Reflection

     My Capstone project was to learn about theater and its lighting aspects.  For each aspect of my project I used skills like, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.  While writing my research paper I thought carefully about what I was writing and tried to be as original as I could, along with asking others for help when needed.  When working with my mentor I had to make sure I was on point and not doing anything stupid because others where relying on me.  During my physical project, working stage crew for Skyline's musical, I had to communicate with other s and collaborate with them, so that we could get our jobs done in an orderly and efficient way.  

     My project really help me learn about what I want to do after high school.  I loved doing lights for SSFHS and after working at Skyline for my project, I know that this is what I want my career to be.  One unexpected thing I gained from this project was friends.  While working the show I met so many cool people and developed some great friendships.  Hopefully I will see them next semester over at Skyline.  The most important things I learned from the project where the little pieces of information and tips about lighting.  They may not seem like much but they help to make a show easier and looking better than ever.

     I faced many challenges during my project.  The first being the fact that it took me forever to find a mentor.  Luckily one of my best friends is in the theater group at Skyline and was able to tell me about his teacher, Allan Ceccarelli.  Another challenge was all the late hours.  I was able to complete all the hours for this project in three days because I was working with them from basically dawn to dusk.  But it was worth it, so I just made sure I got as much sleep as possible.  The last challenge I faced was "learning the ropes" and this didn't just include the fry rail.  Getting used to how Skyline theater performances run was difficult at first, because it is nothing like SSFHS, but after some hard work and help from my new friends I got through it and did a good job.

     The Capstone Project was a fun experience.  I used all my skills to complete it to the best of my ability and helped put on a great performance.  Along the way I learned many thing that I will defiantly use now and later in life.  I couldn't have gotten through this if it weren't for my new friends and I thank them for it. 

Hour 25

Hour 25 was the start of our first show.  I was nervous because I didn't know how well we would do with our set changes, but at the same time a was sure we could get this done.  As the show started we made the scene changes as they came and things went pretty smoothly.  We did make a couple mistakes, for one while setting up for the Hot Box, while I plunging it in the back drop for this scene didn't come down and then on top of that the lights came up while I was still back there.  The audience still couldn't see me but the the scene was still not fully set up.  Other than that the musical went very smoothly and I found it as a great experience.  

Hour 24

Hour 24 consisted of fixing and perfecting the set pieces.  One set piece we worked on was a building the was cut in half, this way you could see in side.  but this being done, meant that you could see the supports underneath the floor of the building.  So to fix this we cut luan into strips and drilled it on over the bottom, to act as a cover.  Next we cut some luan into frames and painted them yellow.  While they were drying we cut plexiglass,  one into a rectangle and one with a rounded top.  These would later act as windows during the Havana scene.  To set us the windows we first drill some luan, that was shaped like the frame, into the set pieces.  Then We painted inside the fame black and once the black had dried we added some highlights to give it depth.  We all the paint was dried we drilled on the plexiglass and then the actual frame.  This gave the effect of a glass window with a warm light inside.   

Hour 23

Hour 23 rolled in and we were still hard at work in the theater. After finding the correct lens we had to focus some lights.  For the Havana scene we used the cyc, which is a big white curtain in the back of the stage that you can project colors and images onto.  During this scene we added colors and gobos of moons and palm trees.  To get this set up I had to go up on the lift to put in the gobos.  Once I was up there and had put the gobos in the right lights, I focused then so that the image was clear and look right.

Hour 22

During Hour 22 we did some last minute work to get ready for the up coming shows.  We had to focus a couple of lights, but first we had to find the correct lens.  I learned while doing this that all lights can be used with different size lens that help focus them for different distances and sizes.  This was a lot of trial and error because we had to one, figure out what lens we would use and two, actually find them all.  This got pretty annoying because we would haul out lights that had the lens on them and either not use them or just use the lens.  So either way we had to haul them back.

Hour 21

Hour 21 came and we were starting he second half of the show in our run through.  I was still working back stage working the rails and making set changes.  Workin the rails though, was mu favorite part because it was sonething totally new to me.  At SSFHS we dint have a fly rail so working with it was a great experience.  The second half of the show was a lot easier to work than the first half.  It was not only a little shorter, but the set changes involved were the easiest.  These scenes were easy because one we had more time to set up and second they were all the scenes that either used the same set pieces or had few to move.  By the end of the hour we had basically finished our run through.

Hour 20

During Hour 20 we started a run through of the musical.  Working back stage is a lot of things, its fun, stressful, boring and more.  As the show progressed we practiced the scene changes.  These could be really stressful because of timing, actors not knowing what to do, and much more.  In between scene changes can be just as bad.  When your not running around or doin anything, your sitting down back stage as quitely as possible.  One of the hardest scen changes in the show was the "Hot Box" scene, which was basically a night club.  This scene was difficult because the main set piece was really big and heavy.  Then to add onto that we had to fly out one set of side curtains, then fly them back in, along with another curtain.  While tht is all going on I had to make sure that the Hot Box got pluged in because it was lined with light bulbs, to add an old school night club feel.  If you thought that was hard enough, this entire set change happened during another scene.

Hour 19

When Hour 19 came we perpared the stage for a run through of the performance.  The first thing we did was move the set pieces and clear he stage.  Then we swept up anything on the floor and after we moved it out of the way, we moped the entire stage.  When the stafe was dry we got the set pieces back into position.  We then lowered the side curtains into position using the fly rail.  Once thatwas done we set up for the top of the show, this included lower the "broadway" back drop and moving the news stand into place.

Hour 18

Hour 18 came and I was still in class.  I learned how to set up lights and how to install gobos into lights.  An interesting fact that I learned was that source 4 lights have a turn able barrel.  This would have been useful earlier in the year because we had recently got some in our theater at South City.  We went over things in the class that might distort the image of a gobo, like dust which diffracts light, messing up the image.  When we were working on the light board we learned how to use the channel check option, which lets you run through each light channel quickly, making it easier when trying to finding a specific light.

Hour 17

I started hour 17 by going to my mentor's class at Skyline College.  I learned a lot of interesting things from this class.  One thing I learned was all the different ways to use gobos.  A gobo is a piece of thin metal that has a image cut into it.  You can put these into lights to project the image onto whatever you want.  but there is a down side to gobos, because they are made out of thin metal the heat from the lights will burn them over time.  You also have limited options when it come to coloring them.  Another thing you could use would be a lithograph which is made out of glass so the image is already in full color.  During the class I also learned about things like lighting angles and throw, which helps you judge where to put a gobo so it is the right size and shape. 

Hour 16

Into hour 16 we started the second half of our play run through.  I continued running fly real along with anything else I was told to do.  The second half was a lot shorter than the first so we were able to get through it a little quicker.  We still had a lot to do though, we had to work on our timing and making sure we got done with set changes as quickly as possible.  It was actually pretty fun because it was all new experiences for me.  When we finished we cleared the stage and flew out all the curtains.  This was so there would be enough room on stage to make and repairs or additions to the set pieces.

Hour 15

During hour 15 we started an actual run through of the musical.  For the show I help out with their stage crew.  This meant I was setting up scenes and using the fly real.  The fly real is a bunch of weighted ropes that hold up the drops.  Drops are used as background and can have images on them, like cities or neon lights.  Each drop is attached to one fly and can be controlled using to ropes.  To work them you pull the front rope to bring the drop in and you pull the back rope to fly it out.  We practiced each scene in order as if it was an actual show, so we could get our timing down.

Hour 14

Hour 14 came and we were still running through all the cues.  We were coming near the end but still had a little while to go.  By this point I was really tired and had been doing the same thing for a long time.  We were still making sure everything look right and matched the mood of the scene.  If they didn't we changed either the light color or the lights we were using.  the actors continued to go through their blocking, stage movements, so that we could correctly focus the lights on the right spots.  We finally reached the end of the cues and made sure we saved all our changes.

Hour 13

Going into the 13th hour we were still running through cues.  By this point I was getting really tired, but I pulled through and kept working.  It was a lot of repetitive work, but we had to do it to make sure everything was right.  During certain songs we would have the actors run through it quickly so we could see the area that they moved in so we could light it better.

Hour 12

Going into hour 12 we were still running through the show.  As the actors did this we continually check the cues to make sure the lit up the right spot and moved them if they didn't.  This went on for a long time because something always needed to be changed.  It was either a light was in the wrong spot or it was giving off the wrong mood.  In the plot of the musical the main characters go to Havana.  The intro to these scenes is of dancers coming down from the isles.  Now because of this we had to make sure that the lights were focus on the isles to light them.  We did this by using the robots so that we could angle them easily an very exact.

Hour 11

By hour 11 we began to run through the musical.  As we did this we went through the cues to make sure they all did what they were supposed to.  I learned how their "robots", lights that can be moved remotely, work.  It was so cool to see what things were actually capable with the right equipment.  Another thing I learned was that they could change the color of the lights through the board.  But it wasn't just a set list of colors, it was a whole spectrum to choose from.  With their board, they grouped together sights that were similar so that they could easily find them.

Hour 10

During hour 10 I got to work in the booth, which is where all the lighting board it kept.  I learned how they make cues using their system, which was a little more high tech than the one at SSFHS.  They actually have a touch screen board and sort their lights into groups instead of individual channels.  I was shown how their slider worked differently and how the programmed to due things, like control moving lights.

Hour 9

At the start of hour 9 I arrived at Skyline and we started to work on the lights.  I focused some of the lights to hit certain areas of the stage.  This is so the stage is evenly lit and you can see all the actors faces.  Then I made sure there were no lights hitting the pit, where the band plays.  To do this I got to use the Genie lift to reach the lights that were higher up.  This took a lot of trail and error, just to make sure they were angled just right.

Hour 8

Clean up ended up going into the eight hour because there was a lot to put away.  After we had cleaned up as much as we could, we then swept up the stage.  I got to use this cool broom where instead of having bristles at the end it had a magnet strip, so I walk around with that picking up and loose screw or nails.  When clean up was finally done we left for the day, only to have to come back the next.

Hour 7

Hour seven came along and we where begin to finish up for the day.  We stated to clean up the shop, which is where the table saw is, by sweeping up all the saw dust.  We took all the lumber that was to short to use and recycled it and started to put away all the tools.  I got to learn the layout of the theater and where everything is kept so that will prepare me for when I work in that theater next year.

Hour 6

By hour six we were done with the news stand for the day.  I mainly did small jobs the rest of the time.  I painted some set pieces and help drill and cut more pieces of luan.  One of the set pieces was a outside of a house so to paint the roof we had to use a lift, so as Allen painted up on the lift I helped by moving it around and grabbing paint supplies when he needed it.

Hour 5

Upon hour five we were still at work on the news stand and what ever small tasks Allen asked us to to, like cutting more wood or getting him a specific tool.  after attaching the counter we used the same measurements to build a roof.  this time we used a hand saw to cut it and it turned out fine.  We then did the same to the roof and added a trim after attaching it to the frame.  due to the frame bending this took a couple of tries so that all the parts lined up perfectly.

Hour 4

After working for four hours we were not even close to done.  Before we attached the counter to the new stand, we put it stand on it back and began drilling on the luan.  Luan is a very light weight plywood and is perfect for set pieces.  It is easy to paint and because to it light it greatly reduces the weight of the overall prop making it easier to move.  We covered ever piece of the frame with luan and step by step it began to look more like a news stand.  We then screwed in the counter and used finishing nails to add a trim around it.

Hour 3

As I moved into my third hour at the theater, we had just finished building the pieces of the news stand frame.  Before we movie on, I used another piece of plywood and trace the base platform so we could make a counter.  After we were done we took the pieces and drilled them into a base.  To make sure everything was squared off we drilled a few of the frame pieces together to add extra support.  While we were doing this I used a jig saw to cut out what would be the counter.  When I was done I learned that the jig saw was in fact the wrong tool to use and we had to go over the edges with a table saw to straighten them out.

Hour 2

During my second hour at the Skyline theater, I continued to help with set building.  I helped paint set pieces and kept working on my news stand.  I learned about a new building material, luan plywood, which is great for creating a "skin" for a set piece.  We first started by cutting wood planks to the right measurements to build the frame. This was a long process because after cutting the wood we had to put all the pieces together to make the frame.  Then after we had that put together, we added support pieces to the middle of each frame piece.

Hour 1

I was able to complete all my hours in about 2 days, but due to the nature of my project I did more than was necessary.  This left me very busy and unable to fill out these blogs in the correct time frame.  In the first hour of my physical project I arrived at Skyline college  and met my mentor, Allen Ceccarelli.  I then help them build their set for their upcoming musical, Guys and Dolls.  My job was to build a news stand, i learned new skills like how to use power tools, and sawing wood to the correct measurements.