Still with Van Gogh today. Particularly on facing the blank canvas.
"I tell you, if one wants to be active, one must not be afraid of going wrong, one must not be afraid of making mistakes now and then. Many people think that they will become good just by doing no harm — but that's a lie, and you yourself used to call it that. That way lies stagnation, mediocrity.
Just slap anything on when you see a blank canvas staring you in the face like some imbecile. You don't know how paralyzing that is, that stare of a blank canvas is, which says to the painter, You can't do a thing. The canvas has an idiotic stare and mesmerises some painters so much that they turn into idiots themselves. Many painters are afraid in front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of 'you can't' once and for all."
There are times when I sit down to write, even something as meaningless as an entry on this silly little blog, and the blank spaces do paralyze me. It's encouraging to think of Vincent and all the other artists out there attacking the blank canvas, making choices, not being afraid to go wrong. Knowing that you can paint over or scrape away what didn't work, but that you first need to start. The only way to improve is to practice, whether that's your skills as a painter, or just your ability to stare down the blank canvas.
This post brought to you in an effort to slap something up on the blank canvas.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Van Gogh
I've been thinking about Van Gogh a lot today. I think about him a lot in general, but today specifically, when reading what he wrote in his letters to his brother is bringing me to tears.
How he thought about art, and love, and God (or that what we choose to call God) - it all resonates with me in an utterly pleasing and completely dismantling way. It breaks me apart.
"What am I in the eyes of most people - a nonentity, an eccentric or an unpleasant person - somebody who has no position in society and never will have, in short, the lowest of the low.
How he thought about art, and love, and God (or that what we choose to call God) - it all resonates with me in an utterly pleasing and completely dismantling way. It breaks me apart.
"What am I in the eyes of most people - a nonentity, an eccentric or an unpleasant person - somebody who has no position in society and never will have, in short, the lowest of the low.
All right, then - even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart.
That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love malgré tout [in spite of everything], based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion."
- Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh The Hague, 21 July 1882
Friday, March 11, 2011
Storage
It's kind of a boring topic, but storage has been taking up a lot of my brain activity lately. There are several projects I'm trying to get done around the house, and many of them involve how to better store the stuff I own. Holiday decorations, fabric, props, power tools, paint, art supplies, patterns, mementos, books - it goes on and on. So many different things to store, and with the house and all, I should be better about how it's all stored. Better organization and record keeping. Better access and protection.
Owning a house is great for many things, but as a recovering pack rat, it's hard to keep on the "don't accumulate random stuff" wagon. From parents dropping off boxes full of random crap to the items that show up as I work on props gigs to my own tendencies to hold onto every piece of paper that crosses my palm, it is really hard to let things go when I now have all this space to keep everything.
Back in college, I did a pretty good job of not accumulating stuff (you know, for me - it's all relative). There was a time when everything I owned fit into my car at once. I mean, it was an 1987 Oldsmobile named Tank, so that's not really saying all that much, but I was proud of it at the time.
And of course, even that doesn't really take into consideration all the stuff I had in storage at my mom's house. But when I left high school, my mom sold our house, so everything I had went into storage or to college with me, and I purged a lot of material goods at that time. There was some furniture, and some boxes of mementos, but even then I had managed to thin the herd pretty well.
From college through moving into the duplex I lived in before buying my house, I moved on average once every year (10 moves over 10 years). Moving is a great way to keep the amount of stuff you own to a minimum; Physically moving every thing you own reminds you to own less things. But even then, things started to creep in. Furniture - it takes up so much space, and no longer was I looking for shelves I could easily disassemble and put back together, or futons that could be rolled up tight. I had dressers and chairs and all sorts of things now that took up lots of space. And the supplies for my hobbies! Everything I've dabbled in, from painting to sewing to chainmail weaving, takes up so much space. The duplex was packed full and wasn't well organized, but having 4 separate people live there over the two and a half years we did accounts for some of that.
Now, though, we're in our house and it's time to start really settling in. Things that we would normally have wanted to do when we first moved in were pushed off for so long due to the need to rehab the house, and then plan a wedding. And all the theater! But now, it's time to start really organizing the house, and living in it fully. My goal is to get to the point where there is no longer sheetrock in the upstairs hallway, and every thing has a place, and every space is well organized. Not to a crazy level; I don't want to freak out of the hammers are in the wrong order or anything, but do I want to be able to find the hammers when I need them.
Current projects include:
*or paint or wood or hammers or vases or dishes or hats or shoulder bags or...
Owning a house is great for many things, but as a recovering pack rat, it's hard to keep on the "don't accumulate random stuff" wagon. From parents dropping off boxes full of random crap to the items that show up as I work on props gigs to my own tendencies to hold onto every piece of paper that crosses my palm, it is really hard to let things go when I now have all this space to keep everything.
Back in college, I did a pretty good job of not accumulating stuff (you know, for me - it's all relative). There was a time when everything I owned fit into my car at once. I mean, it was an 1987 Oldsmobile named Tank, so that's not really saying all that much, but I was proud of it at the time.
And of course, even that doesn't really take into consideration all the stuff I had in storage at my mom's house. But when I left high school, my mom sold our house, so everything I had went into storage or to college with me, and I purged a lot of material goods at that time. There was some furniture, and some boxes of mementos, but even then I had managed to thin the herd pretty well.
From college through moving into the duplex I lived in before buying my house, I moved on average once every year (10 moves over 10 years). Moving is a great way to keep the amount of stuff you own to a minimum; Physically moving every thing you own reminds you to own less things. But even then, things started to creep in. Furniture - it takes up so much space, and no longer was I looking for shelves I could easily disassemble and put back together, or futons that could be rolled up tight. I had dressers and chairs and all sorts of things now that took up lots of space. And the supplies for my hobbies! Everything I've dabbled in, from painting to sewing to chainmail weaving, takes up so much space. The duplex was packed full and wasn't well organized, but having 4 separate people live there over the two and a half years we did accounts for some of that.
Now, though, we're in our house and it's time to start really settling in. Things that we would normally have wanted to do when we first moved in were pushed off for so long due to the need to rehab the house, and then plan a wedding. And all the theater! But now, it's time to start really organizing the house, and living in it fully. My goal is to get to the point where there is no longer sheetrock in the upstairs hallway, and every thing has a place, and every space is well organized. Not to a crazy level; I don't want to freak out of the hammers are in the wrong order or anything, but do I want to be able to find the hammers when I need them.
Current projects include:
- My office - once the walls are repaired and painted, this will hold my work table, desk and drafting table. I'll have a computer up and running instead of just my netbook, and be able to limit my sewing projects to this room. It'll hold all my personal art projects, as well as some prop making. The closet will hold any personal memento storage as well as supplies for my art.
- Hallway shelves - currently a dumping ground for tools, Christmas decorations, camping gear (so random), and a hodgepodge of "home goods" like curtain rods and outlet covers. All of those things will eventually live someplace else, which leaves a huge built-in shelving unit wide open. Someday it might be claimed by an expansion of the bathroom, but that's many years down the line. In the meantime, I'm not sure what to use it for. It's not a great linen closet, as our bedroom and private bath are downstairs. But something should live there, otherwise it will continue to be a dumping ground.
- Basement - currently holds our laundry area, a newly started props storage, a mess of a work area full of tools and building materials and storage for some friends. With a little organization and lots of vacuuming up of cobwebs, I think it could be a highly organized storage area. The laundry area will remain largely the same (though some tidying wouldn't be amiss). The area just at the bottom of the stairs has built in shelves, and between that and what we could do with the space under the stairs, I think all our holiday storage could be neatly contained. It would also be a great space to store kitchen items that aren't used regularly and are currently hidden around the house - things like my cake transporter tupperware thingie, or the huge broiling pan we use for the holidays. My workshop area is the one that needs the most work, as currently most of my tools are scattered on the floor, and there's no real worktable. I have big ideas for how to organize this area, and once I get it cleaned out, I think a weekend or two will see it transformed into a much more functional space. That just leaves props storage, which I think will be an ongoing situation. Currently I have 9-10 plastic bins that hold a variety of props. I don't want to necessarily have an ever expanding prop shop, but I don't want to limit it to that, either. So I need to find/make some shelves to hold those bins, and figure out a solution for the few items I have that don't fit into bins easily (suitcases, lanterns) and set it up in the back corner of the basement. Even with the stuff we're holding for friends, there's tons of space at the back end of our basement we're not using, and I'm looking forward to organizing it all.
- Garage - currently kind of a disaster. Partly because it's holding all our patio furniture and grill, partly because it was never fully cleaned out post major rehab on the house, partly because it's holding some stuff that should probably be stored in the house, including several boxes of props. This is a late springtime project, though, and hopefully by the time I get to it, everything that should live in the house will have a place to go.
*or paint or wood or hammers or vases or dishes or hats or shoulder bags or...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Props Thoughts - #4
Creating specific items for characters - I mentioned this in a previous post. I really enjoy this aspect of design. A glass is called for. Well, what kind of glass? A low-ball, something to drink scotch out of. Great, I have one of those right here. Done, right? Well, no. Not done. Sure, any glass of the right size could do, but that doesn't make it the right glass. Even something as simple as a glass can say so much about a character and the location they're in. From cut crystal down to acrylic, the range of what could be the right glass is pretty large.
When I designed props for Dead Man's Cell Phone the "which glass is the right one" issue meant something not just about the character or location, but also the tone of the play, the world the play lives in. There were several references in the stage notes about a scene looking like/feeling like an Edward Hopper painting, and the director wanted to really capture this. This is a wonderful place to start from with a design - artwork for great visuals and how the scene should feel. I knew I wanted to have coffee cups that were a bit oversize, because of how much weight they needed to carry in the scene. They're such an iconic part of Hopper's work, that they needed to make a statement. Any coffee cup could have done from a functional point of view, but the form demanded a specific cup. And it's the designer's job to identify the difference, and endeavor to deliver the specific. You need to work with the director to fit into their concept, the scene designer to fit into their set and often times with the actor to know what sort of character they're creating.
That's actually one of my favorite things to do, bringing an actor in on the discussion. In I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda there is, unsurprisingly, a remarkable document. The young lady mentioned in the title has written out her story and brought it to a writer for his feedback in helping to get it published. The director, actress and I talked a lot about what this document should look like. The young lady was a refugee, had no money, and was very serious about her work. The document should therefore be handwritten, on whatever kinds of paper she could get, and kept as tidily as possible. I ended up pulling loose-leaf paper, ends of notebooks, different colors, different sizes, some with spiral frayed ends, some from legal pads, just collecting any variety of paper I could for free. I found the cheapest, plainest and yet sturdiest folder that would be big enough to hold the whole stack (some 7 inches by the end) at the local drugstore, and found a large rubber band to hold it all together. I tried to approach it as I believed the character would. I sorted and stacked and tried to make all the pages feel as if someone had spent time writing on each page individually. I did not, however, write individually on each page. I'm not that insane. For practicality's sake, I spray glued all but the top 4 or 5 sheets together, and then bound them in the folder so that even if dropped, they wouldn't go spilling everywhere. I did hand write the first 4 or 5 pages, so that the actor who had to look through it could have something to respond to, using the Wikipedia article on Rwanda as material. In the end, it felt like a real item. Something I could imagine that young lady putting in her bag, carrying on a bus, and presenting to someone she hoped would help her publish.
Finding or creating the right item is important, I think, not just to help the audience believe the world that we're presenting them with, but to help actors believe it, too. Actors absolutely adore props, and anything that helps them feel connected in the moment is appreciated. Like handwriting out pages, or making sure that if they have to read something from a page or book that the actual words are written out clearly and correctly. Anything that keeps them from disconnecting from the scene. For that same show, the writer character is shown packing up some of his published books of poetry, and he reads off several titles as he does. So I created book jackets for each of those books with the titles he reads. Sure, I could have just pulled any books of the right size, trusting that the audience would never see the titles, but it's jarring to the actor to have to say one thing when reading another. As an even smaller detail I knew no one but the actor would see, I copied his headshot from the theater's website and stuck it on the back cover with the author's blurb. He loved that detail, and it became clear that something so small helped make him feel like those actually were his books. He was able to connect to the props in a more direct way.
When I designed props for Dead Man's Cell Phone the "which glass is the right one" issue meant something not just about the character or location, but also the tone of the play, the world the play lives in. There were several references in the stage notes about a scene looking like/feeling like an Edward Hopper painting, and the director wanted to really capture this. This is a wonderful place to start from with a design - artwork for great visuals and how the scene should feel. I knew I wanted to have coffee cups that were a bit oversize, because of how much weight they needed to carry in the scene. They're such an iconic part of Hopper's work, that they needed to make a statement. Any coffee cup could have done from a functional point of view, but the form demanded a specific cup. And it's the designer's job to identify the difference, and endeavor to deliver the specific. You need to work with the director to fit into their concept, the scene designer to fit into their set and often times with the actor to know what sort of character they're creating.
That's actually one of my favorite things to do, bringing an actor in on the discussion. In I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda there is, unsurprisingly, a remarkable document. The young lady mentioned in the title has written out her story and brought it to a writer for his feedback in helping to get it published. The director, actress and I talked a lot about what this document should look like. The young lady was a refugee, had no money, and was very serious about her work. The document should therefore be handwritten, on whatever kinds of paper she could get, and kept as tidily as possible. I ended up pulling loose-leaf paper, ends of notebooks, different colors, different sizes, some with spiral frayed ends, some from legal pads, just collecting any variety of paper I could for free. I found the cheapest, plainest and yet sturdiest folder that would be big enough to hold the whole stack (some 7 inches by the end) at the local drugstore, and found a large rubber band to hold it all together. I tried to approach it as I believed the character would. I sorted and stacked and tried to make all the pages feel as if someone had spent time writing on each page individually. I did not, however, write individually on each page. I'm not that insane. For practicality's sake, I spray glued all but the top 4 or 5 sheets together, and then bound them in the folder so that even if dropped, they wouldn't go spilling everywhere. I did hand write the first 4 or 5 pages, so that the actor who had to look through it could have something to respond to, using the Wikipedia article on Rwanda as material. In the end, it felt like a real item. Something I could imagine that young lady putting in her bag, carrying on a bus, and presenting to someone she hoped would help her publish.
Finding or creating the right item is important, I think, not just to help the audience believe the world that we're presenting them with, but to help actors believe it, too. Actors absolutely adore props, and anything that helps them feel connected in the moment is appreciated. Like handwriting out pages, or making sure that if they have to read something from a page or book that the actual words are written out clearly and correctly. Anything that keeps them from disconnecting from the scene. For that same show, the writer character is shown packing up some of his published books of poetry, and he reads off several titles as he does. So I created book jackets for each of those books with the titles he reads. Sure, I could have just pulled any books of the right size, trusting that the audience would never see the titles, but it's jarring to the actor to have to say one thing when reading another. As an even smaller detail I knew no one but the actor would see, I copied his headshot from the theater's website and stuck it on the back cover with the author's blurb. He loved that detail, and it became clear that something so small helped make him feel like those actually were his books. He was able to connect to the props in a more direct way.
Monday, March 7, 2011
What I needed
Feeling better after a relaxing weekend. I got to play some games, got some laundry done, hung out with my dad and baked some bread. And I caught up on sleep!
That last bit was the best part. Waking up this morning before my alarm went off was a good feeling, and not feeling rushed to get ready for work was a welcome change.
The bread I baked was challah, and while the texture needs improvement, the taste was very good. I didn't finish putting the chocolate cream pie together, as I think the chocolate part needs more time to set up. I didn't cook the cornstarch mixture enough before adding the chocolate and butter, I think. I think what I'll do is put the chocolate in the crust and then put in the freezer for a bit. Then add the whipped topping right before serving. And of course I'll have to try the recipe again (oh darn). The new technique I tried for the steaks was good, though maybe too messy for the outcome. Justin seemed to like it better than I did, though, so maybe it was worth it.
I'm planning on finishing up the upstairs bathroom and the media room this weekend. I have some prep work to get done during the week, but should be able to bang out both those projects in a day or two. I'm spending the rest of the weeknights on cleaning up my office. As I've needed to find things over the past two and a half years, I've opened up most of the boxes stored in my office, and done a poor job of cleaning them up. The closet in my office is particularly disastrous. So I'm going to pull boxes out, a few at a time, sort through them, repack as necessary, and hopefully get the closet cleaned out so I can store the boxes in there to give me room to repair the walls. Which is my goal for the following weekends - get my office done! I'm hopeful that I can get the bulk of the work done before I go back into rehearsals, and will then be able to slowly set-up my office.
The other area I need to clean up is the basement. What I really should do is not only clean it up, but set up some sort of workshop down there. I'm already creating props storage in one section, and it would be nice to have all my tools organized, and an actual workspace instead of just the floor. Bit by bit, things will get done.
That last bit was the best part. Waking up this morning before my alarm went off was a good feeling, and not feeling rushed to get ready for work was a welcome change.
The bread I baked was challah, and while the texture needs improvement, the taste was very good. I didn't finish putting the chocolate cream pie together, as I think the chocolate part needs more time to set up. I didn't cook the cornstarch mixture enough before adding the chocolate and butter, I think. I think what I'll do is put the chocolate in the crust and then put in the freezer for a bit. Then add the whipped topping right before serving. And of course I'll have to try the recipe again (oh darn). The new technique I tried for the steaks was good, though maybe too messy for the outcome. Justin seemed to like it better than I did, though, so maybe it was worth it.
I'm planning on finishing up the upstairs bathroom and the media room this weekend. I have some prep work to get done during the week, but should be able to bang out both those projects in a day or two. I'm spending the rest of the weeknights on cleaning up my office. As I've needed to find things over the past two and a half years, I've opened up most of the boxes stored in my office, and done a poor job of cleaning them up. The closet in my office is particularly disastrous. So I'm going to pull boxes out, a few at a time, sort through them, repack as necessary, and hopefully get the closet cleaned out so I can store the boxes in there to give me room to repair the walls. Which is my goal for the following weekends - get my office done! I'm hopeful that I can get the bulk of the work done before I go back into rehearsals, and will then be able to slowly set-up my office.
The other area I need to clean up is the basement. What I really should do is not only clean it up, but set up some sort of workshop down there. I'm already creating props storage in one section, and it would be nice to have all my tools organized, and an actual workspace instead of just the floor. Bit by bit, things will get done.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Big plans?
No, not really. Lots of small plans for the weekend. The planning of big plans, maybe, but that's it. I'm going to bake a loaf of challah, and a chocolate cream pie, and try a new way of cooking steaks.
I'm going to catch up on my laundry, and hang out with my dad and brother, eating grilled hotdogs.
I'm going to watch my Netflix movie, and spend quality time with Kira.
I'm going to hang out with my husband, and try to just calm down and let my shoulder muscles relax.
I'll be back to writing about props and design stuff soon. Interspersed with house stuff. And cooking stuff. It'll be good to not have my whole brain capacity filled up with props.
Starting off the weekend by going to lunch with some friends. We're heading to Annie's Parlor for cheeseburger and malts.
I'm going to catch up on my laundry, and hang out with my dad and brother, eating grilled hotdogs.
I'm going to watch my Netflix movie, and spend quality time with Kira.
I'm going to hang out with my husband, and try to just calm down and let my shoulder muscles relax.
I'll be back to writing about props and design stuff soon. Interspersed with house stuff. And cooking stuff. It'll be good to not have my whole brain capacity filled up with props.
Starting off the weekend by going to lunch with some friends. We're heading to Annie's Parlor for cheeseburger and malts.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Spring!
I've been pinging my husband with random things lately. Just little things I'm looking forward to with the coming of both my break from theater and springtime. I'm going to compile some of them here.
- Sitting on my patio
- Having the windows open
- Planting the front garden beds
- Another year closer to having a full, green lawn in the backyard
- Grilled steak and asparagus
- Cooking dinner instead of grabbing whatever I can from the gas station
- Finishing the bathroom and media room moulding
- Fixing up my office
- Riding my bike
- Buying a new moped
- Not having to wear winter boots
- Not having to bus to work
- Wearing cute shoes again
- Not having such dry skin
- Setting a routine for using the treadmill
- Fires in the firepit
- Parties!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tomorrow never happens...
There's a Janis Joplin recording that I love:
"I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, and it can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man - I mean, if you, say, say, maybe you want a cat for 365 days, right - You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered on the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same fucking day, man."
It's the 'as we discovered on the train' bit that kills me. It's all the same fucking day, man. Too fucking true, Janis.
That's all I got so far today...we'll see what happens on the train.
"I don't understand how come you're gone, man. I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, and it can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man - I mean, if you, say, say, maybe you want a cat for 365 days, right - You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered on the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same fucking day, man."
It's the 'as we discovered on the train' bit that kills me. It's all the same fucking day, man. Too fucking true, Janis.
That's all I got so far today...we'll see what happens on the train.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Almost to my break(ing) point
I had two shows close this weekend, and one that starts tech on Tuesday. I am a little fried.
Stage managing Drakul, which was a lovely show, but was kind of draining to run. The show itself clocked in just over 3 hours, and with a 20 minute fight call, a desire to open house early, food to prepare, and a large stage to mop, I was at the theater for about 6 hours every performance. True, I didn't need to show up so much earlier then call, maybe, but wanting to mop the floor and give it time to dry before fight call, plus have a little bit of time in the space before others arrive. I hate when actors are trying to get in the door at the same time I am - none of the lights are on yet, and I'd like to be able to go through my routine in my own order/pace, so...I arrive even earlier then I tell them I will be there.
So a good show, but I'm glad to see it done. The other two shows are props gigs, which are usually fun to do, but as tired as I've been lately, it's been a little less fun. But Shakespeare Youth Theatre's production of King Lear ended on Sunday, and it was a quick and painless strike. I have a few items to return, but most of it goes right into my new props storage area (a post, with pictures, about my new props storage area is forthcoming).
The show that starts tech this week is Theatre Pro Rata's production of Dido, Queen of Carthage. I spent most of the weekend building props for it. Three spears, a bow, two quivers (and one more to go) and a set of oars. I still have some detail work to do, but the bulk of the work is done, which is exciting. I'm loading everything in this evening, and then heading over on Tuesday after work to their 10 out of 12 to finish things up. Hopefully everything I've made and found will work. I'm liking most of the things I've made so far. The spears look fantastic, the oars are on their way to being awesome, and Venus' quiver turned out well. Cupid's quiver is not great, and Cupid's bow could either be a big hit, or a big miss. It's small, because we need Cupid's arrows to be small, and I'm worried the bow will look too small. But I think it has potential. We'll see.
At any rate, Dido opens on Saturday, which means I'll have one show up and running, and no other shows going on. And I can hardly wait. No rehearsals, no production meetings, no theater work. And Dido doesn't have any food props, so I don't even have to make food runs.
That means I have a whole month, until After the Quake rehearsals start up, with no theater projects. A whole month of just a regular 40 hour a week day job, with evenings and weekends free to do what I want. There are projects around the house I want to accomplish, sure, but I also plan to just veg a lot, too. Hang out and play board games. Go to the movies. Maybe spend a night or two walking around the Art Institute. I've been sort of bouncing off the walls, being excited for this break. It felt particularly bouncy this time, but Justin assures me I am always like this when approaching time off from theater.
Stage managing Drakul, which was a lovely show, but was kind of draining to run. The show itself clocked in just over 3 hours, and with a 20 minute fight call, a desire to open house early, food to prepare, and a large stage to mop, I was at the theater for about 6 hours every performance. True, I didn't need to show up so much earlier then call, maybe, but wanting to mop the floor and give it time to dry before fight call, plus have a little bit of time in the space before others arrive. I hate when actors are trying to get in the door at the same time I am - none of the lights are on yet, and I'd like to be able to go through my routine in my own order/pace, so...I arrive even earlier then I tell them I will be there.
So a good show, but I'm glad to see it done. The other two shows are props gigs, which are usually fun to do, but as tired as I've been lately, it's been a little less fun. But Shakespeare Youth Theatre's production of King Lear ended on Sunday, and it was a quick and painless strike. I have a few items to return, but most of it goes right into my new props storage area (a post, with pictures, about my new props storage area is forthcoming).
The show that starts tech this week is Theatre Pro Rata's production of Dido, Queen of Carthage. I spent most of the weekend building props for it. Three spears, a bow, two quivers (and one more to go) and a set of oars. I still have some detail work to do, but the bulk of the work is done, which is exciting. I'm loading everything in this evening, and then heading over on Tuesday after work to their 10 out of 12 to finish things up. Hopefully everything I've made and found will work. I'm liking most of the things I've made so far. The spears look fantastic, the oars are on their way to being awesome, and Venus' quiver turned out well. Cupid's quiver is not great, and Cupid's bow could either be a big hit, or a big miss. It's small, because we need Cupid's arrows to be small, and I'm worried the bow will look too small. But I think it has potential. We'll see.
At any rate, Dido opens on Saturday, which means I'll have one show up and running, and no other shows going on. And I can hardly wait. No rehearsals, no production meetings, no theater work. And Dido doesn't have any food props, so I don't even have to make food runs.
That means I have a whole month, until After the Quake rehearsals start up, with no theater projects. A whole month of just a regular 40 hour a week day job, with evenings and weekends free to do what I want. There are projects around the house I want to accomplish, sure, but I also plan to just veg a lot, too. Hang out and play board games. Go to the movies. Maybe spend a night or two walking around the Art Institute. I've been sort of bouncing off the walls, being excited for this break. It felt particularly bouncy this time, but Justin assures me I am always like this when approaching time off from theater.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Props Thoughts - #3
The first thing I do when I take on a design job is read the script. Seems like a "duh" kind of moment, but I have to read it in a very careful way. I'm looking for the props, implicit and explicit, and generally not caring much for the content of the show beyond that. I save that sort of stuff for later.
No, at first it's strictly looking for the objects used. Many modern plays are easy to figure out. There's lots of stage directions that mention items by name. It's easy to determine what the script itself actually calls for.
Do not, repeat, do not be fooled by the props plot at the back of some printed scripts. Those are lists of items that the original production used. Trust me, not everything on that list will be required in the show you're working on, nor will it prevent your actors/director from coming up with new items for you to find. The list is merely a record of what one show used.
What does the script tell you it needs? It's a different way of reading a script. The real practice you get at this is doing historic plays. Shakespeare, of course, is a big one. Look at any Shakespeare script, or any from that era and before, and you'll notice that there are fewer or no stage directions at all. So you have to learn to look for the items they imply. Currently I'm working on a production of Dido, Queen of Carthage, by Christopher Marlowe. There are very few stage directions, and so my usual skimming of the page doesn't work as well. But when Aeneas says "Gentle Achates, reach the tinder box, that we may make a fire to warm us with" it becomes clear that a tinder box is needed. They're obvious, if you're paying attention, but it's surprising how often people aren't paying attention to those things. Recently I had to point out to a director that there is dialogue in a play that states that certain items from a location had been stolen, so no, we would not be needing those items. That's why we break these jobs down, so that someone looking at the big picture doesn't miss the details. Props? All about the details.
No, at first it's strictly looking for the objects used. Many modern plays are easy to figure out. There's lots of stage directions that mention items by name. It's easy to determine what the script itself actually calls for.
Do not, repeat, do not be fooled by the props plot at the back of some printed scripts. Those are lists of items that the original production used. Trust me, not everything on that list will be required in the show you're working on, nor will it prevent your actors/director from coming up with new items for you to find. The list is merely a record of what one show used.
What does the script tell you it needs? It's a different way of reading a script. The real practice you get at this is doing historic plays. Shakespeare, of course, is a big one. Look at any Shakespeare script, or any from that era and before, and you'll notice that there are fewer or no stage directions at all. So you have to learn to look for the items they imply. Currently I'm working on a production of Dido, Queen of Carthage, by Christopher Marlowe. There are very few stage directions, and so my usual skimming of the page doesn't work as well. But when Aeneas says "Gentle Achates, reach the tinder box, that we may make a fire to warm us with" it becomes clear that a tinder box is needed. They're obvious, if you're paying attention, but it's surprising how often people aren't paying attention to those things. Recently I had to point out to a director that there is dialogue in a play that states that certain items from a location had been stolen, so no, we would not be needing those items. That's why we break these jobs down, so that someone looking at the big picture doesn't miss the details. Props? All about the details.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Props Thoughts - #2
So how do props get designed? Do they even need a designer or can't you just go and find the stuff and like...buy it?
These aren't questions I've actually heard, but I've certainly thought the second one before. Some theaters don't have props designers. They have prop masters, people who build/find other people's designs (set designer/scenic designer). Do props need to be designed?
I say yes, and it's not just because I am pretty sure that a props "designer" gets paid more then a props "master". Think about the things you use every day. The coffee cup you love, the one you'll dig through the cabinet or open the dishwasher to find. Your wallet, and how you've organized everything in it. Your keys, the weight of them, how they feel in your hand. The items we surround ourselves with have meaning. Sure, we all have too much stuff, we all own crap we don't need or even like. Yes, it's a problem and we should deal with it. But, again, the items we surround ourselves with have meaning. Sometimes it's negative, sometimes it's positive. It can make us feel good about ourselves, or guilty, or lazy. It says so much about us and who we are and what our priorities are.
I have a lot of stuff. I'm a collector (pack rat) at heart, and while I've tried to curb that tendency, I still have too much stuff. But I know that I could cull away most of my stuff to a few key items that I would hold onto if needed. My plaid umbrella. My handknit Dr. Who scarf. My favorite wooden hairstick. The green ceramic mug I made. I like to think that these items say some key things about me and what I value. And that anyone else looking at those items would also be able to get a basic understanding of who I am by looking at them.
That's where I start from when designing props. Let's find items that tell us about the people in the play, not just items that will do. Not all plays work this way, of course. Lots of productions have an overall theme or mood that they are aiming for, and the props need to support the production, of course. But my favorite designs, the ones I'm most proud of, are the ones where I get to create deeply personal items for specific characters. Or where I get to use props/set dressing to tell you about what kind of place we're in, and what kind of people live here.
These aren't questions I've actually heard, but I've certainly thought the second one before. Some theaters don't have props designers. They have prop masters, people who build/find other people's designs (set designer/scenic designer). Do props need to be designed?
I say yes, and it's not just because I am pretty sure that a props "designer" gets paid more then a props "master". Think about the things you use every day. The coffee cup you love, the one you'll dig through the cabinet or open the dishwasher to find. Your wallet, and how you've organized everything in it. Your keys, the weight of them, how they feel in your hand. The items we surround ourselves with have meaning. Sure, we all have too much stuff, we all own crap we don't need or even like. Yes, it's a problem and we should deal with it. But, again, the items we surround ourselves with have meaning. Sometimes it's negative, sometimes it's positive. It can make us feel good about ourselves, or guilty, or lazy. It says so much about us and who we are and what our priorities are.
I have a lot of stuff. I'm a collector (pack rat) at heart, and while I've tried to curb that tendency, I still have too much stuff. But I know that I could cull away most of my stuff to a few key items that I would hold onto if needed. My plaid umbrella. My handknit Dr. Who scarf. My favorite wooden hairstick. The green ceramic mug I made. I like to think that these items say some key things about me and what I value. And that anyone else looking at those items would also be able to get a basic understanding of who I am by looking at them.
That's where I start from when designing props. Let's find items that tell us about the people in the play, not just items that will do. Not all plays work this way, of course. Lots of productions have an overall theme or mood that they are aiming for, and the props need to support the production, of course. But my favorite designs, the ones I'm most proud of, are the ones where I get to create deeply personal items for specific characters. Or where I get to use props/set dressing to tell you about what kind of place we're in, and what kind of people live here.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Props Thoughts - #1
I'm going to start talking props and design here, try to not only document my thoughts on it, but look for patterns in my process and ways to improve. Blah blah blah.
Designing props - it's a rough gig, because props seems to be the dumping ground for anything set or costumes doesn't want to do, in addition to having all the stuff that clearly falls under "properties". It's also the one scenic element that gets no (and I mean absolutely zero) recognition outside of other theater folk - and even they aren't always sure what is props and what isn't. I had a recent show where the set designer got much praised for the quality of the set, and while I don't want to disparage what they did, a lot of what was being praised was the set dressing/props, which was all my domain. But how is a reviewer to know that? How is anyone to know that?
And it's okay. It is. If I'm doing my job well, much like with stage managing, no one notices it. The production looks great, and everyone is happy, and I'm not in it for the recognition anyway (I'm in it for the money, so let that sink in before you take me too seriously). It can be frustrating, sometimes more than others, but generally it's not a problem. But if you ever decide to become a props designer, be warned - you want people not knowing your name. It means you didn't fuck up.
And be prepared - you'll have a list of things you think are the things you need to find, and show up at the first production meeting only to find that you're also responsible for the furniture and a bunch of things that could be costumes, but because the costume designer doesn't want to find them, or pay for them out of their budget, they're now your problem. Oh, and they added a bunch of stuff. And will continue to add stuff right up through tech week. And they broke the stuff you brought in. And can there be a real banana every night?
Who's ready to design?
Designing props - it's a rough gig, because props seems to be the dumping ground for anything set or costumes doesn't want to do, in addition to having all the stuff that clearly falls under "properties". It's also the one scenic element that gets no (and I mean absolutely zero) recognition outside of other theater folk - and even they aren't always sure what is props and what isn't. I had a recent show where the set designer got much praised for the quality of the set, and while I don't want to disparage what they did, a lot of what was being praised was the set dressing/props, which was all my domain. But how is a reviewer to know that? How is anyone to know that?
And it's okay. It is. If I'm doing my job well, much like with stage managing, no one notices it. The production looks great, and everyone is happy, and I'm not in it for the recognition anyway (I'm in it for the money, so let that sink in before you take me too seriously). It can be frustrating, sometimes more than others, but generally it's not a problem. But if you ever decide to become a props designer, be warned - you want people not knowing your name. It means you didn't fuck up.
And be prepared - you'll have a list of things you think are the things you need to find, and show up at the first production meeting only to find that you're also responsible for the furniture and a bunch of things that could be costumes, but because the costume designer doesn't want to find them, or pay for them out of their budget, they're now your problem. Oh, and they added a bunch of stuff. And will continue to add stuff right up through tech week. And they broke the stuff you brought in. And can there be a real banana every night?
Who's ready to design?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Bwah?
What happened to the past two years?
Oh right, site was blocked at work, and I've been busy.
It's back up and working at the moment, so I thought I'd check in. Got married. Still working on the house. Still insanely busy with theater work. Life is pretty good in general.
I'm close to having the major housework done. Last room to tackle? My office. It's my March project. Once I get that done, I'll be setting up my props storage. I own enough stuff and have enough potential gigs going forward, that it makes sense to organize my collection. Which means organizing the garage and the basement. Major undertaking, but necessary.
I'm hoping that the summer will have lots of time available for this. Not having three weddings going on will help. I am working on a fringe show (more about that later) but it shouldn't take as much time as typical shows.
Spring is starting to arrive, which fills me with glee and the need to set goals. It was a long, hard winter, and I have been lacking motivation. But now as the temperatures warm up, and the sun is up longer, and I'm not going to be in rehearsals for over a month, it's time to figure out a plan and get working on it.
Look for more frequent updates going forward.
Oh right, site was blocked at work, and I've been busy.
It's back up and working at the moment, so I thought I'd check in. Got married. Still working on the house. Still insanely busy with theater work. Life is pretty good in general.
I'm close to having the major housework done. Last room to tackle? My office. It's my March project. Once I get that done, I'll be setting up my props storage. I own enough stuff and have enough potential gigs going forward, that it makes sense to organize my collection. Which means organizing the garage and the basement. Major undertaking, but necessary.
I'm hoping that the summer will have lots of time available for this. Not having three weddings going on will help. I am working on a fringe show (more about that later) but it shouldn't take as much time as typical shows.
Spring is starting to arrive, which fills me with glee and the need to set goals. It was a long, hard winter, and I have been lacking motivation. But now as the temperatures warm up, and the sun is up longer, and I'm not going to be in rehearsals for over a month, it's time to figure out a plan and get working on it.
Look for more frequent updates going forward.
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