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Hard work behind the curtain
October 26, 2007
Visit: LutePics Gallery
In the weeks leading up to last weekend’s opening of “Our Country’s Good,” it wasn’t unusual to find Eastvold Auditorium crawling with people after midnight.
“In theater, a certain camaraderie develops when everyone is working together side-by-side,” said visiting assistant theater professor Henry Loughman.
Those working feverishly to tie up last minute odds and ends included theater students, theater faculty and volunteers. The lighting scheme was fine-tuned, paint on the set was touched up and final touches were added to costumes. Late nights – or all-nighters even – were typical.
The end result is an artful display of the acting, directing and design talents of PLU students and faculty.
“Theater is the collaborative art form,” said assistant theater professor Brian Desmond, director of the show.
When Desmond began planning for the production at the beginning of fall semester, he first met with fellow faculty members Kathleen Anderson and Loughman. The three discussed how they envisioned the sets, costumes, lighting, sounds and props looking. The five behind-the-scenes “design areas” play a crucial role in setting the look and feel of the show, Desmond said.
For example, Loughman, who is the set designer and technical director, said that after he read the play, he “didn’t see a lot walls.” So instead of walls, he used platforms of various heights, stairs and trees to create a backdrop for the show’s 22 scenes, which take place in a variety of locations.
The set for each theater production is built from scratch. Students make up Loughman’s crew, and they are charged with bringing his designs to life.
“It’s the students who actually assemble and execute the design,” Loughman explained. “I’m more of a technical director.”
Theater productions provide students with a practical application for classroom learning. While Loughman can tell students how to build a set in the classroom, it’s more valuable for them to have the hands-on experience and see how the execution takes place.
“They’re able to connect the dots,” Loughman said. “They understand why the things we teach in class are so important.”
The productions also give students the opportunity to work and participate in the collaborative environment. Students are encouraged to offer their ideas, and if they’re good, Loughman said he’ll run with them.
“In a healthy collaborative environment, we feed off of each other,” Loughman explained.
Anderson agreed. In general, she designs all the costumes and students help bring her designs to life by cutting and sewing.
Not all costumes are created from scratch. Oftentimes, they can be pulled from stock and tweaked to fit a character. For “Our Country’s Good,” about half the costumes were from stock. After describing the characters, Anderson charged her student staffers with piecing together the ensembles and making adjustments.
“The challenge for me is making things look authentic and how people really wore their clothes,” Anderson said.
For this show, the costumers had to create the britches, jackets and vests of 11 British officer uniforms. It required hours of research by Anderson to create an authentic design.
“It’s a big challenge because all the uniforms are from scratch. It’s pretty fastidious and challenging to make,” said student Dmitry Mikheyev. “Every time we’re doing something, we’re referring back to Kathy’s research, to make it as real as possible.”
Mikheyev was one of six students paid to work on costuming. Actors and other theater majors also volunteered their time to help with the cutting and sewing, which included sewing on more than 500 buttons, the vast majority of which weren’t functional. By having the actors help make costumes, they gain a better understanding of – more respect for – the costume staff, Desmond said.
Written by Timberlake Wertenbaker, “Our Country’s Good” depicts the true story of the first theatrical performance in Australia. In June 1789, a marine lieutenant decides to produce a play to celebrate the king’s birthday and casts the production with the English convicts incarcerated in the colony. Produced against the backdrop of food shortage and barbaric punishments, the play displays the civilizing influence of theatrical endeavor.
The remaining shows are Nov. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 4 at 2 p.m., in Eastvold Auditorium. The cost is $5 for the PLU community and $8 for general admission. For more information, contact the School of Arts and Communication at ext. 7150 or soac@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu.
Those working feverishly to tie up last minute odds and ends included theater students, theater faculty and volunteers. The lighting scheme was fine-tuned, paint on the set was touched up and final touches were added to costumes. Late nights – or all-nighters even – were typical.
The end result is an artful display of the acting, directing and design talents of PLU students and faculty.
“Theater is the collaborative art form,” said assistant theater professor Brian Desmond, director of the show.
When Desmond began planning for the production at the beginning of fall semester, he first met with fellow faculty members Kathleen Anderson and Loughman. The three discussed how they envisioned the sets, costumes, lighting, sounds and props looking. The five behind-the-scenes “design areas” play a crucial role in setting the look and feel of the show, Desmond said.
For example, Loughman, who is the set designer and technical director, said that after he read the play, he “didn’t see a lot walls.” So instead of walls, he used platforms of various heights, stairs and trees to create a backdrop for the show’s 22 scenes, which take place in a variety of locations.
The set for each theater production is built from scratch. Students make up Loughman’s crew, and they are charged with bringing his designs to life.
“It’s the students who actually assemble and execute the design,” Loughman explained. “I’m more of a technical director.”
Theater productions provide students with a practical application for classroom learning. While Loughman can tell students how to build a set in the classroom, it’s more valuable for them to have the hands-on experience and see how the execution takes place.
“They’re able to connect the dots,” Loughman said. “They understand why the things we teach in class are so important.”
The productions also give students the opportunity to work and participate in the collaborative environment. Students are encouraged to offer their ideas, and if they’re good, Loughman said he’ll run with them.
“In a healthy collaborative environment, we feed off of each other,” Loughman explained.
Anderson agreed. In general, she designs all the costumes and students help bring her designs to life by cutting and sewing.
Not all costumes are created from scratch. Oftentimes, they can be pulled from stock and tweaked to fit a character. For “Our Country’s Good,” about half the costumes were from stock. After describing the characters, Anderson charged her student staffers with piecing together the ensembles and making adjustments.
“The challenge for me is making things look authentic and how people really wore their clothes,” Anderson said.
For this show, the costumers had to create the britches, jackets and vests of 11 British officer uniforms. It required hours of research by Anderson to create an authentic design.
“It’s a big challenge because all the uniforms are from scratch. It’s pretty fastidious and challenging to make,” said student Dmitry Mikheyev. “Every time we’re doing something, we’re referring back to Kathy’s research, to make it as real as possible.”
Mikheyev was one of six students paid to work on costuming. Actors and other theater majors also volunteered their time to help with the cutting and sewing, which included sewing on more than 500 buttons, the vast majority of which weren’t functional. By having the actors help make costumes, they gain a better understanding of – more respect for – the costume staff, Desmond said.
Written by Timberlake Wertenbaker, “Our Country’s Good” depicts the true story of the first theatrical performance in Australia. In June 1789, a marine lieutenant decides to produce a play to celebrate the king’s birthday and casts the production with the English convicts incarcerated in the colony. Produced against the backdrop of food shortage and barbaric punishments, the play displays the civilizing influence of theatrical endeavor.
The remaining shows are Nov. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 4 at 2 p.m., in Eastvold Auditorium. The cost is $5 for the PLU community and $8 for general admission. For more information, contact the School of Arts and Communication at ext. 7150 or soac@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu.