A Manicure is Wasted on Me...

This week I spent 2 days in the theatre painting the set pieces for From Cradle to Stage. There isn't actually much to do because the shows this year are very minimalist in their requirements. Although it wasn't much work, it was good practice for the next show for me at Walterdale. I am Set Designer and Master Painter for Village of Idiots and I will have quite a bit more to do on that set.

For right now, my nails are in rough shape and there are still bits of grey and black paint that I haven't quite managed to get off. I am looking forward to seeing the pieces under stage lighting on Monday night so I can see if I have anything else to do to make them look right.

From Cradle to Stage opens Wednesday, May 18th and features work from 3 Alberta playwrights: Robert Zimmer, Sherryl Melnyk and Mike Czuba. It is a great opportunity to be in the first audiences to experience these works. Check it out!

Much To Do with Much Ado!

Much Ado About Nothing moved into the theatre this week. I am doing Props for the show so I was in for the Production Meeting last night and to start a bit of the props pull. The Cast was treated to their walk-through to familiarize themselves with the space and then some of them had a rehearsal afterwards. I saw some fun character work happening with Assistant Director Monica Roberts and then popped in on a hilarious scene being blocked by Director Anne Marie Szucs.

My props pull was partially successful. I still have quite a few things to find, but I have leads on all of them. Walterdale has a really fun Props room with a lot of things, but sometimes it takes a bit of digging to find what you want. I have also been building at home. I have the bases made for the 16 masks and all I need to do is decorate them and attach the sticks. I can't do the latter until the choreography is set because I don't know what side to put them on. I am also building an Inkhorn and will be working on scrolls and some scabbards for swords. I will be pulling out the glue gun and sparkles so that makes me happy!

I went in this afternoon and met with the Costume Designer Ephram di Medicci and saw his designs and got some fabric scraps to match the masks to. We also sorted out the swords. We decided that we need to check with the Director about which swords to use - we have 4 sabers and 2 pairs of Rapier (both pairs are quite different). Both options require work so the sooner we know which way to go, the better. It's all about communication with everyone involved to make sure the right choice is made. It is better to talk about it first before you spend the time and money to acquire the wrong thing.

I am having fun this season. So far I am involved hands on for the first three shows. I painted on Perfect Pie, now Props for Much Ado and also Directing Rabbit Hole. I am sure there will be some place I can contribute to Threepenny. The One Acts are almost a given with the AD being involved and I am hoping to contribute to set in some way for Village of Idiots (I want to be Master Painter, but it all depends on who the Designer is). One thing I love about Walterdale is that you can certainly learn to do all jobs if you work at it! Since I feel like I know the AD job, it is great to add some other skills to my repertoire!

Reading and Painting...

That's what I am doing this week. I photocopied the 25 scripts received for From Cradle to Stage 2010-2011 today and assembled the packages for the 2 other jury members. I haven't really read any of them yet, so that is what I will start doing this week. One of our jury members is currently in a show, so it will be at least 2 weeks before we meet and make the first decisions (reducing the initial 25 down to 5 scripts to forward to the Dramaturgs). The script length ranged from 5 to 101 pages and they have a variety of cast sizes (as small as 1 and some that offer a variety of cast size depending on doubling). I imagine that there are also a variety of themes and stories. It will be a good week of reading for me.

I am also helping to paint the Perfect Pie set. We have had quite a few people come through with this job. We are led by the Master-Painter Joan Hawkins and it is coming along beautifully. I will be there for a few hours tomorrow afternoon!