Friday, October 22, 2021
Broadway's set-building maestro, Neil A. Mazzella, puts hammer and nail to the job of restoring theater's sparkle
The Washington Post: Back and forth across the country Frank Swan flew for months this spring and summer, dusting off all the dormant "Hamiltons": a "Hamilton" due to restart in Los Angeles, another "Hamilton" in Tempe, Ariz., a "Hamilton" in Atlanta and a "Hamilton" in San Francisco. Sets for these touring and sitting productions had to be retrieved from warehouses and storage trucks; backstage motors and wheels and audio equipment had to be retested and fixed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Something that made my heart feel light while reading this was that, despite all the pain of the last two years, this article was written with a sense of excitement. Every quote from Neil Mazzella sounds so eager and inspired. I absolutely believe that this individual was awarded the highest honor Yale has to offer. After all this time, getting back into things is so daunting. All of the looming thoughts of “what if” are no less than anxiety producing. But when you have leaders as hopeful and encouraging as it seems so many have been recently, you can’t help but catch the positivity bug too. I also love that he stresses the importance of balance, instead of just taking the highs or lows. Seeing how determined people have been to learn and adapt has been lovely, and gives me hope for the state of things once I graduate. This article was a breath of fresh air :)
This is a really interesting article to read. I have watched first hand how our equipment at CMU sat unused for so long. Getting everything back up and running was a slower process than I think most of us imagined. Last semester I was responsible for operating a dry ice fogger for one of the shows that we rented from Vincent Lighting. This machine likely had not been used for a very long time and had residual stuck in the plumbing of it. I had to dislodge the residual with a hammer before this machine would actually work. I can’t imagine all of the work that had to go into maintaining and restoring the scenery and other equipment used on Broadway to prepare for the reopening of the industry. It is something that I bet many people were not thinking about or thought about at the last minute. It is really interesting to see how this all gets done.
Like most technical aspects of theater, we do not see much credit go to those who support the technical side of the production. For example, I know of many shows, actors, and even acting agencies that are currently at work on Broadway. However, even as a technician and designer I had know idea who the Hudson Scenic Company was, despite even knowing a few scenic designers. I never considered the timeline of Broadway closing, how sudden and drastic it was. The idea that sets literally were scrapped mid construction is heartbreaking! Not to mention the decay and disruption of the momentum that they had going. The work that people put into these stories is astronomical and the love for it is undeniable. The ritual maintenance of upkeep and care is so precious, and because of the pandemic, we are starting to understand how special our lives and this industry truly is.
We often think of tech as the prerequisite of a show, but it is continual. As this article shows it isn’t a one-and-done process. Things in theatre tech must constantly be updated and checked in on. Also, it was interesting to see that everything was truly just dropped where it was. The return to live theatre is so much more than the audience and the actors returning and that often isn’t seen. In addition, it was great to learn a little about a tech company that is so integral to the running of shows, the Hudson Scenic Studio. I had heard of the company before but didn’t have much knowledge about them. It was good to get an insight into a little bit about how they operate and what they do. It is clear that a return to live theatre would not be possible to do without the work of tech people, building managers, crew, and all the other forgotten people of the theatre of the world.
Just looking at the picture of all the technicians working on Broadway shows gives me hope that maybe we things will get better. Neil Mazzella is probably the coolest guy ever. He works on some of the most famous shows in New York and still maintains some semblance of inner peace and I'd love to know what that secret is and how he does that. It's wild how everyone just picked up exactly where they left off two years ago like some strange time capsule from 2019. Neil looks like a guy with a lot of institutional knowledge that I want imported into my brain immediately. Like, the guy has probably been stressed beyond belief but he still believes in being in the moment and not giving into the highs and lows of our emotions and I think that's great. He was awarded that Yale Medal and honestly, that tracks.
Reading this article, it was amazing and exciting to both see pictures of live theater back up and running, as well as see some individuals that work behind the scenes get some recognition. It is not every day that you get to see people like the chief executive of Hudson Scenic get such explicit kudos in an article in a publication that is not theater specific, the Washington Post in this case. On top of that, this article gives even more hope for the return of our industry. While I do not plan on going into an industry directly related to theater, I still enjoying attending performances and absolutely feel for those that are in or do plan to join the entertainment industry. The other thing I also found interesting, as James pointed out, was how hard it has been to get all departments in the School of Drama back up and running again.
Hey! Hudson shoutout. They were not at all kidding when they said this Mazella guy is lavishly maned. I liked this article because it gets me excited about theatre. After a year and half, nearly two years of barely engaging with live theatre, my passion for it has definitely diminished, and I've forgotten a lot of what makes me love it. To see people here, professionals out in the industry, reviving this craft makes me want to do my part too. It will be a hell of a process, reviving it. As many people before me have said, it has been difficult just within the School of Drama community, whether that's equipment malfunctioning, equipment requiring maintenance, or restoring institutional knowledge and memory. This article gives me hope that soon, we'll be able to be as we ever were, hopefully better, even. I can't wait to see my shows open, that's for sure.
Good to see Hudson published for all the work that they do, and in such an exciting manner. I agree with those above, it is uplifting to read the perspective of someone who is in the thick of things outside of an educational setting. It also humanizes it in many ways, since the same struggles that broadway technicians are facing we are also seeing in the school of drama. One interesting quote, though, that Neil has in the article is “I don’t believe in stress”. Not sure why, but that seems to put me in a strange spot. I guess years of experience allows him to see things for the greater picture, but I find it hard to just un-believe that stress exists in our industry, since it seems rampant right now. I think overall it shows that we can't just flip a switch on and go back to doing shows. There is a lot, both mentally and mechanically, that need time to get back into it. If we don't allow that to happen, I only suspect problems down the road.
This was an interesting article to read mostly in part because it was something that I have wondered about. When the pandemic hit, it was so abrupt. We were sent home, and never sent back again. We weren’t allowed to go back to work, even in small batches, due to all the public safety procedures. In my high school our fully built set sat in the auditorium for 4 months before we were finally allowed to come to strike it. I cannot imagine the anxiety of the production staff and designers about the work they left behind, because I can only imagine in the scale of professional touring theatre, how much money, time, and process was lost. I am glad to hear though that production staff were able to get it back and move on from the pandemic. It must have been such a feat in order to get all the unused machinery and equipment back in working use after months of being idle. They had to not only worry about the cosmetics, but also the structural integrity of everything.
This article puts a lot into perspective. Of course, I recognized the sheer amount of work it would take to get Broadway up and running post-closure because frankly, it took a lot of work to get every theatre up and running. I saw this firsthand, after the closure of my high school we were left with mold and a set that was abandoned on stage. However, what I hadn’t considered was Hudson Scenic’s role in the reopening plans. I knew of the shop and its responsibility in the realization of countless Broadway and touring productions. I just simply didn’t contemplate the shops part in maintaining the production, and I certainly didn’t contemplate the amount of responsibility they would have in regards to the industry’s reopening. I am amazed by the company’s ability to handle everything so well with such an attention to detail. They clearly have the cast and crew’s best interest and wellbeing in mind. Evident in their implication of cleaning process and modifications to fit Covid protocols.
Post a Comment