Back to the drawing board

This blog reaches your eyes after a week in which it has clicked for me that there are lights EVERYWHERE, (which makes for a very excited Zoe even at the most inane traffic light... or, funnily, Wetherspoons loos) that one size most cerainly does not fit all when it comes to rig plans and that there may be some weight to the friendly advice I often receive to slow down.

This week I am also writing in Nuneaton, my hometown, which is an oddity in itself! I am briefly able to recouperate here whilst in town for my sister's graduation before I shoot off again to Latitude Festival at the end of the week. But all this need for recouperation after a week which started out so chilled I was even able to read my Observer magazine in the park on Sunday evening?

I found out early in the week that Rash Dash, for whom I am designing the lighting for their coming show, were to perform a preview at Bradford University's Theatre in the Mill and that the techinical manager required a rig plan to sort things at his end. Brilliant! I thought, I can do that... I like doing things like this... it's when? It's this Saturday? Ah...

So after many a frenzied e-mail finding out what was required, it was decided that it would be suitable to send the plan which I last week sent to Bedlam and have the technical manager in Bradford adapt this for his own space. Exciting! Yes...?

I got a reply saying that they couldn't manage the amount of lanterns I required which threw me into a state of oh-my-good-gosh-maybe-I'm-not-so-great-at-this-what-if-all-the-people-at-Bedlam-are-laughing-at-me but a lengthy, (far too over-excitable on my side) phone call established that I am not the precious type and was happy for him to scale everything down as he saw fit. Sorted! And isn't it good that he likes that they're bringing their own... their own... oh no...

GELS! With weeks to go until the fringe and more immediate things to attend to I had assumed that the finalisation of a colour-scheme for my design would be something I could mull over, over time, over coffee and scarf-aided flouncing around the park, at least after seeing a draft of the performance?

All I can say is that I'm lucky to still have the benefit of such an incredible support network of fellow NSDF '09 tech crew and designers and a trusting technical tutor at the University as within about twenty-four hours, some trusting of my own gut instinct and the reassurance received that this instinct was in fact most probably correct, I had managed to get into my Drama Department's gel store and provided the girls of Rash Dash with a small pile of gels and some instruction as to where they should go. But what a shame I can't go and see the performance to evaluate how everything actually looks! I'm going home to Nuneaton the day of the performance, I couldn't possibly...

My housemate arived on Friday to finish her packing as we had to be out of the house this weekend. She had made plans herself to go and see the show. I am impulsive. You can guess what happened next.

After a nightmare train journey we finally saw the show and it was fantastic. The girls are stunning performers and the technical manager had done a fantastic job of modifying my design. He gave some lovely feedback as well, which was wonderful to hear as this is still really only one of my very first designs. It was also very intresting to find that, possibly as I primarily come from a performance background, I find myself able to apply the feedback directed at the performers to aid my own ideas; contrast in the quality of movement and character will be aided by the quality of light under which it is seen, surely?

I am self-critical and sat in my hot little seat situated front centre, (a choice which I later grew to regret with the realisation that it would be rude to take notes from this position) thinking about how much of my design should change. Though this is no bad thing and I look forward to modifying it accordingly. And I do mean really look forward to it. Without seeing it again before the fringe? Quite possibly. The saga shall continue; hopefully much to your reading pleasure and possible amusement.

For now then, it is back to the drawing board and off to Suffolk for Latitude, and as my laptop is going in for repair all posts I make before September shall be made by other means. Which will be amusing in itself!