Willy Wonka Jr.

Today, I got copies of my plot made along with a print out of the instrument schedule and turned them in to City Auditorium.  I also e-mailed a copy of the instrument schedule and some more information on what lighting fixtures I intend to use to Jim so he can prepare what I need to rent from Fisher.  Assuming I've given him enough info, I believe I have done everything I need to prior to light hang on Saturday the 8th.

Working on this, and taking Jim's class this past semester, has really brought my appreciation for the task of lighting way up.  It's easy to think of the lighting designer as just the person who has to make sure the audience can see the actors, but the breadth of what you're capable of achieving with lighting is amazing.

Next week sees me going to Wisconsin for my out-of-state internship at Door County.

Wonka jr update

We finally got the bucket shack together and painted. I'm pretty proud of it. Now that it's together we can see what we need to do to it to make sure that is sturdy and will work the way we want. Now my goal is to get everything else built so that we are just painting next week.

We got all of our materials approved by the fire marshal which is incredibly helpful and I can finish buying stuff. Through all of this I started to realize how much stuff our professors do that even those of us that work closely with them don't see. I kind of like it but at the same time it's pretty annoying to have to change things that had already been decided. This has been an eye opener for how I need to do things when I TD or even when I'm a designer or PM.

Willy Wonka Jr.

Today, I put the finishing touches on my plot and began putting together my instrument schedule.  The only things left are to have copies of my plot made; deliver one to Mike King at City Auditorium; finish and print my instrument schedule; and send information to Jim so he can prepare anything I need to rent.  These things I will be doing on Thursday.

Pippin 5/19-26

   This week was very productive. The first couple rehearsals were, at least for me, reviewing the music; we were called in my parts to review each song; this definitely helped a lot of us, for we were needing the extra rehearsal time. With this additional music rehearsal, I feel a little more confident with some of the songs. However, there are still some songs that even I get lost in; I feel we didn’t spend enough time working on each of them for the music to be cemented in my head (and it’s not that I don’t want to practice outside of rehearsal - it’s just I don't have ways to play music when at home, limiting my rehearsal abilities). However, I think it will get better once we put the choreography and blocking to the music.

           I have been sensing from the cast a growing irritability. I think a lot of people feel upset about how some rehearsal time gets used. As many of the scenes they spend a lot of time working through require a lot of us, we can’t use our down time to rehearse music or choreography as we have to stay engaged with the work. But because we spend a lot of time going slowly, our energy really drags, making it hard to stay positive. And when that happens, people (myself included) begin to grow frustrated.

On a positive note, I got my first major experience at teaching choreography this week. I was called to begin working on the first "sex scene", where Pippin first discovers women (among other things). Because I started back to work at home this week, I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked to prepare the dance, so what I did come up with didn’t feel like enough. However, to counter that, the girls (as well as cast members watching) are really enjoying the dance - the movement I set on them allows them to get into a character, do some more physical movements, and have some new fun. They tell me it’s a workout – something I didn’t expect. Feedback from my cast-mates tell me that they are incredibly impressed with how it looks, and that it's wonderful to see some new and creative dancing within the show so far; that amount of praise makes me feel proud of my work, and also of how much I have grown as an artist, dancer, AND director (as those skills have come in to play a lot).

     With some work this weekend, I plan to not only finish the first dance, but also enhance the choreography we currently have for most of the numbers. I think I will get the chance in the coming week or so to not only finish the numbers I was given, but with the choreographer’s permission, go back and revamp some of the old numbers, and really solidify them (at least in terms of the dancing). It’s going to look really good once it all comes together. 

Willy Wonka Jr.

Today was spent just drawing up a final version of my plot on vellum.  My next step is creating an instrument schedule.  It's a little crazy to think that we're getting so close to tech and opening.  Seems like it wasn't all that long ago that we met for our first meeting.

Willy Wonka Jr.

Only thing really done today was creating a larger scale drawing of my current plot.  The scale drawing of the stage that City Auditorium provided me with was only 1/8th inch scale, and everything was too crowded to put information like channel number and what color gel goes in each light.  So I drew out my plot at 1/2 inch scale to accommodate.

I'm still wondering about one of Jim's suggestions for adding lights to the balcony rail for more front lights.  The show is going to have projectors along the rail, and I'm concerned that any lights there will interfere with the projections.  However, it might not be a bad idea to place some lights along the rail anyway and if my concerns prove unfounded, then more lights to play with.

Wonka jr. Updates

We have just a few weeks until we move int the space and I'm not exactly where I wanted to be, plus now I have to modify a piece of the the set. I think it all can get done but I'm pretty sure that I'm going not have to start taking late nights to get work done.

It's kind of weird to think about the production from this point of view. I've done work backstage before but this is a whole different thing. I'm not just building the pieces that I'm told to build. I have to think about the entire world all the time and make sure that everything fits the way I originally saw it.

Pippin: 5/12-5/16

*Again, forgive me for the length of the post; I have been very bad in keeping up with the blogging

          In reflection of this past week, I have truly seen how different this show experience will be compared to the shows I have been in at ISU. The director and choreographer work through the show little by little during rehearsal, setting up blocking and creating the "pictures." This is different than any experience I have had before, for all the shows I have been in (or directed), I have always come to rehearsal knowing what we are working on. I don't know if I like this style of directing right now, but what I do know is that I have to be patient, and let them work through the show in their own way.
          I have gotten a few opportunities this past week to create some movement for the show. However, I was asked rather last-minute, and because of that, the dance moves I came up with were made on the fly. I don't really like doing that, especially for such a big show; I wish I would have been asked earlier in the week, so as to give me time to prepare some really good material. What I came up with wasn't bad, but I may use some time later to make it even better.
          While doing some additional research for the show (to better create my choreography), I realized that much of the choreography given to us thus far seems to be taken directly from a full version of the show found online. Though this is a great resource when starting, I honestly don't like taking a lot ideas from the original show - it feels unoriginal to me. One of the things I have begun to learn in theatre is how to make a show truly original. While I am totally accepting of "stealing" some ideas from the old show, as well as other places, taking too much from the original show  could make it feel like a copy of the old one, and I don't want that; I want the audience to see our show as fresh and original, a brand-new show.
          We begin work on Act II later this week, and we continue to review the music as well. It still feels very choppy, but it will come together soon.

Wonka water problems

So today I worked a ton and got the bench pretty much done as well as started painting the bucket shack. The only down side is the storm. Water started rushing in and flooded part of the shop. We had to move everything to a safer place and just incase, we built a dam to protect all of it. I'm so not excited to see what that looks like tomorrow.

Willy Wonka Jr.

Today, I finished a rough draft of my plot.  I sent a picture of it to Jim Trenberth, asking for his thoughts.  He said that what I came up looks pretty good, and advised that I see if there are any opportunities to build on what I already have.  He also asked that I provide him with a list of what instruments I'll be needing so he can prepare anything that I'll need to rent from Fisher Theater and save some time when the light hang comes along.

So my next step is to go back over my draft and see if there is anything more I could add.

Wonka Jr

So I have pretty much planned out a way to finish building the set. I don't have much to do before we're totally done With the first act. There are a few things I'm still waiting to get approval on but I'm so glad that we're on track. I got to take pictures for the bucket shack today and we all had fun with that and I got to see some of the costumes for different characters, it was really cool and the kids are adorable. I'm so happy that I'm working on this show.

Willy Wonka Jr.

We had another production meeting where we got to see what projections we're hoping to have on the cyc during the show.  They look great.  I got a few of my questions answered as it pertains to blocking and choreography.  Worked on better detailing my cue list, though I intend to go through the script a few more times at least.

However, with what I did come up with, I've begun to sketch out a preliminary light plot.  It's by no means complete and is bound to go through alterations, but I hope to have something close to complete by next week's meeting.

Pippin: ACTORS Theatre, Ames - Rehearsals up to 5/12

*first point to make: I am behind on my blogging, so this one covers from the beginning of rehearsals through this past Sunday
**I was cast as a Chorus member, but was also brought on as the Assistant Choreographer/Dance Captain, due to my heavy dance experience
     The first two weeks were devoted to working on the music for the majority of the show, focusing on the ensemble-heavy songs as well as learning choreography for some of the songs (just War is a Science and No Time at All). Within these two weeks, I sat down with the director and the choreographer to discuss ideas for choreography for the majority of the numbers, so I could know where we were going with this show and what they wanted for starters; they also gave me two areas where I got creative freedom, which made me both excited and nervous (meant I would have to do some research).
     In terms of the rehearsals, the music rehearsals started  off slow for me, as I was still recovering from a nasty illness from Fiddler on the Roof that weakened my voice. The music also surprised me - it was much more difficult that I expected; in addition, there are no good resources for me to learn my music the way I do best (by listening to recordings), for the recordings we used from the original show have differences compared to the script, creating an unexpected challenge.
     As for choreography, we spent rehearsals learning very simple movements for a couple numbers. I understand that some members of the cast are not trained in dance at all, but I am already starting to feel a little nervous for opening night; I worry that the simple movements we have learned so far won’t keep the audience as engaged as they could be. I may try to speak with the choreographer and see if we can spruce up the dances a bit – I have a lot of fun ideas.

The third week, many of us (myself included) were gone, for it was not only finals week for the ISU students, but all of us were involved in the One-Act festival. Though we were unable to be there, the cast continued on with rehearsals, teaching new dance numbers in our absence; however, I wasn’t informed of the new material until it came time to run it again; I was hoping the choreographer would inform us before then and teach the new movements to us.

     Throughout this process, I have noticed some problems occurring. First off, I am sensing a lack of creative communication between the director, choreographer, and the designers. I am beginning to understand firsthand why that communication is so vital - without it, little progress can be made. In addition, thanks to my directing experience in classes, I have truly grown to appreciate Brad's style of directing, especially his process and preparedness. Another issue that has me worried is the constant shifting of the cast; we lost about half of the original cast within the first few weeks, due to either schedule conflicts (which I understand), or the adult nature of the show. I think it would have been a good idea to let auditioners know beforehand about the adult nature of the show, in order to prevent these problems. Even with some slight problems, it is still early on in the process – I bet it will all work out.

Willy Wonka Jr.

I've gone through the script and made a preliminary list of the different light cues.  Judging from Andre's sketches, the majority of the action in Act One will be taking place either stage right or stage left.  So Act One will have a lot of back and forth.  One important question I need to ask about is how far down and up stage they want to be able to go.  I know there will be a section in front of the cyc that will be a "no go zone" to avoid shadows on the projections, but Andre's sketches appear to keep the action mostly downstage.  In the next couple days, I plan on re-re-re-reading the script and come up with a more detailed list of cues, and soon I shall begin sketching rough ideas for a plot.

CLE Internship 2

Gig 3 day 2. we mostly finished tearing out the old fly system at Dowling high school. we took out the rest of the arbors, along with all of the lift lines, loft blocks, head blocks, toe blocks and lock rails. we even took out the angle iron that was bolted to the building structure to hold all the head/loft blocks up. we basically gutted ALL of their rigging equipment. I also learned that it's easy to get the hang of driving a scissor lift. especially since i was showing up my boss. learned a little bit more about rigging and what is considered proper form now V.s. then too. and there is a hell of a lot of difference. I would tell you what I learned but that would require way too much time and I have other things to do. so have a fantastic day! today was 6.5 hours of work. new total is 27 hours


Justin "Chops" Voga

CLE Internship

hello,
it's Chops here. I thought I would start sharing what I have been doing for my internship so far.

I am working as a contractor for a CLE (Central Lighting and Equipment) based in Des Moines.
The first Gig I worked for them was at Waukee High School near DSM where we Replaced an arbor on their fly system. (we replaced it because the other one was too tall and they wanted their CYC to fly out farther) so that was fun. It took about 7.5 hours just to replace one arbor. (a lot longer then I expected)

gig 2 was just setting up some chain motors and truss with a grand total of 5 PAR Bars (Bars with PAR cans attached to them) and 3 source for zooms. it took a lot longer then it should of simply because the crew head (guy in charge) was new at the leader role and was a little un organized. but thats ok because it just means more money for me. they also really need to learn how to use motors for cable picks because they were trying to pull the cable as tight as they could while it was on the ground and couldn't figure out why it was pulling the entire back truss (just had a curtain on it) about 6 feet forward. that was 5 hours.

gig 3 day one. we are working at Dowling High school in DSM (a private Catholic high school) over the next few days we will replace their entire fly system. today we focused on gutting out most of the old system. ya want to know something? ours may be a piece of crap, but theirs is worse. everything is original to the theatre. there was so much dist on the top of everything; dust was actually puffing off of the tie line on all of the drapery when we took it off. i'm not even sure any of it has moved since it was put up.  the hand lines were still original too. (those are supposed to be replaced every so often) one of them actually slipped through the line lock and hit a worker in the head. (don't worry he was fine. he was in a scissor lift so the batton only moved about half an inch before it hit him) so after the drapery, we took the battons and electrics down, then took most of the wire rope and head blocks down. (btw, I also learned how to drive a scissor lift today) it was about an 8 hour day. bringing my total hour count up to 20.5

stay tuned for gig 3 day 2.





Justin "Chops" Voga

Willy Wonka Jr

So I've started working on Story Theatre Compay's Willy Wonka Jr. I have six rehearsal blocks that I've painted and plan to make look like cubes of steel that has been welded together. We finished the first block and I realized that doing that much detail on each block is going to take a bit longer than I expected, however, as long as come up with a plan of attack for how the rest of the set is going to be built I sure we'll be fine. I'm going to spend the rest of the day getting the rest of the blocks done.

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to teach theatre to local teenagers at Story Theatre Company. It has been an amazing experience being able to watch these teenagers grow as theatre artists, gain confidence, and become young adults. It is probably one of my favorite things that I have done in my time here at ISU.  Kiersten and I loved going in each week over the summer to play imagination fun time, cerebral vortex, coach monologues, do short scenes, make fake blood, and bring in guests.  Watching Teen Club grow from just a summer activity into a once a month school activity was awesome.  The growing interest in the club felt extremely rewarding. Seeing new students come in and diving right on in with the the rest of the class as if they had been there from day one was satisfying.  I learned a lot about lesson planning and seeing how students work differently from one another and how to best engage them to do better.  It is one experience that I will cherish forever.

Life in LA Means a Life Without Snow

Where to begin? Where to begin? How about with a quote?

“Perception is created and twisted so quickly.”-Louis C.K.

Now, the last time I was in LA, which was one year ago this month, I feared for my life. While trying to find the theater for the Dark Shadows premiere, my GPS led me in the opposite direction to a liquor store in a bad part of town. It was during this trek that my friend was verbally assaulted by a homeless man in front of the Church of Scientology. Afterwards, we walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were bombarded by persistent people trying to get us to take a tour of celebrity homes. At the time, in the back of my mind, I had a hunch that they were probably just going to drive us out into the desert and rob us. Tack on the horrific traffic and the fact that we almost got into several accidents during the cab ride and factor in the high cost of, well, everything, and you can imagine what I was going through. And while the trip did end well with the Dark Shadows screening (with the exception of the film itself), my perception of Los Angeles consisted of it being the culmination of all things corrupt, diseased, and disturbed. It was where evil incarnate resided due to the warm weather How on earth could anyone survive out here? More importantly, how was I going to survive? In order to break into the industry, I would have to move out HERE? Me? Mister 5’8” 142lb Ethnically Ambiguous Born and Raised Midwestern Small Town Boy?

For the past year, I’ve endured a great deal of self-doubt. I must say, however, that after my most recent visit to LA to finish up the final part of this internship (which is only the first step of this journey) my perceptions of LA have been greatly altered. Not only is it a place I envision myself embarking on a career, but I can see it as a place of eventually raising a family.

It’s funny. Even after all this exposition, I’m still at a loss for words. I don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll be direct and to the point. For the entire duration of my visit, I shadowed Tim Sullivan while playing an active part in several key events. I experienced firsthand what a day in the life is like for a director working within the Hollywood system and more importantly, I influenced it.

After arriving in LA with a serious case of jetlag, I spent two hours recuperating. That night I explored Venice Beach where over sixty years ago, Orson Welles filmed Touch of Evil with Charleton Heston and Janet Leigh. Venice is actually a really nice part of California because there’s…I just realized how easy it is to get lost in reminiscing about the locale. If I don’t stop myself now, the next twelve paragraphs will probably be devoted to the nice weather and friendly locals. I’ll try to avoid this.

The highlights of my trip included sitting in on a recording session with Patrick Copeland. He was Tim’s composer on I Was a Teenage Werebear. I was fortunate enough to witness firsthand Tim breaking the news to him that the film has been picked up in the UK to be adapted into a stage musical along the lines of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Andrew Harcourt has picked it up and it's set to premiere at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Because the film was only a 30 minute short and featured five songs, the two of them brainstormed ideas for an additional 10 songs.

In addition to this session, the entire team got together for a little powwow. I finally met in person the people I’ve been working with and the lead actor. They’re all incredibly nice. There are no egos. It was at this time, I was introduced to Matthew Vinaja, a film student at Cal State LA and cameraman for Disney-ABC television group as well as the Jimmy Kimmel show. We really hit it off and I learned that he’s looking for a roommate in September which is when I plan on moving out there. Tim also told us about a few places that have two bedrooms and charge roughly $800 a month.

It was during this session that Matthew and I filmed a couple of promotional publicity spots. Oddly enough, we both have the same camera which worked out perfectly.

Another highlight was a screening of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York which featured a Q and A with Kurt Russell. The event was sold out but Tim pulled some strings (Tim had the premiere for one of his films at the Egyptian and is friends with the theater owners) and got us tickets. We were there mainly to scope things out and get in contact with Kurt’s manager. Kurt is Tim’s top contender to play an aging Jim Morrison in The Poet in Exile and I agree, I think he would be an ideal choice. He was in fine form that night and sharp as ever. Sadly, I heard that Burt Reynolds is in terrible health is most likely being dropped from Adam Rifkin’s upcoming film.

I also had the privilege of attending Iron Man 3 in 3D IMAX with Adam Rifkin and Peter Schink. I already mentioned Adam in a previous blog and it was nice meeting him in person. He actually reminds me of me, which might explain why so many people find for the 2010 film Legion. At Tim’s behest, I showed both Adam and Pete the trailer for my Batman film on my phone. They were both immensely impressed and want to see the film. This just raised the stakes on my film. Aside from this, I made two very important contacts.

In addition to widening my book of contacts, I met (albeit briefly) Ryan Schifrin. Ryan is also a director but his father, Lalo, is probably more renowned. Lalo is a music composer who created the theme song to Mission Impossible and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Finally, I had a meeting with Tim and Matt. We set our agenda. In June, we’ll be filming a documentary, in September we’ll be filming the pilot to the show, and in early 2014, I’ll be working on The Poet in Exile. Also, starting in June, I’ll start getting paid (roughly $500 a month). In addition to these projects, Matt and I have been promoted to producers for the upcoming film Shockbuster. I can’t saying anything about it at the moment but it might lead to my directorial debut to a mass market via short films.

That’s the gist of my trip. I honestly could have gone on for ten more pages but I felt that this final blog should be short and sweet. I’ve really gained a lot of insight into the film industry this semester and there are big things to come.

Cynthia Adams actually suggested last semester that I continue to blog and I would love to do just that, maybe start a website and publish my past blogs from directing my 10-minute and one-act to the journal I kept during Modern Comp.

Well, that’s all folks. I feel I should end with a quote and this one from Eleanor Roosevelt feels right.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” 

I'm in LA and I've Run Out of Clever Things to Say

Hey everyone.

Just giving a quick update. I've been in Los Angeles for the past couple of days. I don't have time to go into all the details but I'll post a follow-up blog dishing out the details when I get back next week.

Things to come: Production meeting with cast and crew, meeting with Kurt Russell, and sitting in on a film score recording session.

Consider this a teaser.

Best.

Stephen