Stage Directions: Very recently, I designed a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which has been one of my “unicorn” shows since I was a boy. My mom had the concept record lying around when I was a kid, and I used to love listening to it and imagining. (It is also true that I had a toy drafting board and t-square at ten years old.) I can’t be the only designer who does this with shows - I will salivate over a script that I like for years sometimes, and occasionally I jump right into a production that I’ve digested for a long time.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lighting Your Unicorn
Stage Directions: Very recently, I designed a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which has been one of my “unicorn” shows since I was a boy. My mom had the concept record lying around when I was a kid, and I used to love listening to it and imagining. (It is also true that I had a toy drafting board and t-square at ten years old.) I can’t be the only designer who does this with shows - I will salivate over a script that I like for years sometimes, and occasionally I jump right into a production that I’ve digested for a long time.
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5 comments:
Perhaps the idea of a "Unicorn" script for designers is a set-up for not meeting expectations. If you have been dreaming about the perfect show and the show is either 1) not that; or 2) changes, do you feel short-changed? Jim, as a seasoned designer, seems to be fairly okay with the changes, even noting that this kind of scenario is common. But common or not, does it still hurt? Jim ended up putting so much work into a design that was so much less that he anticipated. But maybe part of having a "Unicorn" script is loving the script and show enough to design within any concept.
This man might actually be a saint.
I can't imagine how hard it would be to have the chance to design your dream production of your "unicorn" play taken away from you at the last minute. As theatre artists, it is our duty to serve the production, the vision of which is ultimately decided by the director. However, in my own history (albeit brief) of theatre productions, it has been hard to adjust to a sudden or drastic change. That's one of the things I've been focusing on this semester. I believe one of the strongest qualities a theatre artist can have is to adjust to changes gracefully and with integrity (lest they become what Joe Pino refers to as a "perfectionist").
Although I think the situation Mr. Hutchison describes is an extreme one, the way he reacted is what we should all strive for in our work (theatrical and otherwise).
This article is extremely pertenant to a lot of senarios, not only within the theater, but within life. As I know to well, often times things in life to not always go with way we have planned them or desired them to be. The best way to handle them is to assess it and make the best of it. As Mr. Hutchinson did with the production, you have to swallow your pride and move on with a new mind set. A mind set, not of what you wanted, but of what want now that the situation has changed. No matter what happens, there is always going to be a positive outcome to any situation, it all depends of the state of mind in which you choose to view it.
I think being able to separate what you want to happen and what can/will happen is an important skill to have. It'll make you easier to work with as a designer, and allow you to allow others' ideas into your collaborative effort. To go through the changes that this man went through would have wrecked his 10-year-old self, which I'm sure it did. But it takes a lot of strength to pull together, work with what you have, and look at the play objectively to get done what needs to get done and tell the story the director wants to tell. Bravo to him!
This is an interesting article to read as a student with not much experience. It’s clear that Mr. Hutchinson had strong feelings about this show. The fact that he could work through them and light a successful show speaks to his experience. Being students, we lack a lot of that wisdom. I feel like we are at school as much to gain that wisdom as we are to learn empirical knowledge. It’s interesting
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