Sun, Jan. 26
... I took my love
I think that one of the things I love best is walking up to a building where there's an amazing worship service happening, and hearing the music coming through the walls. Tonight I went to a THING with
Laurel, and I got there quite late. They were singing when I got there, and as I got out of my car and walked towards the building, I could hear music coming from inside.
One of my favorite times ever hearing that was when the SEMP worship was in the ballroom in Mac Hall at the U of C. If you were outside, walking towards Mac Hall, you could hear the music as you came towards the building. It's such a powerful thing--almost like the building can't hold the music.
We got the lights figured out... they still need to be programmed, but my dad and I spent 3 hours figuring out which lights we're going to use in each scene, and how they'll fit into the whole deal.
I'm so excited. I know I keep saying that, but I just am. :o) I realized even more of the symbolism in the play today, while we were working on the lights. There's so much depth and richness to it. That's one of the things I love so much about being involved.
You learn so much more and have such a greater appreciation than an audience who sees a play once. There's just so much to get from it, reading it over and over, studying the lines, doing character and historical research, embracing the vision for the show... And as the director, I always find that I get so much out of it, because I'm constantly looking for ways to bring out the messages that I want to come across. I have a vision for the show from the beginning, but that's always growing and changing, and as it develops and comes to life, so does my understanding of it.
Everything has a meaning. Almost nothing is chosen arbitrarily. Even the lights. There may not be "symbolism," per se, in how I choose to light the stage, but it's definitely the kind of look I want to come across to the audience. Do I want it bright? Soft? Glaring? Surreal? Nighttime? And within that, which parts of the stage do I want to be accentuated? Where and how do I want to focus the audience's attention? And it may be something as small as readjusting the intensity of one light by 15%, but that may be just enough to make all the difference in the world when it comes to that particular scene.
My dad was laughing at me today, because there was one scene that I wanted to be "bright but soft." Not the easiest two qualities to mix together, but we managed to do it somehow. :o)
Anyways, I'm going to bed. One of these days I'll write about some of what I've learned, but for now, this is it. G'night.
infinite || abyss
posted at 1:35 a.m.
