My, my!

How lovely to return to campus and be greeted by a collection of such brilliant posts. I concur with Gedney--this is terrific work. I'll try to address as many points as I can in this space, starting at the beginning:

Matt--

I'd love to hear if/how your thoughts have changed now that you have a better idea of what the set should look like. Concerning the initial silhouette effect, I'll say two things: First, the actions described in the script, I am thinking, will be expanded upon in rehearsals. Where the the script describes a general milling of sorts, I'm hoping to achieve something a little more orchestrated--an invocation, if you will, of Houdini and, in effect, the entire play. That being said, I'll defer my second thought to Ian: What are the specific mechanisms of this curtain/panel element? Would we be able to open the show on an open, bare stage with just the actors and Matt's silhouette effects? Following this "invocation" action, after Houdini and the play have been "brought to life," the action can move downstage, at which point the curtain could close. I like this option, but wonder if the curtain will be able to open/close with enough ease in order to achieve it? Will be operated by actors or stagehands?

Also, for the "In Case You Haven't Heard" scene with the children and the lamps, I think that all the ensemble members who are not otherwise involved in the scene (that would be everyone besides Houdini and the Mother) would hold lamps, making it 4. Although, perhaps
Houdini receives a lamp as well, as though this source of light represented some possible connection to the band of children, and to the spirit of his own mother. That might be fun. In which case, there is 5. I think it should be the job of Props to find these lamps, however you should probably be in contact with this person (do we have Props yet, Gedney?) in order to make sure they'll work. Now that I think of it, I might like the idea of having 4 (or 5) different lamps being used...very kitschy lamps, too.

I agree with your suggestion to find a Sound person. More and more I'm realizing how critical sound may be in creating this atmosphere. Gedney--we'll talk about this.

Okay, Ian--

I feel like we've already discussed some of the major issues, so I have some more specific questions:

I already mentioned this, but do you think the mechanisms of the set will be operated by stagehands or by the actors? I know in previous incarnations of the design actors were involved (i.e. opening up "the box"), but how will things work with this design? I still like the idea of having the ensemble obviously orchestrating the show, moving things around, opening things up, etc. but I also don't want to give them TOO much to do. As it is, most of them have to change characters a hundred times.

I love the chandelier/table. I can't wait to see more of it. Will it be hollow? I ask because I'm wondering if the actors (namely Walter) could appear from inside the circle of the table, or even have the table lowered down around them from the ceiling. That sounds unsafe, though...

I think it's also a good idea for us to start talking about the séance scene(s). I know the script calls for complete darkness and luminous furniture, but I had no idea at the time if that would be the most effective method. Now that we have a general idea of the set, I'd like to know how you guys think this kind of "darkness" can be achieved. Perhaps cut the luminous furniture and just do some fancy lighting tricks, like some very dramatic chiaroscuro effects (help me out, Matt, I don't know what I'm talking about)? Or clever manipulations of the set? I'd like to hear your ideas, because it's a pretty important part of the play, and one that we can really enjoy creating the spectacle of.

And I'm looking forward to the vector drawings, I think those will really help us all out.

Moving on! Silvie--

I'm liking the newspaper idea. I think it really plays well in the dichotomy we were discussing of "reality" as performance, and finding ways for traditionally "unreal" materials to become "real" garments. To go back to something Gedney was mentioning, I wonder how it will relate to your color palette (and of the set/lights)? Against the reds Ian will be working with, something like newspaper will really stand out, but I'm wondering how that sort of tone will fit in with the rest of your designs. I guess the question is--will these elements stand in opposition to the rest of the costumes, or work "harmoniously," for lack of a better word? For example, would Bess wear this elaborate vaudeville costume in which the shoulders (or whatever it may be) stand out as obviously "fake"? Or would the costume be constructed from a similar/complimentary color scheme (or perhaps the paper is dyed? Is that possible?), so that the whole thing looks like ONE outfit, and not an outfit that had the shoulders replaced with newspaper? Also, like Gedney said, it would be a good idea for us to all start talking about color, and how we'll be relating to one another.

Last thought about the newspaper--will we be in danger of tearing apart our costumes? There's going to be a lot of movement, and I'm worried the actors' clothes will all fall off by the end of the show...

Emily (V.)--

I'm going to respond by replying to your post. I'm taking up too much space.


Okay I'm out of thoughts at the moment. Good work everyone, let's keep communicating so we can have more-or-less finalized ideas soon.


Oh, and I do have the recording of the séance with me, I'm just looking for a record player. Anyone have one? Anyone else want to hear it? Let me know and maybe I can organize some sort of "listening party."

Best
-Kieran