone is actually friends who enjoy spending time together. Jared and I had a very nice time being together and being with friends. The show itself was good, if a bit long; my back and knees were starting to get stiff by the end of it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Iago was played by Ken Cheeseman, an artist-in-residence at Emerson and my brother Casey's teacher. If I remember correctly, Casey is a TA for him. His Iago was very good, though perhaps a little bit more comedic than I'm used to, and I enjoyed him.

The rest of this week will be Caesar-devoted. I am planning on helping out as much as I can with build, and I've also agreed to run photo call and operate the camera to film the show during one of the performances. Should be busy, but I am resolving not to stay too late, and to just do as much as I can without messing up my schedule. :-) The show runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8PM in the Shapiro Theater, if anyone is inclined to see it. I myself will be attending all three performances, and I'd enjoy the company. I have yet to see any of the show as I didn't want to spoil myself, but everyone feels good about it, and it promises to be a good piece.

This morning I saw two cardinals flitting after one another; they were so pretty and bright. I guess spring is actually here now. Redbirds always make me think of my grandmother; they were her favorite and her kitchen was decorated with images of them.

I have agreed to help out with build for Julius Caesar. Next week is their tech, and my schedule happens to be fairly light then, so I feel like it would be nice of me to offer a hand and support Hold Thy Peace. Also, Bernie has so much on his plate as technical director that I want to make sure he has the help he needs. I won't be staying til the wee hours, what with the doing them a favor and the having the job in the morning and all, but maybe if one more person helps out, things will get done earlier.

The set consists of wooden platforms and white muslin curtains that will go from the flies to the floor on the stage. I'm not exactly sure what the final configuration will look like, but I like the idea. Bernie has made a pretty careful plan, so I'm hoping to help make sure it gets executed. Today he and I are driving out to Home Depot to pick up the last few necessary bits of hardware. The curtains are being sewn by a group assembled by the show's costume designer Shana. Brian Melcher has promised to bring back the purchased wood. We're planning on getting into the theater shop this coming weekend to start a little early on getting things together. I should have some time Friday before I'm going out with my brother and my dad, and on Saturday it shouldn't take so much time to get to Othello that I'm not available for some period beforehand.

I kind of like build, honestly. I like making things, putting stuff together, and there's a real feeling of camaraderie when everyone's working hard together to assemble their show. I quit liking it when things start going past midnight, of course, but in the beginning at least it's a pretty cool feeling. :-)

I have added separate sections on costuming to

bl_endeavors, in addition to project progress, cooking, and daily wardrobe. It is slowly becoming ever so slightly more than just "what I wore today" records. :-)

Another full-cast rehearsal tonight. Now that the show has been completely put together, we will just be running through it until it's as polished as possible. Maybe we can even do curtain call tonight. I love doing curtain call; it's always been one of my favorite parts of the process.

Things that need to happen in the very near future include experimenting making chitons for the Graces and getting into Hold Thy Peace storage. It seems as though our best option is to use the same method as Steph did for her Greek goddess Halloween costume, so we need large swaths of white fabric for that. She may have two bedsheets that would work, but we need three, and I'd like them all the same color. I am hoping to get this fabric secured over the next few days. I also took a look at Charlotte's burgundy gown. It's very pretty, if not terribly Elizabethan-looking, but we think if we put a blousey white poet's shirt beneath it it would work just fine. Plesser also needs a poet shirt to go under his doublet. Kindness needs to try on that green dress shirt of Jared's. All the women needs shoes as well. It would be excellent if we could arrange to have all these things at rehearsal tonight, which other than hitting a fabric store by then I think is possible to accomplish.

We also need to figure out what we're doing about getting a desk. I wonder if Spingold storage would have one we could borrow, though I'm not sure how to go about getting an appointment to take a look around. I also saw one at the thrift store when I visited the other day, which likely would not be expensive, but it was a little smaller than I would have wanted. Shall have to consult with Bernie and see what he thinks.

I have integrated the new bookshelf into my room. I moved my old one ninety degrees so it sits on the other wall in the corner it was in, and put the new one, which is taller and narrower, in its place. I confess, it is a darker color than I hoped it would be, but seeing as my problem with the old one was that it was too light, I guess there's just no pleasing me, huh? I know I'll just have to unload the books from it when it's time to use it in the show, but I've got a fair bit of time before then, Might as well get some use of it and not just have it clutter up my room. I hope it can help me keep my things better organized. I'd like it to make my room seem neater; otherwise I'm afraid it's just taking up too much space.

I am pleased to report that yesterday was a productive day. Got a good chunk of work done on the Labor Wars character sheet that is due for our next meeting, though I'm not quite finished with her yet. I like this character; I think she's the sort I'd be happy to play. I hope I'm doing her justice.

Also, made a little progress on acquiring set pieces for To Think of Nothing. I accompanied Bernie to Staples and happened to find a stack of desk blotters, a number of which were out of their packaging and somewhat damaged. The new ones were forty dollars, significantly more than I was willing to spend on such a thing, but it occurred to me to ask if I could buy the messed up ones at a discount. They let me have it for three dollars plus tax! It's not even all that damaged; I think with a little repair and polish I can get it looking good as new. :-)

We also went to Home Depot, where I asked about changing the color of the Ikea shelf. The guy told me it would take a lot of luck, skill, time, effort, and tools to get that thing to look halfway decent, and I probably wouldn't have any success with anything that would make it look like wood. I also would probably end up spending so much on the necessary paint and tools that I should probably just buy a new cheap shelf in the color I wanted. Well, not what I wanted to hear, but okay. On to plan B. So I did. I got a new shelf about six feet tall and two-and-some feet across in a much darker wood color that looks significantly less cheap and tacky for about thirty dollars. Not bad for how much nicer it looks than it is. I think I will keep it myself after we use it for the show and not ask for reimbursement. I'm a bit disappointed my five-dollar, perfectly-sized find didn't work out, but no matter. I can always just sell it to somebody for what I paid for it. :-) Certainly somebody can use a perfectly good bookshelf.

Tonight I will be having

rigel and

bleemoo come over for dinner. I'm really looking forward to it, I've never gotten the chance to cook for them before. I'm going to try an apple cider chicken recipe that I've never gotten to make before because I don't know what to substitute for the heavy cream in the sauce. Should be a tasty meal, with very lovely company.

I successfully made the journey into Boston yesterday and secured myself an Ikea bookshelf for just five dollars. I found the place okay, it fit in my car okay, and the ad didn't turn out to be a ruse to lure murder victims to a secluded spot or whatever. :-)

The bookshelf itself looks unattractively cheap. I believe it to be particleboard, compressed wood sealed over with laminate. It is also that very pale bare-wood-looking color, which emphasizes its junkiness. It is, in my snobbish opinion, too ugly and certainly the wrong color either to put on stage or to keep in my house as is. So I've been doing some research on how to class it up a little. Apparently it seems the easiest way is to buy polyurethane spray paint that is supposed to change the color while leaving the grain still visible. If I can get it to work, it would look like darker wood, which would make it look nicer and less cheap. I think darker wood would be easier to match to any desk we're likely to find to borrow from the Brandeis set storage, and if I keep it myself it would go better with my furniture, a dark bedroom set and reddish-brown desk. It might not work, apparently laminate is hard to paint and while the polyurethane can work it's sometimes tough to use, but I paid five bucks for this thing and I don't love it anyway, so who cares if it doesn't come out.

If anyone has any experience re-coloring laminate furniture, feel free to throw in your two cents and give me advice. Or if anybody wants to help me with this little project, I'd welcome the assistance.

Eventful evening yesterday. A lovely group of BSCFers gathers at my house, while I spent the early part of the evening attending a read through of To Think of Nothing on Skype. Arranged by Charlotte, who is playing Selene, it was really good to get to hear another run through of the lines. I'm really grateful to Charlotte for organizing it, and I'd love to do it again if they have time before they get back from break. After that I went back out into the living room and spent some time with the guests before zonking out on the couch, as is typically for me for late gatherings. Sadly I missed an opportunity to play Small World, introduced to me by

laurion and my current favorite boardgame, but there will always be other chances. I'm planning on having another BSCF at my place next Thursday evening as well, so maybe then.

Today after work I am going into Boston to buy a bookshelf I found listed on Craigslist. It's a cheap, junky thing from Ikea, in most cases not something I'd consider worth it, but Bernie and I were talking about having a tall bookshelf in the background as part of the To Think of Nothing set, and this one is only five dollars. Maybe if I can make it look less cheap and tacky somehow (stain? I don't know what the thing's made of) I can get some use out of it myself. Not sure where I'll put it; I already have a shorter, wider bookshelf in my room that is actually getting a bit overcrowded, so I guess I could sub it in, but then I'd have to find a place for the old one.

At last, after probably the most difficult and problematic build I have ever been involved with, we finished with the Romeo and Juliet set, and have had our opening night. I am absolutely exhausted-- I was there almsot twelve hours a day the last three days. But the show went off well, and I was pleased and proud of everyone; our audience even included bronzite, which made me happy. My parents and Jared's are coming tonight, so let's hope we do even better. I'm particularly proud of Xavier, our Romeo, who like Jared who came before him went out for a show having never acted before in his freshman year, got the lead, and carried a show his first time out. Also, Jonathan Plesser gets better with every show-- it's really got me interested in him as an actor. This cast actually did something impressive in that that even with as little rehearsal time as we had, they were ready at the start of tech week and even adapted to playing on the set almost immediately. I plan on spending some time with my mom and dad this afternoon, having an early dinner, and then finding my way over to the theater by call time.

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All Eyes on Me

"Do you know why heroes boast? Because it makes them brave."

Entries tagged with sets

To laugh at later

New post on Mrshawking.com -- "The set for Mrs. Hawking at Arisia 2015"

Neat props for the set of Mrs. Hawking!

New blog post on Mrshawking.com -- "Set-building cleverness"

Set for Othello

Scheduling madness

Day two of Winter's Tale build

Day one of Winter's Tale build

Brain blah

Close of Caesar

Third day of Caesar tech

Second day of Caesar build

Weekend of theater in various capacities

Signed on to the Caesar build crew

Plans and progress

Room rearrangement

Productive day

Bookshelf get

Bookshelf trek

R+J opening