Thursday, November 08, 2007
The technical wizard behind Broadway's new extravaganza, Young Frankenstein
Christian Science Monitor: "To label him a jack-of-all-trades is a colossal understatement. He's the kind of omnicompetent guy you wish were in charge of the New Orleans levee system. 'The Swiss Army knife, they call me,' admits Sam Ellis, describing his job as the wizard behind the curtain of 'The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein,' opening on Broadway Nov. 8."
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9 comments:
Though big huge special effects , automation, pyrotechnics, etc. can be a great spectacle to watch, sometimes I think it gets a little over the top and un-theatrical. Like Doc's example of the helicopter its not theatrical , they are competing with being cinematographic.
'Young Frankenstein' continues to sound like a fansastic spectacle, but i did notice two things about this article.
It seems that in every type of non-theatre publication, someone desribing their job, whether they are the PM, PSM, Prod Sup, etc.. all make their responsibilities sound remarkably like the same job. They are all centered on interpartmental communication and trying to make magic with the resources given to you. It has been making me think that they all are really the same type of job, just with different emphasis.
And on another note, i love that the Christian Science Monitor cares about the Prod Sup for a broadway show.
Every comment that Rico makes I was going to make, and it is getting frustrating. This article's scope was a little broad, regarding what tasks he performs as a part of his job. They almost made it sound like he was the scene designer? Oh well. Thanks Christian Science Monitor. Oh, by the way, its a Tesla coil, not a Tessler coil.
I really want a Tesla coil if for no other reason because they are so amazing...
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/science/tesla-coils-playing-the-mario-bros-theme-are-unsurprisingly-awesome-319384.php?autoplay=true
A playground project at some point should be centered around this. I thing it would be a great way to draw some of the other students from our school into playground. That's quite impressive thing to have on stage. My dad worked in a show at one point where a Tesla coil grounded to the grid and blew out all of the lights and set all of the pyro off at once.
I agree with Dave the more I hear about "Young Frankenstein" the more it sounds like I would not enjoy it. It also doesn't sound like theatre with all of the spectacle in it. It sounds like Mel Brooks will put down any sum of money just so that he can say that he has produced another hit musical no matter what the cost. I remember an article awhile back about how Young Frankenstein wouldn't share its earnings to the press. Maybe Mel Brooks has realized how much money he is wasting.
I agree with all of the above that young Frankenstein seems like it will be a theater full of scenery, lighting and FX, sometimes shows call for lots of "tech" elements, but throwing more flashy technology at a show doesn't make it better. The other think I noticed was the way the article talked about some of the figures for the show, like this was the biggest production ever. 400 lights in a Broadway show, never before.
Sometimes I don't see a problem in a show like Young Frankenstein creating a "spectacle". Yes the tech might be intensive, the acting might be diminished and the plot might be bare.....but it's still live isn't it? It's still raw, real viewing action that you don't see behind the glass of a t.v. set.
Nowadays I feel people are putting too much of a stamp on what theatre is so supposed to be.
If I can see real humans speaking real words and doing real actions, it's theatre to me. Plain and simple.
I want be able to have this guy's job and do it well. Period.
I think think this show sounds like a technical beast. The article explained how the production supervisor sounds like a central player, whose primary focus is on facilitating communication and having an ear in every conversation. 6 straight months of 15 hour days... sounds like a lot, not exactly a cushy 9-5 like most professionals.
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