Tag Archives: sound design

The magic glows to life at ‘Baby Doll’ tech rehearsal

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Baby Doll tech rehearsal 

It happens so often at tech rehearsal. And yet, each time it happens, it feels like the first. That magic moment when the colored lights are turned on the first time, the sound is turned up, the costumes are put on, the props are placed in hand. Suddenly the weeks of hard work in the empty rehearsal room blossom to life as the design elements add their wonder. This happened, this week, in tech rehearsals for our upcoming West Coast Premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll. It opens July 29.

The cast worked through their cues under the watchful eyes of lighting designer Ken Booth, set designer Jeff McLaughlin, sound designer/composer Peter Bayne, costume designer Terri A. Lewis and props designer Terri Roberts, all under the guidance of production stage manager Emily Lehrer and director Simon Levy.

The meticulous process of technical rehearsals — when light & sound cues are painstakingly timed and drilled — can be tedious. But the end result can be marvelous. As was the case this week with Baby Doll. It’s going to be a beautiful production.  

Enjoy these snapshots from tech rehearsal. You’ll be dazzled when you see the finished production.  

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PHOTO SLIDESHOW: the magic of donuts and tech weekend for ‘My Mañana Comes’

tech design crew

Design and production team at work during tech weekend.

There are no two ways about it. Tech rehearsals are a long, incremental process. Light cues are programmed into computers, sound levels are meticulously adjusted, set and prop elements are continuously added, costumes are inspected under actual lighting. Actors work out the timing of cues, all under the eye of the director. It can be a slow, repetitive and exacting undertaking.

 

donutsOver 26 years, we have found the key to a successful Tech Weekend: donuts. Lots of them. Actually, our three sacred virtues of Tech Weekend are Diligence, Patience and a Sense of Humor. The cast, design and production team for My Mañana Comes demonstrated all three last weekend as we began integrating the design elements into our upcoming LA Premiere.  

 

The play takes place in the kitchen of an upscale New York restaurant. Michael Navarro’s red brick and stainless steel set design creates the environment. The seating at the Fountain has been restored to its original configuration (we were in-the-round for Dream Catcher) and the audience is expected to feel like fine diners with theatre programs designed like restaurant menus.

My Mañana Comes is a funny and fast-paced new play about four busboys in a fancy bistro who juggle plates, their friendship and chase the American Dream. Written by Elizabeth Irwin and directed by Armando Molina, our LA premiere stars Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco and Lawrence Stallings.  It runs April 16 – June 26.

Enjoy these photos from Tech Weekend

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My Mañana Comes April 16 – June 26  MORE/Get Tickets

Fountain Theatre Artists Honored at LA Weekly Theater Awards

Diarra Kilpatrick accepts her Best Lead Actress Award.

Diarra Kilpatrick accepts her Best Lead Actress Award.

Fountain actress Diarra Kilpatrick and sound designer/composer Peter Bayne were both honored at the 2013 LA Weekly Theater Awards Monday night for their work on the Fountain Theatre’s acclaimed production of In the Red and Brown Water. Directed by Shirley Jo Finney, the hit production ran for 5 sold-out months at the Fountain from October 2012 through February 2013.

Sound designer/composer Peter Bayne.

Sound designer/composer Peter Bayne.

Diarra Kilpatrick won the Weekly’s Best Lead Actress Award for her thrilling and mesmerizing portrayal of Oya, the troubled young woman from the Louisiana projects with dreams of becoming a track star. Peter Bayne received a Special Commendation for his sound design and composition of the lyrical and haunting original music.   

In The Red and Brown Water

Fountain Theatre Honored with 8 LA Weekly Theater Award Nominations

"In the Red and Brown Water" (photo by Ed Krieger)

Diarra Kilpatrick and cast in “In the Red and Brown Water”

The Fountain Theatre has received 8 LA Weekly Theater Award Nominations plus 1 Special Commendation for sound designer Peter Bayne.

The 8 nominations for the Fountain Theatre are:

PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
In the Red and Brown Water, Fountain Theatre
 
ENSEMBLE
The Blue Iris, Fountain Theatre
LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Diarra Kilpatrick,  In the Red and Brown Water
 
SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Jacqueline Schultz, The Blue Iris
Jacqueline Schultz and Julanne Chidi Hill in "The Blue Iris"

Jacqueline Schultz and Julanne Chidi Hill in “The Blue Iris”

 ADAPTATION
Tarell Alvin McCraney, In the Red and Brown Water
 
COSTUME DESIGN
Naila Aladdin Sanders, In the Red and Brown Water
 
SOUND DESIGN
Peter Bayne, In the Red and Brown Water
Peter Bayne, The Blue Iris
 
SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS
Peter Bayne, composer, In the Red and Brown Water
production photos by Ed Kreiger

The 34th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards, celebrating the best work on LA’s intimate stages will be at the Avalon on April 8. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m. 

Snapshots: “Cyrano” Production Design Meeting

Our upcoming new signed/spoken production of Cyrano not only simultaneously blends ASL with spoken word, the set design will incorporate a network of video monitors throughout the stage that will provide captioning for deaf audiences and serve as a video portal through which the audience experiences the e-language and imagery of the internet.

This world premiere new version of the romantic classic is now set in a modern city. Language and communication (and the struggle to connect and communicate)  are major themes in the new play. The internet and iphones, Facebook and texting, play a major role in our modern electronic lives. And they will be important elements in this re-imagined new version of Cyrano.

The “electronic network” of video monitors will come to life on stage via the  artistry of video designer Jeff Teeter and the Multi-Media Technicians at Media Fabricators, Inc.

The Cyrano design and production team met yesterday at the Fountain with director Simon Levy to discuss and plan the many creative elements of the new play.

Director Simon Levy and DWT Artistic Director David Kurs look on as the "Cyrano" design team shares ideas.

Video designer Jeff Teeter and Fountain Technical Director Scott Tuomey.

Set designer Jeff McLaughlin contemplates the cyberworld set for "Cyrano" with sound designer Peter Bayne.

Production stage manager Susan Karutz.

Cyrano April 20 – June 10  (323) 663-1525  More Info  Get Tickets