Day two of Winter's Tale build

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!