Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Resource Roundup Back It Up Looking for a company that manufactures quality backdrops? Check out the following. Of course, for a comprehensive listing, please refer to the <strong>Stage</strong> <strong>Directions</strong> Theater Resources 2006-2007 Directory. Courtesy of Big Image System Staffers from Big Image working on a backdrop for a Tel Aviv production of The Producers. Backdrops Fantastic www.backdropsfantastic.com 478.750.8061 Whether it’s for theatre, dance or live events, Backdrops Fantastic has a wide array of backdrops, from digital to stage to customized. Based in Macon, Ga., this company rents and sells backdrops; it even has themes, running the gamut from Africa and the Middle East to Moulin Rouge and Westerns. Average-sized backdrops are 17 or 20 feet high by 40 feet wide and are fire-retardant. Big Image Systems USA www.bigimagesystems.com 888.626.9816 Located in St. Louis Park, Minn., Big Image specializes in printing large images on various materials, creating scores of digital backdrops. The staffers also serve as consultants, providing advice to clients wishing to depart from conventional image technology. Big Image also has facilities in Sweden and Germany. Customers include theatres, museums and TV. Charles H. Stewart, Ltd. www.charleshstewart.com 978.682.5757 Based in North Andover, Mass., Charles H. Stewart, Ltd. has more then 1,500 lightweight backdrops for you to choose from. With more than 100 years of experience, this company has backdrop subjects that include drawing room, nautical and tropical, winter and snow, to mention a few. DreamWorld Backdrops www.dreamworldbackdrops.com 800.737.9869 Based in San Diego, DreamWorld Backdrops offers a plethora of backdrops for rental or purchase. Themes include circus, magic, carousel, cabaret and dancers kaleidoscope. With more than 20 years of experience, the company produces more than 1,500 highcaliber, hand-painted, scenic backdrops for theatres, trade shows, television or special events. Past clients include The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Ronald McDonald House. Grosh Scenic Rentals www.grosh.com 877.363.7998 For 75 years, the Hollywood, Calif.-based Grosh Scenic Rentals has been providing a wide selection of varied backdrops to theatres, schools, dance companies and event planners. With more than 5,000 designs in their inventory, Grosh Scenic Rentals offers shipping to your venue. Themes include beaches, barns, day skies, Mardi Gras, prisons, tenements, vineyards and much more. Joseph C. Hansen Co. www.jchansen.com 866.988.8055 After 80 years in the same NYC location, the JC Hansen Co. has recently relocated to a much larger space in Jersey City, NJ. They provide an ever expanding array of digital printing, dance floor, velour drapery, scrim, muslin, chroma and digital key drop products for On- and Off-Broadway shows, regional, dinner and school theatre productions, and video and film projects. Kenmark, Inc. www.kenmark-inc.com 913.648.8125 Located in Overland Park, Kan., Kenmark designs, sells and rents backdrops for theatre, films, television and opera. According to its Web site, “complete show packages are available for musicals.” Categories for backdrops include parks and forests, general landscapes, period interiors/exteriors and fantasy. Digital drops are also available. Rose Brand East/West www.rosebrand.com New York: 800.223.1624 California: 800.360.5056 Rose supplies textiles and drapes and has a multitude of digital backdrops for your theatre. Offering advice and production services, Rose Brand will help you every step of the way while you brainstorm your scenic design needs. They sell digital imaging fabric by the roll. Schell Scenic Studio www.schellscenic.com 614.444.9550 For more than 100 years, Schell Scenic Studio has been offering custom backdrops and borders to the theatrical community. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Schell Scenic Studio offers a high volume of services that include in-house design, high-resolution photography, collaboration, large-scale printing on canvas or vinyl and custom finishes. It is one of the Midwest’s largest inventories of scenic backdrops. 42 April 2007 • www.stage-directions.com
TD Talk By Dave McGinnis On Your Hands A designer can see a mountain in his mind, but the TD can build it and make it tangible. This, ultimately, is what the TD does, and it’s a proud moment to stand back with your crew to admire the culmination of your hard work. But all of this relies on the design. While you can take care of rear elevations and some detail drawings on your own — maybe even a few pieces of floor plan — you ultimately can’t make any real moves until the designer has come through. Under normal circumstances, the designer will present his plans with plenty of time to determine hour loads, materials and calendar time to complete the project, whether it’s a set or any other piece of the show. What, however, might you do if these plans never materialize? I ran into a TD who regaled me with his recollections of precisely such an event. The theatre that employs him had produced a play (which will remain nameless for the sake of all those involved), but the set designer failed to produce any plans by the deadline. When complete plans finally surfaced, it was already too late to build everything without hiring a prohibitive amount of job-in labor that would likely not be available on such short notice. The TD committed an act I have seen done only once before: he began to designate what could be built with the available hours and what was absolutely necessary, hoping to have some time left at the end to build the rest. What became of this scenario I never got to find out, but it raised a point of TD ethics. A TD should work as hard as possible to maintain a comfortable environment while incessantly reminding the designer that plans are due, but at what point must a TD make this kind of uncomfortable call? I am going to take a stance on this issue that I’m sure will incite riots in some houses and applause in others. Assuming that proper care has been taken to keep everyone in the loop (which must be done at all times anyway), and assuming that all proper requests for plans have been made and not met, your first duty is to your crew. It is not fair to the people whose blood and time have poured into the stage to have to hurry up and wait and then break their backs because one person was unable to provide what they promised. Simply firing the designer is not an option at all. The problem may rest with the designer, and the producing organization may never work with them again, but your current problem is a lack of plans, and a new designer starting from scratch will either not help you or put you farther back than you already are. It’s rare, but what do you do without a floorplan (or a sectional, or a rendering, or a drawing on a napkin)? In order to complete the job, there does come a time when a TD must finally say, “What I have is what we have, so let’s get to work.” You build everything for which you have plans, prioritizing from the most important elements to the least. Any plans that come after this day must be viewed as luxuries that will be provided if time allows. Many feel that this is overstepping TD boundaries and that it is your duty to build whatever the director and designer wish, even if the plans arrive beyond the point of no return. These sentiments are well intended, but the reality is that time does not stop for us to catch up. Understand that such instances are very rare. In 20 years, I have only seen it happen twice. The most difficult part of having to make such a decision is the emotion involved, so we must always make a conscious effort to keep our anger in check. We’re all in this together. Mad or glad, let Dave know what you think at dmcginnis@ stage-directions.com. www.stage-directions.com • April 2007 43
Page 1: SALUTES NEW YORK CITY • A TALE OF
Page 6: Departments 9 Letters Readers get t
Page 10 and 11: www.stage-directions.com Publisher
Page 12: By Iris Dorbian In The Greenroom th
Page 15 and 16: Barbara Hauptman, executive directo
Page 18 and 19: Light On The Subject By Kevin M. Mi
Page 20 and 21: On Broadway By Bryan Reesman Good C
Page 22 and 23: Theatre Spotlight By Robert Woltman
Page 24 and 25: School Spotlight By Robert Woltman
Page 26 and 27: Vital Stats By Kevin M. Mitchell Fr
Page 28 and 29: Theatre Space By Solange De Santis
Page 30 and 31: Theater Space architecture,” he s
Page 32 and 33: Special New York City Section On th
Page 34 and 35: Special New York City Section Danny
Page 36 and 37: Special New York City Section IN A
Page 38 and 39: Special New York City Section A Tal
Page 40 and 41: Special New York City Section Showm
Page 42 and 43: Special New York City Section Merce
Page 46 and 47: Biz Talk By Jacob Coakley Once More
Page 48 and 49: The Play’s the Thing By Stephen P
Page 50: Answer Box By John Landon Moving th

Download a PDF - Stage Directions Magazine

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?