The big unveiling...

So, no progress pics today. Two years ago today, I was VERY nervous. Night of the Living Dead was about to open, my first show with New Line. I wanted it to be just right. When all was said and done, the attention to detail paid off and the show was a success.

 Today I feel the same way but not about the show. The show is pretty much ready. I have a few touch-ups to do sometime tomorrow before curtain, but basically, Heathers will go up with or without me. It is in the hands of the cast and Gabe.

 This time, my nerves are about the new theater. The Marcelle is mostly ready. There are some LED lights in the lobby that have not yet come in and will have to be installed halfway thru the run. Mine will have to substitute until they come in. Oh well...is what it is.

So, what do I have to talk about or to worry about? Tomorrow is a REALLY big day for me. Tomorrow, the doors of the Marcelle open to our patrons for the first time. The people who have seen it over the past few weeks have been very complimentary. But, tomorrow evening, I intend to just hang out in the lobby before the house opens and listen to what people say. Just before the house opens, I will slip inside and hang out somewhere in the back. Tomorrow is also the first night in this new black box.

 There are undoubtedly still a few bugs in the facility, but this is like its first test flight...how will it perform in front of a house full of paying customers? We already know that there are a few quirks. The house lights are lamped with very expensive LED lamps that are not playing nicely with the dimmer pack, so they flicker as they dim. :/ The seating risers are rented because the new ones were not able to be delivered in time to set up the house. The seating is unconventional for a theater. I suggested church chairs because of cost and flexibility. They are a type of a stack chair that hook together to create rows. Will the audience really be comfortable sitting in them for two hours?

 Then there is my design for Heathers. This is my first set in a black box and it was a paradigm shift for me. Typically, I am designing a "background" for the show. We have had maskings and backstage space. Not here. This set is an object in the space...very different for me. Will it work? Will I get ripped by the critics because it is not a typical "Rob" set?

Well, there is little that I can do to change things now. 24 hours from now, I will have a better handle on whether my big experiment is a success or not.

This weekend's performances are mostly sold out.  I cannot wait to see and hear the reactions to my work. I have poured my heart and soul into this. We have gotten a lot of press this past week.  Now comes the real test...will I pass?

R

Load in time...

It is that magical crunch time for me called load-in week.  Kate, Melanie and I have spent the past couple of evenings getting the locker units built and detailed.  Today Sharon is painting them.  Of course, it is a MAJOR scramble this week as we get the last of things ready for installation on Saturday.

The cool thing this time is that, as we have gotten things completed and mostly painted, we have been able to take a load over and dump it in the theater.  This is SO great because I don't have to try to pile everything precariously onto a trailer on Saturday morning, haul it over in one load, carry it up a flight of stairs and thru a single narrow door.  I am already liking how the new facility is making life easier.

The flip side is that we will have a bit more work to do as part of load-in.  Because it is a black box, all of the seating is moveable and gets set up on moveable platforms.  We have an extra task of configuring and setting up the house in addition to the set.  I sure hope that the volunteers come in droves on Saturday to help.

So, here are a few final progress shots.  The next time I post, I will be including pix of the set and seating going in...   R

Progress on the Heathers set

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post.  We have been working, but I haven't taken the time to talk about it.

LAST WEEKEND
Kate, Melanie and I got in a full day on Saturday and 2/3's of a day on Sunday.  We fabricated the guts of the 7-11 counter.  This one is a fun design.  The intention is to store it under the higher of the two platforms, alongside the steps going up on the platforms.  The higher platform is about 42" off of the floor.  A normal counter height is 36" and if the platform is a 2x4 frame with 3/4" plywood on top, that is 4-1/4".  So, doing the math, there is about 1-3/4" between the countertop and the underside of the platform.  However, I want a Slurpee machine on the counter.  So, to make that work, I got one of lift-out and up shelf brackets that are made for a Kitchen-aid mixer.  They mount in a base cabinet with a shelf holding the mixer.  You open the cabinet door and pull out on the mixer and the shelf swings out and raises up to be level with the countertop.  I adapted the concept but had a small shelf lift up and into a hole in the countertop,  So, the Slurpee machine lifts up out of the counter.

The next thing that we tackled was all of the platform skirting.  Now usually, this is just luan, maybe with a bit of decoration on it.  In this case, we have it designed with raised blue panels on a field of yellow...VERY 80's.   These blue panels are 3/4" styrofoam glued to the luan skirting panels.

Hidden behind these panels are two pieces of scenery critical to the story telling. First is the 7-11 counter, and the other is a pull out bed used for Heather Chandler and Veronica's rooms.  The skirting panels are affixed the the back of the 7-11 counter, so it gets pulled out and spun 180-degrees for the scene, then spun back and slid back under the platform.  For the bed, the foot board of the bed is the skirting panel of the lower platform and a fully-made bed slides out and back, kind of like a giant drawer.

The trick to this is that the reveals between the panels need to line up from panel to panel. That means that we had to work the footboard of the bed, the back of the counter, the step unit and the remaining luan panels all at the same time, making sure that the panels all lined up.

We got part of the way thru the skirting and realized that the steps are really part of the skirting, so on Sunday, we took the time to make the step unit and then included the same foam panels on it to keep the skirting consistent.

This week, I had intended to get all of this painted, knocked down and stored, ready to load in on 9/12. But, fate saw it differently and I had to make a quick trip to Chicago Monday thru Wednesday.  On Tuesday evening, Kate and Melanie came in and started the painting process, but when I returned on Thursday morning, I still had a BUNCH to do and was now behind.  In addition, office work and things at home had stacked up, so I didn't get back into the shop until yesterday.

THIS WEEKEND
Saturday evening I finished painting the skirting.

Sunday morning, we mounted the Slurpee machine to the counter, then added the back/skirting panel. Kate and I then shifted gears for a couple of hours to work on another project that needed  a little attention.  Kathleen showed up and volunteered to paint for awhile, so I tasked her with tackling the back wall that had been standing in the shop, ready for paint for nearly 3 weeks.  It took her over 3 hours to get it painted.  After Kate left at noon, I ran to Home Depot for the 2x3s that I needed to make 3 more benches like the one that I made for NOTLD two years ago.  That thing has see a LOT of stage time and acts as a workbench in the shop in between stage appearances. I spent a couple of hours and put together the three matching benches.  They are all ready for a coat of fresh paint.  Last thing today, I decided to get a coat of paint on the 7-11 counter and cabinet.  It needs some surfaces hit yet, but the basic peach color is on the cabinets and silver for the stainless steel countertop.

Just a little bit more paint and some prop snacks and cups added to it tomorrow and it will be ready to go.

I think that I will try to load some of this stuff into the trailer and make a trip over to the theater with it one day this week.  The shop is pretty cluttered at the moment and it would be nice to make some room.  It is great that nothing is in the Marcelle before our load in date in two weeks, so I can drop stuff ahead of time.  A luxury that I don't always get...

The last big item to deal with now are the lockers.  I am having one hell of a time finding some old lockers that I can work into my two rolling pieces.  I am running out of time.  They have to happen this week.

I will try to have one more post before the big load in day in two weeks.  With the holiday weekend next week, time is running a bit short...
R

The design comes together and fabbing begins...

In my last post I talked about design in the 1980's, where it came from and what it represented.  Parallel to my comments, Scott talked about the political and cultural shifts that occurred in our country in the 1980's, in large part because of the Reagan administration.  But really, our whole culture began shifting in the 1960's with Kennedy's assassination, the Vietnam War, the counter-culture movements...these events all eroded the "age of innocence" in America. Over the next 3 decades, we went from "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" to "Its all about me. What do I get out it. What's in it for me."  In the 1980's, the ME generation hit maturity and not just our country, but the whole world. We will never be able to turn back.


For the set, I really tried to capture the essence of the 1980's...this self-centered, shallow attitudes.  The plastic, cheap, mass produced classical forms of post-modernism metaphorically represent the pervasive attitude of the time.  The rebellion to the the style for the masses of 20th century modernism.  Everyone wanted big columns and arched windows, even though no one could really afford to build that way on a middle-class income.


The permanent centerpiece of the set is a simple geometric form composed of a square flat panel in the center with a large circle cut out of the center, flanked with simple columns, too slender to be truly classical elements creates the backdrop for the show. Simple and pure geometric forms, indicative of the style are used throughout.  This composition sits on top of a pedestal composed of two platforms.  These platforms are skirted in an irregularly proportioned and inconsistent grid of teal blue panels with reveals between them of a contrasting yellow.

Most scenes are played on this basic setting, with lighting changes to help define alternative locations.  A few scenes require a specific component to help anchor the location.  The scene in the convenience store requires a peg for corn nuts that Heather Chandler as well as an indication that there is a Slurpee machine.  Heather Chandler's house requires two rooms simultaneously, her bedroom and the kitchen where Veronica and JD concoct her last drink.  Veronica's bedroom needs a closet for her to lock herself inside of to avoid JD.  Finally, the school must have at least one functioning locker that used to belong to Heather Chandler that the other two Heathers are cleaning out.

I am creating two free-standing elements based on a rolling 2'x4' platform. Each of them have a side that has a bank of lockers, one of which will open and be decorated with a few school items.  When pulled away from the wall and flipped around,  one becomes an inside corner of Heather Chandler's kitchen, including the sink.  The backside of the other is a simple closet door, behind which Veronica can hide.

For Heather Chandler's bed, a portion of the platform skirting pulls out and attached to the back side is a bed that then stores under the platform.  For the convenience store counter, a section of the skirting pulls out and rotates 180 degrees to reveal a counter with a Slurpee machine, cup dispenser and several racks with snacks.

The only other components that are needed for the show are four benches, each 4' long.  One of these will represent the car that Veronica and Heather McNamara lock themselves in during the scene in the cemetery.  The four benches are then arranged on stage as pews for the funeral scene that opens act two. These are just carried on and off by the cast that use them as the scenes change.

FABRICATION BEGINS...
SATURDAY
Kate and I met at the shop at 8AM to begin building.  When we walked in, we were met with a huge mess of materials that had been dropped when we moved New Line last month.  I hauled a trailer full of materials back to recycle.  But, two days after the move, Kathleen and I left for Washington DC and things have been a bit crazy in the 10 days since we returned.

So, construction was delayed for a day while Kate and I spent the morning taking things apart, moving prop pieces into the loft for storage and cleaning up the mess.

SUNDAY
We met at the shop about 9AM and began building the center backdrop panels and columns.  We finished them by about 1PM and turned our attention to the colonnades that flank the large panel.

Melanie arrived mid afternoon and we finished them up about 4PM just in time for a photographer from the RFT to show up.  Apparently, they are doing a feature on New Line for this weeks paper and wanted a few photos of something happening...so we were it.  After photos, while I talked to him, the ladies cleaned up the days mess of sawdust and scraps.


On Tuesday evening, we will begin making the convenience store counter and the bed.












On Thursday, I'll get Sharon to put a coat of paint on whatever is finished.  I'm sure that painting with these colors will bring back nightmares almost as gruesome as the ones that I have about disco and the 70's

By next weekend, I hope to be on to two two rolling locker units.  The goal is to have it all built and painted before Labor Day weekend so that Kathleen and I can take our new exchange student, Winnie to Chicago without me feeling stressed and guilty for having work in the shop to do.

More next week when I have a progress update.
R

Designing for Heathers...post-modernism

Heathers presents me with an unusual challenge.  It is set in a typical high school in the 1980's. The kids are rebellious. The plot is a bit outrageous. The characters are colorful and extreme...


Design in the 1980's reflected these same characteristics.

In art, architecture, and literature, we spent the first half of the twentieth century bucking classicism and creating a new and modern aesthetic.  Gone were classical columns and arches. Gone were classical proportions.

Artists like Picasso and the other cubists explored ideas other than the realistic representations of their subjects.

In vogue were the ideas of minimalism and exposing the materials for what they were.  Initially, the buying public ate these ideas up as progressive.

After World War II, however, much of the public's reaction to these ideas were that they were brutal and created un-human experiences.

In the sixties, a new generation of designer emerged. These designers were educated in a post-war culture. They were young and hip and listened to the public outcry against "brutal modernism."  From the 1960's thru the 1980's, this generation of designer revisited the classics and turned them into pop culture.  They took the original forms and ideas, but with direct disregard for classic concepts of proportion and composition, the composited them into new forms.

These new forms were clad in bright, trendy colors, erasing the brutal concept of the white box building.

Designers such as Michael Graves, Peter Eisenman, Robert Venturi and Charles Moore created this new, post-modern style.


Eventually, even the classical forms of early post-modernism gave way to newer, more rebellious post-modern ideas.  Inspired by the industrial aesthetic, the second wave of post-modern designers "deconstructed" (a literary term that was adopted by the design industry) the classics and created yet another form.

In some ways, deconstruction took the early twentieth century modernism and applied post-modern ideas to it.  In many respects, this is were were are today in design.

But what does all of this have to do with Heathers?

The characters in Heathers directly reflect this same rebellion that we see in design.  The three Heathers, Ram, and Kurt are early post-modern.  They reflect a colorful, almost stereotypical reaction to their old-fashioned parents.  They talk back...they are rude to their parents and to each other...they are colorful.

Their parents and teachers are represented as clueless, old-fashioned, flat...white boxes.


Then we have JD... he IS deconstruction.  He takes this rebellion to a whole new level.

But, really, Veronica represents the ultimate post-modern girl.  She takes some classical values with her as she tries to become a new, more colorful character. Ultimately, she deconstructs and goes the direction of brutality, but ultimately allowing those classical values to come back and pull her to the middle and into balance.

With a study of this post-modern mindset, I decided that the scenic design should reflect the same dialog that was happening in the arts and design of the period.

Shortly, I will reveal the final solution for the set, but hopefully, this background will help everyone to understand the premise on which I made my decisions.
Rob

Marcelle update - part 4

I was by the Marcelle this morning and we are getting very, VERY close to having a finished facility! The lobby is spectacular! Everything has been painted, at least once. The carpet is down and vinyl baseboard almost complete. The electrician is putting in light fixtures and trimming out switches and receptacles. 

Just today, they installed the maple panels on the theater wall. The bar and ticket counters are scheduled to arrive next week.

 

In the green room, the floor is done, the makeup lights are in and working and the mirrors and counters were arriving as I was there.  

In the black box, the sound company was installing the sound equipment and cabling.  I am not sure yet how this really works.  It is a black box, but it seems as though they were installing things in fairly permanent places...  hmmm....  

I need to coordinate the installation of the lighting systems sometime yet this month.  Along with scheduling our move, getting a show on stage for Stray Dog...not to mention running an architecture firm.  

The offices appeared to be finished, except for cleaning. The rehearsal hall was mostly complete except that a mason was infilling the wall around the new exit door.

The plumbing fixtures are all installed and we are waiting for toilet partitions and accessories.

There are lots of little details to attend to yet. Drywall repairs, paint touch-ups, etc.  Then comes a good, thorough cleaning and it will be ready to use. Otherwise, all is on schedule for New Line's first production in the new facility, "Heathers". We load in mid-September and open the first Friday in October!

WOW!!!

Marcelle update #3

It has been a few weeks since my last update on the Marcelle. Things are moving along.  There have been a few slow-downs, but nothing catastrophic, just the usual construction schedule issues.

The contractor has pretty much all of the drywall on the walls and is taping and sanding.  The lobby is really starting to look like it will when finished.  The floating cloud is really quite visually strong. The structure above has received a preliminary coat of dark paint and that really makes it disappear and makes the cloud POP!



A couple of shots looking into the theater entrance hall...















And looking to the the area behind the bar...














The inside of the theater space has been painted with its first coat of black paint and they are currently putting in the wood floor.  The pipe grid is installed and the dimmer bars mounted to the pipes.  As soon as they finish the floor and the electrician gets the wiring all connected, we will get in there and install the control wiring for the dimmers, LED lights, and house lights.  Then we can get the house lights mounted and begin using them. :)




The restrooms and green room are also currently being taped and sanded.  After the drywall finishing is complete, there is some tile work to do and then it will be time for the plumber to set the fixtures.
















The dance rehearsal hall is base painted white, the electrician is roughing in the last of the electric to the service panel, and the exit door is being cut into the outside wall.






















The other rooms are essentially ready for paint and carpet. It is really starting to get exciting!!!
R