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Thursday, October 10, 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.
Okay wow I love this video. Rizzo looks like such a passionate and genuine person to work with, and he knows so much about his craft. It's crazy to think about all of the shows he's seen and had the ability to light. He really has one of the best seats to just sit and watch theater evolve over the past 40 years. The best part of the video was when he talked about the people he has met while working at the Richard Rogers, and the fact that if you get to work for Hamilton, you're truly lucky. There really isn't a show like it, especially when you look at the name it's made for itself. To comment on the video itself, the editing enhanced Rizzo's story tremendously. When he compared theatrical lighting to a sunrise in the beginning of the video, and the clips quickly switched between a New York sunrise and Hamilton choreography, his simile made perfect sense. It just proves how long and hard he works.
I have the same reaction as Emma above - I LOVED this video. People acknowledge the actors and designers, but the technicians and managers are the true heroes who keep the show running. Without them, the shows won’t run. Rizzo sounds so passionate about his work. As someone who’s been in the business for 40 years, he still sounds so excited about his work. For a show like Hamilton, his job is so important. I loved that he stressed the importance of maintenance, maintaining the electrical equipment to make sure they'll run properly. Yes he operates the spotlight (I loved the last scene of the video where he sings along to My Shot and turns the switch. His energy and timing was perfect), but he also has to make sure all the lighting equipment is functioning. You can also tell Rizzo really knows his stuff - how he talks about how lighting used to work in theatre. I also didn’t know that the lighting systems in place now derive from Rock and Roll shows!
I have had the privilege of seeing Hamilton twice, once on Broadway on the last day with a majority of the original cast. At that point, I knew all the songs better than the back of my hand, so I spent a good portion of the show taking in the production itself, mainly the lighting. I really like this video and how Rizzo talks about the fact that this show is different than most. Rizzo mentioned that he is one of the follow spot operators but primarily he is an electrician who makes sure every single day that all the equipment in the entire theatre, not just the lighting equipment, is running smoothly. I think it would be really interesting to shadow him for a couple days just to see what it is like knowing everybody in the city. As Rizzo mentioned, working with Hamilton is unique because most shows don’t last this long and still have the same reaction from the crowd after over a thousand shows
3 comments:
Okay wow I love this video. Rizzo looks like such a passionate and genuine person to work with, and he knows so much about his craft. It's crazy to think about all of the shows he's seen and had the ability to light. He really has one of the best seats to just sit and watch theater evolve over the past 40 years. The best part of the video was when he talked about the people he has met while working at the Richard Rogers, and the fact that if you get to work for Hamilton, you're truly lucky. There really isn't a show like it, especially when you look at the name it's made for itself.
To comment on the video itself, the editing enhanced Rizzo's story tremendously. When he compared theatrical lighting to a sunrise in the beginning of the video, and the clips quickly switched between a New York sunrise and Hamilton choreography, his simile made perfect sense. It just proves how long and hard he works.
I have the same reaction as Emma above - I LOVED this video. People acknowledge the actors and designers, but the technicians and managers are the true heroes who keep the show running. Without them, the shows won’t run. Rizzo sounds so passionate about his work. As someone who’s been in the business for 40 years, he still sounds so excited about his work. For a show like Hamilton, his job is so important. I loved that he stressed the importance of maintenance, maintaining the electrical equipment to make sure they'll run properly. Yes he operates the spotlight (I loved the last scene of the video where he sings along to My Shot and turns the switch. His energy and timing was perfect), but he also has to make sure all the lighting equipment is functioning. You can also tell Rizzo really knows his stuff - how he talks about how lighting used to work in theatre. I also didn’t know that the lighting systems in place now derive from Rock and Roll shows!
I have had the privilege of seeing Hamilton twice, once on Broadway on the last day with a majority of the original cast. At that point, I knew all the songs better than the back of my hand, so I spent a good portion of the show taking in the production itself, mainly the lighting. I really like this video and how Rizzo talks about the fact that this show is different than most. Rizzo mentioned that he is one of the follow spot operators but primarily he is an electrician who makes sure every single day that all the equipment in the entire theatre, not just the lighting equipment, is running smoothly. I think it would be really interesting to shadow him for a couple days just to see what it is like knowing everybody in the city. As Rizzo mentioned, working with Hamilton is unique because most shows don’t last this long and still have the same reaction from the crowd after over a thousand shows
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