Q:
1/31/2008

Who do you look up to as a designer right now?

Kristi H.

 

A:
2/11/2008

Right now I can't say that I am looking up to anyone in particular. I have my influences and I am putting them to work a lot these days. I am always a big fan of the work that Jules and Peggy do as well as Kevin Adams and Natasha Katz.  Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to see other local designers work recently, as I have been too busy with my own. Currently I am putting up a production of DROOD at Pheasant Run resort in St. Charles, IL.  I finally had a chance to see a preview with an audience last night and I realize it is turning out to be very "Jules and Peggy"  in the way that the show is cued with the music but at the same time it looks like Natasha Katz had a hand in picking the color.  That is always exciting to see your final product is somewhat turning out like the people you look up to.  It’s looking pretty good!

John Horan

 

Q:
1/23/2008

What do you recommend for falling snow effect? How best to light it?

Phillippe K.

 

A:
1/30/2008

Falling snow ehh?  I recently did a holiday show that needed that effect. The director wanted a snow machine. Unfortunately, the theater didn't have the money to spend on a quiet machine. The moment came where we needed this nice majestic snowfall during the closing number and instead we got a lawn mower sound from up in the grid. My advice is if you don't have the money for a good snow machine, then rig something in the grid that can be operated by crew on stage. A lot of time is needed for a grated box or tube of some sort on a pulley so one could pull the cord causing the box to shake in turn sending fake snow through the grating and on to the stage. I have never had much luck with things like rotators or film effects for that sort of effect. Lighting the real object seems to look better to me. If you do have actual snow (and this goes for rain as well) then light it from the side trying not to hit the floor as much as possible.

John Horan

 

Q:
1/3/2008

Hey John have you ever had any lighting designs that caused you problems during a show? And if you did how did you correct it during the show  without any one noticing while the show was going on? Thanks, from a stagehand local IATSE member.

Harland T.

 

A:
2/11/2008

Funny you should ask!  I did a show before the holidays for a theatre that was a little on the scary side.  Scary in that the space was prone to power surges and had no circuits overhead.  I was lucky enough to have 48 dimmers in a loft above the theatre.  It was a cable nightmare with the stock lighting instruments falling apart in my hands.  I had budget enough to rent/borrow some Technobeams and some other fun things.  The Technobeams were very temperamental.  Whenever they were turned on the mirrors needed to be adjusted by hand because they would slip out of alignment once they were turned off.  After a painful install and focus, (which consisted of a crew of one, yours truly), I got the show to a fairly good state by previews and was able to get some touchups in by the opening.

The show opened great!  I was in the audience opening night and it was really rocking out in the first act and the stage manager was hitting all the cues dead on.  During the last song in the first act I noticed the conventional lights flickered a little.   I didn’t think anything of it until my Technobeams came up in a big build cue.  The cue was hit perfectly; the only problem was the mirrors on the T-beams were completely out of alignment causing the lighting to spill out up onto the walls of the theatre and into the audience.  Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love blinding the audience, and this show had several of those cues, however, it just looked sloppy and not one actor was lit correctly for that scene.  I was in a dilemma.  The theatre had a power surge which caused the beams to reset.  I knew I had to get the ladder out and adjust the mirrors.  How do I do this with an audience?  I had no shame.  As soon as intermission hit, I got the ladder out, and fixed all four Technobeams with the audience watching and giggling at the weird guy climbing a ladder.  It didn’t bother me because the second act rocked even more than the first act.  That is the most recent mishap.  I have definitely had to change cues during shows.  The blind functions on most computer light boards are my best friend!      

John Horan

 

Q:
12/31/2007

How do you decide what products to use?

Eric - Assoc. LD

 

A:
1/7/2008

A lot of times I am working for a theatre with limited budgets. I need to rent/use the products that I can get many different looks and feelings out of. “Happy accidents” are my best friend. I guess I need to know that the product will get more than one job done.

John Horan

 

Q:
12/7/2007

What's your best advice to aspiring young LDs about keeping organized? How do you keep all of your paperwork and dates and whatnot together? Do you use technology, or keep to paper? I know we all do it differently, and I was wondering what you prefer, as I'm always open to suggestions.

Jesse - LD

 

A:
1/7/2008

I have to admit I have an addiction and that addiction is the “crackberry”

My friend Dr. Jim Davis had the best idea for keeping himself together.  He kept a little tape recorder and recorded rehearsals with it.  He would sit at a run-through in a studio and give the play by play of what was going on.  I now have a little digital voice recorder that also has a stopwatch.  This little thing is brilliant.  I am able to turn the thing on at the beginning of a musical or dance piece and leave it on till the end.  I usually wait till I have all my cues in the board to do this.  By this time, the band has had time to get the show tempo pretty close to what it is going to be for the run.  Once I have the show and my blocking notes in the recorder, I am now able to really get the timings perfect.  I do shows that have 400 and up light cues that all have to travel with the music. A lot of the time the stage manager only presses the “GO” button 200 out of the 400 times because I can link cues together and time them perfectly with the help of the handy dandy recorder.  I am sure a lot of other people do this.  I know a lot of directors that have them.  It’s nice not to have to look down to write something on a pad, especially when light cues are flying by every second.  I do keep my work notes on a pad because more often than not, I am the one fixing things and I like to see things to do written down.  Also, at the end of every tech, I make sure I sit down before I leave for the night and write down my agenda for the next day including work notes.  Even though my Blackberry says “Notes for So and So show” I like to break it down at the end of the day.                     

John Horan