GESAMTKUNSTWERK

The main challenge in bringing “Paisley Mastodons” from rehearsal to production was bringing all of the production elements together in a short period of time.  Though I was able to set up and practice different aspects of the production - dance, video projection, use of dirt, and the mechanism to make the dead birds fall from the ceiling - individually ahead of time, restrictions on the space made it impossible to rehearse the elements together prior to the day of the performance.  This was one downfall of using the Todd Studio space - I had to work around daily dance classes, rehearsals, and the tech and performance schedule of another dance concert that took place the day before mine.  The concert prior to mine required a similar set-up to mine in terms of seating and stage orientation, but prevented me from setting up the unique aspects of my piece, such as the white screens to project onto, the dead bird mechanism, and special lights.  In order to bring together all aspects of my performance, I was able to set up these special features immediately following the evening performance the night before my show, and then have my full tech and dress rehearsal the morning of my performance.  This meant that my dancers had only one rehearsal with all the props and sets before the performance. In order to prepare them for this, I rehearsed different scenarios with them ahead of time so that they would be prepared to act appropriately if props, lighting, or music malfunctioned.  The dancers’ experience with and commitment to the movement, and the improvisational format of much of the piece made revision and response to external factors easy for the dancers.

 

Because “Paisley Mastodons” relies heavily upon projected images, additional lighting had to be kept simple and deliberate.  At all times, the lighting should enhance the feeling that the dance takes place in a real, natural setting, so I eliminated the use of the cyclorama as a backdrop, and avoided over-use of colored light.  The main purpose of the lighting is to direct the audience’s eye.  For example, when the rainmaker first enters the space, the lighting changes to alert the audience that a new presence has arrived.  Additionally, when the follower has her first solo and the rest of the group ignores her suffering and shares in a raucous, jovial game, the light is focused on the follower to prevent the audience from being distracted by the boisterousness of the community.