The nomadic Quantum Theatre company has designed its next set inside the former lobby of the Union National Bank as it prepares for "Madagascar." The play, directed by Sheila McKenna, will run Friday through Feb. 16.
Monday, February 03, 2014
Quantum Theatre returns to Downtown
The nomadic Quantum Theatre company has designed its next set inside the former lobby of the Union National Bank as it prepares for "Madagascar." The play, directed by Sheila McKenna, will run Friday through Feb. 16.
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3 comments:
I love the idea of Quantum theatre. I am really interested by site specific work, and the play seems interesting. I was especially interested by the designers decision to wrap the entire room in fabric. That seems like a creative use of the unique location. But I wonder what would happen if they picked a show based on the space? It seems like they pick what they want to do, and then find spaces that they think would complement the play. But I think that interesting theatre would result from the space dictating what piece was done. Or if they did a piece that they specifically created for a space. Just some food for thought.
I really want to see this production. Having seen many Quantum shows, and worked on one, I am always awed by what they are able to do with a space. They are not only able to transform the space by what is in it physically or how it is lit but how the environment that is created. If you think about it the design is rather simple, but the way it is put into the space and then used by both performers and designers. This is what I think really transforms the space.
I absolutely agree with scenic designer Stephanie Mayer-Staley’s comment, “found spaces are a beautiful thing.” There is magic in attending performances at traditional theater venues, but there is a different kind of magic in the air when theater/dance/art installations are staged on location. My personal preference tends toward environments that are not typically accessible to the general public, as this adds yet another layer of excitement to the event. One of my earlier experiences attending such a performance was in 2000 at the Subway Terminal Building in downtown Los Angeles for Collage Dance Theatre (now Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre)’s SubVersions. If memory serves me correctly, there were at least three different increasingly gritty underground locations where dances were staged as the audience members were led through the tunnels. For Quantum Theatre’s Madagascar production, I am intrigued by the use of 6,932 square feet of muslin. From the description, one of the uses is to create essentially clerestory windows framing the view of the tops of surrounding buildings, and also to help give a sense of being underground. I will be curious to know if the muslin is capable of creating the desired sound attenuation in the space.
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