#etcion

So this post marks the first of my blog posts throughout the semester for my design seminar course. I am the lighting designer for Pippin, and the sound designer for Emerging Choreographers' Showcase. My design prelims are well underway for Pippin. More on that to come. For now, here's what I was up to over the summer:

First, I was one of the lighting interns at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where I programmed all 3 of the main season shows: Taming of the Shrew, Richard II, and The Heart of Robin Hood by David Farr.

The theatre itself is a big tent, on an historical estate overlooking the Hudson River.

And with the West Point military academy just across the river, we were sometimes treated to a perfect view of summer fireworks:

We also had our fair share of run-ins with the local wildlife, like this snapping turtle who decided we wouldn't need this cable run that day:

Or my console caterpillar friend:

Who then betrayed me and tried to steal my job:

Step 3: Control the gears.  The gears are controlled with the light board - dimmers were profiled for on/off capability, and stage pin connectors were wired to the power in lines for the relay.  Since the gears are different sizes, they need to be started in sequence for them all to move simultaneously.  Spencer wrote the timing into cues with follows, but we did not want to have to copy the follows every time the motors were used...