Esoteric
Well-Known Member
Hey guys, just got back from the opening of the new theater here in Dallas (the new home of Dallas Theater Center).
First off, the space is AMAZING!!! Totally state of the art, completely modular, it can go from an arena, to a thrust with two balconies, to a traditional proscenium. Hang points everywhere, electrical hang points everywhere. A grid over the house, and electric battens over the stage (when in use). Wonderful space. ETC Sensor Dimmers, all Source4 gear, 300+ instruments, MAC2Ks, on and on. Sound in on a PM5D (in the house THANK THE ALL MIGHTY!!!).
This was a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Magnificent cast (as you would expect it to be, considering this is the premier company in Dallas). Wonderful energy and that is saying a lot, this was like a 2.5 hour track meet. Modern music and dance numbers.
The Direction was wonderful. Perfectly blocked, very playful and they used the WHOLE theater. I mean actors running through the house, talking to the audience members, sitting in seats, etc. Brilliant use of the space. People constantly going up and down ladders, and off and on, using every entrance and exit possible. For Oberon and Puck's punishment they were pelted with nerf guns, stress balls, water guns, and even water cannons (as they run through the audience).
The costumes were great as well. Very bright, very colorful, very modern. Awesome. Not to mention how they helped round out characters and link them together or set them apart. The fairies, The Rude Mechs, the lovers, the king and queen. I could write a dissertation on the costumes. Brilliant.
Sound was acceptable, there wasn't a lot the designers could do sound wise. The mix was good. A couple of the mics were not hidden well at all (I mean messily so), but other than that good job.
The scenic design was VERY different. The whole thing was just a 3 layer thrust, with a small cross upstage from stage left to stage right. With 4 ladders going from the floor to both balconies. It was basically just black speckled with gray paint. Very plain. Until the actors come out. They begin and spend the whole first act drawing on the set with chalk. Storm clouds (when people are mad), stars and crowns (for the fairies), moons (for night and sleep), and just many patterns. The stage gradually fills up and fills in. At intermission, the crowd gets chalk and the opportunity to fill in the set even more. The actors invite people up and even coming out of the intermission sing to the people they select (one of the high school students in the show was singing to her boyfriend tonight I think). Also at intermission shapes made out of flex neon are revealed. This is the only problem of the design I had a problem with. There were only a few designs and they looked half hazard and half butted. Just kind of thrown in. Finally for the wedding celebration the back wall (with all the chalk writing) flys out and all the other places are covered with a bright yellow background with red, blue, green, and purple stars, moons, hearts and people on it with a large (15' tall) heart in the middle of the background.
But then there was the lighting... Admittedly the LD was messed up a little (because the action takes place everywhere on the stage, in the house, in the balconies, everywhere), and I am all for simplicity, there were only about 4 cues in the show, but all the cues were a little too large. There was no isolation, no transition, just lots of light everywhere. There were some nice cues, some good looks (particularly for the wedding at the end, the whole ending including Pucks speech, and the night scenes which were done with red star patterns). But the main look for the "forest" (which was transplanted to an urban setting) was really, really bright, with no sculpting, nothing. It seemed that he was a little in over his head with that look, it was just boring (and it was up for 70% of the time). The lighting design really let the production down I think. No color, no sculpting, nothing. And it wasn't like it was terrible on purpose (as in wow, that is awesome it looks terrible!!) but just bad. Plus it seemed like a waste of some material, with color scrollers used for units that never changed color and moving lights that were used for specials that never move. It did not look like a 455 unit plot (which the program said it was).
After the production, the backdrop flies out and the party starts. The audience is invited on to the stage to sing and dance and have a bit of an after party to open the space. A great idea.
Overall a wonderful production at a wonderful new facility, which combined with the new Winspear Opera House will give Dallas an arts district that rivals Lincon Center.
Man I want a crack at that space (if only I had my USA membership).
Mike
First off, the space is AMAZING!!! Totally state of the art, completely modular, it can go from an arena, to a thrust with two balconies, to a traditional proscenium. Hang points everywhere, electrical hang points everywhere. A grid over the house, and electric battens over the stage (when in use). Wonderful space. ETC Sensor Dimmers, all Source4 gear, 300+ instruments, MAC2Ks, on and on. Sound in on a PM5D (in the house THANK THE ALL MIGHTY!!!).
This was a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Magnificent cast (as you would expect it to be, considering this is the premier company in Dallas). Wonderful energy and that is saying a lot, this was like a 2.5 hour track meet. Modern music and dance numbers.
The Direction was wonderful. Perfectly blocked, very playful and they used the WHOLE theater. I mean actors running through the house, talking to the audience members, sitting in seats, etc. Brilliant use of the space. People constantly going up and down ladders, and off and on, using every entrance and exit possible. For Oberon and Puck's punishment they were pelted with nerf guns, stress balls, water guns, and even water cannons (as they run through the audience).
The costumes were great as well. Very bright, very colorful, very modern. Awesome. Not to mention how they helped round out characters and link them together or set them apart. The fairies, The Rude Mechs, the lovers, the king and queen. I could write a dissertation on the costumes. Brilliant.
Sound was acceptable, there wasn't a lot the designers could do sound wise. The mix was good. A couple of the mics were not hidden well at all (I mean messily so), but other than that good job.
The scenic design was VERY different. The whole thing was just a 3 layer thrust, with a small cross upstage from stage left to stage right. With 4 ladders going from the floor to both balconies. It was basically just black speckled with gray paint. Very plain. Until the actors come out. They begin and spend the whole first act drawing on the set with chalk. Storm clouds (when people are mad), stars and crowns (for the fairies), moons (for night and sleep), and just many patterns. The stage gradually fills up and fills in. At intermission, the crowd gets chalk and the opportunity to fill in the set even more. The actors invite people up and even coming out of the intermission sing to the people they select (one of the high school students in the show was singing to her boyfriend tonight I think). Also at intermission shapes made out of flex neon are revealed. This is the only problem of the design I had a problem with. There were only a few designs and they looked half hazard and half butted. Just kind of thrown in. Finally for the wedding celebration the back wall (with all the chalk writing) flys out and all the other places are covered with a bright yellow background with red, blue, green, and purple stars, moons, hearts and people on it with a large (15' tall) heart in the middle of the background.
But then there was the lighting... Admittedly the LD was messed up a little (because the action takes place everywhere on the stage, in the house, in the balconies, everywhere), and I am all for simplicity, there were only about 4 cues in the show, but all the cues were a little too large. There was no isolation, no transition, just lots of light everywhere. There were some nice cues, some good looks (particularly for the wedding at the end, the whole ending including Pucks speech, and the night scenes which were done with red star patterns). But the main look for the "forest" (which was transplanted to an urban setting) was really, really bright, with no sculpting, nothing. It seemed that he was a little in over his head with that look, it was just boring (and it was up for 70% of the time). The lighting design really let the production down I think. No color, no sculpting, nothing. And it wasn't like it was terrible on purpose (as in wow, that is awesome it looks terrible!!) but just bad. Plus it seemed like a waste of some material, with color scrollers used for units that never changed color and moving lights that were used for specials that never move. It did not look like a 455 unit plot (which the program said it was).
After the production, the backdrop flies out and the party starts. The audience is invited on to the stage to sing and dance and have a bit of an after party to open the space. A great idea.
Overall a wonderful production at a wonderful new facility, which combined with the new Winspear Opera House will give Dallas an arts district that rivals Lincon Center.
Man I want a crack at that space (if only I had my USA membership).
Mike
