"You dance exactly like a hooker." -Dr. Moses talking to Emily
Ok, time to tackle the chaos that was Dance Kaleidescope 2009, featuring the dance company Sokolow Now!
The only word to describe the show is: interesting. The dances were very modern (veeerrrry modern). Some of the dances I understood, some went completely over my (and most of the dancer's) head. For the first day of tech week I was the only person working backstage. Since it was lighting tech it was no problem running around doing everything for an afternoon. Since Lacey got roped into being in the last dance he came on as the other backstage guy. Thank you for that Lacey. For a dance show there was a lot going on backstage: video projections, gel changes, scenery to be brought on and off, assorted flies. Even with two people it was a handfull but we got into a good rhythm that helped us pull it off.
All the dacners were great during the shows, but something always seemed to happen backstage that caused me and Lacey to freak out. For starters, on opening night, 30 seconds into the first dance, an alarm backstage went off. The projector/DVD setup we used for all the videos is hooked up to a anti-theft system. While moving it offstage, a wire got diesconnected and the alarm went off. While Lacey went off to go get ahold of Mark and find the key to turn off the alarm I was left to muffle the alarm by practically laying across the cart it was on, while trying to disconnect the wires so I could wheel it into the shop. It was a fantastic gorup effort between Lacey, Art, Mark, and myself to get the alrm disconnected and get the whole system set up again for the next video cue. All this nonsence and we still had time to get everything ready for the next dance. The audience was nonethewiser (well, those that didn't hear the alarm). Also, on saturday night, after we had done all of our sound checks and were ready to get the hsow on the road, someone turned the sound system off on us. The opening video had no sound for the first two minutes as we ran around frantically trying to figure why there was no sound. Myself and LAcey feel that this was Henry sabataging the show from beyond the grave.
Crazy-freak-tech problems aside we managed to have fun. One of the dances included a boogie section that looked a whole lot like the Peanuts gang dancing around. Since Lacey and I had the backstage right to ourselves, we decided to throw our own dance party. The dancers on stage got a big kick out of it, we spent the rest of the run distracting them with our dance antics. They had to look like they were having a good time anyways, so we just added to the good time atmosphere. The farther we went into the run we started incorporating dance moves from the show into our dance parties. By the final show we even got the members of Sokolow Now to dance backstage left! Woo!
It was a fun time with good people, and never a dull moment. Sessions For Nine, the dance done by the Dance Ensemble was my favorite, probably because it was a happy dance that wasn't morbid like all the others. SAd that it's pver, but happy that I can sleep more now, and I'm excited for Dance for Social Justice in May.
Field trip to the MFA tomorrow (no classes tomorrow, woo!), and assorted directing rehearsals for the rest of the week. I still hate this class more than anything, so the less I think about it the better. Also, I may or may not be teching Insect Comedy? I'll know next week. oi.
RANDOM DRUNK GUY: Are you a pirate?
LACEY: I'm a different kind of pirate.
NICOLE: Do you have a crush on Brittany?
LACEY: I like boys.
NICOLE: ...Really?
LACEY: Yes.
NICOLE: ...Oh...do you have a crush on Nick?
The only word to describe the show is: interesting. The dances were very modern (veeerrrry modern). Some of the dances I understood, some went completely over my (and most of the dancer's) head. For the first day of tech week I was the only person working backstage. Since it was lighting tech it was no problem running around doing everything for an afternoon. Since Lacey got roped into being in the last dance he came on as the other backstage guy. Thank you for that Lacey. For a dance show there was a lot going on backstage: video projections, gel changes, scenery to be brought on and off, assorted flies. Even with two people it was a handfull but we got into a good rhythm that helped us pull it off.
All the dacners were great during the shows, but something always seemed to happen backstage that caused me and Lacey to freak out. For starters, on opening night, 30 seconds into the first dance, an alarm backstage went off. The projector/DVD setup we used for all the videos is hooked up to a anti-theft system. While moving it offstage, a wire got diesconnected and the alarm went off. While Lacey went off to go get ahold of Mark and find the key to turn off the alarm I was left to muffle the alarm by practically laying across the cart it was on, while trying to disconnect the wires so I could wheel it into the shop. It was a fantastic gorup effort between Lacey, Art, Mark, and myself to get the alrm disconnected and get the whole system set up again for the next video cue. All this nonsence and we still had time to get everything ready for the next dance. The audience was nonethewiser (well, those that didn't hear the alarm). Also, on saturday night, after we had done all of our sound checks and were ready to get the hsow on the road, someone turned the sound system off on us. The opening video had no sound for the first two minutes as we ran around frantically trying to figure why there was no sound. Myself and LAcey feel that this was Henry sabataging the show from beyond the grave.
Crazy-freak-tech problems aside we managed to have fun. One of the dances included a boogie section that looked a whole lot like the Peanuts gang dancing around. Since Lacey and I had the backstage right to ourselves, we decided to throw our own dance party. The dancers on stage got a big kick out of it, we spent the rest of the run distracting them with our dance antics. They had to look like they were having a good time anyways, so we just added to the good time atmosphere. The farther we went into the run we started incorporating dance moves from the show into our dance parties. By the final show we even got the members of Sokolow Now to dance backstage left! Woo!
It was a fun time with good people, and never a dull moment. Sessions For Nine, the dance done by the Dance Ensemble was my favorite, probably because it was a happy dance that wasn't morbid like all the others. SAd that it's pver, but happy that I can sleep more now, and I'm excited for Dance for Social Justice in May.
Field trip to the MFA tomorrow (no classes tomorrow, woo!), and assorted directing rehearsals for the rest of the week. I still hate this class more than anything, so the less I think about it the better. Also, I may or may not be teching Insect Comedy? I'll know next week. oi.
RANDOM DRUNK GUY: Are you a pirate?
LACEY: I'm a different kind of pirate.
NICOLE: Do you have a crush on Brittany?
LACEY: I like boys.
NICOLE: ...Really?
LACEY: Yes.
NICOLE: ...Oh...do you have a crush on Nick?