Tech Commences

I am pleasantly surprised with how well the show is looking. I had my druthers...given the sheer amount of video and sound within the production. Both have the ability to mask the rest of the performance...to overpower and take away. Detract from the actors and overshadow the plot. However, both designers did an excellent job of incorporating these tricky tech elements. And the director has done a phenomenal job of unifying everything and support the overall tale.

Of course...three days into tech we have yet to actually run the show nonstop from start to finish. And, since the portions requiring the most work are the transitions, almost all of which incorporate costume changes in addition to set changes and multiple layers of sound, light and video...well let's just say I've spent a lot of time sitting around in a freezing theatre waiting for a moment when I'm certain a costume can be snuck away to be worked on while the rest of the staff techs something else.

Aladdin continues its dress rehearsals tomorrow and Thursday morning. Then we power tech the second fall tour show...Music of Dolphins. Music has even more video and sound layered into it...much of the show unable to proceed without portions of the video...newscasts, video journal, tidbits of documentary and the like...all of which often further the plot or provide back story. Music, because so much of the story itself is told through video instead of merely being enhanced by it, I fear will not survive the two days set aside to tech. The script has been so precariously butcher to fit within the structure of this theatre's framework that the tale is weak to begin with.

Maybe I'm old fashion. I love seeing new technology worked into live performance...but it still should be about the live performance. Otherwise we could save hundreds of dollars on airfare by just mailing the schools a DVD of the show instead of trouping out there...