Blog 21: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
“I, Danielle Mariano, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) My source is Chino Community Theater, the program "QLab", The Great American Trailer Park: The Musical by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso

(c) Sound Tech for "The Great American Trailer Park: The Musical (I put it as part of my mentorship.)

(d) I got the technical side of theater to the max. I learned how to program lighting cues into the system to activate on the spot and program sound bits into a program called Qlab and figure out how to effectively use it. I also ran one of the three main spotlights for the show and got a 2 hour lesson on how to properly spot someone. It's the first time I've worked anything so technical in theater before. Even as a stage manager, I never really had to work with technology, just organizational skills. It's also my first actual "job" in theater. It's also my first musical.

INTERPRETIVE
This job was actually the most stressful part of my senior topic. I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing. I learned how to do sound and spotlight on the fly. The beauty of live theater. I got yelled at multiple times by the musical director, Josh Himes, for not getting the levels right, or not getting the timing right, or pressing the wrong button and activating the wrong cue, and holding the rehearsal back. I came two to three hours earlier every day to learn from Bruce on recording, Paul Larson on QLab, spotting from Alex Huie, and it was exhausting.

The creation of the set. I am currently in the lighting and sound booth as they worked. Julie, the house manager on the left and Bruce Hutchings on the ladder to the right. Bruce is the main artist and set design and he is CRAZY good at it. Like that trailer on the left. All painted. That wood wall on the right trailer? PAINTED. How does one art? 

Making all my marking on my cues when Gabriel B. pointed out I've been writing "que" instead of "cue." Joan Rivers sound what. It was a long day. 

The program for the show. Hey hey, if you ever want to see it. It's at Chino Community Theater. You guys should totally go and see it. 

Look look! There's my name under Sound Board Operator and Spotlight Operators. :D 

Applied

This play actually solidified my final answer being "Cohesive Vision". The play consists of a three man live band, seven cast members, one main director, one musical director, one choreographer, two costumers, and four stage crew members. We had to constantly talk to each other in order for this play to be successful. I had to talk to every single cast member so we were consistent on cue signals for the sounds. 

All of the crew had to sit down with the cast and make sure all of them knew their choreography so the spotlights could follow them. If not, the choreographer had to step in and teach them. One actor decided to do something different without telling anyone (That's actually my first answer in action) and she threw the sound cue off, which threw the actors off, which threw the lighting off. The domino effect.