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NYTimes.com: In a capacious rehearsal studio here, a stagehand painstakingly arranged chess pieces on eight boards set in two rows on the floor. Occasionally, she consulted a diagram, checking that each piece was where it should be.
I think this is an intriguing play the massive scale of the production without being a musical is really rare these days. The huge size of the theatre is however just as amazing. I had never been in arena seating until I had came to CMU and saw As You Like It, however I really enjoyed the whole show and the seating. Now looking at the seating for The Machine I can really see how the pressure is on the characters playing chess. With the addition of the live cameras of the chess game and the huge double screen over the playing space I can really see what the scenic designer was going for. Although the scope of the play does seem large the fact it runs for 100 minutes straight leads me to believe that it covers all the bases even if it is following two people instead of one. Jed told us in directing to make a list and try and see as many shows as possible while in New York and I am definitely putting this on my list.
I absolutely love to see that new works are being produced on such a large scale. It is hard for me to really appreciate a show that should be a big spectacle, but instead it is trapped in a little space. I also agree with Nathan that it is cool to see (or see of) a show with this sort of design and scale, and this is not even a musical. The design actually reminded me more of a rock and roll performance. It is not surprising that this is happening in London, the performing arts are much better funded over there, which is a shame that cant be the same over here.
I don't think this article did a good enough job explaining the play for me to judge whether it'd be a "good" show, but the concept does sounds intriguing. I like the idea of people's lives playing out around a huge game of chess. I imagine the show will be very symbolic and visually intense, but it sounds like it could be a bit to flashy, lacking any subtlety or dramatic tension to keep the audience focused. However, from a design standpoint I'm sure it is excellent and entertaining.
I entirely agree with the above comments that it will be intriguing to see a play in such gigantic scale. Yet with this production, I wonder if the technology is warranted. It is difficult to say without seeing the production. I believe that each and every design element must question the balance between function and spectacle, and there most certainly have been productions where the spectacle overshadows the function. The end result is often a show that is very flashy with little substance to the play itself. So I become a little bit weary when the first half of the article stated that it was a play about two men and the surrounding computer. I would like to get my hands on a copy of the script, and see if the design choices match the story they are trying to tell.
From reading just a simple short excerpt on this play, I really want to see this production. With more costumes than Wicked and 41 scenes alone makes me intrigued. I love that there is a giant chess board, but it isn't suppose to be the main focus of the production. I love how the show also utilizes the stadium style seating to make the viewing more interesting increase the flexibility of the production. I also find it very interesting that when the show was first performed there was a live feed, so people outside the direct audience could also view the production, unfortunately this cam almost instantly crashed because of the unexpected appeal. I would really love to watch this show if I had the opportunity and I think its going to thrive.
5 comments:
I think this is an intriguing play the massive scale of the production without being a musical is really rare these days. The huge size of the theatre is however just as amazing. I had never been in arena seating until I had came to CMU and saw As You Like It, however I really enjoyed the whole show and the seating. Now looking at the seating for The Machine I can really see how the pressure is on the characters playing chess. With the addition of the live cameras of the chess game and the huge double screen over the playing space I can really see what the scenic designer was going for. Although the scope of the play does seem large the fact it runs for 100 minutes straight leads me to believe that it covers all the bases even if it is following two people instead of one. Jed told us in directing to make a list and try and see as many shows as possible while in New York and I am definitely putting this on my list.
I absolutely love to see that new works are being produced on such a large scale. It is hard for me to really appreciate a show that should be a big spectacle, but instead it is trapped in a little space. I also agree with Nathan that it is cool to see (or see of) a show with this sort of design and scale, and this is not even a musical. The design actually reminded me more of a rock and roll performance. It is not surprising that this is happening in London, the performing arts are much better funded over there, which is a shame that cant be the same over here.
I don't think this article did a good enough job explaining the play for me to judge whether it'd be a "good" show, but the concept does sounds intriguing. I like the idea of people's lives playing out around a huge game of chess. I imagine the show will be very symbolic and visually intense, but it sounds like it could be a bit to flashy, lacking any subtlety or dramatic tension to keep the audience focused. However, from a design standpoint I'm sure it is excellent and entertaining.
I entirely agree with the above comments that it will be intriguing to see a play in such gigantic scale. Yet with this production, I wonder if the technology is warranted. It is difficult to say without seeing the production. I believe that each and every design element must question the balance between function and spectacle, and there most certainly have been productions where the spectacle overshadows the function. The end result is often a show that is very flashy with little substance to the play itself. So I become a little bit weary when the first half of the article stated that it was a play about two men and the surrounding computer. I would like to get my hands on a copy of the script, and see if the design choices match the story they are trying to tell.
From reading just a simple short excerpt on this play, I really want to see this production. With more costumes than Wicked and 41 scenes alone makes me intrigued. I love that there is a giant chess board, but it isn't suppose to be the main focus of the production. I love how the show also utilizes the stadium style seating to make the viewing more interesting increase the flexibility of the production. I also find it very interesting that when the show was first performed there was a live feed, so people outside the direct audience could also view the production, unfortunately this cam almost instantly crashed because of the unexpected appeal. I would really love to watch this show if I had the opportunity and I think its going to thrive.
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