Kabarett Mfa! Conceived and Directed by Professor John Giffin and the 2009 Mfa Acting Class
A LIGHTING DESIGN PROCESS FOR A PRODUCTION OF WILD STAGES: KABARETT MFA! CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY PROFESSOR JOHN GIFFIN AND THE 2009 MFA ACTING CLASS
A Thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree Master of Fine Arts in the
Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Jordan Elizabeth Kardasz, B.A.
* * * * *
The Ohio State University
2008
Masters Examination Committee: Approved By
Professor Mary Tarantino, Advisor
Professor John Giffin
Professor Daniel Gray Advisor Graduate Program in Theatre ABSTRACT
Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! conceived by Professor John Giffin and the 2009
MFA Acting Class, was a theatrical production presented during the spring quarter of
2008 at The Ohio State University produced by the Department of Theatre in the Roy
Bowen Threatre. This thesis is a documentation of the process of the lighting design for
Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! The first chapter is a discussion of the Roy Bowen Theatre and the situation in which the cabaret was produced. The second and third chapters discuss the design ideas for the production and the pieces that were chosen to be a part of the production. The last two chapters discuss the lighting design process from the preliminary stages to the final execution, as well as an evaluation of the design.
The concept for the production was to look at the world of European cabaret from
1890 to 1933 including the various artists and writers who were a part of this piece of performance history. From this research the script was created under the concept that the production would not be a piece about cabaret but an actual cabaret experience for both the audience and the performers. As part of my lighting concept I chose to incorporate the entire space of the theatre, keeping the audience lit throughout the performance so as to feel a part of the show. I also used a flexible light plot and a variety of technology to accommodate for the individual performances that took place throughout the evening of cabaret.
ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to first thank all members of the production team: John Giffin, director, for his ideas, encouragement and helpful dialogue; designers Elinore Loomis, scenic, Elisa O’Neal, costume, and Adrianne Varwig, sound, for their collaboration and support; Jen Kramer, stage manager, Doug Davis and Kristin Blazek, assistant stage managers, Jim Knapp and Chris Zinkon, technical directors, and Mark Shanda, producer, for making this show a reality; Matthew Yde, dramaturg and assistant director, for providing facts; the MFA Actors and Susan Chess for being wonderful performers and creators; my electricians, Kristin Jones and Andrea Schimmoeller for turning the lights on and keeping me sane. Also a special thanks to my traveling companions, Elinore Loomis and Julie Ann McMillan, for research and Christmas markets. I can not say thank you enough for the support, friendship, memories and laughs I have received from my colleagues, Greg Owen, Matt McCarren, Anthony Pellecchia, and Jason Banks. Many more thanks go to Matt Hazard for helping me believe that I actually can do this and for being a good friend and listener along the way. I also wish to thank my parents and family, for encouraging me to learn everything and for always being there for me. Their love and support has kept me going. I extend thanks and high fives to my friends and fellow creators, Kim Kozak, Dustyn Martincich, Sophia Rodriquez and Melanie Mac, for their support, encouragement and good times throughout this process. Finally, I would like to thank the design/tech faculty at Ohio State for pushing me to learn and inspiring me to do my best. I would especially like to thank my advisor, Mary Tarantino, for not letting me slide and for motivating me to be both an artist and an academic. I have learned so much since I have been at OSU, and Mary has helped make that happen.
iii
VITA
10 May 1982 ...... Born – Chicago, IL
2004...... B.A. Social Philosophy and Theatre Arts Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
2005-Present ...... Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Department of Theatre, Lighting Studio
2006...... Escuela del Mundo
2006...... The Grey Area (Smith College, Northhampton, MA)
2006...... International Matching Travel Grant Recipient
2007...... Our Town
2007...... Mary Stuart
2007...... TiMe (OSU Department of Dance)
2007...... Vendetta Chrome
2007...... International Matching Travel Grant Recipient
2007...... The Aida Cannarsa Snow Endowment Fund Recipient
2007...... The John C. Morrow Memorial Fund Recipient
2008...... Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
Italicized items are creative projects done while at The Ohio State University
iv
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field of Study: Theatre Other Studies: Lighting Design and Technology, International Theatre, Dance Lighting, Photography, Film History, Avant-garde Art
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract...... ii Acknowledgments...... iii Vita...... iv
List of Production Paperwork ...... vii List of Figures...... viii List of Plates ...... iv
Chapters
1. The Production Situation ...... 1
2. The Director’s Concept and Design Approach...... 8
3. Script Analysis...... 18
4. The Production Process...... 50
5. Evaluation of the Design...... 69
Appendices
A. The Director’s Concept...... 81
B. Show Order ...... 83
C. Production Paperwork...... 86
D. Figures...... 122
E. Plates...... 127
Bibliography ...... 149
vi
LIST OF PRODUCTION PAPERWORK
Shop Order...... 87
Final Budget Sheet...... 92
Channel Hookup ...... 93
Instrument Schedule...... 102
Cue Orchestration ...... 112
Magic Sheet ...... 119
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant by Henri de Toulous-Lautrec...... 19
2 At the Café by Paul Gauguin...... 23
3 "Petronella" color research ...... 28
4 Hugo Ball cardboard costume from the Cabaret Voltaire ...... 30
5 Photo of Mata Hari...... 35
6 Sebastian Droste and Anita Berber...... 36
7 William Bendow as Lydia Smith...... 41
8 The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse ...... 43
9 “A Little Attila” Color Research...... 44
10 Grid Light Plot ...... 123
11 Below Grid Light Plot...... 124
12 Section Drawing...... 125
13 Circuit and Pipe Drawing...... 126
viii
LIST OF PLATES
1 Research for general cabaret atmosphere ...... 128
2 Research for Expressionist shafts in “The Neighbor” ...... 128
3 Research for “Aunticide” texture...... 129
4 Research for “The Dreaming Boys” UV reflection ...... 129
5 Research for “The School for Stars” general atmosphere ...... 130
6 Research for “I Am a Vamp” angle and color ...... 130
7 Research for “La Villanelle du Diable” texture...... 131
8 Research for “Chuck out the Men” angles...... 131
9 Research for “Ballad of the Dead Soldier” color and angle ...... 132
10 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Dwayne Blackaller...... 133
11 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Raymond Caldwell ...... 133
12 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Kiana Harris...... 134
13 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Virginia Logan...... 134
14 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Bruno Lovric...... 135
15 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Julie Ann McMillan...... 135
16 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Johamy Morales...... 136
17 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Jessica Podewell ...... 136
18 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Kal Poole...... 137
19 Costume Collage for MFA Actor Scott Wilson...... 137
ix
LIST OF PLATES CONTINUED
20 Scenic Ground Plan...... 138
21 Production Photo, opening songs...... 139
22 Production Photo “Fahren Sienicht Nach Paris” ...... 139
23 Production Photo, “The Neighbor”...... 140
24 Production Photo, “A Puppet Show”...... 140
25 Production Photo, “Petronella”...... 141
26 Production Photo, Dada Poems...... 141
27 Production Photo, “Aunticide” ...... 142
28 Production Photo, “The Dreaming Boys”...... 142
29 Production Photo, “The Dreaming Boys”...... 143
30 Production Photo, Apache dance in “The School for Stars” ...... 143
31 Production Photo, “I am a Vamp” from “The School for Stars”...... 144
32 Production Photo, “Cocaine”...... 144
33 Production Photo, “La Villanelle du Diable” ...... 145
34 Production Photo, “Chuck out the Men” ...... 145
35 Production Photo, “The Tattooed Lady” ...... 146
36 Production Photo, “A Little Attila” ...... 146
37 Production Photo, “Ballad of the Dead Soldier” ...... 147
38 Production Photo, “Ballad of Marie Sanders” ...... 147
39 Production Photo, “Munchhausen”...... 148
x
CHAPTER 1
THE PRODUCING SITUATION
Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! is a new work that was conceived and directed by
Professor John Giffin in collaboration with the ten MFA actors. It was presented by The
Ohio State University Department of Theatre as part of the 2007-2008 season. The show was performed in the Roy Bowen Theatre located in the Drake Performance and Events
Center in Columbus, Ohio. The show opened on May 1, 2008 and ran until May 17,
2008, running a total of ten performances. The production team for Wild Stages included: Professor Mark Shanda, producer; Professor John Giffin, director; James
Knapp and Chris Zinkon, technical directors; Elinore Loomis, scenic designer and properties master; Elisa O’Neal, costume designer; Adrianne Varwig, sound designer;
Matthew Yde, dramaturge; Jennifer Kramer, production stage manager; Kristen Blazek and Douglas Davis, assistant stage managers; and myself as the lighting designer.
Additional lighting staff for the production included: Matthew Hazard, lighting studio supervisor; Kristin Jones , production electrician; and Andrea Schimmoeller, assistant production electrician.
1
This production of Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! was a unique experience in that a script was not finalized until April 18, 2008. Production deadlines occurred before the completion of the script and modifications were made to adjust for this situation throughout the process. Final costume and scenic designs were presented to the director and cast during the second week of the rehearsal process on March 31, 2008 . These finalizations were made after a list of the pieces which were going to be performed had been distributed the week before.
The production was staged in Bowen Theatre, which is a thrust-style space seating 250 audience members on three evenly spaced seating risers. The theatre was originally named Stadium II Theatre but changed to The Roy Bowen Theatre on April 18,
1999 in commemoration of the former Ohio State professor and director of the same name. The playing space is 32'-0" deep and 20’-0” wide. From the concrete floor to the tension wire grid is 17’-1 ½”. There are three entrances to the theatre in the northwest, southwest and southeast corners of the space. Coming from the northwest and southwest corners are two downstage voms that provide entrances for both the audience as well as actors. There is also space located behind the seating risers that is used for actor crossover and occasional storage.
The Bowen Theatre is connected to the scene shop by way of a hallway and stairwell running behind the east wall of the theatre. The sound booth is located on the second level of the theatre along the north wall. The lighting booth is located in the northwest corner of the space. A gallery with lighting storage pipes exists outside of the
2 lighting booth and runs the entire length of the west wall, approximately 4’-6” below grid level. Access to the tension wire light grid can be reached along the north wall outside of the sound booth.
The Bowen lighting grid consists of a series of pipes running north-south and east-west that are attached to the vertical stanchions which are a part of the architecture.
There are also a series of pipes that run along the diagonals and are attached to the other lighting locations. Pipes running east-west are labeled by number from one to nine, with one being this furthest north and nine being south. Pipes running from north to south are labeled by letter from A to K starting with A at the furthest east and K at the west. Due to the location of the scenery an additional pipe was added between B and C. This pipe was labeled B1 for the production of Wild Stages . The diagonal pipes are labeled based on their location from the center line and downstage edge of the stage. Pipes hung stage right of the center line and upstage of the edge are labeled USR1 and USR2, from west to east. The pipe hung on the stage left side of center is labeled USL1. The process is repeated for the pipes hung downstage of the stage edge. Pipes DSR1 through DSR4 are labeled from east to west, as are DSL1 through DSL4. These pipes are all accessible from the tension wire grid. Pipes are hung approximately two or three feet above the grid.
Circuits are provided from boxes located above the hanging positions. The twist- lock circuits have tails long enough to reach approximately twenty feet from their hanging position. This allows for a variety of circuiting options across the grid. In addition there are four drop boxes, one in each corner of the grid. These boxes can be
3 moved up to fifty feet from their original location. These boxes allow circuits to be lowered to the stage level for any additional hanging positions that may be needed. A diagram of both the lighting locations and circuit placement is located in Appendix D.
Bowen Theatre is operated on a dimmer-per-circuit system comprising of 150
2.4Kw dimmers and one 6Kw dimmer for a total of 151 dimmers. The dimmer rack, a
192 Colortran® Dimension 192™, is located in the lighting studio. Non-dim capable packs are available for cooling fans or arc-lamp sources. The rack itself was converted to
DMX 512 in the late 1990s in order to communicate with any DMX-controlled lighting console.
The lighting inventory for the Bowen Theatre is located in the following table.
All of these instruments were made available for the design of Wild Stages . The second table includes a list of instruments and accessories from the departmental inventory that were permitted for use as per request. The console used for the production was a Whole
Hog II PC which was operated through a Windows XP Professional PC with Whole Hog
II software installed. The programming wing and DMX dongle were run through the computer by way of the USB ports.
4
CONVENTIONAL LIGHTING CHART Amount Type Lamp Type and Wattage 42 ETC Source 4 36° HPL 575 5 ETC Source 4 50° HPL 575 34 6x12 Century (base up) EGG 750 14 6x9 Altman 360Q GLC 575 18 6x12 Altman 360Q EHG 750 13 3 ½ x8 Altman 3.5 Q10 EHD 500 40 6” Altman Fresnel BTN 750 4 10” Beam Projectors BTN 750 6 14” Scoop EGE 500 4 L and E Mini-Strips EYJ 75 (12v)
MOVING LIGHT AND ACCESSORY CHART Amount Type Additional Info 5 Vari Lite VL5 Wash Luminaire 1200w 1 Vari Lite Mod Rack 2 Rosco Image Pro Edison/Twistlock two-fer 1 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobe 960w 1 Rosco Dual Gobo Rotator 1 Nocturn UV Light 400w 1 Rosco Fog Machine Manually operated 1 CD80 Dimmer Rack 24 1.2Kw dimmers 1 Color Scroller Power Supply 24v, DC
The Lighting Studio is located on the second floor of the Drake adjacent to the
Bowen Theatre sound and lighting booths. The lighting studio is home to the dimmer racks in addition to being a storage space for lamps, tools, old instruments, color media, patterns, and other lighting accessories. Located in the studio is the office area for the lighting studio supervisor and one of the graduate teaching associates. The lab is often used for classroom demonstrations, publicity photo calls, and lighting experiments. The space is equipped with the proper power, data and hanging positions to test color and angles and provide visual examples of ideas to directors and other designers.
5
Located on the first floor of the building is the departmental computer lab. The computers in the lab are installed with the variety of software needed to complete this lighting design, including AutoCAD 2008, LD Assistant 2008, and Lightwright Version
4. The computers are connected to two plotters, one color and one black and white, which are available for printing light plots.
In addition to the production electricians there were also four lighting graduate teaching associates (GTAs) who were involved in the execution of the lighting design for
Wild Stages . These graduate students were assigned to work in the lighting studio with
Matthew Hazard, the lighting studio supervisor. Additional assistance was provided by a lighting crew of sixteen undergraduate students from the Theatre 221 course (Technical
Production Fundamentals II) and four students from Theatre 205 (Practicum). The 221 students were each required to work twenty hours over the course of the nine week long quarter assisting in the hang and focus of each of the two shows that were produced during the spring quarter. Students enrolled in Theatre 205 were required to work forty hours. There were fourteen days of calls scheduled for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
Calls were scheduled Monday through Thursday at three-hour blocks and on Fridays for two two-hour blocks. Each block allowed up to five people to sign up for the call. Calls began on Tuesday, April 15 after the final light plot was presented to the electricians for circuiting. There was also one eight hour call on Saturday, April 19, 2008 set aside as a focus call. After the show closed on May 17 additional calls were scheduled from May
19 trough May 21 in three-hour blocks to restore the theatre to its original state.
6
The production budget for the show was $1000. The budget was used to purchase color, a steel gobo, a Source Four 70° Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight, a color scroller power supply, six vertical extensions for lights hung below the grid and the materials needed to wire and lamp the chandeliers and table lights that were a part of the scenic design. These practical elements required the purchase of 16/2AWG electrical wire, rubber sockets, and both clear and frosted 40w medium base incandescent light bulbs.
The preceding information is a summary of the production staff, facilities, inventory and budget for the production of Wild Stages Kabarett MFA! The following chapter will discuss the chosen script, historical significance, and character development.
7
CHAPTER 2
THE DIRECTOR’S CONCEPT AND DESIGN APPROACH
This chapter will discuss the concept (Appendix A) director John Giffin provided for the cast and design team as we began the development process of the script. It will also focus on the ideas that contributed to the creation of the script and how the various designers (costume, scenery, and lighting) were integrated into this process. The designers were involved from the beginning and participated in the development of the script while also working on the individual design ideas. Due to the nature of this performance and the changes that were made to the show order, a more thorough discussion of the individual pieces in the script will be included in the following chapter.
Prior to the first meeting with the actors and designers, the director provided a concept for the show that was used as a starting point in the development process. This concept began as an exploration of the world of European cabaret between the years 1890 and 1933 with a focus on the Weimar republic, emerging art movements of the time,
Adolf Hitler’s impending rise to power and the impact performance held as a means of protest against the war. Giffin provided an extensive list of writers, performers, and artists in his concept statement and it was from this list that a series of skits, songs and poems were chosen to explore and research. The list included such artists as Hugo Ball,
8
Oskar Kokoschka, Friedrich Hollander, and Valeska Gert. The actors and designers met as a class during winter quarter 2008 to read, discuss and conceptualize various pieces.
The material Giffin worked with during this quarter was more extensive than what ultimately became the final script, but it helped the designers begin their processes and develop a finalized design for the start of spring quarter.
The goal of Wild Stages was not to create a theatrical piece about cabaret but rather to create a cabaret performance. This distinction led the way for most of the decisions involving the show, from the selection of pieces performed to the major design elements involved. As a collaborative work, many minds were involved in the creation of Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! While creating the cabaret there was much discussion about what should be accomplished in this production. It became evident early on that there were many connections to life and reactions to art in the early part of the twentieth century that are also a part of the world today. The major theme is war. During the time when cabaret was becoming an important and influential form of performance, Europe was experiencing many changes. The First World War had taken place from 1914 to
1918, leaving many people dead or wounded and the continent in ruin. Borders had been redrawn, which left Europeans experiencing a sense of confusion and unsure of their nationalism. In addition, lands were destroyed and many were left to be rebuilt. This feeling of destruction brought about many questions and led those in artistic communities to speak out against convention and challenge ideas that had once been the norm. In
Stephen Little’s book …Isms, Understanding Art , he summarizes these artistic movements of the early twentieth century as:
9
All modern-isms shared a common feeling that the modern world was fundamentally different from what had passed before and that art needed to renew itself by confronting and exploring its own modernity. . . Certain modern-isms began to question what art is, what it is for and what it supports. Through this process artistic activity and cultural critique became more closely identified with each other.1
This quote serves as a good description about what cabaretists and conferenciers were speaking out against as they began to perform and critique modern society.
Expressionism gave way to Dadaism which in turn led the way for the Surrealist movement. Each of these artistic movements stepped further and further away from the
Realism that was once prevalent across Europe. This drive to speak out against convention grew even stronger as Europe moved closer to the beginning of the Second
World War and the rise to power of the National Socialist Party.
By looking at the political situation in Europe at the time and comparing it to the state of war and politics in America during 2008, the actors and the director decided to focus many of the pieces for Wild Stages on the effect war has on art. While it was agreed that there would not be one unifying through-line which drove the action of the cabaret, the decision to focus on the theme of war was what led to many of the design elements for this production of Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
Prior to knowing the final scenic, costume and sound designs for Wild Stages:
Kabarett MFA! many of my preliminary lighting ideas stemmed from a research trip I took to Germany and France in December, 2007 with scenic designer Elinore Loomis and performer Julie Ann McMillan. This trip was funded by both the Ohio State University
Department of Theatre and the College of the Arts. As part of our interest in the cabaret
10 process, Loomis, McMillan and I undertook research at the Deutsches Kabarettarchiv
(German Cabaret Archive) in Mainz, Germany. It was here that I was able to observe and document many original images and photographs from the Weimar period. Of the photos of cabarets and other performance venues there was little to be seen that related specifically to the lighting of the stage. These photos, however, were important to my understanding of the aspects of the cabaret environment. The connection between the audience and the performers was essential, as patrons sat very near each other at small tables, drinking and watching the performance. From this proximity the idea of the
“fourth wall” was absent. In addition to the intimacy of the setting, the cabaret houses invited an atmosphere of mischief and frivolity. Female nudity was tolerated in some performances, embracing the sexuality of the performers and reveling in the taboo. What
I found most remarkable in my research at the archive as well as from attending cabaret performances in Berlin and Paris was that German and French performance has a much higher tolerance for sexuality and nudity. While I personally have no trouble with seeing nudity onstage, I think American culture often finds it to be shocking and perverse while
European sentiment is one of beauty and desire.
From the research that Loomis did in Europe as well as the information provided by the director, she was able to begin the scenic design process. The concept for the scenic design was to incorporate the entire space of the Bowen Theatre to create an atmosphere reminiscent of the early cabarets. The goal, however, was not to recreate a cabaret in the historical sense but rather to incorporate the stage, the vertical space, and the audience seating area to connect the performers to the entire space. Loomis’ original
11 design consisted of three walls that were each moveable within the stage space. These walls were designed to represent large, distorted picture frames that would be collaged with cabaret ephemera, such as program covers and photographs, as well as images and propaganda from various wars. Designed within the large frame of each wall were smaller frames. Some of these frames were originally going to serve as shelves for the actors to store props and costume pieces. An early collaborative idea was to use these frames as lighting locations to highlight various parts of the wall from piece to piece. As the script changed and more of the final pieces were chosen, the idea of the walls also changed. Instead of having three moveable walls, only the center one was designed to rotate. The other two wall units were designed as stationary pieces that were located upstage of the center unit. The center unit was to be two-sided with a framed wall on one side and a bar on the other. The choice to design a bar stemmed from images of historic cabarets that often were located within drinking establishments. This center unit was designed to rotate depending on the needs and themes of the individual pieces and to serve as a way of bringing performers on and off the main playing area. The paint elevations of the walls resembled a medium colored wood grain, with the interior of the frame toned in muted warm colors such as yellow and beige. Portions of the rear walls were to be painted in the same fashion but were also designed to include portions of
“concrete” slabs. The idea behind these concrete pieces came from the Berlin wall as well as the cold, stone walls of the concentration camps that were built by the National
Socialists. The paint elevations of the floor treatment were a faux wood grain that
12 resembled a large, askew, parquet tile. Much in the same way that the framed walls were not designed to be square, this floor treatment was also created using asymmetrical lines and angles.
In addition to the walls, the stage was designed to be surrounded on all three sides with small café tables, two per side. This scenic element was present at the beginning of design conversations and was an important element in distinguishing the theatre as a cabaret performance space. The tables were intended to be used by the actors when they were not performing a specific piece as a way to enhance the cabaret atmosphere. Above each of the tables were to be hung individual clear glass light bulbs. Originally the scenic designer and I discussed lighting the tables with a decorative source, but as conversations continued it was determined that simplicity worked best in this situation and that all of the practical lights used should be bare and exposed. In addition to the table lights a large chandelier made of a steel frame and thirteen light bulbs was designed to hang above the playing space. This chandelier was to be identical to those that were to hang above the audience risers and functioning as house lights. The only difference was that the table lights and onstage chandelier were to be fitted with clear glass bulbs while the house light chandeliers were to be fitted with frosted bulbs. The use of the clear glass was to create an older look when the lights were run at a lower level and the glowing filament was visible.
In addition to the hanging light fixtures, Loomis’ design consisted of fabric draped from the grid above the playing area. This fabric would be dyed beige and remain in the same location throughout the performance. Loomis also designed two large partial
13 picture frame units that were to be hung in each of the voms. These frames were designed to incorporate the audience space with that used by the actors, as they were designed to look like the frames that surrounded the onstage walls.
Costume designer Elisa O’Neal embarked on a path similar to scenic designer
Loomis as designs needed to be finalized before the script was complete. O’Neal’s design concept was based on clothing worn between the years 1890 and 1933. From the beginning of the design process it had been clearly established that Wild Stages was not meant to be a historical recreation and therefore needed no historical consistency in the design elements. From this relaxed approach to the piece, O’Neal chose to design base costumes for each performer that were to be worn throughout the performance. In the case of some of the costume specific pieces chosen for the script, such as “Lydia Smith” and “Ballad of a Dead Soldier,” additional costumes were designed for the actors who would perform in these pieces. Otherwise, it was part of O’Neal’s design concept that actors would either add or remove pieces to their base costume depending on the roles they would perform in each piece.
Like the color palette of Loomis’ set, the colors and textures in much of the overall costume design were to be neutral and muted. Bold colors were only to be used in the costumes for specific pieces (a pink dress in “Lydia Smith” and a bright red gown for the character of Anita Berber). The decision to use this muted color palette helped drive many of the lighting color choices. The director did not want this show to take on the look and feel of vaudeville and variety theatre by using bold color choices; this idea was reflected in all of the designs.
14
Sound was an element that was not added until much later in the design process, as director Giffin did not want to rely on recorded sound during the performance of Wild
Stages . Sound designer Adrianne Varwig’s role was to design a sound montage for the beginning of the show when the audience was to enter the performance space. This montage was to be an aural reflection of the collages on Loomis’ walls, using tidbits of sound that were taken from cabaret recordings as well as historical clippings of the era.
In addition to this montage Varwig worked to design microphone effects for “The
Dreaming Boys” and “La Villanelle du Diable.” These effects were designed in collaboration with MFA actors Dwayne Blackaller and Kal Poole, respectively, as the development of those pieces required sound assistance. In addition to recorded sound and the use of microphone effects was the decision to use live piano music onstage during the performance. During the start of winter quarter Susan Chess, the music supervisor in the Department of Dance, began her work as the accompanist for this production of Wild Stages . Chess’ role was to assist the MFA actors in musical rehearsals and also serve as the live pianist for the performances of the show. As Chess was to remain onstage for the entire performance it was decided that she would also interact with the actors and serve as a character in the cabaret in addition to being the pianist.
From my research of cabaret photos I studied at the archive I wanted to create a space that was voyeuristic. The audience would be able to see the actors and the actors would also see the audience. The fourth wall would surely be eliminated when both spectator and performer were forced to acknowledge the presence of the other as the
15 houselights would not be dimmed. While it is not nudity in the sense of the human body, leaving the houselights on throughout the performance would be a way of forcing the audience to look at each other and realize that they themselves could also be seen. This design idea came to be when I saw actual cabaret performances while on the research trip. These performances represented a wide range of cabaret styles including variety shows, dance numbers, and nude performance. All of the venues held true to the idea of incorporating the spectator into the environment of the performance by seating patrons at tables and serving them food and/or beverages during the performances. An atmosphere of inclusion and participation was created by eliminating the separation between audience and performer.
Further design ideas that stemmed from the image research at the Kabarettarchiv were those of color and shape. Many of the illustrations from programs, pamphlets and other print media contained sharp, bold images typical of the graphic art of the time.
Most images were printed using only primary colors, with black being a prominent color for highlight and shadow. These colors brought about the preliminary design idea of using a stark color palette (generally white or amber light) and adding rich, saturated colors to the back and side light systems as a method of painting the actors and the scenery to appear to be part of a graphic art design.
After it became clear what direction the script was taking, I referred back to images collected on the research trip that were more specific to the individual pieces of the script. I focused on designing a color palette and systems of light that would work for the variety of pieces that would eventually comprise Wild Stages . With the set and
16 costumes remaining relatively the same throughout the performance, lighting was to take the lead as a method of transitioning both the audiences and the performers from one piece to another. It was at this point that I began to do research for each moment in the script so that I could create an even, appropriate shift from piece to piece. While the script itself did not have a through line, I wanted the lighting design to have one. I felt the changes in theme and tone that were to occur throughout the script should at least be connected through their visual elements by using similar colors and angles that would reappear in various pieces.
The previous section discussed the development of the scenic, costume and lighting designs and how they were derived from the concept provided by director John
Giffin. The next chapter will focus on the pieces that were chosen for the final script and the individual design choices that were made for each.
17
CHAPTER 3
SCRIPT ANALYSIS
The final script for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! as a whole encompasses a variety of writers, composers and cabaretists from the end of the twentieth century through the beginning of World War Two, in addition to new work created by some of the MFA actors. For the sake of clarity for each piece that is a part of the script, I will briefly discuss each scene that is included, providing information on the content and writers. I will also take the time in this chapter to discuss the direction John Giffin chose for each piece and the performers involved. As a whole, the performers are part of the 2009 MFA
Acting class at The Ohio State University. This class is composed of five men and five women who entered in the fall of 2006 for a three year Master of Fine Arts program in the field of performance. The actors include: Dwayne Blackaller, Raymond Caldwell,
Kiana Harris, Virginia Logan, Bruno Lovric, Julie Ann McMillan, Johamy Morales,
Jessica Podewell, Kal Poole, and Scott Wilson. The accompanist for this production was
Susan Chess, the music supervisor in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State
University.
Early in the process it was determined that the actors would be in the house while the audience entered. While the final idea took time to come to fruition, it was eventually
18 decided that this time would be used for the actors to set props, vocally warm up, wander through the space, and even interact with the audience as they went to their seats. This preparation time came to a halt as the sounds of an air strike and bombs began to fill the space. At this point the actors all convened on the stage and laid down as if either dead or protecting themselves from the strike. As per conversation with Giffin and the actors, this moment needed a dramatic shift in light to signify to both the audience and the actors that the performance was about to begin. The reason the stage lights needed to change was because the house lights were never taken out throughout the entire performance. As a group we felt that in order for this production to truly Figure 1: Ambassadeurs: Aristide be a cabaret, the audience needed to be able to Bruant by Henri de Toulous-Lautrec see each other and the performers needed to see the audience.
The script officially begins with the “Order Prohibiting Masters of Ceremonies and Commentary from the Stage” written in 1941 and presented by Joseph Goebbles,
Minister of Propaganda under Adolf Hitler. Giffin chose to have Virginia Logan rise from the floor while reading the order. Her reaction was one of distaste and her anger rouses the other performers from the floor as they begin to sing “Chat Noir.”
19
The “Chat Noir” is a piece that was written and composed by Aristide Bruant.
Bruant is best known for his work at the Chat Noir, a cabaret in Paris, as a conferencier who had a sharp tongue and quick wit with the audiences.2 He is visually recognized from the painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (See Figure 1) for his red scarf and oversized black hat. The “Chat Noir” was performed by the ensemble with jovial dancing that signified the start of the evening’s performance of the cabaret, regardless of what the orders of Joseph Goebbles may have been. As the choreography of this sequence was still in development when I began my research, I considered the cabaret environment as a whole. I knew that I had to light the space fully and brightly so all of the performers involved in the song could be seen. I also knew that I did not want the space to lose the look and feel of a real cabaret, which was something that became important very early in the design process. I used research of photographs of cabarets from the era, which were in black and white, but also colored artwork, which suggested the atmosphere of those cabarets. These research images helped me to understand what the cabaret experience was like, and I wanted to use light to engage the audience into this world. The cabarets in these research images were small, intimate and lively. I wanted to recreate this feel by using warm tones and light that filled the entire theatre space.
This rousing number was followed by an appearance of Aristide Bruant, as portrayed by Dwayne Blackaller. Elisa O’Neal remained true to her original design idea to costume Blackaller in the typical hat and scarf of Bruant. Blackaller’s role in the opening part of the show was critical. His first job was to inform the audience of the
Theatre Department’s policy on the use of cameras and cell phones during performances.
20
After this it was discussed in the development process that Blackaller would improvise the first opening moments of the show, hopefully engaging the audience in conversation, or at least laughter. As this piece was a continuation of the “Chat Noir” song, I felt that the lighting needed to shift gently to signal the change while still remaining visually similar to the lighting for the song. I did not want to create a dramatic shift, as both “Ah!
Les Salud!” and “Complicité” were a continuation from the introduction by Bruant.
“Ah! Les Salaud!” is another piece that was written and performed by Aristide
Bruant. The song was written in French and performed during Wild Stages in the same manner. The translation of the title and chorus is, “Ah! The Bastards!” Once again, this piece was a rousing song led by Blackaller and sung by the ensemble. Blackaller developed this piece into his opening act as motivation to step into the audience and interact with the people. Even though the house lights were up the whole time, I knew after seeing a rehearsal of this piece that the lighting needed to be bright enough in the house to accommodate Blackaller’s movement. Aside from that, the lighting was to remain similar to the preceding numbers.
In one of the early development meetings, the character of Aristide Bruant was to return onstage throughout the performance providing insulting jabs at the audience in the form of the conferencier. This idea was changed and the Bruant character disappeared after the performance of the song, “Complicité.” This piece was conceived and written by Dwayne Blackaller as he researched his role as Aristide Bruant. His concept was to have a modern piece of music that was done in the insulting, eye-opening style of Bruant as a way of connecting modern audiences to the history of cabaret. The piece brought
21 attention to what Blackaller believes is the complicit nature of Americans today by including verses such as:
You moan about the levees ‘cause your heart is feeling heavy But still you drive your Chevy . . . Complicité! Complicité! 3
Because this piece was still a part of the opening performance by Blackaller, I wanted the lighting to remain the same as it did for “Ah! Les Salaud!”
After Blackaller’s appearance as Aristide Bruant was complete the action shifted into individual vignettes and songs that made up our cabaret. The first piece in the script was conceived and written by Julie Ann McMillan and entitled, “Fahren Sienicht Nach
Paris.” The title translates to “Don’t Go to Paris” and was the result of the experience
McMillan had while on the research trip we took together to Paris in December, 2007.
McMillan is fluent in German and wrote the piece in homage to the original German cabaret artists, to be performed in German. The song is about a German traveler arriving in Paris to find that all the museums are closed, the food is lousy and the restaurant service even worse. By the end the weary traveler decides that she would have been much better off just staying in Germany where the people are friendly and welcoming.
Because the piece is meant to be performed in German to an American audience, the design elements are critical to explaining the story. For this performance the action was blocked to take place in the moat area surrounding the stage, utilizing the tables and chairs that were located there. The piece began with the weary traveler appearing in the voms. O’Neal designed a coat that McMillan was to wear in addition to her base
22 costume. She was also to carry a suitcase signifying her role as a traveler. Because I was actually present for a part of McMillan’s experience, most of my lighting research came from being in Paris, before the piece was even written. Having been witness to
McMillan’s poor health and negative Parisian experience, I wanted the lighting to be cold and dreary to represent a wet, miserable day. As the song progressed McMillan sang about the cafés in Paris which were often filled with smoke. As research for this moment when she approached the café table I used the painting “At the Café” by Paul Gauguin
(See Figure 2). I used this image to show how I wanted the lights to shift to a warmer
color as she approached the area that
represented the café. McMillan
requested a smoke or fog machine to
pump large, billowy clouds of smoke
in her direction, which was her
motivation for leaving the café.
While I wanted the lighting for the
interior area to look more comforting Figure 2: At the Café by Paul Gauguin than the exterior in which the character began, the use of smoke would be a clue to the audience that this café is uninviting. In the staging of the piece McMillan’s character continued to wander through the downstage area as she the lyrics about the dreariness of her situation, only to become so fed up with Paris that she had to leave.
23
Generally speaking, the goal was to have only slight shifts in the lighting of the scene, enough to signify the changes in location. I wanted the lighting to serve as a tool for the audience to differentiate between the two locations, as they will likely not understand the lyrics. A pattern of the Eiffel Tower projected on to the back wall was part of the original design idea to convey to the audience that despite the German lyrics, the character is in fact in Paris. My goal as a designer for this piece was to make the
German lyrics understandable through visual cues.
Following the song about Paris is “The Neighbor: A Monodrama in One
Sentence” which was written by Hans von Gummpenberg. The piece included seven of the actors playing the roles of the household with Kal Poole playing the neighbor, Franz
Eberspacher. Poole’s character is the only one who has a speaking role. This piece was originally written in 1910 and centers around the Swallow family. With the exception of the maid, all characters are related either through blood or marriage. As Eberspacher speaks his lines both the audience and the Swallow family learn a variety of information.
The patriarch of the family is in an incestuous relationship with his step-daughter, one of the sons in embezzling money, and the mother also had an affair resulting in a bastard child. Family secrets and deceit are all made public by the neighbor and the family reacts by murdering each other and/or committing suicide as the revelations are made public.
In the original development process, this piece had the potential of going in a number of directions, including one of a more serious nature. There was also discussion of using the death scenes as comedic moments and using pantomime to tell the story.
However, John Giffin chose to take the piece in the direction of the German
24
Expressionists, using exaggerated features and slow movement to enhance the melodramatic nature of the story. Stephen Little describes the expressionist movement as being, “the art of unrest and the search for truth.”4 German Expressionism in film often used non-realistic settings and distorted or exaggerated geometry within these settings.
As film was black and white during the height of the German Expressionist movement, much concentration was put on light, shadow and exaggerated shapes to heighten the storyline or scene.5 Using movies such as Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang and The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari directed by Robert Wiene, Giffin and I discussed incorporating bright shafts of light which appear in scenes in both of these films. The shafts were to appear at the moment when the family begins to kill each other. Before Poole’s character entered the Swallow family was to be seated on the center wall platform, as if a part of a family portrait. The light on the Swallow family for this moment was to be warm and realistic but soon transitioned into a stark, colorless world as Eberspacher reveals the truth about the Swallows. Originally Poole was to remain in a gentle, warm light that would separate him from the rest of the characters onstage, however his movement changed as the piece was further developed and he soon began to utilize the same playing space as the family rather than existing in his own world. As this staging evolved I was able to adjust some of the lighting cues to make Poole more visible as he spoke. The arc of this piece, however, centers on the actions of the family rather than Eberspacher. The lighting for this piece was critical in shaping the expressionist mood, as murder and suicide may have been unsettling for some audience members. In the true spirit of
25 cabaret, this piece was meant to both disturb and entertain the audience and did so through the visually expressionistic nature of the movement and lighting – this was not a place for realism.
Following “The Neighbor” was an original piece conceived by MFA actors
Dwayne Blackaller and Kiana Harris. This piece was entitled “A Puppet Show” and was performed by Blackaller, Harris and Johamy Morales with the addition of a marionette that was operated by Harris. The piece was a mixture of dance and pantomime and consisted of each actor controlling the other as if they themselves were marionettes.
Harris controlled the actual puppet until Blackaller appeared on stilts to control Harris.
Harris then killed the marionette prior to Blackaller killing Harris. The number ended when Morales appeared with a ladder to control and kill Blackaller, only to look up toward the grid as if someone where controlling her. Each actor, including the puppet, wore the same costume of a collar and cuffs to show their connection to one another.
These accessories were added to their base costumes. A pair of oversized pants was added to cover the stilts that Blackaller wore.
While “A Puppet Show” had morbid undertones as the actors began to strangle each other, the overall look and feel of the piece was whimsical and playful. Susan Chess played a light, mischievous song that went along with the movement in the dance. As this was a piece which I did not see until later in the development process, I used the music to guide my design ideas. The goal was to use warm colors, mostly from steeper angles, to highlight the various levels at which the performers were playing. While the
26 use of color was to be warm and pleasant in nature in tones of pink and lavender, the intensity of the lighting was to be taken down as the actors killed each other, hinting at the darker nature of the piece.
To try to remain true to the use of a conferencier to introduce each piece, short commentaries were placed after some of the pieces, including “A Puppet Show,” as a way to allow any set pieces to be moved as well as to give the audience a brief background on the time period and some of the ideas that were being introduced during the time of the cabaret. For these moments I chose a simple, transition cue that lit only the moat area so as to distract from any movement that was taking place onstage.
The next major piece following “A Puppet Show” was “Petronella,” written by
Friedrich Hollander. The piece is written in three parts with three different voices including an audience member, Petronella the stripper, and the lover. For the performance of “Petronella” in Wild Stages , all three roles were sung by Jessica
Podewell. The piece was originally conceived with Podewell seated in a chair for the entire number, wearing a coat and lounge pants styled after clothing worn during the
1930s. Originally as Podewell changed between characters she was going to adjust the coat differently to represents these shifts. However, as the nature of the cabaret changed,
Podewell created a more dynamic character of a drunken performer singing the song
“Petronella.” Dialogue between the verses was to be improvised for each performance.
As this was decided I made adjustments to some of the original ideas from when
Podewell was to remain in the chair. Instead of creating an isolated look onstage I changed the design to incorporate more of the space, but still maintain the sense of
27 isolation through the use of a spotlight. Johamy Morales walked through the center audience section after “A Puppet Show” to operate the spotlight for “Petronella” from the lighting gallery. John Giffin wanted a gag with the spotlight to enhance the comedy in
Podewell’s drunken character. As the music started the spotlight was turned on and
Morales swung it to the stage left vom where the audience would assume Podewell was to appear. After a few beats Podewell rose, drunk, from behind the bar to introduce herself and the song. As I adjusted the lighting of the piece to accommodate Podewell’s
movement, I tried to remain true to the original
color palette of the design (See Figure 3). I
chose warm lavender and pink tones to
represent both the sexuality of a stripper and
the lightheartedness of the piece as a whole.
Generally speaking this is meant to be a light
and enjoyable piece for the audience between
some of the more serious moments of the
cabaret.
The script transitions after “Petronella”
Figure 3: "Petronella" color research to the world of Dada. As mentioned before,
many art forms were emerging at the time and finding their way into the various cabarets across Europe. While the true origins of Dada have slipped into the realm of myth, it is for certain that the rise of the movement became
28 more apparent in 1918 with the “Dada Manifesto,” written by Tristan Tzara. Tzara states in his manifesto:
How are we to bring order to the chaos of this infinite, formless variation: man? . . . I do not force anyone to follow me, and everyone makes his art in his own way, if he knows the joy that shoots up to the astral layers, or that which goes down into the mines of corpses in bloom and fertile spasms.6
The Dada movement is often difficult to categorize as each Dadaist explored his or her own form of artistic creation. For Wild Stages a selection of Dada poems written by Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings were chosen. To break up the nonsensical sound poems written by Ball, their performance was alternated with the Hennings poems,
“Ether,” “Dancer,” and “After the Cabaret.” These were performed by actors McMillan,
Morales and Logan, respectively and alternated with the sound poem performances by actors Poole, Blackaller and Caldwell. The women remained in their base costumes and sat at the cabaret tables at the edge of the stage while the men stepped in an out of the reproduction of the famous Hugo Ball cardboard suit (See Figure 4). While the staging was simple, shifting focus from man to woman, I wanted to encompass the Dadaist nature of this piece through lighting.
Originally I had little research for the Dada poems, but then began to read about the movement itself and came to the realization that I wanted there to be an element of randomness to this design for the pieces of sound poetry. The costume for Hugo Ball had a robotic shape and also was comedic in nature. The colors for the suit were to be bold and shiny, which was something I also wanted to incorporate into the lighting of this piece. The costume was to sit on the center wall platform with the actors walking in and
29 out of it. I found that achieving a look with a bold color palette that highlighted the texture of the costume would be best achieved by using the Vari-Lite VL5 fixtures focused on the platform. These instruments allowed me to create different looks for each of the sound poems by using the color mixing abilities within the fixtures.
The penultimate piece in the first act of the script is “Aunticide.” This piece was written in 1902 by Frank Wedekind and was performed by Scott Wilson in Wild Stages .
“Aunticide” is a five stanza poem about a young man who has murdered his aunt for her gold. Wilson’s character embodied a mixture of youthfulness and psychosis through both costume and action. Costume designer O’Neal Figure 4: Hugo Ball cardboard costume from the Cabaret Voltaire designed a large ruff and hat styled after children’s outfits from the early twentieth century. Wilson is a large man and the comedy of his character was enhanced by his costume. Wilson entered from the vom holding a big, red, swirled lollipop as his main prop. Before the piece actually began, Wilson was to spend many moments without speaking, picking his nose and doing other “childish” activities to get laughs from the audience. In the spirit of cabaret, this is a piece meant to entertain and disturb. After the audience accepted Wilson’s comedic demeanor, he challenged them with the gruesome poem while still maintaining his childish character.
30
Many preliminary ideas were discussed for the lighting of this piece, from playful lighting to the implication of an interrogation. As Wilson entered the space was lit with a general wash. As he stepped onstage the lighting slowly shifted to create a sense of isolation. It was when the tone in Wilson’s voice changed from young lad to menacing man that the lighting made its most dramatic shift. Much of my research came from images of carnival funhouses as well as the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory . This poem is not pleasant, nor is it funny, but the idea of a grown man in children’s clothing licking a big, red lollipop is. Therefore, as the audience learned of the horrific nature of the child’s actions, the lights shifted from a warm isolation to a red wash across the stage. This wash was created using a 70° Source Four fixture with a
Rosco gobo rotator that had a steel gobo in the shape of Wilson’s lollipop rotating at a slow pace. Due to the nature of the piece, I wanted the lighting to reflect the discomfort that the audience might have felt during the poem. For the brief moment where Wilson slips into his murderous adult alter ego, the world became chaotic, colorful, disturbing and slightly nauseating. The gobo rotator was utilized to create a dizzying movement for the audience to watch, while also bringing to mind the thought of flowing blood. As the poem came to a close, however, the chaotic lighting quickly slipped away as though never present and returned to the bare, simple lighting that began the piece.
The final piece in the first act was designed with an entirely different visual environment than the rest of the show. Die traümenden Knaben (The Dreaming Boys ) by
Oskar Kokoschka was written in 1907 as a commission to produce a children’s book. 7
The book itself consists of a poem and accompanying graphic images. The book came
31 under much scrutiny when it was first published because it contains nude imagery and a sexual storyline. Kokoschka dedicated the book to Gustav Klimt since his artwork was a major influence on the author.
The imagery of Die traümenden Knaben is an interesting mix of black and white as well as colored ink, consisting mostly of bold shades of red, yellow, green and blue. It was from these images that the idea to create a black-light puppet show was born. As part of the development process the Nocturn UV light was set up in the Lighting Studio to test its affect on different fabrics, textures and paints. These experiments led to the decision to use a mix of painted cardboard, puppets and live people to enact the
Kokoschka tale. The version of “The Dreaming Boys” in the Wild Stages script was cut from its original, longer version but maintained many of the images, such as that of a red fish and a woman in a green scarf, that were repeated throughout the story. Actors
Dwayne Blackaller and Kiana Harris were directors, choreographers and actors in this piece. Other MFA actors, Caldwell, Logan, Lovric and Morales played the roles of the puppeteers and wore black full body suits while operating the props designed and created by scenic designer Loomis. The goal of these black suits was to keep the puppeteers invisible to the audience as they entered and exited the stage with various puppet fish and pieces of fabric. Blackaller was in a costume with white piping along the pant legs and
UV reflective paint on the exposed skin of his body. His role as narrator and performer was to interact with the puppets that moved across the stage as if they were a part of his dream.
32
The lighting for this piece was essentially turning on a blacklight, but there were other elements that needed consideration. The scene began as Blackaller entered what appeared to be a bar that was closing for the night. The UV light was illuminated when
Blackaller drifted asleep at the bar after the woman with the green scarf handed him a bottle of alcohol. At the end of the piece Blackaller returned to the bar as he was awoken by the appearance of the real woman in the green scarf. As he awoke he spoke the line,
“and i loved all things/when i spoke to a girl.” In addition to the UV light, I knew that the lighting for the introduction and final moment were also important. The opening set the tone for a dream that is filled with dark, menacing imagery intertwined with language about love. I knew that the bar needed to reflect the hyper-sexualized, dark world that
Kokoschka speaks of in The Dreaming Boys . In contrast to this darkness, the final moment of the piece needed to reflect the change the character goes through at the end of the dream when his love is finally realized. I wanted the lighting for this moment to be warm and gentle, as it would be the last moment before intermission.
The script begins Act Two with the piece “The School for Stars” which was written in 1911 by Nikolay Evreinov. The piece was chosen because it allowed for performances by the entire cast and was the closest to a slapstick comedy routine that this production had. The one-act play is about a training school for performers who dream of working the cabaret and variety show circuit. Not many of the students exhibit any promising talent, but the determined headmaster, played by actor Scott Wilson, believes he truly is shaping the lives of these “artists.” Since the piece takes place in an interior
33 and the performers use the entire space, the light for was to be more general and focus on actor visibility. I also saw this piece as an opportunity for the audience’s eyes to take a rest from the dark, UV light that closed the first act.
Originally I planned to not change the lighting look during the piece, even when students from the school performed their acts. However, the director provided me with an account of one man’s first experience with an apache dance, an act that is performed within the script. The account states, “I . . . followed Max into the room. It was lighted by green and red lights. They were oil lamps, and their smoke-covered shades leered down from the walls with a baleful glare.”8 After reading this description I decided to change my original idea and use lighting appropriate to some of the individual numbers within the piece, including the apache dance. Seeing as how at this point in the show the audience would already have understand the separation between performer and viewer had been broken down, there seemed to be little sense in designing “The School for
Stars” to be lit as a realistic studio.
In addition to the apace dance, a piece that was originally separate from “The
School for Stars” was added to the end of the one-act. The piece “Ich Bin Ein Vamp” or
“I am a Vamp” was written by Marcellus Schiffer, Géza Herczeg, and Robert Klein with music by Mischa Spoliansky. Johamy Morales researched and performed this piece for
Wild Stages within the context of “The School for Stars.” The lyrics reference many famous women throughout history who are known for their expensive habits and magical powers over men. These women include Salome, Madame Pompadour, Madame du
Barry, and Mata Hari. Costume designer O’ Neal designed a costume for Morales that
34 was reminiscent of those worn by Mata Hari but included an animal headdress to connect to the lyrics of the song:
I am a vamp, I am a vamp Half woman, half beast I bite my men and suck them dry And then I bake them in a pie 9
The lyrics are both comical and sensuous. The woman performing this song is supposed to be sultry and seductive, luxurious and powerful. The lighting for the song was meant to reflect these adjectives by using angles that accented the body of the performer and colors that were flattering and warm. As most of my lighting research for this piece was completed when it was intended to be a separate performance, I simply decided to use
what I already had envisioned before and apply
it to the moment when Morales began her song.
As she danced and sang onstage I wanted to
create a lighting look that was similar to a
glimmering jewel. Rich violets and pinks were
used in addition to a rich amber side light.
These colors blended well with the blue and
gold costume worn by Morales. My hope was
to transform the stage into a Sultan’s den that
reflected the colors and textures seen in Figure 5: Photo of Mata Hari paintings of the historical women about whom
Morales sings (See Figure 5). The comedy in
35 this piece stems from the idea that no matter how dangerous and consuming this vamp may be, men still run to her and succumb to her ways. Men worship the ground she walks on without realizing they are her target. I did not want the lighting to be serious or frightening, but rather embrace the lighthearted nature of the song.
At the conclusion of “The School for Stars” the script shifts quickly into a piece about Anita Berber. Scott Wilson plays a man who knew Berber, and informs the audience of her cocaine addiction and penchant for seducing men. The piece consists of two dances: the first was performed by Bruno Lovric as Berber’s one time husband
Sebastian Droste, and the second was
performed by Virginia Logan as Anita
Berber. Lovric’s costume consisted of a
beige loincloth designed after one worn
by Droste while performing with Berber.
Logan’s was a recreation of one of the
most popular images of Berber, a
painting by Otto Dix (See Figure 6). Figure 6: Sebastian Droste and Anita Berber Much like the costume for the character of Aristide Bruant, the costumes for Berber and Droste were designed based on famous images of these performers.
The first movement piece was performed by Lovirc as he spoke the words of
“Cocaine,” a poem written by Sebastian Droste. During Lovric’s performance Logan walked slowly in front of the audience holding a syringe on a silver platter. This poem
36 was published in 1923 in a collection of poems and musings written by Droste and
Berber entitled Die Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase (Dances of Vice,
Horror, and Ecstasy). In Karl Toepher’s essay Nudity and Modernity in German Dance,
1910-1930 he describes the poetry of Droste as, “Droste, on the other hand, isolates words and phrases so that they call attention to themselves as discrete energies that do not depend on an action (verb) to establish an intense emotional reaction to each other.” 10 He then continues to use “Cocain” as an example of this. It is not known if Droste himself performed any dances while reciting this poem, but it is known that Berber was inspired by the words and created one of her most successful and famous pieces, which Virginia
Logan recreated onstage after Lovric exited with the syringe. Berber herself was a known cocaine addict and used movements that were reflective of this problem, including beginning and ending as if in a drug induced trance. Logan mimicked this behavior by using the syringe to inject the drug into her body, thus motivating the dance. The dance was accompanied by a slow piano melody.
The choreography of this piece included many historical references but no historical recreations, as the movement for Logan’s dance is known only through written accounts, not film footage. In addition, it is widely known that Berber did not perform the “Cocain” dance wearing the red dress from the Otto Dix painting, as there are accounts that she performed either fully nude or wearing a costume similar to Droste’s loincloth. However, it was the image of the Dix painting from which I drew my inspiration for the lighting. As seen in the painting, the image is entirely red, with the exception of Berber’s skin. As the chair which Logan sat in was also red, I chose to light
37 the piece using rich, red light, with a low level of no color top light as a way to highlight
Logan’s face, body and movement. Berber was a strong personality in real life and I thought it best to light her representation in Wild Stages in a lighting composition that was just as striking.
Actor Kal Poole surprised the audience after “Cocaine” by appearing atop the stairs from the lighting gallery to the center seating section as he began “La Villanelle du
Diable.” This poem was written by Maurice Rollinat in 1883. The piece was originally written in French and translated by Phillip Hale. Poole’s interpretation of the poem included was cut from the original and included a combination of both the French and
English text. The poem is eighteen stanzas long, with every other stanza ending in the line “L’Enfer, brûle, brûle, brûle.” This translates to “Hell’s a burning, burning burning.”
The main theme of the poem is the devil and all the power he possesses. Poole’s character was costumed in a straight jacket that he originally was going to break free of as the piece progressed. After the villanelle was shortened to five stanzas this idea was discarded and Poole remained in the straightjacket for the entire piece. The development for this piece stemmed from Poole’s research of the poet Maurice Rollinat (1846-1903) and the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893). Charcot is famous for his work in researching hysteria and hypnosis, which was a popular field of interest during
Rollinat’s lifetime. Coincidentally, Rollinat died in an asylum after suffering from mental illness. In A History of Hypnotism Charcot’s definition of hysteria is defined as:
Hysteria is a peculiar mode of feeling and reacting, not confined to women, and not specially linked to frustrated sexual urges. It is known only through its symptoms, but there is a marked hereditary
38
predisposition, no doubt involving some kind of neural abnormality. . . Often there are prodromi – hallucinations, organic disturbances, disorders of sensibility.11
Poole found this connection between Charcot’s research of hysteria and Rollinat’s own struggle with mental illness to be an inspiration for his character development for
“La Villanelle du Diable.” The piece was both mysterious and frightening, as Poole was engrossed in himself but also able to make eye contact with the audience. He meandered around the stage reciting the poem in a monotonous, haunting voice as if he was overcome with a “disorder of sensibility.” For the lighting of this piece I originally wanted to begin with an isolated downlight on Poole as he began to recite the poem. As the poem progressed the lights would shift to a fire effect on the line, “Hell’s a-burning, burning, burning.” However, when the script was cut and the blocking changed, I altered the timing of the cues so that the fire effect began as Poole reached the stage. At first the floor and walls appeared to be aflame, but as Poole reached for a bottle of alcohol, as if his character were an arsonist, flames began to move into the audience risers. For the remainder of the piece it appeared as though the entire theatre was on fire. During early conversations with Giffin we discussed making sure the audience remained involved in each of the performance pieces. The goal of “La Villanelle du Diable” was for the audience to notice that the seating sections during Poole’s performance reflected the lighting that was onstage – by using the same color palette and movement effects a connection between actor and audience was created.
As Poole ended the piece by turning the center wall and disappearing behind it, actors Blackaller and Lovric appeared onstage wearing tuxedos. Kiana Harris appeared
39 from upstage and the lighting shifted to reveal a rather different location than the fire- ridden hell of “La Villanelle du Diable.” Elisa O’Neal’s costume design for Harris was much more revealing than her base costume and consisted of a pink corset, thigh-high black leather boots, and a long, bustled black coat. Harris’ dominatrix themed costume was part of her character development for the song “Chuck out the Men” which was written by Friedrich Hollander. This piece was originally performed by Clair Waldoff who was an openly lesbian cabaretist who often dressed in masculine clothing.12 Harris chose to take a more feminine approach to this song as she addressed the audience with lyrics such as, “The battle for emancipation/ ‘s been raging since hist’ry began/Yes, feminists of every nation/ want to throw off the chains made by man.”13 The song has a strong feminist theme and states that women are just as capable as men at doing almost anything. As a woman fed up with the behavior of men, Harris used the stage to voice her opinion and exude sexuality. Blackaller and Lovric merely gawked at Harris and soon began to grope her with their hands. Rather than tolerate this negative attitude toward women, Harris reached out and stripped away the tuxedos, revealing two scantly clad men with leases attached to their shirt collars. Roles were suddenly reversed as
Harris became dominant over the men. She then led the man by their leashes off the stage and into the voms. Harris’ exit further enforced the feminist statement as she ordered the now submissive men to carry her offstage on their backs.
The message of each verse in “Chuck out the Men” grows in intensity and I wanted the lighting to do the same. The first chorus and verse consisted of a general wash as Harris walked through the moat and addressed the audience for the first part of
40 the song. The focus for this part of the song was not meant to be on the men. They remained dimly lit, appearing as if they were in a bar or strip club. As Harris made her toward the men the lighting in the house dimmed and the club-like atmosphere onstage began to transform to reflect the pink, feminine color of Harris’ costume. As Harris stripped the men of their clothing and dignity in the final verse, the stage was engulfed in
a rich, magenta color, surrounding the men in a world of
femininity.
The piece following “Chuck out the Men” was a
different take on femininity in the form of “Lydia
Smith,” better known as the Tattooed Lady. “Lydia
Smith” was a character originally performed by William
Bendow. Trude Hesterberg took interest in Bendow and
hired him to perform at the Wilde Bühne (Wild Stages)
Kabarett.14 Actor Raymond Caldwell portrayed Lydia
Smith for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Caldwell is
fluent in German and has family living in Germany. He
translated the piece from the German text with the help Figure 7: William Bendow as Lydia Smith of Volkmar and Maria Wiese. The piece is about a
woman whose body is covered entirely in tattoos.
O’Neal designed a body suit reminiscent of the plaster cast Bendow wore in his appearances as Lydia (See Figure 7). As Bendow was also a male, it was a natural and historical choice for a male to play the role of Lydia in Wild Stages . Caldwell began his
41 monologue as Lydia and gave the audience a personal tour of the tattoos on “her” body.
The script shows that the character of Lydia is proud of her tattoos and is willing to show them to and discuss them with anyone. The tattoos referred to in the script are of famous people and events represented in unlikely ways. Lydia does not hide her sexuality, nor is she afraid to allude to her indiscretions for she does not fear what other people may think.
Originally we discussed having the Tattooed Lady enter from behind a curtain but this idea changed when it was decided that the center wall would rotate. As a result,
Caldwell appeared standing on the wall side of the center platform as it was rotated into place by one of the actors. Giffin wanted a grand entrance for this piece reminiscent of a circus performance. As the platform was rotated the lighting was flashy and bright. I achieved this by moving the VL5s in a circular pattern that lit both the stage and the audience. As Caldwell stepped down from the platform to begin the performance the lights faded and a spotlight was used as the primary source of light. As with “Petronella” the spotlight was operated by Johamy Morales. Using an actor as the spot light operator began during the development of “Lydia Smith.” Having seen the prominent use of spotlights during the cabaret performances in Berlin and Paris, I knew that I wanted to incorporate one in the production of Wild Stages . When it was determined that the
Tattooed Lady would have a feature role in the script I decided that this was reason enough to make room for a spotlight in the light plot. Since we decided that the spot light would be used sparingly, I wanted it to be one of the actors who operated the fixture thereby allowing the audience to see that the actors did more than perform in the cabaret.
42
Since the plot of “Lydia Smith” is an exhibit of the artwork on Lydia’s body, the use of a spotlight as the primary source of light was appropriate to engage the audience in the performance.
The last solo act in the script is “A Little Attila,” a musical number originally written by Kurt Tucholsky with music by Rudolf Nelson. This song was popularized in the cabarets by Trude Hesterberg. The character development for this piece, however, did not come from Hesterberg’s performance but rather from the script analysis as done by Julie Ann McMillan. McMillan, the performer of the piece in Wild Stages , created a
shy, bookish character
who found the man of her
dreams in Attila the Hun.
The piece began
with McMillan dressed in
her base costume, a
conservative jacket,
blouse and skirt designed Figure 8: The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse after the style of clothing
from the first decade of the twentieth century. She was seated at a library desk reading a book about Attila the
Hun. This book acted as motivation to begin the song. While she remained at the desk for the first part of the song, McMillan soon began to use the entire space, including the top of the desk, as she ventured into a fantasy world singing about Attila the Hun, “a cute
43 little brute” who is full of “hot virility.” As the song neared the end, McMillan returned to her seat, ashamed of the carefree behavior she exhibited during her wildest fantasies.
McMillan’s character muses:
Nowadays there are no mighty conquerors Don’t bother looking for a lover like that You can find a banker or a general One will be bald and one tremendously fat 15
In order to express both McMillan’s frustrations and desires through lighting, I used research from John William Waterhouse paintings (See Figure 8). The piece began in an
isolated, dimly light area that represented the
dull world McMillan’s character inhabited.
She has retreated to this library because there
are no interesting men in her world to keep her
otherwise entertained. As she discovered the
powers and virtue of Attila, the lighting grew to
create a larger, more expansive space. The
lighting transitioned from the uninhabited
library to the soft, dreamy fantasy land that
McMillan created through song. The lighting Figure 9: "A Little Attila" Color research for this part of the song directly related to the
research I did of romance novel cover art, using
44 saturated lavender, blue and pink colors and rich highlights on the performer (See Figure
9). The lighting quickly shifted back to the look of the first cue as McMillan returned to the desk, lamenting that the world was full of boring, unadventurous men.
The last three pieces in the script, “Ballad of the Dead Soldier,” “Ballad of Marie
Sanders,” and “Munchhausen” took place in rapid succession and involved the entire cast, serving as the show’s finale. Originally “Ballad of the Dead Soldier” was written and performed by Bertolt Brecht at Trude Hesterberg’s Wilde Bühne Kabarett. The ballad is about a soldier who was killed during the war, but the Kaiser was short on manpower so they dug up this dead soldier and sent him back to fight for Germany. As
Peter Jelavich describes in his book Berlin Cabaret , “The bitter work which also attacked military doctors, churchmen, and chauvinist citizens, caused a scandal for its first performance, and Hesterberg had to drop the curtain until the audience quieted down.”16
John Giffin wanted this bitterness to be exemplified in the form of the grotesque. Jeffrey
Harpham, in his essay on grotesque art says in reference to Wolfgang Kayser,
“Suddenness and surprise, Kayser asserts, are essential elements in this estrangement: the familiar and commonplace must be suddenly subverted or undermined by the uncanny or alien: ‘The grotesque instills fear of life rather than fear of death.’”17 This description aptly conveys the movement choreographed for the “Ballad of the Dead Soldier.”
Raymond Caldwell sang the ballad from the piano, away from the other performers. As the ballad began Bruno Lovric entered onto the stage wearing a black full body suit painted with skeleton bones. Attached to the suit were scraps of a soldier’s uniform and pieces of flesh, indicating a soldier that had just been dug up from his grave.
45
The eerie and grotesque nature of the performance came not just from the dead soldier but also from the ensemble who acted as the priest, wife, medical board and other figures mentioned throughout the poem. As the actors performed these roles they used sharp movements and distorted facial expressions to exemplify the grotesque nature of the piece.
“Ballad of the Dead Soldier” was a movement based piece and the material itself was strong and powerful in nature. Giffin and I discussed using a rich green light that would reflect the septic environment the soldier had lived in. By not using any front light for this piece, the bodies and movements of all the actors were exaggerated and highlighted to give an even stronger perception of the grotesque. It was important to make this piece as visually stimulating as possible, because while the poem referenced
German soldiers from the First World War there was an underlying notion that as
Americans today we are experiencing a shortage of troops in our own war. Giffin and the actors wanted the audience to think about what may happen in America if the demand for soldiers becomes exceedingly greater than the supply.
Continuing the theme of war and social awareness, as Lovric made his exit from the stage, Virginia Logan began to enter at a slow pace with a blank stare singing another of Brecht’s ballads, “Ballad of Marie Sanders.” This ballad, yet another social commentary by Brecht, is about a woman who, “had not been sleeping with the proper breed of man.” The music for this piece was written by Hans Eisler and includes a slow tempo for the verses and a fast, upbeat march for the chorus:
46
The workers crouch in their tenements And hear the beating of drums God above, could there be something wrong tonight? Listen! Here is comes. 18
During the chorus the ensemble paced across the stage randomly, avoiding the gaze of
Logan as Marie Sanders. During the choruses the ensemble froze in place as Logan sang.
While the movement was simple, it was the message that was most important for this song. Like the “Ballad of the Dead Soldier,” this piece was meant to bring awareness to the audience about the past and the future. Giffin often engaged the actors and the designers in dialogue about the common threads that war has across generations. Near the end of the piece one of the actors placed a sign around Virginia Logan’s neck which read, “Ich bin am Ort die grosste Schwein uns lass mich nur mit Juden ein!” which translates to, “In this place I am the biggest pig. I let myself in only with Jews!” The message of this piece was to make the audience aware that racial and religious discrimination was and is a reality. Due to the serious nature of this ballad, I found it was best for the lighting to remain stark and broad. I found there was little need for the use of color in this piece due to the somber tone that was set. What I found most important was to create shadows across the actors’ faces, giving the appearance that these people could be anyone. I also wanted to be able to distinguish the look of “Ballad of Marie Sanders” from “Munchhausen,” which followed, as the choreography was almost identical.
“Munchhausen” is a song written by Friedrich Hollander. This piece was one of the first that was discussed during the development process and was embraced by both the cast and designers. “Munchhausen” alternates between chorus and verse; the verses
47 describe wonderful lands where men are just and women are free to make their own decisions, but it is the chorus that refutes these, “Lies, lies, lies . . . /Truth is hard and tough as nails/ That’s why we need fairy tales.” 19 The song was staged in the same manner as “Ballad of Marie Sanders” as the ensemble stood still during the verse but paced quickly across the stage for the chorus. The actors wore their base costumes during this final piece and added armbands during the chorus. These armbands were reminiscent of the bands that National Socialists forced Jews, Communists, and other
“unfavorable” citizens to wear. O’Neal allowed the actors to choose which type of armband they wanted to wear for this production based on the research they did for their characters.
The strong political message which was presented here helped shape the design concept. As the actor’s sang the verses they were transported into a fairytale world where all of the things they spoke of were possible and true. For these moments I wanted to have a warm, peaceful look onstage that soon became disrupted by a cold, sharp reality in which the actors realized these statements were merely “lies.” It is the final verse, however, that is not followed by a chorus. Instead, as the final verse was sung, the actors left the stage and stepped down into the moat, thereby leaving their fantasy world on the stage and returning to reality. For this moment the light onstage slowly faded out and the only lights left up were those on the actors and the audience, suggesting that it was up to people living in the world now to stop all these “lies, lies, lies.”
48
As this chapter discussed the script and the choices that were made for the production, the following chapter will focus on the design process from the preliminary light plot through tech week and opening night, with discussions of the people involved and the budget provided for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
49
CHAPTER 4
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
This chapter will discuss the lighting design process, covering the preliminary work on the plot to the execution of the design. It will also chart the progress of the design through the technical and dress rehearsals. The use of the electricians and the lighting crew will be discussed, as will any conversations that involved the other designers. Finally, changes from the original design concept will be noted.
The lighting plot for Wild Stages was scheduled to be completed by Monday,
April 14, 2008. This date followed the standard production schedule that all Department of Theatre performances follow. The challenge in this process was that the script for the production had yet to be finalized. Fortunately, having been a part of the development process, I was able to accommodate for this. Since I had already seen many of the pieces in the early rehearsal stages, I was already familiar with the lighting requirements for this show. I knew that the most important aspect of the light plot was flexibility, in both lighting system and color. I also knew that many of the lights might need to be relocated based on the changes that would take place. This flexibility was something I had discussed with Mary Tarantino, my advisor and Matt Hazard. In addition, I discussed the possibility of changes with the production electricians so they would be prepared before
50
the hanging and circuiting process began. I also met with Tarantino and Hazard a week prior to the final plot due date to discuss the progress of the light plot. This meeting helped me in the development process as I was able to make choices about placing various lights, such as the VL5s and the Atomic Strobe, based on the cable requirements of the instruments and the resources available.
The production electricians assigned to the project had never worked as electricians before. Kristin Jones, the production electrician, was a student in the Theatre
221, Technical Production II, course during winter quarter of 2008. During this course she showed interest in the lighting process as well as a clear understanding of the technical aspects of lighting. As an assistant in this class, I suggested to Jones that she may be interested in working as an electrician on one of the upcoming productions.
Andrea Schimmoeller, the assistant production electrician, was also a student in the same class. While Schimmoeller was new to the world of lighting, she still showed a great enthusiasm for being a part of the team despite her inexperience. Having relatively untrained electricians proved intimidating at first but I believe that these two students learned many new things throughout the process and worked hard to get the show ready for performance. Their main jobs were to circuit the light plot, supervise and assist in the hang and focus of the lighting instruments, maintain the paperwork (channel hookup and instrument schedule) as changes were made, and ensure that the lights were focused and working for each technical and dress rehearsal and performance of the show. The electricians would be supervising a lighting crew consisting of current Theatre 221 and
Theatre 205 Technical Production Practicum students as well as the Graduate Teaching
51
Associates in lighting. Jones and Schimmoeller were provided a syllabus that detailed these duties and were also informed of the support they would receive from the lighting supervisor and the lighting graduate students, Matthew McCarren, Greg Owen, Anthony
Pellecchia and me.
The work that was done leading up to and including the light hang was relatively complete. Both of the electricians took time to ask questions and learn about the organizational skills needed to successfully hang and circuit the light plot I provided them. Considering neither had much experience with the lighting programs used to implement the lighting design, such as Lightwright, AutoCAD and LDAssistant, their promptness in circuiting the plot and providing the proper paperwork was greatly appreciated. Prior to working on the plot for this show they met with Mary Tarantino and me to receive some instruction on the programs they needed to use. This session, while brief in nature, provided the electricians with background for the process on which they were about to embark. After the electricians circuited the plot and updated the paperwork they presented the material to the lighting supervisor and me so as to prepare for the upcoming lighting calls. While most paperwork seemed in order, one piece missing was a dimmer chart. Both students kept track of the circuits they were using while putting the information onto the plot, but they failed to print out a complete dimmer chart that listed all used and unused dimmers. One of the pieces of paperwork available to electricians is a Microsoft Excel document that charts the circuits, by number, for each theatre space.
Normally, as circuits are assigned to lighting instruments the cell with the circuit
52 number is crossed off. There were a few occasions where either lights were moved or were added, and an accessible chart representing which circuits were still available would have saved time when looking for open circuits for these lights.
During the week of the light hang (April 15-18, 2008) preparations were made to ensure that the plot would be ready by the focus call on Saturday, April 19, 2008. Prior to providing the electricians with the plot, I was certain of the locations for the VL5s.
These lights were hung by my fellow GTAs on the Monday before lighting crew calls began. Once students began arriving for light calls we utilized them to pull and sort color, write hang tags for each lighting location in Bowen, and prepare equipment. The hang tags are a system designed to assist students in the hanging of a show. This is especially helpful for students new to lighting to be able to quickly reference the information on a tag, including the type of instrument, dimmer and color. The tags are hung on the pipe where the light is to be hung so that students can work independently on hanging and circuiting the lights. Unfortunately I did not participate fully during the light hang sessions. It was during this process that I was spending time learning the lighting console and familiarizing myself with the syntax of the Whole Hog II PC software. I was present during the light hang to be available for questions, but my first priority was working with the console.
I had not worked with the Whole Hog II PC console and this was a challenge. I read the manual in preparation for this technological adventure and enlisted the help of fellow lighting graduate student Anthony Pellecchia to show me the basics of the console and talk me through the unique features of the Whole Hog. While the electricians and the
53 crew worked on hanging the show I learned how to patch the console, record palettes, write and save cues, and understand the nature of a tracking console. While I had worked with tracking consoles in the past, I often disabled the tracking ability so that I did not have to write the cues in a linear order. For this show I decided to do the opposite and use the console as it was intended. To explain, when writing cues on a tracking console the system recognizes only changes in intensity or position that occur for each light rather than recording levels for each cue that may be staying the same. By choosing to write the cues with the tracking mode activated, I was required to start at the beginning of the show and work in order rather than write cues from anywhere in the show order.
Before I was able to put my new-found console skills to the test the lights needed to be focused. Saturday, April 19, 2008 was our scheduled lighting focus call. While my original intent was to start focus on the Friday before, this did not happen due to the needs of the scenic crew to have the work lights on while painting and installing the set.
Regardless, the show was in a very good place when we began focusing on Saturday morning. The electricians had been successful in accomplishing the goals they had set throughout the week. They utilized the crews well and had most of the lights hung and circuited in preparation for the focus call. Having a well-groomed staff of graduate students to assist with any questions also made the day run smoothly and efficiently, as neither of the electricians had experience of running a focus call before. Some students were delegated away from focusing to begin the onstage projects, such as installing the rope light along the stage perimeter and placing and circuiting the mini-strips on the floor along the upstage side of the two stationary walls. The completion of these tasks was
54 extremely helpful for the cue writing session the following day. Jones and Schimmoeller worked responsibly to ensure these and other smaller tasks were accomplished so that I could concentrate on focusing the lights.
Thanks to the help of the crew, all of the conventional fixtures which were hung on the lighting grid were focused by the end of the day on Saturday. A few changes were made during the focus call which I was able to judge once I saw the instruments turned on and working in the space. The beam projectors were cut during the focus call as they were not working well as a fill light for the chandeliers. I also cut four Source Four 36° fixtures that were intended to serve as part of the two diagonal backlight systems. While
I thought the two beams of light in each system would be able to be focused over the center wall, I was wrong. I thought the best use of these lights would be to replace some of the specials I had originally intended to be the older Altman or Century ellipsoidal fixtures. This allowed me to use a new fixture with a cleaner beam and a better color temperature. While I thought I was going to be cutting the mini-strips that were located on the stage floor behind the upstage wall units, I ended up adjusting their focus so that they would serve as both light for the walls as well as warmers on the black curtains that were hung on the upstage wall. For the most part only a few lights moved from where they were originally hung on the light plot. These shifts were made because of the unique architecture of the Bowen grid. The steel beams that make up the tension wire grid are too thick for some to the lights to pass through and therefore create large shadows on the set. The lights that hit large amounts of the grid architecture were moved
55 appropriately so that they could reach the intended focus position. This unique aspect of
Bowen was something I had previously discussed with the electricians, so they were prepared to take time and assist students in moving these lights.
The only lights which were not focused on Saturday were the lights for the draped fabric. The fabric was not hung in its final location and the drop down pipes needed to hang the lights below the grid had not yet been delivered. I knew the lights for the fabric needed to be hung below the grid architecture in order to successfully light the fabric. In consultation with the lighting supervisor, we researched alternative methods of doing this. As a result we purchased six vertical extension pipes that allowed the lights to be located below the grid while the hanging hardware was located above the grid. The scenic designer and I had discussed the challenges the fabric may have caused for some of the lighting locations. Loomis assured me that the fabric was easy to move and could be adjusted based on needs I might discover after the focus call. This conversation with the scenic designer alleviated much of the stress I originally felt when I realized large drapes of fabric may have been in the way of the lighting instruments. In addition to the lack of drop down lights, the practical chandeliers and table lights were not yet constructed; however, temporary light bulbs were hung and circuited so that I had something available for cue writing. While these lights were not critical to the initial cue writing process, I knew that I would have to go back when all lights were present and track their levels through the show. In addition, the levels of the house lights were reliant on the output of the individual chandeliers and the ability they had to light each audience section properly.
56
On the day following the lighting focus I was scheduled to write the cues for the show. The cue writing session went well, but it took me some time to find a pace that was productive. There was also a bit of a learning curve as I became accustomed to using the palettes I had made earlier in the week, which allowed me to turn on individual systems of light more easily. I also needed to re-familiarize myself with the process of recording and playing back cues. I made the decision to separate the work over the course of two days. Monday was scheduled for crew watch, so I did not have to show the director any lighting looks until Tuesday. This meant that I could concentrate my time on
Sunday for Act One, and then use the day on Monday to write cues for Act Two. By splitting the days in this way I was able to remain productive.
Despite this confidence, when we reached dry tech on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 I began to feel slightly worried. Between the stage manager, the scenic designer, the technical director and myself, I feel as though I was the only one who was fully prepared to begin the dry tech rehearsal. Assistant Professor Maureen Ryan, the stage management advisor, began the technical rehearsal by reviewing what she thought needed to be accomplished, which was followed by staff member Jim Knapp, the technical director, discussing his idea of the dry tech process. This was the first time that the stage manager was running a dry tech, so the evening got off to a slow start. In addition, actors were present for this process so that the director and I could see the lighting on people. With the actors present the technical process took longer than usual as we had to wait for actors to get in place instead of just moving from cue to cue.
However, the goal that was set at the beginning of the night was accomplished. Giffin
57 and I were able to look at each lighting cue and take notes on what needed to be changed and if there were any major changes that needed to take place before the first technical rehearsal.
The first official technical rehearsal the following evening was exponentially more successful than the dry tech. The plan was to make it through Act One rather than trying to rush through the entire show. Having discussed the goals of the first technical rehearsal the night before, the production team was in conclusion that Act One was the most technically involved. Adrianne Varwig, the sound designer, had a very specific cue sequence that started off the act and had to be timed properly with the lights. While we were all in agreement as to where the cues should be called, it was a matter of the stage manager rehearsing the calling of this challenging sequence. In addition, the act also contained a scene where one of the actors hangs herself. Safety was the top priority behind this illusion and everyone involved needed time to rehearse this sequence. An agreement was reached to begin at the top of act one and stop at any point necessary to ensure the correct cues were called and everyone was safe.
I quickly learned that director Giffin has strong sense for cue timing and adjusted subsequent cues accordingly, thereby saving time during the technical rehearsals. The scene that I was having the most trouble with was the poetry by Hugo Ball and Emmy
Hennings. I wrote cues for technical rehearsal, but was not at all satisfied with the way they looked. I felt as though the cues were too fast and had poor color choices. It ended up taking me a few more days to fully understand what I wanted in the piece.
58
One of the other challenges I faced during the first day of tech was “The
Dreaming Boys.” As “The Dreaming Boys” was a blacklight piece, the goal was to not see the actors who are wearing all black. I felt that my only involvement in the piece was to turn on the black light and provide an incandescent source (the ropelight) as a visual distraction for the audience so that their eyes could not adjust to the darkness.
Unfortunately, the piece was not working as designed. While I believe the solution to the problem was not in lighting, I was asked by the director and technical director to find a lighting solution for the problem. In reality, turning on or off incandescent sources was not the solution. The problem lay in the fact that many parts of the set were UV reflective and the piece itself was long enough for the audience to adjust to the darkness.
Despite this roadblock I thought it best to do what I could to help make the piece work. I discussed various options with the scenic designer, but at the time she was busy with other aspects of the set and therefore unable to focus her energies on “The Dreaming
Boys.” As a result, I added more light to the scene by turning on the drop down table lights. This was a choice that the director seemed to be happy with, even though it did not completely solve the visibility problem.
The second technical rehearsal ran very smoothly. The night before we had decided to start the rehearsal with “The Dreaming Boys,” as it would be beneficial to both the actors and the scenic designer to re-run the piece. The scenic designer was able to complete more of the props for “The Dreaming Boys” and wanted to see them in operation. After running through the end of the first act, the goal was to rehearse all of
Act Two. There were no sound cues during Act Two, with the exception of the “La
59
Villanelle du Diable” where actor Kal Poole wore a microphone. The sound designer, in an attempt to save time during the technical rehearsals, had met with Poole earlier in the week to discuss this piece. This greatly helped the efficiency of the technical process.
Having adjusted to Giffin’s sense of light and timing, I used my time prior to the technical rehearsal to fix some of the lighting looks that Giffin and I had previously discussed. I found Giffin’s dance experience beneficial, as he was more concerned with the style of each scene rather than having a bright wash that made the actors’ faces visible. This is not to say that visibility was not a priority but rather that shaping each piece and giving it a sense of individuality was the most important goal of the technical process. This was achieved by using different angles and colors as we transitioned from one piece to the next. As the rehearsal began it was evident that the stage manager had become more comfortable with the process and had little trouble with the calling of cues.
The success of this night allowed me to move away from the technical process and I began to concentrate my time more on fixing the lighting cues for the pieces I was still unhappy with, such as “La Villanelle du Diable” and “Ballad of Marie Sanders.” There was a rental event in the Bowen Theatre during the day of the second technical rehearsal so some of the cueing time had been lost. Knowing this before the technical process helped me to know that I had to adjust my work plan to accomplish tasks before the third and final technical rehearsal.
During the day before the third technical rehearsal the fabric had been rearranged to what became its final location. Loomis and I discussed moving the fabric as it took place and both agreed that the new location worked best for lighting and scenery. Only
60 one system was affected by the change. The new location of the fabric blocked part of the top system over the moat. As a solution, the electricians and I worked together to add a new light that would fill the blocked area. The electricians also spent time hanging some of the vertical extension pipes and focusing the lights on the fabric. While I did not get a chance to track the lights for the fabric through the show on that day, the rehearsal that evening was efficient and successful. It seemed as though the director and all of the designers were pleased with the pace at which Wild Stages was taking shape. The stage manager had a strong understanding of the show and was becoming more confident in her own process. As a result, all parties were pleased and no major issues occurred.
Throughout this process both the production electrician and the assistant production electrician stayed on task and worked hard to accomplish the goals we set for each day of notes. At the end of every work call I discussed notes with the electricians that we had from that day and then determined how to be the most productive at the next lighting work call. I went into dress rehearsal feeling confident about the design and aware that the notes I had left would be accomplished in a timely fashion. The electricians worked hard to learn the intricacies and challenges native to the Bowen
Theatre and also practiced their time management skills so as to be efficient and productive. I believe that my interaction with them was beneficial to all of us. They are both eager and intelligent students who learned to become good electricians.
The scenic designer and I joked that the first dress rehearsal took all of the attention away from us. This was, in a way, true. During most technical rehearsals the director is watching the scenery and the lighting changes and suggesting improvements.
61
When costumes appear in the process it adds an entirely new element. In the case of Wild
Stages there were many costumes, some of which no one had seen before. The director spent much of the first dress rehearsals looking at the costumes on stage and discussing any changes that needed to be made with the costume designer. No stops occurred during the rehearsal due to costumes, but it was evident that some elements were going to change. I had discussed some of the costumes with O’Neal prior to the dress rehearsal, and therefore was not worried about the affect of the lights on costumes. The costume palette for the show was muted, much like the set. Aside from the red dress in “Cocain” almost none of the costumes were brightly colored or boldly textured. The costume designer had previously provided me with many of the costume pieces to look at under stage lights, which I had placed onstage during some of the cue writing process.
I found the first dress rehearsal incredibly helpful. While the director’s mind was in a different place, I was able to make vast improvements to some of the cues after the rehearsal was over. I was then able to approach the director with these changes rather than wait for a note from him about a specific look. This ability to work ahead was the direct result of good communication that I had established with Giffin from the beginning of the process.
It was during the second dress rehearsal that many of us realized that this show was in fact going to happen. One of the most beneficial aspects of the second dress rehearsal is the day off between it and first dress. Having this day to address notes and make adjustments helped the process greatly. The goal of the second dress rehearsal was to run the show without stopping.
62
By the third and final dress rehearsal the show was ready for an audience. The notes were minimal and most of the changes I needed to make were to the house lights and the chandeliers. Otherwise, Giffin expressed his delight with the show and his readiness for the performances to begin. As a result, the following evening’s preview performance was not treated as a rehearsal.
My design collaborators and I, knowing there was potential for visual worlds to collide, took time early in the development process to talk to each other. When possible we asked the director to be a part of these discussions as well. By starting the dialogue from the beginning, we were able to avoid a mess later on in the process. While we each had our share of individual notes as the technical and dress rehearsals progressed, I can honestly say that the director never said that one element was being affected by another in a negative way.
Before going in to the technical and dress rehearsal process I was prepared for some of the choices I made in the show to either be changed or eliminated all together.
One of the choices I made was to purchase as little color as possible and pull from stock, adjusting my color choices based on what was available. I chose color for the design by using color swatch books then made adjustments after color was pulled from stock and I learned what was not available. I chose this option in order to save money from the budget. I knew I could use the VL5s for saturated color mixing. Otherwise I chose less saturated colors that were more easily substituted. Color can comprise a large portion of the budget rather quickly, but I knew that I needed the money to be allocated to other resources. By saving money on color I was able to invest most of the budget into
63 purchasing a Source Four 70° ERS, one steel gobo, a power supply for the gobo rotator, and most of the materials needed to wire the seven chandeliers and six table top lights.
These practical projects were much larger and more expensive than I originally thought possible. Loomis was uncertain as to how she wanted the chandeliers to look, which was the main reason that the project was unable to begin in a timely fashion. Because the chandelier frames were not provided earlier in the quarter, it was not until during the dress rehearsal process that they were finally completed, hung, circuited and then tracked through the lighting cues. I would have preferred to provide the chandeliers for the production sooner. Unfortunately, two of the three Graduate Teaching Associates who were trained to wire the chandeliers began to work on the musical that was being produced in the Thurber Theatre. I believe this affected the pace at which the chandeliers were completed, as none of the lighting call students had the electrical background to work on the chandeliers themselves. Thankfully, when they finally were complete the director was pleased with their appearance, as there was no time for them to change!
In addition to the chandeliers, there were a few effects which I used to give the cabaret a more modern feel. By using the VL5 wash lights I expanded the color palette significantly and was able to use the movement capabilities to enhance some of the more detailed looks, such as the opening scene where air raid sirens filled the theatre. During this sound cue I alternated the colors of the VL5s to be red and blue and used the effect engine available in the lighting console to create movement reminiscent of police sirens.
While the use of blue light was not historically accurate to the siren sounds, I felt that using two colors would make the movement more effective for the audience to feel a
64 sense of danger. I also added random strobe flashes into this cue sequence to coincide with the sounds of bombs dropping. This opening cue was the only moment of chaos that existed in the entire piece. It was also the most dramatic effect I used. I wanted set the tone of impending danger and change for the cabaret and help the audience notice that the show was about to begin.
While I used the color mixing abilities of the VL5s throughout the piece, I only used live movement in one other cue that lasted approximately three seconds. Before
Raymond Caldwell enters as Lydia the Tattooed Lady, I again used the console’s effect engine to create a circular movement with the VL5s in open white, announcing the arrival of the spectacle that was “Lydia Smith.” The effect engine was also useful for “La
Villanelle du Diable” in which my goal was to make it appear as if the entire theatre was on fire. While I may have needed about six more lights for this effect to cover the entire space, I believe the slow pulsing of light served the purpose it needed to for this moment.
Originally the piece was supposed to be much longer than what it was, at which point I accepted the fact that allocating too many lights to such a short piece would be foolish.
The one effect I was worried about was during “Aunticide.” From the first time I saw the piece I had the idea that I wanted to create a look that was reminiscent of a fun house or the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the children travel through a scary tunnel. In order to accomplish this look I purchased the Source
Four 70° ERS fixture and a steel gobo called “swirl” that looked like a giant lolli-pop.
The pattern of the gobo was copied by the scenic designer when she painted the lolli-pop that Scott Wilson used in the piece. I placed the gobo in a rotator and added a red color
65 filter. I used the light and the rotator for the moment in the scene when Wilson switches from a child into an adult monster. The rotation of the gobo was slow and methodical and created a menacing look across Wilson’s face as the movement placed him in a rhythm between darkness and light. The use of one light for this effect was much different than the look of some of my original research where I implied to use of multiple rotating patterns.
Other changes that occurred from the original design process were minimal, but still significant. There were far more cues during the opening sequence with Aristide
Bruant than I had originally planned. This addition of cues came mostly as a way to assist in the transition to the more dimly lit “Fahren Sienicht Nach Paris” which also changed from its original conception. My idea was to use a pattern of the Eiffel Tower projected on to a surface of the set. However, as I worked on the light plot I saw there was little need for any type of pattern in this production and therefore eliminated the idea of the Eiffel Tower. This was also true for “La Villanelle du Diable,” as I originally discussed using zig zags across the floor, but eventually felt that the pattern would be too distracting for the piece.
“The Neighbor” also was adjusted slightly. Giffin and I originally discussed the appearance of shafts of light for this piece but the shafts would only have been visible with the use of an atmospheric like fog or haze. Since we did not use an atmospheric for this piece I adjusted the lighting look by shuttering the beams of light to mimic the distorted rectangular shapes of the walls. These sharp beams of light were then focused on the areas of the stage where the actors fell to the ground.
66
As “The Dreaming Boys” began to take shape I spoke to the scenic designer about adding some projected images to the set that were taken from the illustrations by
Kokoschka. She and I agreed that this would work at the end of the piece as the man wakes from his dream and returns to reality. Using two Rosco Image Pros I created transparencies for the end of the piece. One was of a red fish that I focused onto the top half of the bar. The other was the image from which the woman in the green scarf is taken. As Kiana Harris appears at the end of the piece seated like this woman, I projected the image from the book that surrounded the woman to make the connection with the
Kokoschka story.
Finally, the most intricate changes occurred for the Hugo Ball and Emmy
Hennings poems. As I researched more about the Dada movement I learned that these artists often created art by chance. Jean Arp was known to create collages by tearing paper and allowing the scraps to fall onto a larger surface so as to randomly create the composition of the collage.20 In the vein of the Dadaists I wanted to create lighting cues that occurred by chance. After spending time reading the manual for the lighting console,
I learned that I could use separate cue lists for different scenes. I knew that I only wanted the randomness to occur for the Ball poems and not the ones by Hennings. When I had the timing for the cues correct and the look of the Hennings poems set, I copied the series of cues for that scene into each of the eight additional cue list faders that were available in the lighting console. I went through each of the cue lists and changed the lighting look for the Ball poems while keeping the cue numbers and timing the same. During one of
67 the technical rehearsals I trained the console operator to switch over to a new cue list during one specific cue and then return to the cue list for the remainder of the show during the final cue in the poetry piece.
This process was rather complicated at first, but the board operator was a fast learner and eager to do more than push a “Go” button throughout the show. I instructed her that during light cue 57 she was allowed to choose any of the faders she wanted for each performance. As she had no idea what the looks on each fader were, this added the element of randomness that I was hoping to accomplish during the Dada piece.
Overall, the process from start to finish was long and involved, but the tasks at hand were accomplished and the show opened successfully. As the production was a devised work there were a few roadblocks along the way for which the other designers and I tried to be prepared. The added level of technology and the use of an unfamiliar lighting console were also new challenges in the process. The following chapter will discuss my evaluation of this process, the lighting design and what I felt worked and did not work for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
68
CHAPTER 5
EVALUATION OF THE DESIGN
This chapter serves as an evaluation of both the process as a whole and the specific lighting choices for Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! In addition, this chapter is also an evaluation of my growth as a lighting designer throughout my studies at The Ohio
State University.
Considering the complexity of the show and the constant shift between scenes, I believe that overall look of Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! was consistent and flowed nicely from start to finish. Credit for this must go to the length of time in which I was involved in the production process. Having participated in the classroom discussion and development process from the beginning, there were few surprises when the technical process began. I took steps to ensure that I was well prepared and did my best to stay stress free and calm about the process as a whole. In addition, my fellow designers and I worked hard to keep each other informed of any ideas we might have and see what ways we could integrate each other’s designs into the production. Specifically, scenic designer
Loomis and I spent many hours discussing the look and purpose of the chandeliers. This conversation began on a train in Europe before we were even aware of the final script.
69
Regardless, our experiences in the cabarets of Europe left us knowing that the entire theatre needed to be integrated into the design for Wild Stages . This conversation led the way for a clear and successful dialogue that remained throughout the process.
This is not to say that the entire process went smoothly. There were a few occasions during the preliminary design phases where I thought Loomis had forgotten about some of the discussion we had. In the end, however, these scenic choices that I was hesitant about were cut. Loomis recognized that they did not work with her concept of the scenic design, and therefore did not work for the entire look of the show. The costumes, on the other hand, were never a problem for the lighting. Costume designer
O’Neal used such a broad and muted color palette that most colors I chose for the lighting worked. In addition to the color palette of the costumes, the cast ranged in skin tones.
This reality pushed me to find a color palette that was flexible and flattering to as many performers as possible. As I have grown as a designer I have learned not to be overly worried about the paint treatment on a set or the colors of the costumes, as changing color in a lighting instrument is not a difficult task. In the end it is much better that all the design elements look good together, not as separate occurrences. This dialogue was also important in my interaction with the director. His aesthetic look for this show was specific, but never stifling. I felt very much in control of the design and also in my role as a collaborator. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with a director who has a good eye for the overall picture, and I think that this is evident when looking at the entire design for Wild Stages .
70
While at ease with the design discussion process, it was during the preparation and implementation of the light plot when I began to feel a slight anxiety toward the production. What was unique about this production was that I did not get a chance to see a number of the pieces until the designer run-through just prior to the deadline for the light plot. In addition, the script was not ultimately finalized until the day before I began to focus lights. As a result I did not have enough time to do proper research for the pieces with which I was the least familiar. By the time I was able to see them I was at a point in the process where I needed to focus on the implementation of the design rather than the preparation I would have normally done had I known the state of the script from the beginning. While text had been provided for these later scenes, many of them were movement based and I needed more time to become familiar with the movement and how it related to the piece.
This anxiety was also present because I was going to be working with new electricians who were unfamiliar with the process. In the past I have worked with electricians who were both familiar with the space as well as the graduate students and lighting crew. This familiarity allowed them to speak up and give orders to people more easily. In the case of Jones and Schimmoeller, I wanted them to know that they were in charge and had every right to ask both undergraduate and graduate students to work on tasks that needed to be accomplished during the work calls. As both electricians were also unaware of my process as a designer, I tried to speak to them often and keep them up to date on what needed to be accomplished and what their role was in making those things happen. At first the two students were intimidated by the situation, as most would
71 be in a new position of authority, but as the process continued and they learned their roles, I saw them accept their leadership roles willingly. Jones showed great aptitude for the process and was incredibly organized and helpful throughout. My nerves were quickly eased as I realized that she was seriously committed to doing her job properly and safely. Schimmoeller, on the other hand, was still uncomfortable in her role. My guess is that she questioned her own aptitude to lighting and became nervous to take initiative. She had no problems, however, working with the students on a task that Jones assigned. She also made great progress in learning the computer software she was using for this show. Schimmoeller always had a positive attitude and a willingness to participate, and I believe that with more practice she may learn to assert herself more and not be afraid of her own judgments.
Another challenge I faced occurred during the first dry tech rehearsal. I appreciated the assistance that Jim Knapp and Maureen Ryan provided at the beginning of the rehearsal, but I believe it was a conversation that occurred too late in the process.
In addition, they each had their own opinion on how the rehearsal should have taken place. While the two ideas were not wholly separate from each other, what I found the most frustrating was that neither party seemed to accept the fact that this was the first time the director John Giffin and I would be looking at the lighting looks on stage and therefore needed the ability to stop and adjust levels as we saw fit. I felt that Knapp and
Ryan were more concerned with controlling me than they were in facilitating the efficiency of the dry tech rehearsal. I believe, from previous experiences, that there are often different definitions of what the goal of the dry tech should be, and therefore Knapp
72 and Ryan were trying to avoid problems before they began. I recognize that I myself am sometimes unaware of what is to be expected in this process, but I have been through technical rehearsals before and felt that I did not need supervision. This was the stage manager Jen Kramer’s first time in this process and I wish Knapp or Ryan would have taken the time to supervise and assist her rather than tell me what it was I should be doing. While it would have helped to have an advisor present as Kramer learned the challenges of the rehearsal, Ryan left early and Knapp spent most of the dry tech in discussion with the set designer rather than paying attention to the stage manager’s control of the situation. Kramer’s lack of experience began to interfere with the process because she did not have control over the actors. The director had to take his attention away from the cueing process to tell the actors where to go and what to do when that should have been the role of the stage manager. Overall the entire process was somewhat frustrating and distracting to the tasks at hand. On a positive note, I had a discussion with the director the evening before and both he and I were in agreement as to what we needed and wanted to accomplish during the dry tech rehearsal. In this sense I felt as though the evening was successful and I received good feedback from the director and I was able to take clear notes on how to adjust the lighting to better suit the feeling he wanted for the show.
In regards to my own process as a designer in technical and dress rehearsals, what happened for some of the pieces I was unfamiliar with (“A Puppet Show,” “Cocaine,” and “Ballad of Marie Sanders”) was that most of the design was done during the technical process. For the dry tech rehearsal I created looks that represented either a
73 color palette or a sense of movement (for “Cocaine” and “Ballad of Marie Sanders,” respectively), on which the director was able to comment. I then used my time during the notes sessions to shape these pieces more efficiently. Both Loomis and O’Neal provided me with the appropriate set piece and costume for “Cocaine” so that I could match the red in the lights to the red of these elements. While I wish that I would have had more notice as to what the look and movement of these pieces were to be, I think the outcome was successful, with the possible exception of “Ballad of Marie Sanders.”
The issues I had with “Ballad of Marie Sanders” came from the movement, the shifts in music, and the similarity in choreography to the final piece, “Munchhausen.”
“Ballad of Marie Sanders” alternated between chorus and verse quickly and with dramatic changes in music. The verses were slower in tempo and resembled a funeral dirge while the chorus was a fast-paced warning of the rise to power of Adolf Hitler:
In Nuremberg they made a law Giving women cause to weep Who had not been sleeping with the proper breed of man.
The workers crouch in their tenements And hear the beating of drums God above, there must be something wrong tonight? Listen! Here it comes.
Marie Sanders does your boyfriend have raven hair? If so, you better make sure this is the end of the affair.
The workers crouch in their tenements And hear the beating of drums God above, there must be something wrong tonight? Listen! Here it comes.21
74
This constant shifting in both tempo and theme made it hard for me to create a look that I was happy with. During the verses the actors, with the exception of Virginia Logan as the character Marie Sanders, were frozen in place. When the music and chorus resounded they began a face-paced walk around the stage as a symbol for the confusion that was felt during the time when Jewish people were beginning to be persecuted by
Hitler. I finally ended up designing a stark stage for the entire piece that shifted to a slightly red color for the fast-paced chorus sections. This series of cues took up much of my time and still remained a disappointment to me. The ballad was at a critical point in the show order and was placed there to remind audiences of the historical significance of the cabaret and how much changed when Hitler rose to power in Germany. I wanted to create a visual look that was powerful and imposing, but no matter how hard I tried I believe I failed. If I could do this over again I would revamp “Ballad of Marie Sanders” so that it was more reflective of the story by using different color choices and a more involved cue sequence that related to the shift in music.
Tying into “Ballad of Marie Sanders” was the look I wanted to achieve for
“Munchhausen.” This was one of the songs that came into the process early on and everyone agreed it deserved an important place in the cabaret. It was finally chosen as the closing number with great success. Again, the movement of this piece shifted consistently through the verses and chorus. The verses spoke of lands that were happy, just and free, while the chorus proclaimed the statements to be outright lies in the face of the political situation at hand. But rather than punctuating the final verse with a chorus of
“Lies, lies lies,” it simply ended:
75
I saw a land that hated war And melted all its weapons down To build a boat of love for kids Who planned to sail from town to town Declaring peace for all the world Let killing now come to an end Embrace your enemies instead Your former foe is now your friend Ev’ry conflict now will cease And all of us will live in peace 22
While the lighting for the previous verses and chorus shifted angle and color, they both still remained rather bright and colorful. When the final verse began I created a long fade in light as the actors sang their lines and stepped down from the stage into the moat. I took all of the light out that appeared onstage and left everyone in the moat lit only with the rust colored top light I had become so fond of in the cueing. As per Giffin’s suggestion, which I embraced whole-heartedly, as the actors turned to face the audience I brought the lights up in the house in an effort to remind the patrons in the theatre that it was their responsibility to not let this final verse become one of “lies, lies, lies.”
There were only a few minor changes that I would have made to the overall cueing and look of the show. Looking back in the process I think I would have talked to the scenic designer about cutting the light sockets in the chandelier from thirteen down to either nine or ten in order to save time and labor. Not having the chandeliers available earlier in the process made it more challenging to set levels later and adjust any of the onstage cues that were affected by having the house lights on. Loomis and I both were at fault for not taking more initiative with this process, as building houselights was not a top priority for either the scenic or lighting designs.
76
In addition to the chandeliers, I wish that I would have spent more time working on the fire effect during “La Villanelle du Diable.” I should have taken the time to include some movement with the VL5s rather than just have them pulse color. I think that the movement could have made the effect more realistic. Instead, I sacrificed the time I could have spent on “La Villanelle du Diable” to work on some of the longer, more involved pieces that required my attention, such as “Ballad of Maris Sanders” and
“Munchhausen.” Perhaps the best idea would have been to create the fire effect just on the stage rather than trying to incorporate it into the entire theatre space.
Despite these changes that I would have liked to make, looking back at the overall design of the show, there were many choices with which I was very happy. The atmosphere of the cabaret was made present not only through having the house lights on, but also through the color and feel of the area around the edge of the stage. While I did not originally intend to purchase color, I wanted to experiment with Lee 777 Rust, and I am glad that I did. I used this color in the top light system over the moat and loved the way that it looked on the tables, near the table lamps, and on the performers themselves.
The use of the mini-strips along the rear walls also surprised me. I did not originally intend to wash the black curtain that was hung at the back wall but the choice to do so made a huge difference in the design. I was able to manipulate the sense of space and void by either adding or taking away light from the curtain depending on the mood or look of a piece. While these changes may not have been evident to the audience on a conscious level, I hope that the difference in space was apparent as they viewed each piece of the performance. I am also pleased with the variety of looks I was able to
77 achieve by using the VL5s in combination with the conventional fixtures. The simplicity in the conventional systems allowed for a familiarity that connected each piece to one another, while the VL5s helped to create the diversity that also existed. In the general sense, I believe that I achieved a through-line with the design.
One of the goals I had when deciding to enter an MFA program in lighting design was to become more familiar with the design process as well as the technology of the lighting industry. Looking back on my three years and five designs here at Ohio State, I am amazed at how I have grown. I am shocked that I even managed to consider myself a designer before I came to school here. Not only have I learned my own design process, but I am now more skilled in many technological areas of lighting that I did not even know about before entering this program. I can also consider myself a teacher, which is a skill that I lacked three years ago. By understanding myself I am now able to teach others about lighting and design. Most of all, however, I have found a love for research.
My experiences as a student have taught me that it is often up to me to take the initiative and learn more about the world around me and apply that knowledge to my work as a designer.
I believe this show has been the perfect culmination of my growth as a student and a professional. The design process began early on in December, 2007 when I began my research for this project. I saw the need for research and was not fulfilled until I experienced cabaret first hand, in Mainz and Berlin, Germany and in Paris, France. This international research trip gave me a huge advantage in the process and allowed me to feel confident that I understood the material of the show. I also had the opportunity to act
78 as an instructor while working on Wild Stages , as the crew of electricians was new to the process. By working with these students I also learned much along the way. I learned to be more patient and to communicate clearly and effectively. It was my responsibility to make sure that they were learning the most they could from working on this show, and having a positive experience as well. In addition, I learned new technology by using a lighting console with which I was unfamiliar
In the end, I walked away from this thesis project knowing that my time as a student here at Ohio State was well spent. I am fortunate to have worked on Wild Stages:
Kabarett MFA! as my thesis design. I could not have asked for a better experience with a more talented group of people.
1 Little, Stephen, Iisms, Understanding Art (New York: Universe, 2004) 98. 2 Jelavich, Perter, Berlin Cabaret , (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993) 26-27. 3 Blackaller, Dwayne, “Complicité,” Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! (The Ohio State University, 2008). 4 Little, Stephen, Iisms, Understanding Art (New York: Universe, 2004) 104. 5 Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson, Film Art, An Introduction , (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004) 473. 6 Dachy, Marc, Dada, The Revolt of Art , (New York: Abrams, 2006) 98. 7 Kokoschka, Oskar, Die traeumenden Knaben , (Vienna: Wiener Werkstaette, 1908). 8 Mouvet, Maurice, Maurice's Art of Dancing , (New York: G. Schirmer, 1915) 27. 9 Schiffer, Marcellus, Geza Herczeg and Robert Klein, “I am a Vamp,” (100 Meter Glück : 1933). 10 Toepfer, Karl , “Nudity and Modernity in Modern Dance,” Journal of the History of Sexuality , 1992, 3:1:58-108, University of Texas Press. 11 Gauld, Alan, A History of Hypnotism , (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995) 308-309. 12 Jelavich, Perter, Berlin Cabaret , (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993) 102. 13 Hollaender, Friedrich, “Chuck out the Men,” (Berlin: Rondo-Verlag, 1926). 14 Jelavich, Perter, Berlin Cabaret , (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993) 150. 15 Tucholsky, Kurt, “A Little Attila.” 16 Jelavich, Perter, Berlin Cabaret , (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993) 150. 17 Harpham, Jeffrey, “The Grotesque: First Principles,” ( The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism , 1976) 462. 18 Brect, Bertolt, “Ballad of Marie Sanders” (1933). 19 Hollaender, Friedrich, “Munchhausen,” (FHM: 1931). 20 Dachy, Marc, Dada, The Revolt of Art , (New York: Abrams, 2006) 30-31. 79
21 Brect, Bertolt, “Ballad of Marie Sanders” (1933). 22 Hollaender, Friedrich, “Munchhausen,” (FHM: 1931).
80
APPENDIX A
THE DIRECTOR’S CONCEPT
81 Wild Stages: Black Cat to White Mouse
I am prosing that the research area for the 2008 New Works MFA performance be European Cabaret 1890-1933. At the end of the 19th century, dissatisfaction with prevailing forms of artistic expression led theatre people, painters, poets, musicians and dancers to experiment with new forms that anticipated the coming of the avant-garde. Cabaret is an example of kleinkunst or an “art of small forms.” These forms include popular songs, puppet and shadow shows, poems humorous and satiric, dances, one-act plays, dramatic sketches and monologues. Artists used these marginal genres from folk and popular culture to express their disdain for the art of a society that had become less relevant to them. As we again live in an era which questions the relevance of art in our lives, I think a re-examination of cabaret literature and performance practices would be of immense value to MFA actors in your program.
Some artists the class may choose to research include:
Writers/Dramatists/Poets Maurice Rollinat, Jean Richepin, Maurice Mac-Nab, Emile Gourdeau, Alphonse Allais, Marie-Ann, Charles Cros, Frank Wedekind, Ernest von Wolzogen, Christian Morgenstern, Heinrich Lautensack, Jodok, Peter Altenberg, Egon Friedell, Alfred Polgar, Hugo Ball, Richard Huelsenbeck, Tristan Tzaram Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Mehring Artists/Painters/Designers/Costumers Willette, Steinlen, Henri Riviere, Oskar Kokoschka, Vassily Kandinsky, Fritz Zeymer, E.J. Wimmer-Wisgrill, Joszef Diveky, Marcel Janko, Hans Arp
Singers/Composers Aristide Bruant, Leon Xanrof, Vincent Hyspa, Marya Delvard, Hannes Ruch, Erik Satie, Arnold Schoenberg, Friedrich Hollaender, Mischa Spoliansky, Claire Waldoff, Margot Lyon, Yvette Guilbert, Rosa Valetti, Trude Hesterberg, Wilhelm Bendow
Dancers Gertrude Barrison, Wiesenthal sisters, Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, Sophie Tauber, Valeska Gert, Anita Berber
I envision this as a sparse production in the Bowen Theatre and I intend to cast the ten MFA students only. Some male roles may possibly be played by women and vice versa. There may be some nudity and I hope the show will resemble a kind of really strange SNL/Colbert/Ali G Show rather than a historical enactment.
John Giffin Revised 5/15/07
82
APPENDIX B
SHOW ORDER
83 SHOW ORDER
WILD STAGES: KABARETT MFA!
ACT ONE
1. “Chat Noir” Music and Lyrics by Aristide Bruant “Complicite” Music and Lyrics by Dwayne Blackaller
2. “Fahren Sienicht Nach Paris” Lyrics by Julie Ann McMillan
3. “The Neighbor: A Monodrama in By Hans von Gumppenberg One Sentence”
4. “A Puppet Show” Conceived and Directed by Dwayne Blackaller and Kiana Harris
5. “Petronella” Music by Friedrich Hollaender Lyrics by Kurt Tucholsky
6. “Karawane” Poem by Hugo Ball “Ether,” “Dancer,” and “After Poems by Emmy Hennings the Cabaret”
7. “Aunticide” Music and Lyrics by Frank Wedekind
8. “The Dreaming Boys” Text and Imagery by Oskar Kokoschka
ACT TWO
1. “The School for Stars” By Nicolay Evreinov “I am a Vamp” Music by Mischa Spoliansky Lyrics by Marcellus Schiffer, Geza Herczeg, and Robert Klein
2. “Cocaine” Music by Mischa Spoliansky Poem by Sebastian Droste
3. “La Villanelle du Diable” Music and Lyrics by Maurice Rollinat
4. “Chuck out the Men” Music and Lyrics by Friedrich Hollaender
5. “Lydia Smith” By Kurt Tucholsky
84 ACT TWO CONTINUED
6. “A Little Attila” Music by Rudolph Nelson Lyrics by Kurt Tucholsky
7. “Ballad of the Dead Soldier” Text and Music by Bertolt Brecht
8. “Ballad of Marie Sanders” Text by Bertolt Brecht Music by Hans Eisler
9. “Munchhausen” Music and Lyrics by Friedrich Hollaender
85
APPENDIX C
PRODUCTION PAPERWORK
86
Shop Order Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
April 14, 2008
Lighting Designer: Jordan Kardasz 1437 Neil Ave. Columbus, OH 43201 312-560-2669
Theatre: Roy Bowen Theatre Ohio State University 1089 Drake Ctr. 1849 Cannon Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210-1266 (614) 292-5821
Lighting Studio Supervisor: Matt Hazard 614-292-4610
Production Electricians: Kristin Jones 216-402-4514 Andrea Schimmoeller 419-615-0621
General Notes 1. All units to be supplied with appropriate lamp, gel frame, C-clamp, and safety cable. 3. No substitutions without permission of the designer. 4. Light Plot can be found on the server: Z:\Student\Chip Douglass\0708 Season PE\WILD Stages\LIGHT_PLOT_4-14-08.dwg 5. Print to Mercutio for paperwork and Caliban or Rosecrantz for plots.
87 CONTINUED SHOP ORDER CONTINUED EQUIPMENT SUMMARY Ellipsoidals • 36 Degree ETC Source Four (575W) 42 • 50 Degree ETC Source Four (575W) 5 • 70 Degree ETC Source Four (575W) 1 • 6x12 Century Strand, Base-up (750W) 35 • Altman 360 Q 6x12 (575W) 15 • Altman 360 Q 6x9 (750W) 13 • Altman 360 3.5x8 (500W) 8
Total ERS Count 119
Fresnels • 6” Fresnel (750W) 36
Total Fresnel Count 36
CYC Lights • L&E Mini-Strips, 6ft (75W) 4
Total CYC Count 4
Other • 14” Scoop (750W) 6
Total Other Count 6
Specialty Instruments • Nocturn UV (400W) 1 • Martin Atomic 3000 Strobe (960W) 1 • Gobo Rotator 1 • Rosco Image Pro 2 • Fogger 1
Total Specialty 6
Moving Light Instruments • Vari-Lite VL5 (1200W) 10
Total Moving Lights 10
88 CONTINUED SHOP ORDER CONTINUED Practicals • Chandelier (480W) 7 • Table Light (40W) 6 • Rope Light (225W) 1
Total Practicals 14
Accessories • Size A Template Frame for S4s 2 • Altman Template Frame 6 • Glass Template Frame for S4s 3 • 7.5” Barndoor 18 • Side Arm 16 • Top Hat 8
Total Accessories 53
HARDWARE 2 5’-6” SCHEDULE 40 PIPE FOR DOWN LIGHT
*APPROPRIATE HARDWARE FOR ADDITIONAL UNDERHUNG LIGHTS TBD BY PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN
CABLE • Twofers 7 • 25’ Twistlock 10 • Series 300 Cable for Vari-Lites 10 • Series 200 Cable for Smart Repeater 2 • Socapex for Vari-Lite Power 2
* Usage to be determined by the master electrician **Additional DMX cable will be needed for Gobo Rotator. TBD by PE
DIMMING (150) Colortran® Dimension 192™ Dimmers (2.4Kw Capacity) CD-80 24 Dimmer Rack (1.2Kw Capactiy) DMX as Required
CONTROL Whole Hog II PC and wings DMX 512 Dongle
89 CONTINUED SHOP ORDER CONTINUED COLOR L=LEE R= ROSCOLUX
Please see attached cut sheet for color breakdown.
*NOTE: PLEASE ALLOW FOR AT LEAST ONE EXTRA SHEET OF EACH COLOR*
TEMPLATES
1 -Apollo “Swirl” – Size A MS-2440
1 Gobo Rotator
8 - Apollo “Breakup Fire Flames” Size A MS-2475
2 - S4 Size A Template Frames 6 – Altman Template Frames
*Templates from stock may be used
MISCELLANEOUS BLACKWRAP 1-12” ROLL BLACK GAFFERS TAPER AND TIE LINE AS PER M.E.
90 CONTINUED SHOP ORDER CONTINUED COLOR CUT SHEET
Color Frame Size Cuts L015 6” 2 “ 7.5” 1 L036 7.5” 3 L089 3.25”x4.5” 20 L203 7.5” 13 L777 7.5” 8 R02 7.5” 15 “ 16” 6 R05 7.5” 16 R318 7.5” 2 R23 6” 1 “ 7.5” 4 R325 7.5” 2 R26 3.25”x4.5” 20 R27 7.5” 1 R333 6” 1 “ 7.5” 1 R40 6” 8 R42 7.5” 3 R48 6” 5 R51 4.25” 4 R52 7.5” 1 R58 6” 5 R65 6” 1 R366 7.5” 3 R77 3.25”x4.5” 20 R87 6” 8 R388 7.5” 8 R92 7.5” 3 R93 7.5” 3 R99 4.25” 4 “ 6” 1 R119 4.25” 8 “ 6” 11 “ 7.5” 15 R132 6” 1 “ 7.5” 18
91
FINAL BUDGET SHEET
Production Budget: $1000.00
DATE ITEM COST SUPPLIER 4/7/08 Source Four 70° ERS $438.29 Production Advantage 4/7/08 Steel Gobo $12 Production Advantage 4/16/08 Color Media $38.27 Production Advantage 4/18/08 Rubber Sockets $112.14 Hardware and Tools.com 4/18/08 Butt Splices and Wire $141.45 McMaster-Carr 5/1/08 Apollo Power Supply $258 Production Advantage $1000.15
Cost Over Production Budget: $0.15
Related Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Scenic Purchases (cost of chandeliers was shared between lighting and scenic budget)
DATE ITEM COST SUPPLIER 4/18/08 4 – 100’ Rolls of Heat Shrink $188.42 McMaster-Carr 4/23/08 Clear and Frosted 40w Lamps $71.06 Lowes $259.48
92 CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Lighting Designer Jordan Kardasz Production Electrician Kristin Jones Assistant Production Electrician Andrea Schimmoeller Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (1) 142 A DSL 3 1 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (2) 130 B PIPE J 1 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (3) 128 C PIPE J 2 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (4) 72 D DSL 2 3 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (5) 135 E PIPE I 1 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (6) 134 F PIPE I 2 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (7) 132 G PIPE I 4 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (8) 77 H DSL 1 3 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (9) 69 J DSL 1 1 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (10) 137 K PIPE H 2 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (11) 59 L PIPE H 3 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (12) 57 M PIPE H 6 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (13) 55 N PIPE H 8 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT L203/ R132 (14) 81 AD SR DROP 2 S436 575w DIAG R58/ BACK R119 (15) 80 BC SR DROP 1 S436 575w DIAG R58/ BACK R119 (16) 82 EJ SR DROP 3 S436 575w DIAG R58/ BACK R119 (17) 6 GF USR 2 2 S436 575w DIAG R58/ BACK R119 (19) 4 NM PIPE 2 1 S436 575w DIAG R58/ BACK R119 (21) 121 A PIPE J 4 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (22) 124 B PIPE J 6 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (1) thru (22) 93 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (23) 534 C PIPE 2 3 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (24) 115 D PIPE I 7 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (25) 117 E PIPE I 9 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (26) 120 F PIPE I 12 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (27) 42 G DSR 2 2 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (28) 56 H PIPE H 7 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (29) 54 J PIPE H 10 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (30) 50 K PIPE H 13 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (31) 46 L PIPE H 17 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (32) 44 M DSR 1 3 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (33) 43 N DSR 1 4 CENT 6X12 1kw FRONT R05/ R132 (34) 103 CG SL DROP 3 S436 575w DIAG R48/ BACK R119 (35) 104 AB SL DROP 2 S436 575w DIAG R48/ BACK R119 (36) 102 FM SL DROP 4 S436 575w DIAG R48/ BACK R119 (37) 107 DE PIPE 7 1 S436 575w DIAG R48/ BACK R119 (39) 108 HJ USL 1 1 S436 575w DIAG R48/ BACK R119 (41) 61 A PIPE F 3 6 FRES 750w TOP NC BD ALT (42) 22 B PIPE F 5 6 FRES 750w TOP NC TH ALT (43) 63 C PIPE F 8 6 FRES 750w TOP NC BD ALT (44) 24 D PIPE E 2 6 FRES 750w TOP NC BD ALT (45) 27 E PIPE D 5 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (23) thru (45) 94 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (46) 16 F PIPE D 9 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH (47) 13 G PIPE E 4 6 FRES 750w TOP NC BD ALT (48) 29 H PIPE 6 1 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH (49) 100 J PIPE C 2 6 FRES 750w TOP NC TH ALT (50) 96 K PIPE 5 1 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH (51) 90 L PIPE C 8 6 FRES 750w TOP NC BD/ ALT SA (52) 89 M PIPE C 10 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH (53) 86 N PIPE 3 2 6 FRES 750w TOP NC SA/ ALT TH (61) 99 A PIPE C 4 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388/ R132 (62) 91 B PIPE C 7 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388 (63) 87 C PIPE C 11 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388 (64) 97 DE PIPE C 5 CENT 6X12 1kw BACK R388/ R132 (65) 88 FG PIPE B 2 CENT 6X12 1kw BACK R388/ R132 (66) 98 J PIPE B 1 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388/ R132 (67) 25 KL PIPE B 3 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388/ R132 (68) 85 N PIPE A 1 ALT 6x12 750w BACK R388/ R132 (71) 20 K PIPE D 7 6 FRES 750w BAR L777 ALT (72) 23 K PIPE D 3 6 FRES 750w BAR R52 ALT (73) 21 K PIPE D 6 S436 575w BAR R132 (81) 536 BA PIPE 1 4 S436 575w SIDE R87 (82) 535 CB PIPE 1 5 S436 575w SIDE R87 (83) 2 ED PIPE 2 2 S436 575w SIDE R87 (84) 537 FE PIPE 1 3 S436 575w SIDE R87
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (46) thru (84) 95 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (85) 84 GF DSR 1 5 S436 575w SIDE R87 (86) 1 KJ USR 1 1 S436 575w SIDE R87/ R119 (87) 538 LK PIPE 1 1 S436 575w SIDE R87 (88) 83 ML DSR 1 6 S436 575w SIDE R87 (91) 37 AB PIPE 9 3 S436 575w SIDE R40 (92) 76 BC PIPE 8 6 S436 575w SIDE R40 (93) 38 DE PIPE 9 2 S436 575w SIDE R40 (94) 33 EF PIPE 8 4 S436 575w SIDE R40 (95) 32 FG PIPE 8 5 S436 575w SIDE R40 (96) 39 JK PIPE 9 1 S436 575w SIDE R40 (97) 36 KL PIPE 8 1 S436 575w SIDE R40 (98) 35 LM PIPE 8 2 S436 575w SIDE R40 (101) WASH PIPE 6 7 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (102) WASH PIPE F 1 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (103) WASH PIPE D 1 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (104) WASH PIPE B1 1 VL5_M16 1200w W WASH (105) WASH PIPE B1 2 VL5_M16 1200w W WASH (106) WASH PIPE B1 3 VL5_M16 1200w W WASH (107) WASH PIPE B1 4 VL5_M16 1200w W WASH (108) WASH PIPE D 11 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (109) WASH PIPE F 9 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (110) WASH PIPE 3 5 VL5_M16 1200w M WASH (111) 109 W1 STAGE 1a Mini Strip 75w WALL R26 WASH "W2 " 2a " " " " (112) 110 W1 STAGE 1b Mini Strip 75w WALL R77 WASH "W2 " 2b " " " " (113) 111 W1 STAGE 1c Mini Strip 75w WALL L089 WASH "W2 " 2c " " " "
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (85) thru (113) 96 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (114) 112 W4 STAGE 3a Mini Strip 75w WALL R26 WASH "W5 " 4a " " " " (115) 113 W4 STAGE 3b Mini Strip 75w WALL R77 WASH "W5 " 4b " " " " (116) 114 W4 STAGE 3c Mini Strip 75w WALL L089 WASH "W5 " 4c " " " " (117) 131 M1 PIPE E 1 6 FRES 750w MOAT L777 BD ALT WASH 65 " PIPE G 2 " " " " " (118) 53 M2 PIPE H 4 6 FRES 750w MOAT L777 BD/ ALT WASH SA "" " 9 " " " " " (119) 11 M3 PIPE E 6 6 FRES 750w MOAT L777 BD ALT WASH " " PIPE G 9 " " " " " " " PIPE H 16 " " " " " (121) 93 W2 PIPE 5 2 CENT 6X12 1kw WALL R42 WASH " W1 PIPE C 1 6 FRES 750w " " BD/ ALT SA (122) 94 W1 PIPE 6 2 6 FRES 750w WALL R366 SA ALT WASH " W2 PIPE C 6 CENT 6X12 1kw " " (123) 95 W1 PIPE C 3 6 FRES 750w WALL R92 SA ALT WASH " W2 PIPE D 8 CENT 6X12 1kw " " (124) 9 W5 PIPE C 9 6 FRES 750w WALL R42 BD/ ALT WASH SA (125) 8 W5 PIPE 3 1 6 FRES 750w WALL R366 BD/ ALT WASH SA (126) 7 W5 USR 2 1 6 FRES 750w WALL R92 BD/ ALT WASH SA (127) 140 M1 PIPE G 3 6 FRES 750w MOAT R02/ BD ALT FRONT R119 70 " DSL 2 2 ALT 6x12 " " " 75 " " 6 " " " " (128) 127 M2 PIPE J 3 ALT 6x12 750w MOAT R02/ FRONT R119 "" " 5 " " " " The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (114) thru (128) 97 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (129) 123 M3 PIPE G 7 6 FRES 750w MOAT R02/ BD ALT FRONT R119 540 " DSR 2 4 ALT 6x12 " " " 40 " " 5 " " " " "" " 6 " " " " (131) 138 V1 PIPE H 1 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ ALT WASH R119 (132) 71 V1 DSL 2 4 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ ALT WASH R119 (133) 144 V1 DSL 3 2 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ ALT WASH R119 (134) 45 V2 DSR 1 2 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ ALT WASH R119 (135) 41 V2 DSR 2 3 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ SA ALT WASH R119 (136) 539 V2 DSR 3 1 6 FRES 750w VOM R02/ ALT WASH R119 (137) 141 HR-FR PIPE K 1 ALT3.5X8 500w VOM SET R99/ R119 73 " DSL 4 " " " " " (138) 143 HR-FR DSL 2 1 ALT3.5X8 500w VOM SET R51/ R119 74 " " 5 " " " " (139) 533 HL-FR PIPE J 7 ALT3.5X8 500w VOM SET R99/ R119 538 " DSR 4 1 " " " " (140) 122 HL-FR DSR 2 1 ALT3.5X8 500w VOM SET R51/ R119 "" " 7 " " " " (141) 106 CSL UNDERH 2 ALT 6X9 575w FABRIC R93 ANG 541 DSR " 4 " " " " 105 USL SL DROP 1 " " " " (142) 31 DSL UNDERH 1 ALT 6X9 575w FABRIC L036 ANG 79 USR " 3 " " " " " DSR SR DROP 4 " " " "
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (129) thru (142) 98 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (151) 544 TABLE GRID 7 BULB SR 40w TABLE NC "" " 8 " " " " "" " 9 " " " " 150 " " 10 BULB SL " " " "" "11" " " " "" "12" " " " (152) 66 STG GRID 13 CHANDELI 480w HOUSE NC ER (153) 101 HR GRID 1 CHANDELI 480w HOUSE NC ER "" " 2 " " " " (154) 34 HR PIPE 7 2 14 SCOOP 500w HOUSE R02 78 " " 3 " " " " (155) 129 HC GRID 3 CHANDELI 480w HOUSE NC ER "" " 4 " " " " (156) 133 HC PIPE I 3 14 SCOOP 500w HOUSE R02 116 " " 8 " " " " (157) 543 HL GRID 5 CHANDELI 480w HOUSE NC ER "" " 6 " " " " (158) 3 HL PIPE 1 2 14 SCOOP 500w HOUSE R02 "" " 6 " " " " (160) 136 SPOT GALLERY 1 S436 575w SPOT R333/ IRIS R119 (200) Ac - PIPE E 3 ATOMIC_3 960w STROBE 000 (210) 68 KAL DSL 1 2 S436 750w NEIGHBO NC R (211) 62 G PIPE 4 1 S436 575w NEIGHBO NC R (212) 15 A PIPE 4 3 S436 575w NEIGHBO NC R (213) 64 F PIPE 6 5 S436 575w NEIGHBO NC R " W1 PIPE F 2 " " " " (214) 28 K PIPE D 4 S436 575w NEIGHBO NC R (215) 5 W3 PIPE E 5 S436 575w NEIGHBO NC R The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (151) thru (215) 99 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (216) 542 C DSR 1 1 S450 575w NEIGHBO NC R (220) 118 ED PIPE I 10 CENT 6X12 1kw PUPPET R05 119 F " 11 " " " " (221) 49 K PIPE G 6 CENT 6X12 1kw PUPPET R05 (230) 126 AUNTI PIPE I 5 S470 750w AUNTI R27 GR SWL (233) Ac STG PIPE I 5 ROTATOR AUNTI SWL (234) Ac STG PIPE I 5 ROTATOR AUNTI SWL (240) 139 - PIPE I 6 NOCTURN 400w UV (241) 145 - MOAT 1 ROPELIGH 225w ROPELIG NC T HT (242) 48 C PIPE H 15 S436 750w DREAMIN NC G (243) 14 KIANA PIPE G 5 S436 575w DREAMIN NC IPRO G (244) 19 KIANA PIPE F 6 S436 575w DREAMIN NC IPRO G (245) 17 KIANA PIPE F 7 S436 575w DREAMIN R65 G (250) 125 KAL GALLERY 2 S450 575w LENFER R99 (251) 92 STG PIPE D 10 ALT 6X9 575w LENFER R318 (252) 60 STG PIPE F 4 ALT 6X9 575w LENFER L015 (253) 30 STG PIPE D 2 S450 575w LENFER FL-SUN GG 67 " PIPE G 1 " " " " " 52 " PIPE H 11 " " " " " (254) 10 HL PIPE 3 3 ALT 6X9 575w LENFER R23 FIRE " HR PIPE 6 6 " " " " " 51 HC PIPE H 12 " " " " " (255) 18 HL PIPE 4 2 ALT 6X9 575w LENFER R318 FIRE 26 HR PIPE 6 3 " " " R23 " " HC PIPE G 4 ALT 6x12 750w " " " "" " 8 " " " " " (256) 12 HL PIPE 3 4 S436 575w LENFER R23 FIRE " HR PIPE 6 " " " " L015 " 58 HC PIPE H 5 " " " R23 "
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (216) thru (256) 100 CONTINUED CHANNEL HOOKUP Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Channel Dim Focus Position U# Type Watts Purpose Color Acc Tmpl (260) 47 TABLE PIPE H 14 CENT 6X12 1kw ATTILLA R333
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 (260) 101 INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! Lighting Designer Jordan Kardasz Production Electrician Kristin Jones Assistant Production Electrician Andrea Schimmoeller
PIPE 1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 LK SIDE R87 (87) 538 575w 2 14 SCOOP HL HOUSE R02 (158) 3 500w 3 S436 FE SIDE R87 (84) 537 575w 4 S436 BA SIDE R87 (81) 536 575w 5 S436 CB SIDE R87 (82) 535 575w 6 14 SCOOP HL HOUSE R02 (158) 3 500w PIPE 2 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 NM DIAG BACK R58/R119 (19) 4 575w 2 S436 ED SIDE R87 (83) 2 575w 3 CENT 6X12 C FRONT R05/R132 (23) 534 1kw PIPE 3 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT W5 WALL WASH R366 BD/ (125) 8 750w SA 2 6 FRES ALT N TOP NC SA/ (53) 86 750w TH 3 ALT 6X9 HL LENFER R23 FIRE (254) 10 575w 4 S436 HL LENFER R23 FIRE (256) 12 575w 5 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (110) 1200w PIPE 4 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 G NEIGHBOR NC (211) 62 575w 2 ALT 6X9 HL LENFER R318 FIRE (255) 18 575w 3 S436 A NEIGHBOR NC (212) 15 575w PIPE 5 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT K TOP NC SA/ (50) 96 750w TH 2 CENT 6X12 W2 WALL WASH R42 (121) 93 1kw
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE 1 thru PIPE 5 102 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
PIPE 6 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT H TOP NC SA/ (48) 29 750w TH 2 6 FRES ALT W1 WALL WASH R366 SA (122) 94 750w 3 ALT 6X9 HR LENFER R23 FIRE (255) 26 575w 4 S436 HR LENFER L015 FIRE (256) 12 575w 5 S436 F NEIGHBOR NC (213) 64 575w 6 ALT 6X9 HR LENFER R23 FIRE (254) 10 575w 7 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (101) 1200w PIPE 7 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 DE DIAG BACK R48/R119 (37) 107 575w 2 14 SCOOP HR HOUSE R02 (154) 34 500w 3 14 SCOOP HR HOUSE R02 (154) 78 500w PIPE 8 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 KL SIDE R40 (97) 36 575w 2 S436 LM SIDE R40 (98) 35 575w 4 S436 EF SIDE R40 (94) 33 575w 5 S436 FG SIDE R40 (95) 32 575w 6 S436 BC SIDE R40 (92) 76 575w PIPE 9 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 JK SIDE R40 (96) 39 575w 2 S436 DE SIDE R40 (93) 38 575w 3 S436 AB SIDE R40 (91) 37 575w PIPE A U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT 6x12 N BACK R388/R132 (68) 85 750w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE 6 thru PIPE A 103 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
PIPE B U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT 6x12 J BACK R388/R132 (66) 98 750w 2 CENT 6X12 FG BACK R388/R132 (65) 88 1kw 3 ALT 6x12 KL BACK R388/R132 (67) 25 750w PIPE B1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 VL5_M16 WASH W WASH (104) 1200w 2 VL5_M16 WASH W WASH (105) 1200w 3 VL5_M16 WASH W WASH (106) 1200w 4 VL5_M16 WASH W WASH (107) 1200w PIPE C U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT W1 WALL WASH R42 BD/ (121) 93 750w SA 2 6 FRES ALT J TOP NC TH (49) 100 750w 3 6 FRES ALT W1 WALL WASH R92 SA (123) 95 750w 4 ALT 6x12 A BACK R388/R132 (61) 99 750w 5 CENT 6X12 DE BACK R388/R132 (64) 97 1kw 6 CENT 6X12 W2 WALL WASH R366 (122) 94 1kw 7 ALT 6x12 B BACK R388 (62) 91 750w 8 6 FRES ALT L TOP NC BD/ (51) 90 750w SA 9 6 FRES ALT W5 WALL WASH R42 BD/ (124) 9 750w SA 10 6 FRES ALT M TOP NC SA/ (52) 89 750w TH 11 ALT 6x12 C BACK R388 (63) 87 750w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE B thru PIPE C 104 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
PIPE D U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (103) 1200w 2 S450 STG LENFER FL-SUN GG (253) 30 575w 3 6 FRES ALT K BAR R52 (72) 23 750w 4 S436 K NEIGHBOR NC (214) 28 575w 5 6 FRES ALT E TOP NC SA/ (45) 27 750w TH 6 S436 K BAR R132 (73) 21 575w 7 6 FRES ALT K BAR L777 (71) 20 750w 8 CENT 6X12 W2 WALL WASH R92 (123) 95 1kw 9 6 FRES ALT F TOP NC SA/ (46) 16 750w TH 10 ALT 6X9 STG LENFER R318 (251) 92 575w 11 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (108) 1200w PIPE E U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT M1 MOAT WASH L777 BD (117) 131 750w 2 6 FRES ALT D TOP NC BD (44) 24 750w 3 ATOMIC_3000 - STROBE (200) Ac 960w 4 6 FRES ALT G TOP NC BD (47) 13 750w 5 S436 W3 NEIGHBOR NC (215) 5 575w 6 6 FRES ALT M3 MOAT WASH L777 BD (119) 11 750w PIPE F U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (102) 1200w 2 S436 W1 NEIGHBOR NC (213) 64 575w 3 6 FRES ALT A TOP NC BD (41) 61 750w 4 ALT 6X9 STG LENFER L015 (252) 60 575w 5 6 FRES ALT B TOP NC TH (42) 22 750w 6 S436 KIANA DREAMING NC IPR (244) 19 575w O 7 S436 KIANA DREAMING R65 (245) 17 575w 8 6 FRES ALT C TOP NC BD (43) 63 750w 9 VL5_M16 WASH M WASH (109) 1200w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE D thru PIPE F 105 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
PIPE G U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S450 STG LENFER FL-SUN GG (253) 67 575w 2 6 FRES ALT M1 MOAT WASH L777 BD (117) 65 750w 3 6 FRES ALT M1 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 BD (127) 140 750w 4 ALT 6x12 HC LENFER R23 FIRE (255) 26 750w 5 S436 KIANA DREAMING NC IPR (243) 14 575w O 6 CENT 6X12 K PUPPET R05 (221) 49 1kw 7 6 FRES ALT M3 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 BD (129) 123 750w 8 ALT 6x12 HC LENFER R23 FIRE (255) 26 750w 9 6 FRES ALT M3 MOAT WASH L777 BD (119) 11 750w PIPE H U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT V1 VOM WASH R02/R119 (131) 138 750w 2 CENT 6X12 K FRONT L203/R132 (10) 137 1kw 3 CENT 6X12 L FRONT L203/R132 (11) 59 1kw 4 6 FRES ALT M2 MOAT WASH L777 BD/ (118) 53 750w SA 5 S436 HC LENFER R23 FIRE (256) 58 575w 6 CENT 6X12 M FRONT L203/R132 (12) 57 1kw 7 CENT 6X12 H FRONT R05/R132 (28) 56 1kw 8 CENT 6X12 N FRONT L203/R132 (13) 55 1kw 9 6 FRES ALT M2 MOAT WASH L777 BD/ (118) 53 750w SA 10 CENT 6X12 J FRONT R05/R132 (29) 54 1kw 11 S450 STG LENFER FL-SUN GG (253) 52 575w 12 ALT 6X9 HC LENFER R23 FIRE (254) 51 575w 13 CENT 6X12 K FRONT R05/R132 (30) 50 1kw 14 CENT 6X12 TABLE ATTILLA R333 (260) 47 1kw 15 S436 C DREAMING NC (242) 48 750w 16 6 FRES ALT M3 MOAT WASH L777 BD (119) 11 750w 17 CENT 6X12 L FRONT R05/R132 (31) 46 1kw
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE G thru PIPE H 106 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
PIPE I U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 CENT 6X12 E FRONT L203/R132 (5) 135 1kw 2 CENT 6X12 F FRONT L203/R132 (6) 134 1kw 3 14 SCOOP HC HOUSE R02 (156) 133 500w 4 CENT 6X12 G FRONT L203/R132 (7) 132 1kw 5 S470 AUNTI AUNTI R27 SWL GR (230) 126 750w 5 ROTATOR STG AUNTI SWL (233) Ac 5 ROTATOR STG AUNTI SWL (234) Ac 6 NOCTURN - UV (240) 139 400w 7 CENT 6X12 D FRONT R05/R132 (24) 115 1kw 8 14 SCOOP HC HOUSE R02 (156) 116 500w 9 CENT 6X12 E FRONT R05/R132 (25) 117 1kw 10 CENT 6X12 ED PUPPET R05 (220) 118 1kw 11 CENT 6X12 F PUPPET R05 (220) 119 1kw 12 CENT 6X12 F FRONT R05/R132 (26) 120 1kw PIPE J U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 CENT 6X12 B FRONT L203/R132 (2) 130 1kw 2 CENT 6X12 C FRONT L203/R132 (3) 128 1kw 3 ALT 6x12 M2 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (128) 127 750w 4 CENT 6X12 A FRONT R05/R132 (21) 121 1kw 5 ALT 6x12 M2 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (128) 127 750w 6 CENT 6X12 B FRONT R05/R132 (22) 124 1kw 7 ALT3.5X8 HL-FR VOM SET R99/R119 (139) 533 500w PIPE K U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT3.5X8 HR-FR VOM SET R99/R119 (137) 141 500w DSL 1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 CENT 6X12 J FRONT L203/R132 (9) 69 1kw 2 S436 KAL NEIGHBOR NC (210) 68 750w 3 CENT 6X12 H FRONT L203/R132 (8) 77 1kw
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 PIPE I thru DSL 1 107 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
DSL 2 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT3.5X8 HR-FR VOM SET R51/R119 (138) 143 500w 2 ALT 6x12 M1 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (127) 70 750w 3 CENT 6X12 D FRONT L203/R132 (4) 72 1kw 4 6 FRES ALT V1 VOM WASH R02/R119 (132) 71 750w 5 ALT3.5X8 HR-FR VOM SET R51/R119 (138) 74 500w 6 ALT 6x12 M1 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (127) 75 750w DSL 3 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 CENT 6X12 A FRONT L203/R132 (1) 142 1kw 2 6 FRES ALT V1 VOM WASH R02/R119 (133) 144 750w DSL 4 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT3.5X8 HR-FR VOM SET R99/R119 (137) 73 500w DSR 1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S450 C NEIGHBOR NC (216) 542 575w 2 6 FRES ALT V2 VOM WASH R02/R119 (134) 45 750w 3 CENT 6X12 M FRONT R05/R132 (32) 44 1kw 4 CENT 6X12 N FRONT R05/R132 (33) 43 1kw 5 S436 GF SIDE R87 (85) 84 575w 6 S436 ML SIDE R87 (88) 83 575w DSR 2 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT3.5X8 HL-FR VOM SET R51/R119 (140) 122 500w 2 CENT 6X12 G FRONT R05/R132 (27) 42 1kw 3 6 FRES ALT V2 VOM WASH R02/R119 SA (135) 41 750w 4 ALT 6x12 M3 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (129) 540 750w 5 ALT 6x12 M3 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (129) 40 750w 6 ALT 6x12 M3 MOAT FRONT R02/R119 (129) 40 750w 7 ALT3.5X8 HL-FR VOM SET R51/R119 (140) 122 500w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 DSL 2 thru DSR 2 108 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
DSR 3 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT V2 VOM WASH R02/R119 (136) 539 750w DSR 4 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT3.5X8 HL-FR VOM SET R99/R119 (139) 538 500w USL 1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 HJ DIAG BACK R48/R119 (39) 108 575w USR 1 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 KJ SIDE R87/R119 (86) 1 575w USR 2 U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 6 FRES ALT W5 WALL WASH R92 BD/ (126) 7 750w SA 2 S436 GF DIAG BACK R58/R119 (17) 6 575w UNDERHANG U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT 6X9 DSL FABRIC L036 (142) 31 575w 2 ALT 6X9 CSL FABRIC R93 (141) 106 575w 3 ALT 6X9 USR FABRIC L036 (142) 79 575w 4 ALT 6X9 DSR FABRIC R93 (141) 541 575w SL DROP U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ALT 6X9 USL FABRIC R93 (141) 105 575w 2 S436 AB DIAG BACK R48/R119 (35) 104 575w 3 S436 CG DIAG BACK R48/R119 (34) 103 575w 4 S436 FM DIAG BACK R48/R119 (36) 102 575w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 DSR 3 thru SL DROP 109 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
SR DROP U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 BC DIAG BACK R58/R119 (15) 80 575w 2 S436 AD DIAG BACK R58/R119 (14) 81 575w 3 S436 EJ DIAG BACK R58/R119 (16) 82 575w 4 ALT 6X9 DSR FABRIC L036 (142) 79 575w GRID U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 CHANDELIER HR HOUSE NC (153) 101 480w 2 CHANDELIER HR HOUSE NC (153) 101 480w 3 CHANDELIER HC HOUSE NC (155) 129 480w 4 CHANDELIER HC HOUSE NC (155) 129 480w 5 CHANDELIER HL HOUSE NC (157) 543 480w 6 CHANDELIER HL HOUSE NC (157) 543 480w 7 BULB SR TABLE TABLE NC (151) 544 40w 8 BULB SR TABLE TABLE NC (151) 544 40w 9 BULB SR TABLE TABLE NC (151) 544 40w 10 BULB SL TABLE TABLE NC (151) 150 40w 11 BULB SL TABLE TABLE NC (151) 150 40w 12 BULB SL TABLE TABLE NC (151) 150 40w 13 CHANDELIER STG HOUSE NC (152) 66 480w GALLERY U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 S436 SPOT SPOT R333/R119 IRI (160) 136 575w S 2 S450 KAL LENFER R99 (250) 125 575w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 SR DROP thru GALLERY 110 CONTINUED INSTRUMENT SCHEDULE Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA!
STAGE U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1a Mini Strip W1 WALL WASH R26 (111) 109 75w 1b Mini Strip W1 WALL WASH R77 (112) 110 75w 1c Mini Strip W1 WALL WASH L089 (113) 111 75w 2a Mini Strip W2 WALL WASH R26 (111) 109 75w 2b Mini Strip W2 WALL WASH R77 (112) 110 75w 2c Mini Strip W2 WALL WASH L089 (113) 111 75w 3a Mini Strip W4 WALL WASH R26 (114) 112 75w 3b Mini Strip W4 WALL WASH R77 (115) 113 75w 3c Mini Strip W4 WALL WASH L089 (116) 114 75w 4a Mini Strip W5 WALL WASH R26 (114) 112 75w 4b Mini Strip W5 WALL WASH R77 (115) 113 75w 4c Mini Strip W5 WALL WASH L089 (116) 114 75w MOAT U Type Focus Purpose Color Tmpl Acc Chn Di Watts 1 ROPELIGHT - ROPELIGHT NC (241) 145 225w
The Ohio State University / Lightwright 4 STAGE thru MOAT 111 CUE ORCHESTRATION
112 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
113 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
114 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
115 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
116 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
117 CONTINUED CUE ORCHESTRATION CONTINUED
118 MAGIC SHEET
119 CONTINUED MAGIC SHEET
120 CONTINUED MAGIC SHEET
121
APPENDIX D
FIGURES
122 FIGURE TEN – GRID LIGHT PLOT
123 FIGURE ELEVEN – BELOW GRID LIGHT PLOT
124 FIGURE TWELVE – SECTION DRAWING
125 FIGURE THIRTEEN – CIRCUIT AND PIPE DRAWING
126
APPENDIX E
PLATES
127
PLATE 1: Research for general cabaret atmosphere Source: Deutsches Kabarettarchiv, December 2007
PLATE 2: Research for Expressionist shafts in “The Neighbor” Source: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920, directed by Robert Wiene
128
PLATE 3: Research for “Aunticide” texture Source: Internet image search for “funhouse” images
PLATE 4: Research for “The Dreaming Boys” UV reflection Source: Personal photograph
129
PLATE 5: Research for “The School for Stars” general atmosphere Source: Deutsches Kabarettarchiv, December 2007
PLATE 6: Research for “I Am a Vamp” angle and color Source: Deutsches Kabarettarchiv, December 2007
130
PLATE 7: Research for “La Villanelle du Diable” texture Source: Internet image search for “fire” images
PLATE 8: Research for “Chuck out the Men” angles Source: www.deviantart.com
131
PLATE 9: Research for “Ballad of the Dead Soldier” color and angle Source: www.deviantart.com
132
PLATE 10: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Dwayne Blackaller
PLATE 11: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Raymond Caldwell
133
PLATE 12: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Kiana Harris
PLATE 13: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Virginia Logan
134
PLATE 14: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Bruno Lovric
PLATE 15: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Julie Ann McMillan
135
PLATE 16: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Johamy Morales
PLATE 17: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Jessica Podewell
136
PLATE 18: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Kal Poole
PLATE 19: Costume Collage for MFA Actor Scott Wilson
137 PLATE 20: Scenic Groundplan
138
PLATE 21: Production Photo, opening songs
PLATE 22: Production Photo “Fahren Sienicht Nach Paris
139
PLATE 23: Production Photo, “The Neighbor”
PLATE 24: Production Photo, “A Puppet Show” 140
PLATE 25: Production Photo, “Petronella”
PLATE 26: Production Photo, Dada Poems 141
PLATE 27: Production Photo, “Aunticide”
PLATE 28: Production Photo, “The Dreaming Boys” 142
PLATE 29: Production Photo, “The Dreaming Boys”
PLATE 30: Production Photo, Apache dance in “The School for Stars” 143
PLATE 31: Production Photo, “I am a Vamp” from “The School for Stars”
PLATE 32: Production Photo, “Cocaine”
144
PLATE 33: Production Photo, “La Villanelle du Diable”
PLATE 34: Production Photo, “Chuck out the Men” 145
PLATE 35: Production Photo, “The Tattooed Lady”
PLATE 36: Production Photo, “A Little Attila” 146
PLATE 37: Production Photo, “Ballad of the Dead Soldier”
PLATE 38: Production Photo, “Ballad of Marie Sanders”
147
PLATE 39: Production Photo, “Munchhausen”
148
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art, An Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004.
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Dir. Robert Wiene. Perf. Lil Dagover, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, Fredrich Feher. 1919. DVD. Kino Video, 2002.
Dachy, Marc. Dada, The Revolt of Art. New York: Abrams, 2006.
Deutsches Kabarettarchiv. Mainz, Germany. December, 2007.
Dix, Otto. The Dancer Anita Berber. 1925. Kunstmuseum, Stuttgart.
Gauguin, Paul. At the Café. 1888. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
Gauld, Alan. A History of Hypnotism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Harpham, Jeffrey. “The Grotesque: First Principles.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1976.
Jelavich, Perter. Berlin Cabaret. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Kokoschka, Oskar. Die traeumenden Knaben. Vienna: Wiener Werkstaette, 1908.
Little, Stephen. Iisms, Understanding Art. New York: Universe, 2004.
Metropolis. Dir. Fritz Lang. Perf. Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Fritz Rasp. 1927. DVD. Kino Video, 2003.
Mouvet, Maurice. Maurice's Art of Dancing. New York: G. Schirmer, 1915.
Toepfer, Karl. “Nudity and Modernity in Modern Dance.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, 1992, 3:1:58-108, University of Texas Press.
Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de. Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant. 1892. Private Collection.
Waterhouse, John William. The Sorceress. 1911. Private Collection.
149
BIBLIOGRAPHY, CONTINUED
Wild Stages: Kabarett MFA! The Ohio State University, 2008.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dir. Mel Stuart. Perf. Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson. 1971. DVD. Warner Home Video, 1997.
150