First Orchestra Dress
Oct. 30th, 2004 12:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrdreamjeansWe just completed our first full orchestra dress of “Evita” with an invited audience of about 400 people in attendance. We received a standing ovation from the crowd, which is nice, but there is still work to do. The feedback I got from friends and acquaintances that had come up from New York to see the Dress, was that there were issues with sound; but in general the cast and the visual elements of the show were very strong.
Sound is always a big consideration when mounting “Evita”. The sound is designed to assault the senses and many of the numbers are staged to challenge the audience...to be very “in-your-face”, to make you think about the mania surrounding politics and “The Art of the Possible":) There is a sweet spot to be found microphonically (if that’s a word:), a balance to be discovered between the orchestra mics and the amplified vocals.
The sound should be exciting and over-the-top without losing clarity and intent. The lyrics are the priority, but “Evita” was the first musical to fully integrate multi-media into the staging and it takes time to get it just right. It’s a tough chore for the sound coordinator, as we have 30 microphones in the show and one person manning the sound board. There are film tracks, crowd noises, vocals and a 14-piece orchestra to mix into a seamless whole.
To our surprise, our producer threw a party tonight at a local Bistro to celebrate getting to this point in the process. We’ve rehearsed 50 hours in five days and most of the cast is still at the gathering, letting off steam. I’m not sure what is more compelling to actors after a show - free food or free drinks:)
We have a late call tomorrow and a second orchestra dress with another invited audience of several hundred people. I’m sure we’ll be cutting into the Halloween festivities about town. After all, who wouldn’t want to come see a musical about a dead diva that contains two funerals, rather than hit the costume parties! Ha!
Maybe it’s the moon or Halloween magic, but I saw a lot of odd things today. I witnessed three fender-benders in a five-minute period in a two-block area. I saw a man wheeling a real coffin down the street on a dolly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I shook my head in dismay as I watched a six-year old boy trick or treating, dressed as a bank robber in a ski mask and carrying a miniature machine gun. I guess a group of actors, with traces of stage make-up lingering on their faces won’t seem too strange out on the town tonight:)
Finally, am I the only one who when confronted with the question “Trick or Treat” has a hard time making up his mind? I mean one doesn’t necessarily follow the other.... Happy Halloween!
Sound is always a big consideration when mounting “Evita”. The sound is designed to assault the senses and many of the numbers are staged to challenge the audience...to be very “in-your-face”, to make you think about the mania surrounding politics and “The Art of the Possible":) There is a sweet spot to be found microphonically (if that’s a word:), a balance to be discovered between the orchestra mics and the amplified vocals.
The sound should be exciting and over-the-top without losing clarity and intent. The lyrics are the priority, but “Evita” was the first musical to fully integrate multi-media into the staging and it takes time to get it just right. It’s a tough chore for the sound coordinator, as we have 30 microphones in the show and one person manning the sound board. There are film tracks, crowd noises, vocals and a 14-piece orchestra to mix into a seamless whole.
To our surprise, our producer threw a party tonight at a local Bistro to celebrate getting to this point in the process. We’ve rehearsed 50 hours in five days and most of the cast is still at the gathering, letting off steam. I’m not sure what is more compelling to actors after a show - free food or free drinks:)
We have a late call tomorrow and a second orchestra dress with another invited audience of several hundred people. I’m sure we’ll be cutting into the Halloween festivities about town. After all, who wouldn’t want to come see a musical about a dead diva that contains two funerals, rather than hit the costume parties! Ha!
Maybe it’s the moon or Halloween magic, but I saw a lot of odd things today. I witnessed three fender-benders in a five-minute period in a two-block area. I saw a man wheeling a real coffin down the street on a dolly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I shook my head in dismay as I watched a six-year old boy trick or treating, dressed as a bank robber in a ski mask and carrying a miniature machine gun. I guess a group of actors, with traces of stage make-up lingering on their faces won’t seem too strange out on the town tonight:)
Finally, am I the only one who when confronted with the question “Trick or Treat” has a hard time making up his mind? I mean one doesn’t necessarily follow the other.... Happy Halloween!
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