Today was a day where the designers present the work they’ve done (to date) to the cast and company. It’s a really fun day where you get a glimpse into the world that the designers and director have built thus far, the playing space where the performance will occur. I say “fun” but if you’re a designer it can be terrifying (you should see my heart rate tracker for yesterday).
Usually it’s the set and costume designers that present, but lately over the years there is also space made for lighting, sound, music and projections as well. It’s sometimes difficult to materially present the work being done in those departments, but we often are able and invited to talk about our ideas and how we are hoping to support the story.
I led the company through some group percussion orchestrations, as the live music element of the show will involve 2 percussionists and singing. There are a lot of musicians in the cast so I’ll be roping them into the ol’ music party as well. I’ll get into that more in a future post.
And! After nearly a decade here I finally made it into a company picture:
We start working through the play now, and finding specific solutions to storytelling, staging, and design. I love watching the actors do this work – it reveals so much to me and helps me make new discoveries – artistically and logisitcally.
Onwards!