Monday, 29th October, 2007
1:23 pm : All Set for the Parables
For a while now I’ve been busying myself getting ready for the next show - and this time it’s a fairly interesting digression from the norm. This week Imperial Productions are putting on a couple of short operas by Benjamin Britten in a lovely little church in South Kensington, so I’ve just spent the weekend setting up for it.
We’ve created a large a circular acting space in the centre of the church, with the audience sat around about three quarters of its circumference; the quarter nearest the Altar houses a small 8-piece chamber orchestra to provide accompaniment to the 11 actors.
I spent a fun part of the weekend figuring out how to position proper lighting around the acting space with our designer, Ray Medhurst. Plus, of course, how on earth to provide the lights with adequate power. After worrying that the only power outlets we could find were 5 amps, we eventually stumbled across some real life 13 amp sockets, and a few electrical bodges later, our 63A dimmer racks are glowing nicely, albeit with quite tiny loads connected. In addition to four T-stands scattered around the church, we’ve also erected a tower in the West end of the church to provide a few extra lighting positions.
From what I’ve seen of the show itself, I think it’s going to be really good. The music is very challenging but the musicians and singers are all very competent, and it seems to be coming together nicely under the direction of Tim Brierley, who’s using the novel space really well. Our dress rehearsal is tonight - so hopefully we’ll have some nice photos soon. Then we open on Tuesday … so come see it!
