Dreamgirls I

I'm going to try again to document the entire design and production process of a show as an aid to others. I don't know how many shows I will be doing now that I'm working a full-time day job; this one is grandfathered in, as I accepted the new job under the assurance that I would be taking time off to honor that previous contract.

I've been slow starting this one. It is a new company and a new space and my time is limited so basically I'm going to play it by ear and make it all work during Tech Week. This wouldn't of course work if there were complex effects that needed to be created.

So what have I done? Read the script. Started watching the show on YouTube -- not always the best approach, as you want to be attuned to the unique production not copying what someone else did, but sometimes necessary if for nothing else than to get a feel for how the thing flows. Communicated with Director and Music Director and asked a few questions.

Saturday I made a site visit; met people, showed my face, inventoried equipment, looked at and listened to the space. Which is very challenging; the geometry there is not friendly and my assets are not generous. Not sure how I'm going to set up speakers that will actually work.

There's a fair bit of work to do before Tech Week. Some unfamiliar gear and I'll be reading a lot of manuals. Look at the cast breakdown and see if I can chart some of the microphone use and otherwise start marking up my script. Make a rough channel plan.

And oh yeah -- I've got two weeks to either repair my car enough to handle the long commute down south, or to come up with the bucks to rent one for at least tech week.