Monthly Archives: February 2011

February 25, 2011 · 7:56 PM

Thursdays Thesaurus: Peppers Ghost




As promised, this Thursdays Thesaurus will explain Peppers Ghost!



Peppers Ghost Optical illusion effect used to make a ghost appear on stage next to an actor. Using a sheet of glass and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, or make one object seem to morph into another. It is named after John Henry Pepper, who first demonstrated the technique in the 1860s.

In order for the illusion to work, the viewer must be able to see into the main room, but not into the hidden mirror room. The edge of the glass may be hidden by a cleverly designed pattern in the floor.

The illusion was first shown at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London by it’s creator, J.H.Pepper on Christmas Eve, 1862. Following many subsequent events, Charles Dickens used it during readings of The Haunted Man. Several plays were written specially to use the effect around 1863, but the long-term future of the effect was limited by the fact that the ghost couldn’t speak.



Even though this illusion may seem like it is restricted in its use in this modern age, then you may be surprised to know that you have probably seen it quite a bit but didn’t know what it was!



Peppers Ghost is used quite a bit at amusement parks in their rides. At Knotts Berry Farm they have a live actor and film projection along with the ghost effect in the Mystery Lodge exhibit but most famously you may know it from the Haunted Mansion and Twilight Tower of Terror at Disneyland Parks (yes, I think that the Haunted Mansion effects count as theater, don’t you?)











Now I want to go to Disneyland, any takers?

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February 20, 2011 · 8:16 PM

Tell me on a Sunday: Characters


It is time once again for Tell Me on a Sunday! I know that I missed last week’s post and I apologize, but I have a great excuse. Besides being outwitted by a balloon (click here) I was super sick. Like La Boheme, coughing sick. I could barely make it out of bed let alone to the computer to type something.

This is where Mr. Theatrophile points out that the computer is in fact portable, and could have come to me in the bed very easily. This is also where I respond with “hhmmm?”



Moving on…This week’s Tell Me on a Sunday is about characters that resonate with you. Is there a character that you love to watch over and over because you identify with them in some way?



Do you love to watch Wicked because you identify with Elpheba? Do you sometimes have a quick temper and act impulsively? Do you, like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, feel like there is more for you that what is in your provincial town? Do you try to find a way to stay detached from things that may end up causing you pain like Mark from Rent?



Do you love a character because you are inspired by their journey? Do you come away from A Dolls House by Ibsen with a renewed sense of not wanting to depend on anyone for anything and wanting to be independent? Do you chafe at traditionally drawn societal roles? Do you really want to dance the tarantella?


I like many aspects of many different characters and enjoy all the different paths that different shows can take you on. One I very much love is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, not only because it is adorable and the songs are catchy, but because there is something in each character that I love. I also like that it’s a show written with kids as characters but treats them as the flawed human beings they are, instead of just the kid stereotypes. Out all the kids my favorite is Leaf Coneybear

.





Leaf is played by a wonderfully funny actor named Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who you may know

from the television show “Modern Family”. Leaf is not the brightest kid in the tournament, and in fact wouldn’t have made it into the spelling bee at all if the two kids who placed ahead of him hadn’t been invited to the same bar mitzvah. Yet there he is, boldly trying to spell words he may never had heard of before, all to prove he is smart like the rest of his family.

By his own admission Leaf has a gentle personality and he likes his hair, both things have nothing to do with smarts at all and everything to do with why I love him (I don’t know why, but the hair line makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME).



While in the beginning he is a bit gun shy after being home schooled with his more aggressive family, he soon is happily amongst the other spellers.I love that even though he grows in confidence he never grows out of his goofy personality or quirks. I admire that. Sometimes I wonder if my job, responsibilities and behaving as I people think I ought is dampening my sense of whimsy and wonderment, but then I hear Leaf sing and it never fails to make me laugh. That’s when I realize that no matter how far down it may get sometimes; my personality (while not gentle like Leafs, is goofy none the less) is there.



Of course living with Mr. Theatrophile keeps me goofy too.



So how about you? What character(s) do you identify with? Tell me about it!

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February 18, 2011 · 3:24 AM

I hate balloons : How I was outwitted by a mylar balloon

For the record, I hate balloons. If anyone ever asks “Hey, do you think EM would like a balloon?” say no. Always, unequivocally no

There are reasons for this, although to go into them would be long and boring so I shall not. But know that the mere sound of latex balloons being inflated, bumping into each other or otherwise existing sends shivers down my spine and makes me want to clamp my hands over my ears and run from the room. I HATE BALLOONS

So of course, I was asked to deliver balloons to a friends 2 year olds birthday party. And because I love said friend and her 2 year old I said what I always say, which is how these things always start “yes”.

So off I go with a bag full of deflated balloons (exactly how I like them) both mylar and latex alike.

I awake the day of the party and I am really really sick. I am coughing, I have a fever and I feel like I am going to die. The only thing I can do is take cold medicine (which makes me crazy and hyper and is another story) and try to live long enough to get the balloons inflated and delivered. Since I am sick and my thinking is impaired, I decide that while I am safely on the couch I need to devise a plan that will keep me as far away from the balloons as possible while I am delivering them. Since I do not drive a stretch version of anything I decide that the only thing I can do is put them in the trunk. But how will I get them in the trunk and shut them?

After walking around the car and looking at the trunk and trying to figure out how to cage the balloons (with a box I found in the trunk? I had a cape in the trunk, would that help? How about flip flops? no?) and realizing that there were way to many balloons for that to work I opted to open my back seat and feed the balloons into the trunk. Therefore they will be as far from me, and as sound proofed from me as possible while I drive.

I arrive at the store and ask the nice girl at the balloon counter to inflate the balloons and she informs me that she “not very good at this because she’s afraid of balloons”. Now, really? Why is she at this job? I know people need to work, but a job that scares you is just silly. But she seems to warily approach the balloons and gets to work. The first two Sam I Am mylar balloons seem resistant to being inflated. The stubbornly get only so full and then will go no farther. It’s like the refuse to fulfill their duty as a balloon (you know what is worse than a regular balloon? A slacker balloon)

Alas, it is realized that they had holes and physically cannot be inflated any larger than they were going (which was not much at all) and therefore were completely unworthy of being taken to the party. The third balloon inflated just fine and seemed oblivious to his overachievement.

Next comes a giant “2” mylar balloon which, as it was filled, we realized was much larger than originally believed. This will not now or ever fit in my trunk no matter how craftily I tried to ensnare it.

“Fine” I fumed, “I shall have this balloon in my backseat, but no more!”
Next were the 6 latex balloons, which all inflated just fine and were tied off with their ribbon.
Armed with the balloons I marched warily to the car and opened the back seat. I put in the giant 2 balloon and then put the Sam I am in the trunk. The wind kicked up and the 6 latex balloons seemed to happily bump into each other and with a panicked squeak I started feeding them faster into the trunk.

Somehow, this is when Sam decided to escape. This is also where I get confused. I was standing at the back door, I was feeding all the balloons into the trunk. How did he sneak out of the trunk, and the door I was in front of in order to float off into the sunshine? How much cold medicine had I had?

I realize Sam is floating away and I slam the door and futilely trying to jump, but the bottom of the ribbon stayed tantalizingly out of reach. Then Sam turns around and I SWEAR he turned just so he could watch me make a fool of myself in the shopping center parking lot while trying to catch him. The whole time he floated ever further away, he looked down at me as if to say “Catch me if you can”.

Stupid Sam I Am

Eventually the rest of the balloons made it to the party, but I know Sam is out there….gloating

Moral of the story? Balloons are smarter than me, so if you need one, hire a professional balloon wrangler

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February 17, 2011 · 1:29 AM

Thursday’s Thesaurus: Fresnel


Thursdays Thesaurus: Fresnel lens

Fresnel lens: (pronounced ‘Fre-nell’ sneaky French language and it’s silent letters) A type of lantern which produces an even, soft-edged beam of light through a Fresnel lens. The lens is a series of stepped concentric circles on the front and pebbled on the back and is named after its French inventor, Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788-18270).

When they are used in the theatre it is usually in a metal housing that also holds the reflector, a lamp assembly, and a Fresnel lens. Fresnel instruments usually have an easier way of changing the focal distance between the lamp and the lens. This makes them very flexible to use, and can create narrow and wide beams depending on what is required. The beam is very soft edged and is often used as a wash light for the stage.

Wait….what? another lighting post? Is that what you’re mumbling about? Ok look, I let someone else pick the term this week and they are a techie….so that’s what happened here, but don’t pretend it’s not interesting.

Ok look here’s a picture of it

and you should also know that these lenses are also used in lighthouses because they are so good at all that focusing……

And here’s the guy that invented it – doesn’t he look like he was a blast at parties?

Next week: PEPPER’s GHOST – (hint, it’s used a lot at Disneyland)

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February 10, 2011 · 5:11 AM

Thursdays Thesaurus: Understudy

The next round of Thursdays Thesaurus is here and the term for this week is Understudy!



Understudy: A member of the cast of a musical or play that understudies one or more of the principal roles and is also in the chorus. The understudy is asked to be ready to cover and be ready to play a role or roles whenever the need arises.

Many times the understudy has gone on to become a star that outshines the very people they were hired to replace.



What?? You want me to back this up with facts? Fine…….









Have you heard of Shirley MacLaine? She started as an understudy for Carol Haney in 1954 for the Pajama Game. Carol was injured during the run of the show and at a moment’s notice her young understudy had to take her place. Luckily for Shirley MacLaine not only was she sensational in the role, but she was sensation on the night a Hollywood producer was in the audience.















In 1965 Anthony Hopkins was the understudy to Sir Laurence Olivier in the Royal Nation

al Theatre production of The Dance of Death. When Olivier became ill due to appendicitis Hopkins stepped in for him to excellent reviews. Later Olivier would write in his memoir “A new young actor in the company of exceptional promise named Anthony Hopkins was understudying me and walked away with the part of Edgar like a cat with a mouse between its teeth.”













Sutton Foster, Broadway superstar extraordinaire was the understudy for the

La Jolla Playhouse production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Not only did she do well here in my home town, but she also went on to perform the role on Broadway and won the Best Actress Tony for the role in 2002.











You want more? Goodness you people are insatiable….







The famous understudy has for so long been this thing of mythical proportions that it has even become fodder of a theatrical production itself. In 42nd Street the character of Peggy Sawyer goes on stage an understudy and comes back a splendid success.



So if you ever go to a show and see one of those slips in your program stating “ For tonight’s performance the role of ______ will be played by______” don’t grumble or grouse. You may just be seeing the next big star.



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February 7, 2011 · 5:54 AM

Let’s get technical

Earlier this week I posted about suspension of disbelief and my absurd willingness to push reality aside for the sake of theatre. Some people may even argue that I push reality aside in my day-to-day life as well, but that’s a completely different article. This doesn’t mean though, that I don’t, won’t or can’t watch a show in my own (actual) reality.

I love watching a show (preferably one that I have seen before so I don’t have to follow the plot so much) with a critical eye to how it is run. Having an opportunity to watch a show from an operational standpoint is fascinating to me. It is amazing how many moving parts and people are involved in putting together one show. If you watch closely, and from the right angle, you can see a whole different show going on.



Last month I saw a show and was lucky enough to sit next to the soundboard. The soundboard is located in the back of the theatre, usually up by the back row of the seats. The person who runs it is in charge of all sound-related aspects of a theatrical performance. They sit at the board at every performance and maintain all the sound cues, systems and making sure that everything is working correctly. If an actor changes volume they have to be able to react to make sure that it doesn’t come blasting across to the audience. This means that they have to be so familiar with the board that they know which button to push as they watch the stage. Like an accomplished pianist they don’t need to look at the keys to play the sonata.

To me, this is fascinating. Here is a person who has sat through this show goodness knows how many times, they hear the words but they are listening to the sound, pitch and volume instead of the words. Have you ever seen a soundboard? They can be amazingly simple or complex depending on the size of the theatre, how many actors have microphones, and hat sound cues need to be played and when.



At one point the soundboard operator stepped away and an usher asked me to keep an eye on the board so no one would push the buttons, I said yes but then I wondered who was going to stop me from pushing them :) (I love buttons)



Then there is the backstage crew. At another show I sat at the perfect angle to see into the backstage from the audience. As the actors exited you could just make out the crew members there to take a prop, add a headpiece, set a chair or whatever needed to be done at the precise moment to make the next scene blend seamlessly into the one preceding it. The moment the actors stepped over that line from the stage to the back their posture changes as they leave their character so they can slip into another one and return to stage. There are the costumers who make sure that each actor is turned out perfectly for the character(s) they are playing. Sometimes this means the actors have to change with the help of someone as they make their way. Or just tilt your head back and see a whole world of lighting, spotlights, catwalks and curtains. There are so many moving parts and so many people moving them.



So if you are ever lucky enough to be at a show and you can see any of the backstage people, enjoy the show behind the show.

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February 6, 2011 · 8:11 AM

Tell Me on a Sunday: Suspension of Disbelief



Part of the magic of theatre is the magic of it all. It is the willing suspension of disbelief that people express themselves through song and dance, that things outside of reality, societal norms, and logic could happen and we root for them. Of course there is the other factor that you are going to see incredibly talented people perform skills that they have honed over years, but in the end if you don’t buy into the story and the characters then you are there for a concert. Don’t get me wrong, concerts are amazing and count as superb live performances, but they are very different than going to the theatre.



(Spoilers Ahead)



In my opinion the most wonderful thing about live performance is that the audience is going on this journey with the characters, as the characters are experiencing them. To become caught up in the story and become a participant in the plot is part of the overall experience that you want upon purchasing the ticket. If the audience doesn’t believe that the character is actually experiencing things as they happen in front of the audience, then where is the emotional hook? Why then do we cry when a character is disappointed or cheer when the star crossed lover’s get together? I have been to shows where at the end of a particularly poignant scene or song where the audience members were awash in tears or laughter. That can only happen if there is belief in some aspect of the situation being presented to us.



When Eponine lies dying in the arms of her unrequited love at the end of Les Miserables, there is rarely a dry eye in the house. When Chris falls to his knees wailing “Nooo!” at the curtain of Miss Saigon I was sobbing and so were the people around me. It is the belief in the story and the characters being presented to us that makes these moments so affecting.



This brings me to my point (I know, finally, right?). How easy is it for you to suspend your disbelief when you are watching a show? A key part of being able to give these characters their reality is the ability to believe in their world. Usually I am able to believe everything from the moment the curtain rises. I completely buy into the fact that the only ay for these people to fully express themselves is in song and through dance. I even fully build their world and other characters into the story. For example, you never see Maria’s parents in West Side Story, even thought they are referenced as being around. I try to imagine how awkward it would be for Maria to talk to them after the curtain goes down.



Papa: “So let me get this straight. Your brother brought us here for a better life and he was the leader of a gang. And then you fell in love and slept with the rival co-leader of the gang! All of this led to his death and the death of the guy you love. Do I have this right?”



Maria: “Um.. yes. But I was in love! The fighting was wrong! I am sorry they are dead but maybe now we can all live in peace”.



Pap: “ Yeah right. Tell me please how we are to support ourselves now that your brother is gone?” (Also, what did Bernardo do to earn money for all those fancy suits??)



Maria: “I’m giving up on the institution of marriage and…..I think I’d like to become a teacher”. (This is why Juliet had to die alongside Romeo, the follow up afterward would make no sense whatsoever)



(Does this make me crazy? …don’t answer that!) To me these stories do not exist in a vacuum, they are a small sliver of the world that they inhabit. So therefore the stories go on before and after the small part that we see. Only if the show is truly not engaging, or a performance is so bad that it pulls me out of what I am watching and I start to wonder how the lighting is being programmed or what the stage manager is doing right this moment.



Do you easily slip into your suspension of disbelief? Or does it take you a few songs/scenes to get into everything?

Do you accept what is presented to you or do you expand upon it in your head?

Are plays easier or harder than a musical for you to suspend disbelief?

Or am I wrong, do you not need to suspend disbelief at all?

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February 3, 2011 · 7:22 PM

Thursdays Thesaurus: Gobo!

Thursdays Thesaurus is a new feature that will highlight a theatrical term once a week. Better than a word of a day calendar (cause it’s only once a week) it features theatrical terms so that you have a better vocabulary of theatre terms.

Where to start is the question though, right? Out of all the words in the world, how do we pick the first? Easy, with my favorite word ….Gobo

Gobo: A metal cutout used in ellipsoidal reflector spotlights that projects an image on stage. Also called template.
So basically it produces an image that the audience can see.

The stars that hover at the top of the stage? Gobo

Silhouettes of trees projected in a funky colored light? Gobo


I mean, I guess you could call it a template….but where would the fun be in that?

I love it. It’s my favorite word ( and not just theatrically speaking) and has been for a long time. It’s almost like “smurf” just add it into a sentence in any context and people still know what you are talking about.

For example: How the gobo did you manage to set fire to the kitchen making pudding? (actual question asked to my husband)

So go out into the world and use your new word (correctly as defined or more general as I have come to use it) and have fun!

Special thanks to Bibliophile Girl for her help with the logo (extra special since it ties in my love of dinosaurs) thank you!

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