Director Hayley Finn has wrapped Cook’s script in a contemporary package that is an interesting cross between naturalism and high style. As such, the characters move and interact very unaffectedly in the love scenes between Lilah and Brock, while Susan’s public appearance speeches are done almost entirely in strobe lights, to simulate camera flashes. Finn uses this dichotomy to great effect throughout, relying on strong design to keep the scenes crisp.Robin Vest’s innovative scenic design is a fairly realistic one-bedroom apartment, with some handy flourishes that facilitate the other scenes. When Susan is on an airplane, a small circular picture frame on the wall next to her lights up to simulate an airplane window. Aided by light designer Lucas Benjaminh Krech’s cleverly placed lights, Finn’s team manages to establish different locations very well. Lilah collects old photos, and the walls of her apartment are covered with these framed pictures. Vest and projection designer luckydave create some nice effects by projecting small images, like Brock’s blog or photos taken of Susan, into the frames.
Posts Tagged ‘fates imagination’
More Fate’s Reviewing
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007Fate’s Pictures
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007Fate’s Imagination
Directed by Hayley Finn
Scenery By Robin Vest
Costumes By Erin Murphy
Sound By Rob Kaplowitz
Projections By luckydave
All photography by Monique Carboni.
Another of Fate’s Reviews
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007Much in this production is elegantly and effectively done. There’s costume designer Erin Murphy’s navy blue power suits and pearls for Donna, Liliah’s come hither silk kimono and Brock’s studied slacker sloppiness. Robin Vest’s scenic design features a wall full of photographic portraits and lightboxes that alternatively create Lilah’s apartment, a New York nocturnal cityscape and a seat on the redeye ready for takeoff. Atmospheric music and original compositions are provided by Robert Kaplowitz and Benjamin Krech’s lighting alternates between cool polar blues for encroaching frigidity and warmer romantic tones that soften the hard edges and crows feet.
Fate’s Reviews
Monday, June 4th, 2007The production values are also first-class, thanks to the work of Robin Vest (scenic design), Lucas Benjamin Krech (lighting), Robert Kaplowitz (sound design/original compositions), Erin Elizabeth Murphy (costumes), and luckydave (projection design). In one of the most arresting special effects I’ve ever seen on stage, the actors’ scrolling lines of dialogue are visible through the picture frames in Lilah’s apartment at key points in the play. There’s also a neat lighting/sound effect whenever Susan is beset by a phalanx of photographers.Fate’s Imagination has its writing flaws, but the author couldn’t ask for a better presentation.
First Preview Tonight
Friday, May 25th, 2007
First Day of Tech
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007We focused the lights last night for Fate’s Imagination. Things went OK. We had a few minor setbacks due to the rental shop sending us the wrong fixtures and pushing the whole lighting load-in back several hours. We have some notes to take care of this morning and should be back on track by the time we have actors on stage at noon.
I got the best Horoscope EVER for a first day of tech:
Your life will be like an action movie today — minus the explosive car chases, of course! But hour after hour will present you with situations that require quick, decisive responses. Today is not a day to mull things over — you have to act, and act fast! Luckily, there is very little danger that you will make any bad decisions today, so don’t be afraid to lead with your intuition (like a true action hero).
Let’s see how that pans out!
Fate’s Load-In
Monday, May 21st, 2007We have the Load-In for Fate’s Imagination today. The electricians are, I presume, hard at work installing the lighting units for the show. I am finishing up a few of my focus documents and double checking a couple of the things on the lightplot against what I have seen during rehearsal. Most of the changes are simple reassignments of the purpose and functions of lights rather than moving them around.
The space has a VERY low ceiling. The result of a low ceiling is that the space demands a LOT of lighting equipment. It is the irony of these small spaces. Having worked in quite a number of these kinds of spaces I have tried numerous approaches to addressing this issue. This time around I am using many worklights crafted to be functional to the dramatic needs of the play.
The great thing about worklights is because they are designed to flood a room with light, they work very well in these low ceiling situations and allow fewer lights to be used than if conventional theatrical lighting were to be employed. Another aspect of that is how it changes the aesthetic approach to the play. Because these lights move so differently through the volume of the room, one must re-conceive all the lighting for the play to remain stylistically consistent.
The play is structured such that it has three rather different acts thus affording a style change with each act. Further, the acts are largely grounded in location making these style changes easier still. This, combined with the somewhat new approach to lighting the play that I am taking, is looking to be rather exciting. There is an element of risk to some the aesthetic choices I have made that I will find out in a two days if it was the right way to go. I am fairly confident, but there is still the element of the unknown that I look forward to.
Overall the design encompasses a nice hybrid of conventional and non-conventional lighting strategies for the play. In addition to trying out some new structural elements in the design, I am also exploring a few new colors that should be exciting. Color is one of the easiest things to experiment with, as it is one of the cheapest aspects to lighting.
Interestingly color is also one of the easiest elements to fall into rote use with. I have heard designers say so many times “Well I always use . . . whenever I design a lightplot.” I do not understand this approach. A graphic designer would never “always use” a particular font or color palette yet somehow this is accepted in lighting. Certainly there are very useful colors that can and should get reused, but to “always” employ the same ones seems silly.
At the same time I can easily see the color palette in Fate’s Imagination evolving into something a lot more conventional as we progress through tech. There is a solution to one of the main design challenges that would use most to all of the lights with no color media. Most of the effect needed for this play is independent of color, relying on the shape, intensity and quality of light itself. In fact I could easily see a version of this play where no color was used at all. While it is possible we might get there by the end of the week, I do doubt it, but one never can tell.
The director and design team are a great group and we have had a lot of fun in our design meetings so I think this week should be quite enjoyable.
Overlap
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007It feels as though it has has been quite a while since last I posted more than a link and quote. The trip to California was very good, and very packed. I had several meetings that were very productive. I saw several plays. I met with many friends. I celebrated my grandmother’s 94th birthday. All in all it was a lovely trip. And oh my! The weather. I forget sometimes just how wonderful the weather is in the Bay Area.
Things get rather hectic over here at Light Que 23 as of this afternoon. This week we are workshopping Antigona. There will be a reading on Thursday and Friday nights that may or may not have lighting. Details are still TBD as we are primarily focused on Rumania and getting all that stuff together. I think the play is coming together rather nicely. I have not seen anything since last Monday, but the direction it was going when last I saw a rehearsal and by all reports since it should be quite an exciting show.
I have a big design meeting this weekend for Aida. The director, set designer and I will sit down and do a listen through of the piece while discussing scenic and lighting ideas. It should be a good meeting although the piece is long to begin with and once discussion is added in it may well take the better part of the day. I met with the technical director of the theatre when I was in California and was able to figure out several of the quirky aspects to the space that will at least minimize surprises.
Next Monday we load-in for Fate’s Imagination at the Players Theatre. We had a bit of a snafu as the theatre drawings the set designer received were rather deceptive as to where certain walls were located, so the design had to be reworked for the realities of the space. Quite a lot to do so close to a load-in, but so it goes from time to time. At least we found this out before we were in the space thus the only problem is a time crunch rather than a full rebuild and delayed opening.
So much of this work must be taken on faith. Faith that the drawings are correct, that other people are doing their job, that your work on paper bears out in reality. All of this before even considering an audience and the performative aspects of the show. It feels like the work I do is one long series of hypothetical statements punctuated briefly by the answer of opening night. This “answer” as it were is in many if not most ways incidental to the journey of arriving there.
The hectic schedule continues as we leave for Rumania the same day as the first press preview for Fate’s Imagination. So at least with that one I miss the punctuation. I will be working on another show in another country when it opens. I still get a little surprise when that happens despite it being a fairly regular part of my work flow. By the opening the show is done, and usually has been for several performances. My work is and has been over for some time so really it shouldn’t feel strange. Of course a lot of it is the disappointment in missing out on the party.
