Ventures/ and Adventures

make firm plans to meet people, or in the very least write down contact information. wandering around a zoo with your back pack containing all of your posessions is no way to go about finding the rest of your group, however optimistic it may be. the lions will sense the desparation and try to eat you.

last night was a great opening. the audience was responsive, laughing and reacting to the scenes, and the performances continue to ripen with sharper acting and a measurable control over the flow and pacing of the show.

we delt with the staging by dividing the performance according to the space. first we started outside on the street wtith singing and a couple of the scene that benifited from a pedestrian setting. ex pats love newfie accents... next we moved inside and orientated the crowd toward a small proscenim at one end of the gallery. then, for last act we flip everything around to the tall glass wall that spanned ceiling to floor and held three long white curtians.

having three intermissions was a change from the halifax performances. it was however necessary to facilitate the shifting of seats. 'there has to be seats for people to sit', we were told by the gallery curator, russell. appreanlty germans like to clap along to songs and not stand for too long. access to chairs was only an option in halifax and audiences sitting on the sets was perferred. but for the emerson gallery the result was suitable. in fact, considering how much wine people were drinking, by the second hour sitting was welcomed, if not inevitable.

the intimate audience in the tiny gallery reminded me of the work i have been doing on theatre for small audiences. the 25 spectators we had last night, which filled the place, was almost the same number as that show i won't name for fear of lawsuit, again. but there is a kind a intamcy in these sorts of shows that plays to the strength of live performace. what that is, is one of the questions we should be asking...

another equally important reflection is the amount of flexibility we have within the show itself. much like a rock band, we are mixing the order of the show like a set list. even during the intermissions. the determining factors seem to relate to transitions, note, and varation. not too unlike music... or as my partner rae mentioned once, like putting together a good mix tape.

and finally, there will be plenty more pictures coming soon. john haney, who had the photo exhibit up in the gallery called 'clearcut', was snaping some shots of the show and will lend some to the blog. i also have pictures of my own, but require a usb in order to upload them. so expect them soon...ish