|
||||||
I’ve noticed that it is almost universally the case (by which I mean I haven’t seen anything different) that lighting designers for amateur shows get a credit that is always one line and buried somewhat in the middle of the backstage crew. Whereas most professional lighting designers seem to pop up with some kind of mini biog in the middle of the production team. Continue reading Amateur lighting designer – geek or artist? 
The lighting cue count for the Mostly G and S production of Yeomen of the Guard and Sainsbury Singers’ Strictly Musicals concert came out at 99 on both occasions, despite the difference in venue, show and equipment. Continue reading A tale of two 99s 
We went to see the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables at the Barbican last night. Within the first minute it became clear that the production is very different from the original. Different as in better or worse? No, we came to the conclusion it was just different. All of which shows the ultimate influence a production team has on the base material of a show. Continue reading Les Miserables 25th tour at the Barbican 
Disco Inferno was a bit of a surprise bundle for me, insofar as I had never seen the show before and there didn’t appear to be much in the way of any information on it on the internet. Probably best described as in the ‘We Will Rock You/Mamma Mia genre with the devlish influence of Witches of Eastwick and the disco hits of the 1970s, author Jai Sepple wrote the show in 1993 to, in his words, “rekindle some of those long forgotten memories of the decade of flares, platforms, glam and disco” and in that he succeeded. In a lengthy three hours or so the show romps through 25 of the most recognisable hits of the era, punctuated by a story about the perils of greed and the desire for stardom. Continue reading Disco Inferno – the musical 
Sainsbury Singers’ recent production of Beauty and the Beast represented something of a new record for me in terms of the length of time invested to rig, focus and plot the show – around four long days or so. But given really excellent reviews and a great cast performance it was all worthwhile. Continue reading Beauty and the Beast 
Fame Starmaker 2010 production poster Have just returned home from seeing Starmaker Theatre Company‘s production of Fame at the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell. It was really good to see a decent audience there and they were rewarded with an excellent performance by a fine cast, most of them under 18 years of age. Starmaker Continue reading Fame – Starmaker hits the spot 
Iolanthe, performed by Reading Operatic Society at the Salvation Army hall, Reading Central I must confess to not being exactly on top form when it came to designing and rigging the lighting for Reading Operatic Society‘s performance of Iolanthe at the Reading Central Salvation Army hall. A throat infection was not a good overture Continue reading Let there be light 
I’d always wanted an excuse to use square focusing of theatre lanterns in a lighting design and Chess The Musical gave me a very good reason. All of the downstage specials were focused in a grid of two rows of five squares using 10 SL 15/32s from front of house. My hat is off to Martin Pretty of the Hexagon staff who did all of the hard work on Bridge 2 getting the SLs in place first time. This kind of focus meant the cast had to be well forward (pretty much on the front edge) of the box to be lit and there was a distinct but tiny shadow at the edge if they moved sideways between boxes. So accuracy in hitting marks (and explaining them) was needed. But the effort was worth it with a lot of encouraging comments. Continue reading Squaring the circle And so to rehearsals for Sainsburys Singers‘ performance of Chess The Musical at The Hexagon, Reading on 27-31 October. Having just got home from the first run-through I must say I am impressed by the quality of the singing of what is a very difficult score. Soloists are strong and the cast at full bore nearly took the roof off the rehearsal venue. Exciting! Continue reading Chess The Musical 27-31 October |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Kim Hollamby | The anchor swallowed - All Rights Reserved. Terms and conditions and privacy policy |
||||||
