The arch takes flight!

Hello again!

Sorry for the absence, I know you all have been sitting on the edge of your seats to hear back from me and your waiting hasn’t been for nothing. In my absence we survived through tech week and opened the show to great success! Tech week was as stressful as it normally is but the good thing about a week long load-in was that it gave us time to really iron out all the little bugs on the set.

My project with the arch went…well. Differently than I originally planned, but with some creative problem solving and brain storming with Mark we managed to get it flying. Instead of using the rigging system I originally planned to use, we found out that safety cables worked much better and allowed us to adjust the height and placement a lot easier than rigging it with airline cable.

This was a fun production to work on, and I think we all did the best we possibly could and created something special and unique. When I watched the final dress I was taken aback by how far we came from the first production meeting. There were many ideas tossed around, some made it to the final product, some didn’t. But everything that did, came together beautifully and I don’t think the show would have been as powerful if it did not have all its pieces. I don’t want to give too much away about the story, set, or music, but I will say that every one of you should go see the show. I want you to see the world that we have created and to immerse your self into the story that is being told. I’m very proud of what we have produced here and I would like to thank Company One for giving me this opportunity as well as Mark for everything he has taught me as his assistant.

-Nick

Nick Tosches: The Technical Side

Hello once again everyone out in internet land. A lot has happened since my last blog and since there is no sense in beating around the bush with pleasantries, so I shall get right down to business.

We started set build this week and things have been going awesomely. Mark asked me what project I would like to take on with the set, and after some thought I decided to work on the archway (it’s going to be a floating Japanese style pagoda roof/arch thing). I chose this project because I wanted to learn how to rig and hang something large that isn’t just a flat piece of scenery. So most of the job will be done during load in, but I succeeded in finishing building the frame work and 3 sides of the facing in only two days. Besides the set building, Mark has been teaching me the nuances of being a tech director from scheduling to what pieces of scenery are a priority and such. He has taken the time to discuss how to deal with designers and directors and how you can make their vision come true while doing your other duties, and this week’s lesson was that something should not fail simply from a lack of trying. Even though your first instinct may be to say no because what is designed or asked for seems impossible, impractical, or over budget, there is almost always a way to execute it.

So next week is looking to be just as fun and tiring as this week was, as we finish the set build and begin our load in. I am also looking forward to the designer run this weekend and hopefully we’ll be able to keep up this awesome pace that we have set for ourselves. See you all later around the blogosphere!

-Nick

After The Quake: Nick Tosches

Greetings to you all in the blogosphere! I’m Nick and I am currently a upcoming Senior at Emerson College majoring in stage management. Yes, I know what your thinking; “What is a stage manager doing building things and not taking rehearsal notes?” Well that’s cause I also enjoy carpentry/propping/anything that requires a hammer to bang things into shape just as much as banging out paperwork. I first started working in theatre as a stagehand/carpenter at my high school. After my director asked me to be the school’s production manager my senior year, I learned that I also liked organizing and running rehearsal/tech/and the other general fiddly bits of management. So while I stage manage by night I usually spend my days as a carpenter.

This is, however, my first time as assistant technical director and I want to thank both the technical director Mark VanDerzee and production manager Sarah Cohan for giving me this great opportunity. Hopefully I just have to combine my skills as a stage manager and carpenter and everything should be fine right? So far I’ve learned that there is a lot of looking at the big picture as a TD that a stage manager does not necessarily have to do. For example, while a stage manager might have to think about the safety of an actor who has to stand up on a 5’ tall platform, a TD has to think about not only the safety of the actor, but how is that 5’ platform going to be built so that it is both safe/structurally sound/and aesthetically pleasing. It’s definitely a different way of thinking, but coming up with a solution to a problem is the fun part.

So far it’s been a read through and production meetings with the occasional meeting with Mark about budgetary and technical elements, but I am really looking forward to the build for this show because this set is kick ass! I’ve always been a fan of combining the traditional with the modern, and the set designer, Sean Cote, has taken the elegance of traditional Japanese style and combined it with the boldness of modern design. I won't give too much away as I want all of you to come see this play for yourselves. This set along with everything else truly portrays the kind of magic you can only get in theatre. And I get to build it! I know you are all jealous, but you should have thought about that before reading my blog.

So thank you all for reading this and I will catch you all later in the continuation of this blog, And as Jessica said before me, I hope you all are getting excited for the show, because I certainly am.

-Nick