Well hello there.
Its been quite some time since I have posted here, partially due to the fact that I have been excruciatingly busy for the past two-three weeks. At the top of this term I was assigned as a follow spot operator on the winter opera,
Cosi Fan Tutte. The opera took place at the Stevens Center, which is in downtown. Its an old movie/vaudeville house that the school was gifted and renovated in the '80s. So in addition to being a followspot operator, I was also called just about every other time to help load in equipment, run cable, and focus lights. The show ran for only three performances on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday of last week. Its right at about three hours long and it being an opera, isn't the most exciting thing to stay focused all the way through.
Anyway, I've got some bad pictures I took with my phone and some pictures I stole from Facebook for you to see. As a preference, I should say that this opera was set in the 1960s, though it was written by Mozart in the 18th Century. The costumes and scenery and lighting are very "mod", post modern, and the whole show sort of takes place in an abstracted sort of world. It was very neat and visually stunning.
From Facebook:
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| In the "Conservatory" |
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| Wedding |
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| Pre-show. Note the two white circular objects (they are actually beds) downstage. Inside is a really complicated system that allows them to spin and move around on stage remotely. So essentially giant R/C cars! Super cool effect. |
My Photos from the projection booth:
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| On the left is my followspot. |
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| Above the stage is a narrow projection screen that displays "super titles" of the libretto in English so everyone who doesn't speak Italian knows what the deal is. |
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| Cosi Fan Tutte translates to "They are all the same", which in context with the opera means "All women are unfaithful and will cheat on their husbands." Mozart was quite a charmer. |
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| Before the show. |
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| About four hours in to strike. |
Backstage:
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| Lighting ladders offstage left. Notice the amount of cable. |
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Looking towards stage right. From behind you can see the set is constructed almost entirely of steel with wood cladding.
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The show was very fun to work on, though time consuming. It led to me getting behind in my classes and a few late nights. But thats the normal these days.
Up next in the short month of February: The musical
1776, the plays
A Soldier's Play and
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, and 'Winter Dance' at the Stevens Center.
