Posts Tagged ‘Voices’

I thought I’d take my lunch and post an update on what’s been going on with this. Our first production is well underway. We have successfully cast “Voices” by Hortense Flexner, and so far have had one rehearsal… target performance date is June 20th. I’ve been very impressed so far with my two actresses, and appreciate their eagerness to delve into the characters and research the history behind them (WWI & Joan of Arc).

I would be totally lost without Courtney (the PSM) and Jeremy (the TD). That about sums it up there. Thanks you two!!!

We have moved the “stage” from inside my greatroom to out in the garage. This allows us more stage room, and actually adds 5 seats to the house capacity (to an estimated total of 30, plus stations in the back for the director, TD, PSM, lighting, and sound). Also, I’m much more comfortable drilling into my garage walls than my living room!

Together with the Technical Director and the Lighting Designer, we all made a trip to Lowes last weekend to start the lighting construction. So far we have two indoor lamps with three sockets each that we have modified with dimming controls we can place in a central location. A powerstrip will be the master switch. The standard bulbs have been replaced with 50-Watt PAR30 floods. Makeshift gels are being made with layered colored cellophane, which will be mounted in front of the lights with wire. Barndoors of aluminum foil will also be mounted with wire. The main problem we are running into is that the PAR bulbs get hot, and due to their diameter, there is less room for circulation in the shroud… we intend to rig clamp fans to the back to increase circulation. Pending further testing, we may also decide to add a third rig for additional intensity and coverage. The rigs will be placed on cinder block stacks to get the appropriate height.

Sound/music selection and editing is underway, Courtney bought ProTools for her laptop and Juliana is working with her on that.

Set, props, and costume are also underway, though I am sans latest update on that at the moment.

Total expenditure so far on scripts for preview and equipment for the garage theater itself is about $325.00. These are direct capital expenses and do not include any production expenses for “Voices” itself yet. I am estimating another $175.00 in equipment and around $75.00 for Voices. I am working on some ways to formalize and encourage external sponsorship of future productions, that plan should be complete in the next couple of weeks.

Overall, things are moving very well, and I’m excited to see where this goes. Probably we will stick to just “Voices” for this first production, to make sure we can do this. Then I hope to have another, larger show in the fall, with possibly a short original opener by a local playwright.

Other production team members are welcome to post their thoughts and additional information. And of course, feedback and suggestions from everyone else are welcome too!