All's quiet..

I havent posted on this blog for quite a while because sadly there isn't anything new to post.  I have had to cut my time at YCPAC down to almost none at all. The main reason for this is that in our little town the cost of living is high and the pay is low so I have to spend as much time as I can focusing on my 40 hour a week job and my family. I will, however, still be working the big shows when they come to town and will have some things to post for you all to enjoy but the posts will be a lot more infrequent. Closer to once every 3 to 6 months.

Hope you have all enjoyed the reading up until now and will continue to whenever I am able to post.

Til next time.

Matthew

My day with Red

Every once in a while in our lives we meet someone who, although we may never meet them again, we will remember for the rest of our lives.  Most of the time it happens when you least expect it and you dont realize it it's all over.

On February 9th this year, I was the Lighting Director at YCPAC for an impersonator of Red Skelton.  If you were to say that name in today's world, not many people would know who that was.  I have to admit that I was one of them.  Red was a clown, comedian, and actor during a large part of the 20th century.  He started out in vaudeville, starred in multiple films, performed live tours in his later years, and had his own television show for twenty years from 1951 to 1971.  His comedy was light, clean, and hilarious.  Red passed away in 1997.

Today, he and his comedy are remembered and celebrated by a man named Tom Mullica.  Tom performs the only authorized red Skelton impersonation act in America.  His act takes the art of impersonation to an incredible level.  If you were to watch videos of Red and Tom separately, you could almost not tell the difference.

I had no idea what to expect that day when I arrived at the theatre.  I assumed that it would be like every other comedy show that we've had there.  Turns out I had quite the challenge on my hands.  The lighting style was quite average and not to difficult, but that wasn't all there was to my portion of the show.  We were to have three projector screens as a backdrop, two of which showed a live feed of the show and one that showed some prerecorded scenes that Tom used as part of the show.  The live feed was important because facial expressions are a huge part of the act and the audience can't always see them from their vantage point.  My issue was having to fully light the stage while keeping the light off of the screens so that the images on them didn't get washed out.  I can't honestly say that I was successful.  I kept the lights off of the screens, but there were quite a few times that Tom stepped back out of the main focus of the lights and his face was not lit as was as it should have been.  That, of course, was not Tom's fault because it is my job to light the stage everywhere that he could possibly go.  It wasn't enough that the audience couldn't see him anymore, but as a professional, it sure bothered be.  It was a good enough lighting job that I didn't hear any complaints from the audience so I consider that I small victory.  At least I got some good ideas for the next time something similar presents itself.

The highlight of the day for me was getting to sit with Tom and Stephen, who acts a small part in the show and runs everything backstage, before the show.  We sat and chatted about the lighting for the show and how everything was going to run, minute to minute.  Most performers and their crew don't do this so it was a real treat to have a good heads up on how the night was going to run.  I usually get the lighting cues called out to me through the intercom during the performance.  The best part of this though was spending the ten to fifteen minutes talking with Tom and Stephen.  They are amazingly kind and down-to-earth gentlemen and, of course, absolutely hilarious.  Just chatting with them was keeping me in stitches.  They also seemed genuinely interested in anything I added to the conversation which was a wonderful change compared to the fact that I usually don't even lay eyes on the talent until they are on stage for the sound check.

The show was a huge treat to see and I highly recommend it to everyone.  If Tom is ever traveling to your area, take the kids and the grandparents and travel back in time with this amazing show.

'Til next time.

Matthew

Katt

For those of you who are unaware, the title of this post is a reference to one of my favorite skits by my favorite comedian, Brian Regan. It was an amazing night for me on January 29th when I got to be the lighting director during his performance at YCPAC.  And yes, he did perform that skit as his encore at the request of a screaming audience member.

To tell the truth, it was an easy lighting night.  Of course I may have seen that everything was ready at a decent time and that it all went smoothly because I was so excited, but that is neither here nor there.  Looking back, it really was a pretty simple show.  No set changes or lighting cues, just a simple setup with plenty of light.  Not even any following spotlights.  Just the stage lit and that was all.

As for the performances, they were phenomenal.  The opener, whose name I have forgotten cause I have a short term memory, was incredible.  The only thing that  struck me a bit funny was that his style seemed to mimic, almost exactly, that of Mr. Regan's.  Not that it's a bad style to copy, but he might go a little farther with his chosen career if he were more original.  All that aside, he was a funny man to listen to.

Brian Regan Publicity Photo

Brian Regan was his normal self, but with an entire show of new material that I had never heard before.  I guess when you can't come up with a new act, you head to the place where comedians go to die, professionally anyway.  From what I have seen in the variety and constant updating of his shows over the years, Brian may have quite a while until he starts to fade away.  I do appreciate that with all of the comedians today, he still hasn't changed.  I put him up there with the likes of Bill Cosby because every time I have seen him perform, whether on television or live, it was a completely clean show and still hilarious.  I am always in pain after his performances from laughing so hard.  The show is so funny and yet clean that I took my daughter to see him without having to worry about possibly covering her ears at any point.  Glad that I am not the only one that appreciates it because that night at YCPAC was a sold out show.

The highlight of the night for me was before the show even began.  When most artists and stars come to the hall, they spend most of their time in their tour bus or in our dressing rooms.  I didn't even see Ron White until he was performing.  Brian Regan, on the other hand, wanted to see the stage and house seats before the audience was allowed in.  When he walked onto stage, he shook the entire crews hand, asked their names, and introduced himself as Brian like he was just a roadie or a new part of our crew.  I don't normally get to even see most of the acts off stage let alone meet them.  So when I got to shake my favorite comedian's hand, I was thrilled.  No, sadly, I didn't get a picture with him and didn't get his autograph.  Just a cool story, but to me, that's the important part.  I normally wouldn't even think about asking for a picture or autograph anyway because its just awesome to be part of something cool.

So if you ever get the chance to see Brian Regan live, take the whole family and prepare for pain in you laugh muscles.  You won't regret it.

'Til next time,

Matthew

Ron White

About a month and a half had gone by since I had been to work at YCPAC.  In early November I had been accepted to begin working in the optometrists office in the Walmart that I am employed at part time.  Therefore I was forced to cut back some of my time at YCPAC and during the holidays I was forced to cut back completely.  I didn't mind so much since jumping between the two was becoming increasingly more difficult.

After the holidays ended and my time at Walmart had slackened up a little, I was able to rejoin my friends at YCPAC for a few shows a month.  My first show back, I guess you could call it my triumphant return, was on January 10th when we hosted Ron White.  Not only was I thrilled to be back, but my friends and co-workers were elated to see me.  They really are a great group of people and they make me feel very special.

That night was a sold out show.  Being my first show in over a month, I wasn't quite sure what to expect to be doing.  You can imagine my surprise, and joy, when I was asked to resume my duties as lighting director. The advance for the evening contained very simple lighting instructions: stage lit red for the opening act with two following spotlights and a light blue stage for Ron with two following spotlights.  The only other request was for one light to shine from a completely black stage down onto a stool where Ron's glass and bottle of scotch sat.  Nothing for me that night was too difficult to do, but it was nice to have a slightly subdued lighting set for my return.  Although, only a month off is not enough to forget too much.  It was like riding a bike.

As for the performance, it was hilarious.  The opener, which I can't remember his name, was wonderful and not too full of what I call 'shock' humor. 'Shock' humor is the type that a lot of comedians use anymore.  It's when you realize that you're only laughing because you're shocked that anyone in public would speak those words.  I more appreciate it when someone can make you laugh simply because what they say is actually funny and, for the most part, clean.

Ron White Publicity Photo

Ron White was hilarious.  Before he went on stage, but after the opener, the house and stage went completely dark.  In the darkness, our stage manager ran out and placed to bottle of scotch and an empty glass on the stool.  When Ron was ready backstage, the only light that I brought up was the one that illuminated the stool.  As soon as it was visible, the crowd went berserk.  Then, as Ron walked onto the stage, I brought up the blue stage lights that I had set.  Nice and easy, and yet enough to bring the crowd to their feet.

Usually, from what I have seen, Ron is full of 'shock' humor, so I wasn't too excited to see him live.  I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by his act for the night because it was full of good humor about things that I naturally found funny.  Not the entire act of course, but most of it.

All in all, it was a great way to return and it left me excited to return for my next show, which thankfully was only a couple of weeks away.

Thanks for reading.

'Til next time,

Matthew

Awkward Phantom

When I think of Halloween, I imagine children dressed in a wide variety of costume and prancing eagerly from house to house in the neighborhood asking for candy.  This year, I was not able to witness that as I was working at YCPAC.  What could draw almost 200 people to the theatre on Halloween night?  How about The Phantom of the Opera?  This, however, was far from the Phantom that most people imagine.

Publicity photo of Jonathan Best

We showed the 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney.  It is a fantastic film that has such a wonderful believability to it even though it is black and white with nothing but a music soundtrack in it.  No wonder so many people came to see it on the big screen once again.

There is a large twist that I have not yet mentioned.  We turned off the soundtrack.  Not to make it a truly silent film though.  We placed our Steinway Grand Piano on the stage next to the screen and had a local piano professional play along with the film.  What a grand (no pun intended) idea!  Fun part was the pianist that we hired was Jonathan Best.  He is a very talented man and did a great job, but what came out was not quite what I would have anticipated.

Pic from the lighting booth of the show.

Along with the piano, he used a pair of what I assume were horse hooves, a small xylophone, and a few other things that I didn't recognize, not to mention his own voice at one point.  He was described to me before I met him as a very odd and unpredictable individual.  That was only too true as I witnessed a very strange cacophony of sounds that, while matching with the movie well, caught me by surprise.  At times they were comical when I don't think they were intended to be, but they were well executed and made it an experience to remember.  Like I said, it was very well performed and the audience really enjoyed it.  They laughed at times and gave him a standing ovation in the end.

'Til Next Time,


Matthew

The GMO!

My days are never boring.  It is true that I have days that are less than exciting, but, anymore, they are never boring.  A few of my less exciting days recently included running the lights for the YC Instrumental and Jazz concerts.  While I love running lights, those were a bit more on the dull side of lighting in a performance.

The Diamonds

October 27th brought The Glenn Miller Orchestra and The Diamonds to YCPAC.  That night, as often happens lately, I was the Lighting Director for both groups.  The Diamonds performed first that night and were honestly a bit more difficult, lighting wise, than the orchestra.  I should preface this by saying that most groups send an advance notice with information about their needs for stage set-up, lights, sound, and anything else they may need for the night.  We got two advances that night, one for each group, and they both had a one sentence description for lighting needs.  Very basic and easy stuff.  At sound check, both groups wanted lights to be as they would during the show so that they could let me know if anything needed to be tweeked.  Again, very basic.  During the Diamonds sound check I was handed a set list with their lighting needs which was made up mostly of information for spotlights.  Their was one addition that threw a wrench in the mix and that was a section of one song where they needed nothing but blue lights washing down on them.  Since that was not in  the advance, it wasn't set up and I had to run out to the catwalk to get it going.  It only takes three to five minutes to do so no big deal at all, except that as soon as I was handed the set list they were asking to run that specific lighting cue to make sure it worked smoothly.  Um, excuse me, its going to take a few.  Other than that, their portion of the show was smooth and looked wonderful.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra 2012

The Glenn Miller Orchestra had no sudden changes in their lighting needs and all went great.  Even though they were playing live with the Diamonds during the first half of the show, they were not the focus so lighting then was more of a background idea with just enough from the top so that they could read their music.  After intermission, it was their turn to play alone and I had a little more creative control.  Above the band, we had placed some colors to add some highlights depending on the songs mood.  I used ambers, reds, and blues alone or in a combination to change the view on the stage and really accent the song.

There were two things about The Glenn Miller Orchestra that made this a really special show for me.  I grew up listening to them along with a lot of the other swing bands of that era so I knew every song that was performed that night and could more easily plan appropriate color schemes.  That made it look incredible.  The second thing was a bit more personal.  Listening to these bands as a young kid was partially due to a bit of influence from my grandparents on my mothers side.  That was their golden age of music and my grandmother used to have in depth conversations with me about the history of almost every player in the bands.  She had this amazing way of hearing a recording and knowing who the sax or trumpet or whatever player's name was just by hearing a few seconds of their playing.  Then she would tell me some history of the player and it just amazed me.  I used to love sitting and talking with her about music.  So getting to hear the Glenn Miller Orchestra, even though all of those old players that she new so well are no longer with us, was such a treat that quite a few times it brought tears to my eyes.  I love you and miss you Grandma!

'Til next time!


Matthew

"Just the Chords"

What an amazing week was.  "Just the Chords" was the name of the concert that was performed by the YC choirs and it was named such because it was 7 choirs performing an entire concert of ALL a cappella music.  No piano accompaniment, not even a piano on stage, because it was all tuned with one note from a pitch pipe.  Not only was that exciting to get to witness, but I was in charge of the entire show from the theater's side which meant that I spent most of my time learning about and fine tuning the sound.

The week began on Monday morning when I got to hear the first group, the Angelorum, at their rehearsal.  This choir is made up entirely of women and is a very select group so it is always a joy to hear them.  They have such a beautiful sound.  There are only twelve or thirteen women in the group, but they project quite well so they didn't need much help from the two microphones that I had suspended from the ceiling.

The idea behind the ceiling microphones is to help the singers get a little boost.  In a large hall like ours, choirs have a bit of a hard time getting the sound to resonate well through.  Bringing the speakers up to a level where you can almost not tell that they are being used at all helps a choir not sound so flat and lifeless.  This is not so much the case for a solo singer.  You almost want them to sound like they are coming out of the speakers because they are, most of the time, standing right at the microphone on stage.  Another thing I learned to do when using these mics was to delay the sound coming out of the speakers.  If the choir is standing behind the speakers, which is most often the case, you can use the soundboard to delay the speakers by whatever distance they are in front of the choir.  This results in an effect that makes the speaker sound almost nonexistent because they are waiting until the sound from the choir reaches them before sending the signal out.  Thus, no echo effect because all of the sound is moving as one and gaining small momentum from the speakers while the speakers aren't creating their own wave.

As the week progressed, I got to hear the other six choirs, some twice due to twice a week rehearsal times.  The next choir was the Master Chorale.  This group mostly sings large master works by great composers but occasionally has some fun with smaller pieces as was the case for this concert.  Its quite a large group, made up of forty-five to fifty singers, so they needed less help with sound than the Angelorum.

The next choir was a mix of two choirs.  Sadly, one of our choirs, the Vocal Ensemble, has dwindled in numbers so for this concert they joined with the Concert Choir and sang three songs together.  I had some fun with this combined group and at the end of one of their more "uplifting" pieces, I added a little reverberation.  When they were finished singing, the last chord rang through the hall and took a second to dissipate.  The whole choir, who were completely unaware of what I'd done, said "whoa! Go is!" which just cracked me up.

The Community Chorale has grown in numbers and is up to sixty-five singers now.  What a huge and wonderful sound they have.  I absolutely loved it.  Something new that this choir brought was solos.  Time for me to bring up the stage mics for them while keeping the choir balanced.  Not too difficult, but more fun for me.

Gospel choir, which is brand new to YC this semester, was quite a different beast than all of the previous.  A few solos to mic and a lot of upbeat music was pretty easy for me to work with.  I did use one of my other reverbs because it helped to give everything a "small chapel" kind of sound which helped with the feelings of the music.  They all really seemed to enjoy it and got really into the feeling as well.

Cantamos at rehearsal

Then came Cantamos, formerly the Chamber Singers.  Twenty or so singers who, for some reason, moved forward and sang from the floor instead of the risers.  I was forced to take out all delays because they were right next to the main speakers.  A fun group, they sang something less traditional and funny, a jungle piece, and an all choral version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Even though that covers all seven choirs, there were a few other additions.  All of the women from all choirs sang a song together, some from the stage and some from the balcony.  All of the men also sang a song which was a blast because men's choirs in Prescott are hard to find and have such a great sound. And finally, everyone from all seven choirs, over 175 singers, crammed onto stage for two songs.

And just to give you an idea of how busy I was, not only was I running sound all week, but I also made sure the stage was properly set every day and took notes on what I wanted for lighting during the concert as well as set up the light board for my friend that would be running the lights for me during the concert.  I'll get more into lights in the next few posts as I am more of a lighting guy than sound.

The concert itself went off beautifully with very few if no glitches and was attended by about 500 people which is about half of the capacity of the hall.  For those who don't know, that's great for our local junior college choirs to have that many show.

'Til next time.

Matthew

P.S.  Sorry I didn't get more photos to share.  I will try harder next time to remember to take out my phone and snap some.

2012-2013 Season Beginning

This year has already begun to fly by.  So many fun things have happened so far that I could type for days and fill up far too much space telling you about them.  Here is a quick recap of the shows I have been a part of so far this season with a little info about each.  The rest of my posts from here on out will each be about individual shows and more detailed.

From www.marychapincarpenter.com

Our season opener this year was a concert by a recent inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Mary Chapin Carpenter.  That was an amazing day.  She and the band/crew were very easy going and awesome people.  They rolled in at 8:30 in the morning and were here until about 11:00 that night.  We unloaded everything, built the stage, had a great show, tore down and reloaded them all in that time.  Thank you to everyone involved on that day, especially to Mary for such an amazing show and for being such a cool gal.

After Mary, we had a few smaller, though no less important, shows.  We had a satellite broadcast of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' from the National Theatre of Great Britain, a concert by the Prescott Pops Symphony, and a satellite broadcast of the Manhattan Short Film Festival.  These were all slightly more easy shows to setup and run, but they all had their little quirks.

The next big show to visit was the National Circus of the People's Republic of China.  Wow.  That was not only fun to watch but educational for some of us as well.  45 Chinese unloaded from a bus and started rehearsing at 3:00 in the afternoon and from that moment on it was a spectacle to see.  They worked hard, but were laughing and enjoying everything they did from moment one.  It was awesome to see people love what they do as much as this  group did.  Then it was suddenly quiet.  Apparently it was pre-show nap time. They were all sleeping on the stage or in the dressing rooms an for an hour before getting ready for the show.  Then as soon as the show was over, they tore everything down and were on their way to the next city faster that any group I have ever seen at our theatre.  Great show, great crew, keep up the smiles!

Since then there have been three more shows.  One was the Prescott Film Festival showing of indy film Must Come Down.  Very simple to run and a really cute film.  Then came one of my favorite moments, the live broadcast of L'Elisir d'Amore from The Metropolitan Opera House in New York.  What a blast to watch this amazing cast perform the comedic opera from Donizetti.

Finally, we are down to the most recent of events in my world.  I think I am going to save this for my next post since it is still so fresh in my mind and I can give you more info of all the happenings of the week.

'Til next time,

Matthew

Welcome to My World

I guess I should start by saying that this has been quite an exciting adventure for me, which is why I feel the need to share it with you all.

YCPAC

The main lobby and snack-bar

Quick background.  While taking classes as a music major at Yavapai College as well as working as the Assistant to the Director of Choral Music Activities there, I was approached by one of the staff of the YC Performing Arts Center about helping out during a show.  Having started college a bit late in life, I have a lot of experience in many things so I thought this would be a good opportunity, even though I had very little idea of what it might entail.  Turns out, it is one of the greatest jobs I have ever had the privilege to occupy.  From that day I only worked a few shows a year, mostly only when I was available and needed at the same time which was not very often.  Then about six months ago, something clicked in my brain during my regular, boring and annoying retail job.  With all of my experience, why not contact YC and see if there was any extra work for my to do or training that I could undertake to help me begin my move away from a "job" and into a career.  Since that day I have spent time as a Stage Manager, Lighting Director, and Sound Director for many different shows.

Under the balcony (getting ready for MET live)

Looking out from the stage right portal

These writings are my outlet to not only share my experiences with you all, but to give you an inside look at the inner workings of a live theater.  Not all of the workings - some things are best left to the imagination - but enough to help you appreciate the work that goes into a show.

Backstage with the shell in for a YC choir concert

One disclaimer... In an effort to keep myself and YCPAC out of any trouble, I will not be posting any pictures of events which bear any copyrights.  I will however post photos whenever possible.

Happy Readings,
Matthew





P.S. If you live in Prescott, AZ or are in the area and want to see a show, visit www.YCPAC.com for info, show times, and tickets.