www.livedesignonline.com: Purchase College’s Broadway Technical Theatre History Project honors behind-the-scenes individuals and technical personnel who have played significant roles in the realization of Broadway productions, from technical supervisors to theatre technicians. The sixth annual Backstage Legends And Masters Award was presented to Joseph B. Forbes, president of industry-renowned Scenic Art Studios, Inc. on April 24 in New York.
4 comments:
I am constantly amazed by scenic painters. This is a profession that cannot be replaced by a machine – the level of detail that goes into a drop is amazing. There is a certain balance that is necessary to create the look that is needed for any sort of production, and every production is different. Like Forbes said, so many things can play a part of how the design is executed: lights, projections, live theatre vs. film, can all change the style and materials needed.
I forget that scenic painters are more than just good painters: they really are "a jack-of-all-trades" – being able to create tools and maneuver themselves and their medium to get what they want and what the designer envisions. I think the idea of having a large skill set are a theatre artist is very important because the world of theatre is constantly changing a growing, and being able to fit into every niche presented is imperative in creating new and inspiring art.
The pure level of excitement and passion that Forbes has for his art proves he is worthy of an award like the Backstage Legends And Masters Award. I believe that when you are excited about creating something, you are more likely to put 110% of your effort into it. It is this kind of drive, and the mindset that not everything will always go the way you wanted and all mistakes can be learned from is the backbone of amazing artists and the growth of theatre.
I think scenic painters and artists are sometimes the most overlooked people in the creation of a show. Most of the time, I think people think that the scenic designer pants the whole set, but more frequently than not scenic artists are the ones who paint the show, from base to finish coats. I’m glad this interview happened, but honestly, that first question is rather insulting: “Is scenic painter a rigorous role? How so? What skills are needed?” Like, honestly, of course a scenic painter is a rigorous job. What kind of question is that? That’s like asking a freaking stage manager, oh, does your job require organization? Come on. Scenic painting is an on your feet, manual labor kind of job. Obviously, scenic painting takes an extra ordinary amount of skill and patience, but you’re still up on your feet moving around and getting tired. The questions gradually got better, but that first one left a bad taste in my mouth.
Scenic painting to me has always seemed like a blast! As someone with a more fine arts base, seeing those skills I learned in my drawing and Painting cases being used in theater to such incredible effect has been really fun, especially since the first time I saw scenic painting as a career option was here at CMU. The article talks in the end about the different types of scenic painting, too, which most people would assume just falls under scenic design or shop work. The bit at the end about old TV sets and using tape to look like moldings was especially fun - it makes you think about all the little cheats and tricks you can use to make something like wildly different without using the real thing. I love the ingenuity of those things, and scenic painting clearly entails a lot of that kind of new, wacky, out of the box thinking and creative improvisation.
Scenic painters are absolute magicians. It is their responsibility to create a work that is so real in integrated into the world of the show that the audience ignores the fact that it is all a façade. The painters have mastered skills that allow them to create illusions on the grad scale of the piece as a whole down to the minute details that usually go unnoticed. The amount of ingenuity and creativity that a painter must have in order to effectively execute their piece is immense, and far too often forgotten by many in the process of making a show. Forbes’ commitment to this art is something that we can all aspire to have. It is his commitment that makes his work so incredible, and, therefore, makes him absolutely deserving of the backstage Legends And Masters Award.
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