September Extra Blog

During this month, I was able to operate lights for a country cover band concert for a place I work at. From this, I learned that concerts and shows (musicals and plays) have a different way of doing lighting. For shows, lighting designers have all their cues in a specific order and all the designs programmed before a show, while for concerts, it's live. Some lights are programmed, but most of it is just done on the fly and I just listened to the beat of the music and mood to see which lights to use. This is also called busking or "flash and trash" since LEDs and colorful lights and other fancy lights are used a lot.

The board I was working with

A computer screen that shows me what shows me what's going on

Since this was my first concert, I didn't really know if what I was doing was ok, especially during the first night. For the first night, I used a lot of "flash and trash", and I think it was too much for the older people in the audience. However, by the second night, I started getting the hang of it, and I think I did a better job because the lighting designer said he approved. Overall, I had fun, and I got to listen to some music.

The set up of the stage from where I was sitting during a short break

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentor is Dan Volonte, and he works at Citrus College.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1. How did you get started in theater?
2. Did you have a role model that inspired you and did they help you in deciding to go into this field?
3. Did you have any struggles (personal, financial, etc.) when you first started out in this profession?
4. How did you decide on a college? Did you base it on their theater design and or tech program or did it not matter to you? Do you think it would have made a difference if you went to any other school or didn't go to school at all?
5. What is the most important thing that you have learned that has helped you as a theater tech?

Blog 5: Mentorship Reflection

Based on what you have done for your senior project so far, answer the following questions (be specific and use examples).

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

From my summer mentorship, I was recommended to speak to a lighting designer who works at Citrus College if I wanted to learn more about lighting. I found out he also taught classes on theatre production and stagecraft, so I figured he would be very knowledgeable. I emailed him, explaining the senior project, and he agreed to mentor me.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

The most important article I have read so far is From Shakespeare to 'Tangled'- A Conversation with Designer Douglas Rogers by Angela Mitchell. From it, I was able to get a perspective of a respected scene designer and how he has become successful. I was able to learn some tips and tricks of being a scene designer and that everything done in theatre helps the stage come to life.

August Extra Blog

Last week, I got to go see the Broadway tour of Once with some people I knew from a theatre I interned and got my summer mentorship hours at. From watching the show and looking at the stage, I learned about some techniques that could possibly enhance a production and entertain the audience. When I was watching the show, I thought the plot was fairly simple, somewhat overly dramatic, cheesy, and predictable. However, I thought the show fared better from a technical stand point. Although the scene changes were also simple, and hardly any props and sets moved during transitions, I thought the sound system was amazing, especially since all the actors were playing their own instruments for music. I was sitting so far in the back, I couldn't even see the performers' faces, but I could hear everything as if they right next to me. This taught me that sound is important because if you can't hear anything, then you won't know what's going on. The show also had some cool lighting effects that I thought contributed to the mood and plot, but I did not take any pictures because it was during the show.

The faces I could not see

I also learned that audiences like being involved. Before the show and during intermission, members of the audience were allowed to go up on stage and talk to some of the cast and order drinks since the show is set in a bar. I think this helped the audience become more immersed in the show and make them feel as if they were a part of that world.

Picture of the stage before the show with audience members, cast, and crew mingling on it

In the building, there was also a wall inviting people to post up notes on how they met someone significant to them.

After the show, it was the effort to engage the audience and some of the technical aspects that got my attention, and it is what I believed made the show better than it was.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why? 
I plan to interview my mentor, Daniel Volonte because it is convenient for me, and he seemed enthusiastic about me interviewing him.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask? Ask open-ended questions.
1. Why have you stayed in theatre, rather than go more into television or film?
2. Is it hard to keep up with all the advancements in technology and how do you keep yourself informed on everything that's going on?
3. How much does a formal education help someone in this field?
4. Do you maintain a relationship with other professionals in the field? Do you think this is important to do this and why?
5. How did you get started in theatre tech and what made you keep pursuing this field?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.  List your topic here:

Theatre Tech

2.  Write a question that helps to focus your research this month.

How can a theatre technician best utilize the theatre around them to captivate an audience during a show?

3.  Post the working bibliography (WB) on the right hand side of the blog and share it so anybody can view it.

This is my Working Bibliography and there is also a link on the right hand side.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal:  

1. (Know) Using google doc (drive) link a log of specific hours and a description of your duties

Mentorship Log

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?

Covina Center for Performing Arts

(626) 331-8133

3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them.

• What is a theater tech's average salary?
• Does a formal education in technical production help a theater tech on the field or help them with getting a job?
• Is there any job advancement?
• What is a theater tech's work hours like?

Interpretive:

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I gained from this experience was the importance of organization. In a theater that regularly puts on shows, it is easy to lose track of props and costumes, and this can become terrible if the props aren't yours or the show is about to start. After every show, we made sure every prop was labelled and put in their respective places and every costume was put away neatly to make everything easy to find and put less work on ourselves. Organizing all the cables around the building that were related to the lights and sound were also important to make sure everything technical would be working for the show.

Applied:

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did what you did help you choose a topic?  Please explain.

My senior topic is going to be on theater technology. I originally wanted to commit to a topic related to the medical field, as that is the career I plan on going in, but I wanted to explore other possible topics as well as expand my skill set. Based on what I did this summer, I chose theater tech because I found it to be something I enjoyed, and I was able to find a mentor for it.