This is NOT a RHPS post

[outlier_lynn]

I just notice the last five posts I made (not counting comments to others' entries) were about RHPS.

This one is not entirely about something different. Today, I went to see Once on This Island at the San Diego Junior Theartre.

The play is a muscial set in the carribean and is presented as an oral history that has been elevated to mythical levels. It is about the power and sorrows of found and lost romantic love. I was only slightly disappointed in the typically narrow defintion of love that is used in plays and movies. I am a romantic, though. I love love and I like to see it bloom.

The Junior Theatre is fantastic. I've seen two productions by the company 20 years apart. The first with Midsummer Night's Dream. Both were exceptionally well done.

Once on this Island was a technically ambitious play. Not only were there approximately 300 lighting cues, but the stage had a center carousel and four towering mountains that moved all around the stage as players were engaged in carefully choreographed dances. There had to be many, many folks working all the magic to keep that going.

Rocky reference: And the Stage Manager was soylentamanda in her last prodcution at SDJT. She's in Crazed Imaginations.

The performers were great. They put a lot into their performances. I cried several times. The women sitting to my left and right kept glancing at me. :) I guess they weren't as choked up.

At the very beginning an older couple is trying to coax a young girl (our hero) out of a tree. The child had survived a terrible storm by the grace of the Gods. The song they sing to get her out of the tree made me tear up. It was all emotional after that. :)

Unfortunately, the play has one performance left on this run. And it's about 17 hours from now.

For some reason unknown to me, the lighting board decided to reset itself in the middle of a large production number in the second act. Professionalism on stage: with no lights, they carried on.
Professionalism in tech: without panic, the board was reset, recued and the lights were back in short order. It also seemed to me that a spot was pressed into service to light the prinicipals before the lighting board was back on line. That happened pretty quickly.

In a couple of hours, I'll be at the closing show of Suburbia with a bunch form Crazed Imaginations. I've seen it, but I've been told not to miss the closing show. Three CI folks are in that one. Amanda being one. (Very Busy Young Woman)

Comments

once on this island

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

this is one of my very favourite musicals, and wow, you're lucky that you got to see it at all, and see it well done to boot (as you said, it's ambitious). i saw it in its original run on broadway, and it was so great that i went back and saw it twice more. :)

-piranha

Re: once on this island

[crazed-lynn.livejournal.com]

What are you doing with a peace dove icon? Or is that a red dragon?

I was completely impressed with this production.

Because it is junior theater, I keep thinking it will have amateurish productions. Not so, they have very high standards.

Now, a lot of the supporting cast were young folks who need seasoning. But the main characters were just fantastic.

When Jacqueline Lopez (Ti Moune)started singing, I was instantly reminded of the student in Mr. Holland's Opus who rocked the audience.

The Gods were great. Papa Ge (Deomon of Death) played his part with just the right amount of ruthlessness. It was just great.

I shall be going to Junior Theatre more often, I think! Where else can I get third row center for $10!

Re: once on this island

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

What are you doing with a peace dove icon? Or is that a red dragon?

orizuru -- peace crane. i am using it in memory of hiroshima.

wow, and $10 for good seats! that really sounds like a winner. and worthy of support.

-piranha

[illian.livejournal.com]

Ah, I miss having to reset lighting boards. Particularly when there is a brownout and all 24 intellabeams have to reboot before they can run cues properly again. *ironic look* Intelligent lighting indeed. Although it was amusing watching the performers trying to project while on mic because they suddenly heard several dozen motors all whirring right over their heads. =)

[crazed-lynn.livejournal.com]

Speaking of "on mic." I have to remember to ask Amanada how that was done. Most of the principals were on mic -- their voices were coming out the speakers. I couldn't figure out how they were on mic. Nothing showed. There is something happening here that the geek in me wants to know!

[illian.livejournal.com]

I can't speak as to how they did it but we used to have mics that were basically a wire and a tiny receiver that were colored the same tone as flesh so they could run across the cheek. The other thing was having the receiver at edge of the hairline, above the forehead.