In case you haven't heard yet. I'm a theater dork. Specifically, I'm a musical theater dork. I love many of the classics and several moden pieces. In fact I think there's only a few shows I'd totally be ok never doing again. *cough*Godspell*cough*. Excuse me. I've come down with a case of musicalitus. It's rare, but I think I'll survive. One of the aspects of theater I've found a niche in is Lighting Design. I love being able to craft scenes and show off the great work of the actors and other artistic staff.
I often describe theatrical lighting as the water in a fish tank. It's the environment in which all the other elements exist. If it's good, you'll never really notice it. If it's bad, it distracts and dirties everything else.
On the whole I think I'm pretty good at lighting. I'm hands on through the entire process. From concept, to design, to hang, focus, programming, and oftentimes execution I make the decisions and constantly try and tweak. Often times I have to force myself to leave it alone and allow it to exist on its own. Recently one of my designs was nominated for Best Lighting design for the Sioux Falls region of Broadwayworld.com. The show was Mamma Mia!, and it was produced by the Sioux Empire Community Theater. Now I'm considering even making the list a big win. Last time I did a show with the community theater it was a production on Fiddler on the Roof. I wanted to be on the nominated list so bad. However, I didn't make it even though I'm still very proud of that show. So when the chance came to throw myself at this show, I said yes.
I'm a big fan of the music of Mamma Mia!. It's catchy and fun while yet still having power and depth. The success of the overarching story in this musical is.... up for debate. Either way you can not deny the effect this show has had on the world and how popular it has become.
I knew it was going to be a big production. My lighting designs often eb and flow with the music. Which means lots and lots of cues. Well my first pass through the script confirmed this with 260 cues. Now before you go telling me off. Yes I know I did this to myself. I'm the one who decided that there should be all these focus, color, and sculptural changes.
By the end of the build that 260 mark had swelled to 293. Voulez Vous alone had over 70 cues. However, watching it interact with the performers it was almost another character surrounding them providing more than just visibility to the audience. I was really proud of this design,
Well not to tell you otherwise. As the title of this article states. I won! The voting was open to anyone so take that as you will, but I was excited to see that others had seen my work or knew me and thought I was deserving. This show won several design awards including Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design. If you're interested in seeing some of the work, take a look below. All photos taken by Rachel Winters of Rachel Winters Photography
'till next time!
-Matt
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