07 October 2009
I just had this moment
of recalling the work of Diane Arbus - amazing creepy photographer - i think there's a movie about her called FUR.
anyway. i remembered these photos that made me think of the Phantoms.
The wall that will crash down.
Images for translating the gothic to more abstract and creating the shadow of a world. black on black. and then with Rocky's revel the world comes crashing down.
-painting-number2.jpg)
Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter mainly associated with the Abstract Expressionist painters who were centered, geographically, around New York, and temporally, in the 1940s and 1950s; but not limited to that setting. He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, attended Girard College, an academy for fatherless boys; attended Boston University; spent summers from 1956-62 painting in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and died in New York City of a rheumatic heart disease. He was married to Elizabeth Vincent Parsons, a British ballet dancer.
[edit] Career
As with Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionists, he was labeled an "action painter" because of his seemingly spontaneous and intense style, focusing less, or not at all, on figures or imagery, but on the actual brush strokes and use of canvas. For most of Kline's [mature and representative] work, however, as the phrase goes, "spontaneity is practiced". He would prepare many draft sketches – notably, commonly on refuse telephone book pages – before going to make his "spontaneous" work.
[edit] Black and white and color
Kline's best known abstract expressionist paintings are in black and white. Kline re-introduced color into his paintings around 1955, though he used color more consistently after 1959. Kline's paintings are deceptively subtle. While generally his paintings have a dynamic, spontaneous and dramatic impact, Kline often closely referred to his compositional drawings. Kline carefully rendered many of his most complex pictures from studies. There seems to be references to Japanese calligraphy in Kline's black and white paintings, although he always denied that connection. Bridges, tunnels, buildings, engines, railroads and other architectural and industrial icons are often suggested as imagery informing Kline's work.
Kline's most recognizable method/style derives from a suggestion made to him by his friend Willem De Kooning. In 1948, de Kooning suggested to an artistically frustrated Kline to bring in a sketch and project it with a Bell Opticon opaque projector he had at his studio. Kline described the projection as such:
- "A four by five inch black drawing of a rocking chair...loomed in gigantic black strokes which eradicated any image, the strokes expanding as entities in themselves, unrelated to any entity but that of their own existence."
Kline created paintings in the style of what he saw that day throughout his life. In 1950, he exhibited many works in this style at the Charles Egan Gallery.
17 September 2009
26 August 2009
work.
i post this, not cause it has anything to do with ROCKY, but because it does at the same time.
I admire Mary greatly. I have known her for close to 8 years now, and Greensgrow is just a few blocks from my house. please do give a listen.
http://www.whyy.org/podcast/thisibelieve/tib20090213.mp3
I admire Mary greatly. I have known her for close to 8 years now, and Greensgrow is just a few blocks from my house. please do give a listen.
http://www.whyy.org/podcast/thisibelieve/tib20090213.mp3
and yes....
i know. it's the Bull Center. the first idea was to have an ally config, where there were two banks of audience, facing each other, and looking at each other through the action of the play, which i thought was really important.
i have been told that it is 'impossible' to stage in that config.
so there we are.
maybe some will have issue with me stating this, it is however what is. and i roll with it.
i have been told that it is 'impossible' to stage in that config.
so there we are.
maybe some will have issue with me stating this, it is however what is. and i roll with it.
15 August 2009
14 August 2009
the final 1/4" scale model of the set
Brendan & I will be finishin up the set model between 12noon & 5pm this coming thursday the 20th of August over at the scene shop.
stop by if you want a sneak peek of the chaos.
stop by if you want a sneak peek of the chaos.
03 August 2009
29 July 2009
1/4" scale starts today.
the model. getting ready to present on the 4th is it?
anyway.
"For me, the heart of the theater is what happens between the performer and spectator: the pulsating, vibrating flow of energy which can only happen live in the presence of both parties..." -Diane Paulus, Artistic Director, American Repertory Theater
anyway.
"For me, the heart of the theater is what happens between the performer and spectator: the pulsating, vibrating flow of energy which can only happen live in the presence of both parties..." -Diane Paulus, Artistic Director, American Repertory Theater
28 July 2009
YOUR script.
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/rockyhorror/audience
FOR WHATEVER REASON it doesn't seem to work as a LINK. so cut and paste.
FOR WHATEVER REASON it doesn't seem to work as a LINK. so cut and paste.
23 July 2009
catching up.
so on the 18th Liz Staruch, Len Kelly, Emily Rogge and I went to see ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. posts on that to follow. did confirm for me that ROCKY is really about the cult classic aspect, the event, the community that surrounds the movie and stage show. after all, for me personally, neither the movie or the stage show are great pieces of film or theater. can either stand on their own as really legit pieces of art? or are they just b rated trash?
FROM LIZ:
My evening at the Colonial started with sitting across the street at a cafe watching the wide range of ages and the great homemade costumes line up for this event. I also loved observing those walking down the street asking 'what's going on' and upon seeing the kid dressed only in a gold lame speedo and hiking boots 'what the hell is he doing?' I always love getting that response from an audience.
Like Mark said, it really is about the event, interacting with the community who get to be something other than themselves for a few hours. Even if not in costume (which we did not do), the act of shouting out lines and reacting to new ones you haven't heard yet regardless of whether they were in good or poor taste (like all the Michael Jackson references) was electric.
It also for me confirmed that we need to black out as much of the Ikea theatre as possible if only to protect what finishes are still there but also to escape that pre-fab world and create a black void where our characters feel free to be themselves.
-- Liz
FROM LIZ:
My evening at the Colonial started with sitting across the street at a cafe watching the wide range of ages and the great homemade costumes line up for this event. I also loved observing those walking down the street asking 'what's going on' and upon seeing the kid dressed only in a gold lame speedo and hiking boots 'what the hell is he doing?' I always love getting that response from an audience.
Like Mark said, it really is about the event, interacting with the community who get to be something other than themselves for a few hours. Even if not in costume (which we did not do), the act of shouting out lines and reacting to new ones you haven't heard yet regardless of whether they were in good or poor taste (like all the Michael Jackson references) was electric.
It also for me confirmed that we need to black out as much of the Ikea theatre as possible if only to protect what finishes are still there but also to escape that pre-fab world and create a black void where our characters feel free to be themselves.
-- Liz
09 July 2009
round and round. yeah that's right. i got Ratt stuck in my head
somehow this image was much better as a more ghost like photocopy.
"Rocky Horror belongs to the audience, not clever design..."
03 July 2009
The movie
It's 1:30 and i just stumbled across the movie of ROCKY HORROR on the Fuse network ( i heart you DirecTV...)
I haven't seen this since going to see it in South Hadley, MA at a little theater across the street from Mt. Holyoke College when i was at UMass the first time around.
There's such an event tied to going to see this movie in person, that is totally lost lying in bed at this late hour, and i'm thinking more and more that it's important to honor this aspect of the show.
Us vs. Them. here and there, how do YOU see things. It's not about making some huge cultural statement. That just happens on it's own i am convinced. No need to beat it to death.
So all I was going to say this morning is that the movie is on, and the storyboarding is taking place. on to model pieces tomorrow. to create the shadows of the world.
the question i want to put to the audience is 'what do you think you're looking at?"
I haven't seen this since going to see it in South Hadley, MA at a little theater across the street from Mt. Holyoke College when i was at UMass the first time around.
There's such an event tied to going to see this movie in person, that is totally lost lying in bed at this late hour, and i'm thinking more and more that it's important to honor this aspect of the show.
Us vs. Them. here and there, how do YOU see things. It's not about making some huge cultural statement. That just happens on it's own i am convinced. No need to beat it to death.
So all I was going to say this morning is that the movie is on, and the storyboarding is taking place. on to model pieces tomorrow. to create the shadows of the world.
the question i want to put to the audience is 'what do you think you're looking at?"
23 June 2009
school for scandal.
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=P18396_0_42_0_C
A scheme was proposed around 1800 by the French architect C-N Ledoux for the town of Chaux. The venue was called the 'Oikema' or 'Temple of Sexual Instruction' and was shaped like a giant phallus in plan. Needless to say it wasn't built...
http://studentwebs.coloradocollege.edu/~n_buehrens/oikema.htm
22 June 2009
"Sham Gothic"
So I have become interested in the idea of "Sham Gothic" going along with the idea put forward in the first design meeting that "things are not what they seem".
Looking at:
Strawberry Hill (1748? Horace Walpole)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Hill,_London
Fonthill Abbey ( 1795, James Wyatt.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonthill_Abbey
Fonthill is of real interest in that "Beckford lived alone in his abbey and used only one of its bedrooms for his own use. His kitchens prepared food for 12 every day although he always dined alone and sent other meals away afterwards. Only once, in 1800 did he entertain guests when Admiral Horatio Nelson and Lady Hamilton visited the Abbey."
odd, in many ways, but it's a connection to ROCKY, and the world we are after.
GOTHIC Adjective
1. of a style of architecture used in W Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses
2. of a literary style featuring stories of gloom, horror, and the supernatural, popular in the late 18th century
3. of or in a heavy ornate script typeface
Noun
Gothic architecture or art [Greek Gothoi]
Goth·ic (gthk)
adj.
1.
a. Of or relating to the Goths or their language.
b. Germanic; Teutonic.
2. Of or relating to the Middle Ages; medieval.
3.
a. Of or relating to an architectural style prevalent in western Europe from the 12th through the 15th century and characterized by pointed arches, rib vaulting, and a developing emphasis on verticality and the impression of height.
b. Of or relating to an architectural style derived from medieval Gothic.
4. Of or relating to painting, sculpture, or other art forms prevalent in northern Europe from the 12th through the 15th century.
5. often gothic Of or relating to a style of fiction that emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate.
6. gothic Barbarous; crude.
n.
1. The extinct East Germanic language of the Goths.
2. Gothic art or architecture.
3. often gothic Printing
a. See black letter.
b. See sans serif.
4. A novel in a style emphasizing the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate.
and we're off
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. West Chester University. 2009.
this will be an attempt to show the design process on ROCKY as it progresses from the the official offer to design both set and lights came sometime in late May 2009 through the meetings, 8 million emails, phone calls, cocktail napkins, and vectorworks.
the artistic team is.
co-directors: Bob Bytnar & Liz Staruch
musical director:
choreographer: Liz Staruch
production design (set & lights): Mark O'Maley
costume design: Joan
sound design: Todd William
dramaturg:
stage manager:
Our first meeting was 8 June in the MWAT.
NOTES:
Next meeting - Mon, June 22 at 10:30am (location?) - Joan and Briana, can you both make it to this? (Please confirm with me)
Mon, July 6 at 10:30am
Mon, July 13 at 10:30am
(these are dependent on Bob's orientation schedule with the incoming freshmen - Bob, please let me know ASAP on your schedule)
Drawings Due - Wed, July 22
Plot Due- Wed, Aug 19
Initial concept ideas:
-Things are not as they appear!
- Liz interested in the Gothic imagery and manipulation of the show. Wanting visually to break the 4th wall as the audience is very much a part of this experience.
-People complete the pieces/elements (ie archway - the top is representational, the columns completed by people (Phantoms))
-Using "people as architecture" (Mark's words)
-Don't hide anything - the crew and the orchestra would all be seen (need to be costumed in some way?)
-Do we have a blank slate when the audience comes in (they are expecting something) or do we give the impression they are expecting (set, location, etc)
-Props used are not what they are supposed to be used for; ie tree branches could be lighting/electric bolts, painted metal, a cape becomes a window
-Costuming Phantoms - possibly include capes, certain parts include masks, maybe we don't always see them as human figures, but shadows, flurry of activity to change acting spaces, provide just enough element to suggest location
- We know its presentation, audience participation with a sense of realism within the scenes
Cast:
- per Bob, no double casting
- # Phantoms to be decided - combo of singers, dancers
- Bob would like 2 Usherettes
Pre-Show ideas:
- A lot of names people do not know anymore (50s icons in B movies?). How do we identify names, their cultural role, etc?
- Introduce idea of film with this - pre-movie trivia film - as they do before movies, run images, info, games (?) as audience comes in
Overall questions:
- How do we bridge audience expectations with original script?
- Are we doing the movie, the play, a combo, what?
- Could we be doing a movie - frame the script as a movie - from screen is life - where do they go at the end - where is "someplace else"?
- Story arc - from A to B or circular? Conversation on circular seemed prominent - start w/nothing, end w/nothing, did this even happen?
Dramaturgy Initial Needs:
-Info on the original STAGE production and the 25th Anniversary stage production
-What made it jump from script to film?
-Reviews - several productions within Philly - check Inquirer, City Paper, Philly Weekly ad Daily News archives
-Bob mentioned the TLA in Philly used to run the movie once a month - perhaps there is info on why, and if it still happens
-Focus more on the stage production. Too much written about the film and that's not what we want.
contacting Gina to discuss her part in this with her schedule and we'll have to contact Dan about possible conducting.
We are talking a 2 weekend run - Opening, Thurs Oct 22, run Fri-Sat Oct 23-24; resume Thurs, Oct 29, run Fri-Sat, Oct 30-31 with 2 shows on Halloween (7pm and 12midnight?) - NO MATINEES of this performance (times need to be decided soon)
Strike to be scheduled on Sun, Nov 1 (not directly after the midnight showing)
this will be an attempt to show the design process on ROCKY as it progresses from the the official offer to design both set and lights came sometime in late May 2009 through the meetings, 8 million emails, phone calls, cocktail napkins, and vectorworks.
the artistic team is.
co-directors: Bob Bytnar & Liz Staruch
musical director:
choreographer: Liz Staruch
production design (set & lights): Mark O'Maley
costume design: Joan
sound design: Todd William
dramaturg:
stage manager:
Our first meeting was 8 June in the MWAT.
NOTES:
Next meeting - Mon, June 22 at 10:30am (location?) - Joan and Briana, can you both make it to this? (Please confirm with me)
Mon, July 6 at 10:30am
Mon, July 13 at 10:30am
(these are dependent on Bob's orientation schedule with the incoming freshmen - Bob, please let me know ASAP on your schedule)
Drawings Due - Wed, July 22
Plot Due- Wed, Aug 19
Initial concept ideas:
-Things are not as they appear!
- Liz interested in the Gothic imagery and manipulation of the show. Wanting visually to break the 4th wall as the audience is very much a part of this experience.
-People complete the pieces/elements (ie archway - the top is representational, the columns completed by people (Phantoms))
-Using "people as architecture" (Mark's words)
-Don't hide anything - the crew and the orchestra would all be seen (need to be costumed in some way?)
-Do we have a blank slate when the audience comes in (they are expecting something) or do we give the impression they are expecting (set, location, etc)
-Props used are not what they are supposed to be used for; ie tree branches could be lighting/electric bolts, painted metal, a cape becomes a window
-Costuming Phantoms - possibly include capes, certain parts include masks, maybe we don't always see them as human figures, but shadows, flurry of activity to change acting spaces, provide just enough element to suggest location
- We know its presentation, audience participation with a sense of realism within the scenes
Cast:
- per Bob, no double casting
- # Phantoms to be decided - combo of singers, dancers
- Bob would like 2 Usherettes
Pre-Show ideas:
- A lot of names people do not know anymore (50s icons in B movies?). How do we identify names, their cultural role, etc?
- Introduce idea of film with this - pre-movie trivia film - as they do before movies, run images, info, games (?) as audience comes in
Overall questions:
- How do we bridge audience expectations with original script?
- Are we doing the movie, the play, a combo, what?
- Could we be doing a movie - frame the script as a movie - from screen is life - where do they go at the end - where is "someplace else"?
- Story arc - from A to B or circular? Conversation on circular seemed prominent - start w/nothing, end w/nothing, did this even happen?
Dramaturgy Initial Needs:
-Info on the original STAGE production and the 25th Anniversary stage production
-What made it jump from script to film?
-Reviews - several productions within Philly - check Inquirer, City Paper, Philly Weekly ad Daily News archives
-Bob mentioned the TLA in Philly used to run the movie once a month - perhaps there is info on why, and if it still happens
-Focus more on the stage production. Too much written about the film and that's not what we want.
contacting Gina to discuss her part in this with her schedule and we'll have to contact Dan about possible conducting.
We are talking a 2 weekend run - Opening, Thurs Oct 22, run Fri-Sat Oct 23-24; resume Thurs, Oct 29, run Fri-Sat, Oct 30-31 with 2 shows on Halloween (7pm and 12midnight?) - NO MATINEES of this performance (times need to be decided soon)
Strike to be scheduled on Sun, Nov 1 (not directly after the midnight showing)
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