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Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Watch A “Hamilton” Stagehand on Telling Stories with Lights
The New Yorker Video | CNE: Rizzo has been lighting the stages of Broadway for almost forty years. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at “Hamilton” through the eyes of a stagehand, who tells us what goes into lighting one of the most successful Broadway musicals.
Rizzo’s career is a very interesting story that took place over the course of four decades. This video does a really nice job of showing the evolution of not only the lighting industry, but the evolution of theatre as a whole throughout tens of years. Design has become an integral component of every theatrical piece, helping to further the message of the writing and the intentions of the writers and director. Not only does this video help share this timeline, but it also brings to light one of the positions that some people easily overlook. Rizzo maintains the lighting and some of the sound equipment for Hamilton on broadway. Without his knowledge, expertise, and due-diligence, they would probably run into several technical issues throughout the run. With such a high stakes production with so many moving parts, RIzzo is a crucial element of making sure the show runs as smoothly as it does. This video helped me realize some of the careers that are available in the Broadway industry. Rizzo is a spot-light operator by night, but a lighting technician during the rest of his time. This video is a great representation of some of the work available in theatre and the evolution of theatre through time.
This video was quite interesting as we talk every year about how new the specialization of sound technicians are and here is a place where sound and lighting at this point aren’t separated. Rizzo talks about how he is not only responsible for the lighting but sound. I find it so interesting that even at such a high level of production, they haven’t differentiated the technicians. Another thing that I found interesting and just impressive is how thorough Rizzo’s and other technicians' checks seemed to be in the video. I am impressed at how detail-oriented these folks are, especially after four years of this show happening. I loved how the video shows the evolution of Rizzo’s job and how quickly things have changed. We talk about it in class constantly about how quickly the industry is changing but it is nice to see a concrete example of how it is changing so fast. I couldn't believe that Rizzo said gas lamps were being used in the 1980s.
As I'm meeting people and starting to learn a little bit about the theater industry, I've learned that a lot of things that I associate with theater are also used for huge concerts. Drew Himmelrich, who graduated two years ago and went to my school is now working at a firm that does fabrication and design for big sets. The surprising things is that a lot of the are touring concerts and not plays. Admittedly, concerts are shows, but I was very surprised by that. I learned from an upperclassmen that the U2 360 tour had 120 tractor trailers, which seems like a preposterously large number. In this video, the lighting tech talks about how they get all their lighting from tours now, and being able to see the light (using haze) is a desired effect all the time in a show like Hamilton. Up until now, I've always seen lights and sound as something that should go unnoticed. There are plenty of plays where that is not true, but there are plenty where it is.
I know full well how versatile technicians can be, but I always do a double-take each time I'm reminded of how closely related theatre and concerts are, because each time it opens my eyes once again to the wide span of career paths available to me and the variegated settings they come in. It is inspiring and heart-warming to me that Rizzo, having been in the theatre industry for 40 years now, still approaches each day with fervor and joviality, be it towards the job at hand or the people he's with. Rizzo's recollection of how theatre lighting has evolved throughout his years was enlightening; where there were 30 lights to light a stage there is now a moving head, where there was a man switching gel frames in the wings there is now an LED. To be able to walk in step with the evolution of theatre is a true experience and I could not be more thrilled that Rizzo has shared it with us.
4 comments:
Rizzo’s career is a very interesting story that took place over the course of four decades. This video does a really nice job of showing the evolution of not only the lighting industry, but the evolution of theatre as a whole throughout tens of years. Design has become an integral component of every theatrical piece, helping to further the message of the writing and the intentions of the writers and director. Not only does this video help share this timeline, but it also brings to light one of the positions that some people easily overlook. Rizzo maintains the lighting and some of the sound equipment for Hamilton on broadway. Without his knowledge, expertise, and due-diligence, they would probably run into several technical issues throughout the run. With such a high stakes production with so many moving parts, RIzzo is a crucial element of making sure the show runs as smoothly as it does. This video helped me realize some of the careers that are available in the Broadway industry. Rizzo is a spot-light operator by night, but a lighting technician during the rest of his time. This video is a great representation of some of the work available in theatre and the evolution of theatre through time.
This video was quite interesting as we talk every year about how new the specialization of sound technicians are and here is a place where sound and lighting at this point aren’t separated. Rizzo talks about how he is not only responsible for the lighting but sound. I find it so interesting that even at such a high level of production, they haven’t differentiated the technicians. Another thing that I found interesting and just impressive is how thorough Rizzo’s and other technicians' checks seemed to be in the video. I am impressed at how detail-oriented these folks are, especially after four years of this show happening. I loved how the video shows the evolution of Rizzo’s job and how quickly things have changed. We talk about it in class constantly about how quickly the industry is changing but it is nice to see a concrete example of how it is changing so fast. I couldn't believe that Rizzo said gas lamps were being used in the 1980s.
As I'm meeting people and starting to learn a little bit about the theater industry, I've learned that a lot of things that I associate with theater are also used for huge concerts. Drew Himmelrich, who graduated two years ago and went to my school is now working at a firm that does fabrication and design for big sets. The surprising things is that a lot of the are touring concerts and not plays. Admittedly, concerts are shows, but I was very surprised by that. I learned from an upperclassmen that the U2 360 tour had 120 tractor trailers, which seems like a preposterously large number. In this video, the lighting tech talks about how they get all their lighting from tours now, and being able to see the light (using haze) is a desired effect all the time in a show like Hamilton. Up until now, I've always seen lights and sound as something that should go unnoticed. There are plenty of plays where that is not true, but there are plenty where it is.
I know full well how versatile technicians can be, but I always do a double-take each time I'm reminded of how closely related theatre and concerts are, because each time it opens my eyes once again to the wide span of career paths available to me and the variegated settings they come in. It is inspiring and heart-warming to me that Rizzo, having been in the theatre industry for 40 years now, still approaches each day with fervor and joviality, be it towards the job at hand or the people he's with. Rizzo's recollection of how theatre lighting has evolved throughout his years was enlightening; where there were 30 lights to light a stage there is now a moving head, where there was a man switching gel frames in the wings there is now an LED. To be able to walk in step with the evolution of theatre is a true experience and I could not be more thrilled that Rizzo has shared it with us.
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