Theater Blog entry

Journal: Thoughts about production management and technical direction. I found it very interesting to find out exactly how the upper management of a theater happened. Although I have been involved in theater my entire life, I’ve always either been on the technical crew or an actor. While I imagined that there was a significant amount of work to do behind the “behind the scenes” of a performance, I could never actually put words to their specific work. The theater by my house was poorly run (from a management perspective) so I’ve heard about how it was being done wrong. I guess I’ve heard a lot about what the directors and managers are suppose to do but it was never thoroughly explained to me. With these lectures, I really feel like a have a better understanding of the monumental task of running a theater, or even a theater department. I use to think managing was something that flowed together, but I see now that I was wrong. To some degree the pieces do fit, but it still seems to be quite hectic. I am really happy that these lectures happened. I feel like because I know how much more work the upper brass has to do, I feel like my work is less time-consuming. After hearing about what they have to do to keep theaters running, I am really glad that I’m an electrician.

Theater Blog week 4

Audience relationships Live theater has the unique ability to enthrall its audience with genuine connections to the actors and actresses. Performances are rarely the same twice and each time both the audience and the performers take part in a the same adventure. This gives the audience an incredibly intimate relationship with the actors. Regardless of the influence that the audience has on a performer, the show will ceaselessly turn out different. The audience’s role in the script can also vary the nature of the relationship. It is hardly uncommon for an audience to be acknowledged as some mitigating body or confidante spectating events to the actors and is then actively included and clued in to the working of the show. Other times, the audience is perceived to be invisible by the characters and the audience is left to its own devises when it comes to deriving meaning from the performance. In either case the audience is positioned into an intimate setting with regards to the characters. This relationship is fostered by theater’s tendency of being clever, mentally stimulating and engaging for the prospective audiences. Each audience member walks away from the performance with a new relationship and intimate understanding of the characters' lives.

Blog entry 3 Thoughts on playwriting and how did It feel to perform your own work. Through talking to the various playwrights in class, I have gained a huge appreciation for their work. I never really thought about it, but I guess I thought the process was simpler than how it was explained. I never thought that it would take years for a play to make it from page to stage. I knew more about the writing process, as I’ve had to write creative pieces for English classes in high school; so, that came as less of a surprise. Performing my own work was actually surprisingly gratifying. While I wouldn’t have minded handing off the performance two people who were more skilled actors, it was nice to be able to control exactly what we envisioned upon the creation of the work. As both the performers and the creators, I feel like we were happier with the final outcome then if other people had performed.v

Film and Theater

What is your experience with film and theater?

I’ve never really been involved in film productions.  Many of my friends have used that medium for school projects and I’ve even acted in a few of them, but I never really got into it.  I don’t mean I dislike movies, I’ve just never really enjoyed being part of the production of one.  So my experience is quite pithy, I enjoy watching quality films and can sort the good from the bad; however, I’ve never really been involved in any film that’s anything more than a school project.
Theater has always been something that I’ve always enjoyed doing.  Ever since I was little I was constantly involved in some sort of production.  Even my earliest memories are of ones backstage of various shows watching my dad stage manage from just off stage right.  Admittedly, I was hardly involved in anything other than watching back then, but I still immensely enjoyed watching it; so, once I was old enough I started to help out as a stage hand as often as I could.  As I was home schooled up until the 8th grade, I had little interaction with technical theater other than with the local high school.  Once I was at actually attending a school, I got involved with the theater as soon as I could, becoming a soundboard operator.  This soon turned into sound design and from there I became the head technician at my school by my Junior year.  From that point I took on all the electrical duties (design, operation, etc) as well as training someone to replace me once I graduated.  I have always held a special place for theater.  There’s nothing quite like it, no entertainment quite as intimate, simply ineffable.  I spend a lot of time tech-thing shows just waiting for something to go wrong; even in shows where I’m simply an audience member, I always want to catch everything.  Seeing shows live is, somehow, as spectacular as the blockbuster hits of the film industry.  Even without the fancy CGI of Hollywood, live theater still has the ability to enthrall their audiences with mysterious illusions.

Theatre week 1

I've visited Harper Joy Theater before this past week and have always admired the space. Compared to my high school, grand totaling 40 circuits, Harper Joy is a divine residence.  I immensely enjoyed touring the theater; while i have been in the new black box (last year), there were many nooks and crannies that i hadn't gotten around to seeing yet.  It was really great to get a feel for the lay out of the building and i'm excited to get the opportunity to work in it this semester.