tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6775931253101895252024-03-13T19:55:59.386-07:00Design DiaryFrom the drafting board of Clare Floyd DeVries...Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.comBlogger1204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-38815957521715032112024-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:002024-02-09T08:18:38.158-08:00Eminem and the Necessity of Notes<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">It can be interesting to see how creative people do their thing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today Austin Kleon's e-newsletter introduced me to rapper Eminem's obsessive, crazy-hoarder-looking notetaking... and I felt a rush of sympathy and understanding, for I too scribble notes. (Less impactful ones, noted.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">From Kleon to Jillian Hess's piece in <b><i>Noted </i></b><a href="https://jillianhess.substack.com/p/eminems-boxes-of-notes?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">HERE</a>, to a film clip with Eminem and Anderson Cooper (in this 60 Minutes clip at 1:11 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlVJQpiuFkA" target="_blank">HERE</a>)... This is a poet who is obsessed with rhyming and works out his lyrics painstakingly by ear and by hand on scattered bits of paper that he stores in boxes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We should all be doing this!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Not the scribbled rhymes for us maybe, but the dedicated working out, ruminating, scribbling, and saving. </span><u style="font-family: arial;">This</u><span style="font-family: arial;"> is where much of the good stuff that bubbles up in us can be found again later when we need it.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Eminem calls his thought-storage "stacking ammo."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWR_aDVsy9L2V-GJygbTxxz40XAioVZgoMqXwy89NRrtBHYdpR3UXxWvNoruZKA3NGacikiT65NC2XrNuBdr26RXdMrZt7AgbrxoChzgift1SkV8-4tURXIXQ1qGA1KvNZ13HfPzMT471QHCiQTHCxqeChpvYz9Izt-i_omfGzahubzZqyw7kQFsD25A/s4956/MDS00515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4956" data-original-width="3510" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWR_aDVsy9L2V-GJygbTxxz40XAioVZgoMqXwy89NRrtBHYdpR3UXxWvNoruZKA3NGacikiT65NC2XrNuBdr26RXdMrZt7AgbrxoChzgift1SkV8-4tURXIXQ1qGA1KvNZ13HfPzMT471QHCiQTHCxqeChpvYz9Izt-i_omfGzahubzZqyw7kQFsD25A/w155-h218/MDS00515.jpg" width="155" /></a> </div><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-65111822256868352632024-01-30T09:55:00.000-08:002024-01-30T09:55:00.347-08:00In Other, Non-Theatrical, News<p><span style="font-family: arial;">I've been spending a lot of time over the last few years - since covid began - working with an international group of Minecraft builders, building what started out as a single Elven city and is now more of an... entire continent. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the most recent work, the start of a new city, Saelengard (with it's adjacent port). The community is built on the edges of a vast natural salt formation, a snowflake-like geological sort of tide-flat whose delicate landscape we're trying to respect and celebrate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyway, an interesting design challenge!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS36X41DqmDaXWuTEL-xPur6Liv6VqGg_VfVoa7MQ8rMOzxXMGuIRgAkPJ1ovOPdeo3VkVoNx5medvZXXVVd-zzxnMDFH1za0VNal7mk3_lT1LKz25TMVufpspCHMEd_zr3ElONCLXfisQl-gwXuoI3Q52EsCRZUZzAZDenjv1-9HaG7pszDy7spGUBTc/s3840/Illias%20Saelengard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2097" data-original-width="3840" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS36X41DqmDaXWuTEL-xPur6Liv6VqGg_VfVoa7MQ8rMOzxXMGuIRgAkPJ1ovOPdeo3VkVoNx5medvZXXVVd-zzxnMDFH1za0VNal7mk3_lT1LKz25TMVufpspCHMEd_zr3ElONCLXfisQl-gwXuoI3Q52EsCRZUZzAZDenjv1-9HaG7pszDy7spGUBTc/w375-h205/Illias%20Saelengard.png" width="375" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Saelengard in the world of Illias by AstrophagyMC: </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">Foreground buildings </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">are by Brainpoix, background buildings by Barthelemy_Lafon, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">amazing landscape by AstrophagyMC </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>You can see more ambitious Minecraft building at Astro's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/astrophagymc/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/astrophagymc">You Tube</a> videos.<p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-15132544978919943112024-01-30T09:28:00.000-08:002024-01-30T09:28:29.662-08:00Making Trees on Stage<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Hard to do well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But watch this great tree-making video by Hey Pete! that one of my set design students found:</span></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTw-OdMxHYg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTw-OdMxHYg</a><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">(I'm in love with the circle-leaf tree canopies. Magic.)</span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-46960340506382886732024-01-28T09:41:00.000-08:002024-01-28T09:41:56.457-08:00Stonewalling<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">At yesterday's student charrette (which went well!) we did a lot of talking and the question of how to make good stone or brick walls onstage came up. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My usual technique is to hand carve the mortar joints from sheet foam, using a snap-blade knife extended out a bit too far (be careful!) so it has a bit of flexibility to it. Then layers of paint.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's an example starting with white, pebbley-textured polystyrene:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-v_nr87t02E6uTKNGPwSAHc-iM2CEJnHKZj0WauGgE0J9q6h3vXfhb1f9jR2LpqnmbYA3JK3HqL1yMt3VE9NW8yMt6SGey-Gp_TfrRPprP-NqC7HMgF2oJ9IfyWjJLVzu7POXYXCNelxDzDxysJyDlYt0lWOFCMz9XJnJVpsXSYYH2AEOxYrRwGkq-0/s2592/vanya%20stone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-v_nr87t02E6uTKNGPwSAHc-iM2CEJnHKZj0WauGgE0J9q6h3vXfhb1f9jR2LpqnmbYA3JK3HqL1yMt3VE9NW8yMt6SGey-Gp_TfrRPprP-NqC7HMgF2oJ9IfyWjJLVzu7POXYXCNelxDzDxysJyDlYt0lWOFCMz9XJnJVpsXSYYH2AEOxYrRwGkq-0/s320/vanya%20stone.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photos from Uptown Players' <b><i>Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike</i></b></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit59bFvqnq6rUqS5Im6egDntbQ-X6WfXoQICfSOaFtvmzWPlcSExL7j3zPOPORmhD6eh3MiiCWTINhmB03HSbgt1MCBGE3JHn0vS_EBS72MmsR0ZwI2uKu0bNPggrSzgGyy1ojzb6A5TNoWHa_Sz-XcDJDutki2uYf6kPuhtaM6ZolTRnCKgmkCGCeKI0/s2592/vanya%20stone%20detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit59bFvqnq6rUqS5Im6egDntbQ-X6WfXoQICfSOaFtvmzWPlcSExL7j3zPOPORmhD6eh3MiiCWTINhmB03HSbgt1MCBGE3JHn0vS_EBS72MmsR0ZwI2uKu0bNPggrSzgGyy1ojzb6A5TNoWHa_Sz-XcDJDutki2uYf6kPuhtaM6ZolTRnCKgmkCGCeKI0/s320/vanya%20stone%20detail.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /> Another show using polystyrene but the carpenter's favorite - beautiful - technique called for many very coarse layers of paint spatter, then exposure to heat so that the least painted parts of the foam - like the mortar joints - melted most.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2hDjosmDDKkzeo6ONV6LJ3X2tQm1DbdbXoVyDPdqPspGhwRa9B4iQ5DeS7k87dJZ8Tt6qVqm5dOBOURICWvFVOpbhWdPCQSr_wb3X5m_6AAJsSRg3HBpLnUXMPvO6M5Vnnw4dYOh_qJpAeAODrO4yXQRiXctFiN5c2mYOUGyqgyHbGWEEm-qAQuWc_I/s2048/1397584_10152821266117902_6879302819402852530_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr2hDjosmDDKkzeo6ONV6LJ3X2tQm1DbdbXoVyDPdqPspGhwRa9B4iQ5DeS7k87dJZ8Tt6qVqm5dOBOURICWvFVOpbhWdPCQSr_wb3X5m_6AAJsSRg3HBpLnUXMPvO6M5Vnnw4dYOh_qJpAeAODrO4yXQRiXctFiN5c2mYOUGyqgyHbGWEEm-qAQuWc_I/s320/1397584_10152821266117902_6879302819402852530_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Humble Boy</i></b> at WaterTower Theater</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's another example, using that pink sheet foam insulation you find at the big box builders' stores. Same knife technique:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6jV2GGN0hG56Xr2dnrSeySUL34uU6FncaxZT3T0V5LlXDlXlmYP02bGnWJ1H5_9lhHhzDcqvSdPkPeHCYUDJPT_feyDc38p2u3zftNPcTP_rhTzKXwk1ZBA6VeZeE8GdHI5fb-Fs2MpQqpFYx3WzWDepxJRNNEZBzGFMmZUH44r8O5SN9YK79Uxumr4/s3264/DSCN3938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6jV2GGN0hG56Xr2dnrSeySUL34uU6FncaxZT3T0V5LlXDlXlmYP02bGnWJ1H5_9lhHhzDcqvSdPkPeHCYUDJPT_feyDc38p2u3zftNPcTP_rhTzKXwk1ZBA6VeZeE8GdHI5fb-Fs2MpQqpFYx3WzWDepxJRNNEZBzGFMmZUH44r8O5SN9YK79Uxumr4/s320/DSCN3938.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5VtQGpJQE8J9RVqdVOMrXKBborxywLoppBE5pc9lp71AwhQpuQ-K0ZMXxoR2Lcoa_le4oD1vF_ZxvUqZKYgEIZYLuWhCzpUkcgDTQTVqt9vsEAuX0JGYjHR43K0xLxI2RkT4Wu-OuGzIogqimYO2z_csiaJD0F_-TGGYMB60T-atHc0W4iQH9bvpHG4/s3264/DSCN3940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5VtQGpJQE8J9RVqdVOMrXKBborxywLoppBE5pc9lp71AwhQpuQ-K0ZMXxoR2Lcoa_le4oD1vF_ZxvUqZKYgEIZYLuWhCzpUkcgDTQTVqt9vsEAuX0JGYjHR43K0xLxI2RkT4Wu-OuGzIogqimYO2z_csiaJD0F_-TGGYMB60T-atHc0W4iQH9bvpHG4/s320/DSCN3940.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVGBexnGjf1fudjCY17TLbr7Ng1TaiAupuNY7bsPNahlBxzvh_pQByXQM3-hn6WgQH9vEQ7mQMZbM3e1JeWbpQU8Nbl-c3jA4w8wA2XIOc-CDYurQSxNS5JmFmReQTPvLFoqfKYDGFG_OojD9hY1wl_fmVuozdBO5f1FKF9a645DJcNU6w23zyHZ0uk0/s3264/DSCN3941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVGBexnGjf1fudjCY17TLbr7Ng1TaiAupuNY7bsPNahlBxzvh_pQByXQM3-hn6WgQH9vEQ7mQMZbM3e1JeWbpQU8Nbl-c3jA4w8wA2XIOc-CDYurQSxNS5JmFmReQTPvLFoqfKYDGFG_OojD9hY1wl_fmVuozdBO5f1FKF9a645DJcNU6w23zyHZ0uk0/s320/DSCN3941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Beauty Queen of Leenane </i>at Kitchen Dog Theater</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">In the center photo you can see where I was not quite finished yet - there's still some pink showing, as well as some obvious screw heads!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For brick I use a similar technique of foam cutting.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh222wZLQXW0hvYSFgQWO8F0vSCWtG4T6kPzFI-cce5niAgiopFD72heAHjXysX4GjYwDnY9_w_zsJqsyE4gwF2cKRp2K7L572eQtaDpjn0YqX7K1RUnzQqe4fWwiSk8oTcSRm0F-51SI4zD0LHFQzqlBbDTjjfl4xkHr_dRS6k_dI9-cvgZrrJgY9eFnU/s3264/DSCN2995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh222wZLQXW0hvYSFgQWO8F0vSCWtG4T6kPzFI-cce5niAgiopFD72heAHjXysX4GjYwDnY9_w_zsJqsyE4gwF2cKRp2K7L572eQtaDpjn0YqX7K1RUnzQqe4fWwiSk8oTcSRm0F-51SI4zD0LHFQzqlBbDTjjfl4xkHr_dRS6k_dI9-cvgZrrJgY9eFnU/s320/DSCN2995.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCX0Ty1P_Abc9BIJkr8fkbLKdvZngUNy-yzCPdUB3eWfzAT0yHzF8Nf3QHtrfWmgQCOIxKAVUglt2E5lQ3FVJap1Oz_89v8CpWfUPet6Dw1EID5BViTN3HEfHfR2TIenbZTg9onO1YmeXl8gx70QMn-hxczRPvl-HMJfkaYBArhnGg8B23efsa7TefRs/s3264/DSCN3003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCX0Ty1P_Abc9BIJkr8fkbLKdvZngUNy-yzCPdUB3eWfzAT0yHzF8Nf3QHtrfWmgQCOIxKAVUglt2E5lQ3FVJap1Oz_89v8CpWfUPet6Dw1EID5BViTN3HEfHfR2TIenbZTg9onO1YmeXl8gx70QMn-hxczRPvl-HMJfkaYBArhnGg8B23efsa7TefRs/s320/DSCN3003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuVWGYQLjmCRWZpX6NNjTl9m_lNVe7UPb4GftuMC98uRPuVOc4fpZ3EokfL1ngc2jBoLmr2KXNoyDELy-e9FHQKMQFGlZxpYl1aUu6JOrLuiuuAlgsN5LIco2txBU67riZARnIP55nMJyjLnyHrOE5DBK04zcMYAFRfl_qdczGMnUScdNrmBVrd3r5zg/s3264/DSCN3016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuVWGYQLjmCRWZpX6NNjTl9m_lNVe7UPb4GftuMC98uRPuVOc4fpZ3EokfL1ngc2jBoLmr2KXNoyDELy-e9FHQKMQFGlZxpYl1aUu6JOrLuiuuAlgsN5LIco2txBU67riZARnIP55nMJyjLnyHrOE5DBK04zcMYAFRfl_qdczGMnUScdNrmBVrd3r5zg/s320/DSCN3016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>In the Other Room: the Vibrator Play</i></b>, also at Kitchen Dog Theater</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">More stone! This time with stones cut out individually, then placed on the wall. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PE1yvpoRBhJUAXhH1r_8ludLD6dE-R4ll9NQgzB8d2DNYgaPp1t_PyUaEWobPfC4hOe6nxddbtF7QiZpK1GvVE-aJqgCkJ_fU3ip4vhr1LQVnQjjUxlS_cIyA7RGF8e2STMsrP6kyUh7HRpt4zsNkgR_RnsPw1__zEonJcJgX0yKwMZCVKDGRK_IYg0/s600/incorruptible10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PE1yvpoRBhJUAXhH1r_8ludLD6dE-R4ll9NQgzB8d2DNYgaPp1t_PyUaEWobPfC4hOe6nxddbtF7QiZpK1GvVE-aJqgCkJ_fU3ip4vhr1LQVnQjjUxlS_cIyA7RGF8e2STMsrP6kyUh7HRpt4zsNkgR_RnsPw1__zEonJcJgX0yKwMZCVKDGRK_IYg0/s320/incorruptible10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Circle Theatre's <b><i>Incorruptible</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div></span><div style="text-align: left;">Stop! Stop! Mercy!</div></span></div><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-28643900179672179972024-01-23T11:36:00.000-08:002024-01-23T11:36:21.868-08:00Models and Miniatures<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay, there are the models we build to explain a theater set... and then there are Miniatures.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Which may be a whole 'nother thing. Look at these by Mylyn Nguyen!</span></p><p><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"><img alt="" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="990" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjHo1m5Pyb-5_aeEVz6sFq_fm8_UiXk3Dz26EwF0y6GmmqjsJLM06yNsyDNDVtS3czMruzJvml9K9Ut1psThKb25yQxg3oYBukSNJ-KQ5oWFfGpzX-3EpgR7dbDNsvT8E-lmQdl3CHnoA1AJkEPTX1VohSYZQ-lRSrbuyYAT9T7UdIQAai-vBEWJg4Ex4" width="193" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"><img alt="" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="990" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe9FkcP82hcEC5jNndEESsKiyN0GuGY9V2_9U3wettth-_8F6pfMcP-FpE7H-iTRwmNXhXnfZRrPfpllKQPZ2IRG5OtWsKTG7Bc9b0JY9g2EYcryQkCYhF01ewmT8zs35LYgJgV4OiwKYSONniojcdurgr-UgPzeysH6JO3l8oFXC_HtqskdV5LQSNNKs" width="192" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/">Images from designyoutrust.com - copyright to the artist</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"><br /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://designyoutrust.com/2024/01/sydney-artist-mylyn-nguyen-creates-superb-architectural-miniatures/"><br /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wonderful detail, in observation and execution. Amazing.</span></div></div></div><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-55070279530731839452024-01-22T13:39:00.000-08:002024-01-22T13:39:34.741-08:00The Book is Back!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">After some misadventure, I finally got my hands on the proof copy of the second edition of my theater set design book,<i><b> Alice Through the Proscenium</b></i>. (Catching the FedEx guy just as he was about to leave the package on the door mat - In The Rain.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtd0wuh6PnmkD7w6hMnqssJZ0fKGe810ieWfzID0R6OyiTiRpAp5gptVEm2bmGk2YUOdzQF3U3LnQMvE9msl1jzrCu0U_deSFcfM67MCMxeAavGp71JteWdiRtFcyKVvFDCCTwCGxN-QXyaWV3YA0X15pTVEfjfv8nwd9vXf6n7dROMWJOtlUaCvYqoI/s3772/Cover%20black%20letters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3772" data-original-width="3056" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtd0wuh6PnmkD7w6hMnqssJZ0fKGe810ieWfzID0R6OyiTiRpAp5gptVEm2bmGk2YUOdzQF3U3LnQMvE9msl1jzrCu0U_deSFcfM67MCMxeAavGp71JteWdiRtFcyKVvFDCCTwCGxN-QXyaWV3YA0X15pTVEfjfv8nwd9vXf6n7dROMWJOtlUaCvYqoI/s320/Cover%20black%20letters.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">The cover for the upcoming second edition - copyrighted, obviously</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Woohoo!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's not bad. Of course there's something funny about the spine, several images need higher rez scans, and one needs to be redrawn to have more legible lettering, but on the whole pretty good. It has a nice heft. And the cover is so so glossy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Coming soon...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, this Spring's Apprenticeship Program has begun at Stage West Theatre. Yesterday we met for the first time... a very promising and accomplished group! I'm looking forward to this program. More to come...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-82350944945234804802024-01-13T11:20:00.000-08:002024-01-13T11:32:49.835-08:00Oops - It's Been How Long?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since I last blogged?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What can I say? It was a busy Fall and I didn't blog. Even once.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But instead of a super-fund-sized data dump of what I did do instead, let's just jump to today as I prep for the start of Stage West Theatre's Apprenticeship Program. Tomorrow I meet my set design students. Pretty exciting!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Along with get-to-know-yous and handing off the script for their next day-long design charrette, we'll also visit the set for Stage West's next production, <i><b>Margorie Prime</b></i>. All I know about this at the moment is that it's designed by Stage West's talented Allen Dean, who previously painted the drops for my <i><b>To The Breeches!</b></i> (Which I actually DID blog about <a href="https://devriesdesigndiary.blogspot.com/2023/07/theatrical-drops.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.) And I just found a cool little post showing him actually painting them <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StageWest/videos/1002720103709356/?paipv=0&eav=AfaccxZIVyYfH-HLg0LAFGya_VB8UW7l2X-O3Td93i6EaalviR-BA4ue6iyE92EEVIM&_rdr" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The upcoming design charrette?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Based on a darkish musical version of <i><b>Little Red Riding Hood</b></i> that I totally made up.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4jncLkpAToxNccZgfBpXK_RAkT8XZMyi2zH4klil_omzhi4YnH2dWmpwsMKIHulyAgSTQ79Wda1KnPxrCinQSQnTUL-tUU77s8Shf3CtEvkVYXP95u_M9sXT7c3edvXJFmhNrGkJQPU2BkX-EHjGRMm47OhzwlItV9rVA8cp2BUR_e9c3GI6H8EZjvI/s750/0027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="750" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4jncLkpAToxNccZgfBpXK_RAkT8XZMyi2zH4klil_omzhi4YnH2dWmpwsMKIHulyAgSTQ79Wda1KnPxrCinQSQnTUL-tUU77s8Shf3CtEvkVYXP95u_M9sXT7c3edvXJFmhNrGkJQPU2BkX-EHjGRMm47OhzwlItV9rVA8cp2BUR_e9c3GI6H8EZjvI/s320/0027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">A gotta-be Public Domain image from an ancient version of the story</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">So... what even IS a design charrette?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Definitions on the internet mostly stress the collaborative nature it can have, when disparate members of a design team and the client all brainstorm together. Usually there's a passing mention of the pressure-cooker ambiance of this affair: one room, a single limited chunk of time, and the creation of a real product at the end of that time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I like that version.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But this ain't that. Because my first architectural design professor went to the E'cole des Beaux-Artes - in an ancient age when charrettes involved a tumbril-like cart that carried away your (individual) work to its doom - I think of charrettes as the pressure-cooker part. A short intense effort in design. We'll certainly work on collaboration. Theater is very collaborative! But this day will be about learning to be fast and free-wheeling. To learn to trust your gut. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This first design will be developed farther - may even be discarded later - but those first reactions to the text and first design impulses are uniquely valuable. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Not to mention the survival value of speed!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://devriesdesigndiary.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-design-charrette.html" target="_blank">HERE </a>is a link to a discussion of last year's <i><b>Three Little Pigs</b></i> charrette.</span></p><p><br /></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-11291388807397812292023-07-30T17:28:00.005-07:002023-07-30T17:28:54.931-07:00It Takes a While<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">I was reminded by Reddit of this quote by Ira Glass:</span></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”</p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8); border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.8em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've found that writers are often very articulate (go figure!) on the struggles of creating art of any kind... just substitute the word "design" or "painting" or whatever you art is.</span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-4563316939910341512023-07-27T11:18:00.002-07:002023-07-27T11:51:49.986-07:00Theatrical Drops<p><span style="font-family: arial;">There's a perception that big painted theatrical backdrops are old fashioned. Passe'. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sadly, this is largely true. Nowadays we're more likely to create a backdrop, if we even want one, using projections. (And consequently the art of scenic painting drops is dying away.) It's even more common to do away with scenic drops entirely, instead using the upstage cyc (or scrim or wall) simply for fields of ever-changing color. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But a painted drop can be pretty spectacular. Look at this one, for a production of <b><i>The Magic Flute</i></b>:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96FNnMhZOPj1oprF3W4k-ThIeb5AIqBUJqNNbDZb1DCIAUWEwJs5GMFuOPKR_QUb9Ui3KEuwkkJs1QB1-ZtJItgKSLG82lypzxh26X1FQzhiH5l0iX_nbyFDcNXWfgSnrDfHgn3oUBYVOavcguX0Dj02njFCiniDeuJnVKtBtC2z0fx5d0-a4BY-fDh4/s1125/Magic%20Flute.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1125" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96FNnMhZOPj1oprF3W4k-ThIeb5AIqBUJqNNbDZb1DCIAUWEwJs5GMFuOPKR_QUb9Ui3KEuwkkJs1QB1-ZtJItgKSLG82lypzxh26X1FQzhiH5l0iX_nbyFDcNXWfgSnrDfHgn3oUBYVOavcguX0Dj02njFCiniDeuJnVKtBtC2z0fx5d0-a4BY-fDh4/s320/Magic%20Flute.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Public Domain Image</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But even in modern productions, usually for a "period" piece, sometimes a painted drop is still useful. Here are a few I've designed in my career...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5twKASo_HC4GX1FvTuM19El5ZMy69TXxaOFC5SmFngwHhP1Ukhr0lZ2B6tRbYBQP9E8pzuxOiyRTumdX5lARBW0NP5cfneURvHAL9KobgXr3B8HfjH-mzZMSRUjZg8ZBBDRlJMsRl0r4QxP7WR50xD0HRiy1jEbGMqcqGCjyYIcT0wMO8s1tzfzjeOfA/s4941/A%20Winter's%20Tale%20View%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3289" data-original-width="4941" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5twKASo_HC4GX1FvTuM19El5ZMy69TXxaOFC5SmFngwHhP1Ukhr0lZ2B6tRbYBQP9E8pzuxOiyRTumdX5lARBW0NP5cfneURvHAL9KobgXr3B8HfjH-mzZMSRUjZg8ZBBDRlJMsRl0r4QxP7WR50xD0HRiy1jEbGMqcqGCjyYIcT0wMO8s1tzfzjeOfA/s320/A%20Winter's%20Tale%20View%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This was designed for the Trinity Shakespeare production of <i><b>The Winter's Tale</b></i>. Huge! To lay it out the scenic painter took over the whole floor of the opera rehearsal hall.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Below is another narrow drop - one of three painted legs - for Stage West's production of <i><b>Into the Breeches!</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_2XSBiPo1AY3bg0eL1fQyYL7lRSrzYPgbMErNEAmlGhaXd8q2su0qt_qB2RYc5qlQTnQPvF3xCubdf1ejfRjeLts4YZjJFW3pQnSz2G0EHcsJLrxa4qchuZZtnKYC53knRi77E0CZWXTlvhiw5JmFl8r5JF2qCFbxYaksLHUkkBihcU26B7eo54zs0Y/s1493/Breeches%20Country%20Club%20Render%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_2XSBiPo1AY3bg0eL1fQyYL7lRSrzYPgbMErNEAmlGhaXd8q2su0qt_qB2RYc5qlQTnQPvF3xCubdf1ejfRjeLts4YZjJFW3pQnSz2G0EHcsJLrxa4qchuZZtnKYC53knRi77E0CZWXTlvhiw5JmFl8r5JF2qCFbxYaksLHUkkBihcU26B7eo54zs0Y/s320/Breeches%20Country%20Club%20Render%20copy.jpg" width="128" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">For both these shows we wanted a touch of tradition and "period" which hand-painted drops nicely provided.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So much for history - what am I up to today? Another post coming soon...<br /><br /></span></div> </div><br /><p><br /></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-37678124834762364472023-06-15T13:53:00.004-07:002023-06-15T13:56:29.050-07:00NY Public Library Archives and My Stuff Too...<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">And they have theatrical photography collections!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Go check this out! </span></p><p> <a href="https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/lane/acclaimed-theatrical-photographers">https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/lane/acclaimed-theatrical-photographers</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip8Si3yPrN-N0hAMwzu2xYKd8J30XG9UgE5GbHb33oy2j_naEHWSM11zLl0SFEeBOQWzUJu7watEjnbn7QmJkKg2ljehuzIjm_f37Isz0Wdlx3QEGk5xatBNcfUWUPVmP_xI_CV0jq74vVKEiugqtvVKXQCZn_kWIuiDcs98RO4p4FIPacDXYPL77_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip8Si3yPrN-N0hAMwzu2xYKd8J30XG9UgE5GbHb33oy2j_naEHWSM11zLl0SFEeBOQWzUJu7watEjnbn7QmJkKg2ljehuzIjm_f37Isz0Wdlx3QEGk5xatBNcfUWUPVmP_xI_CV0jq74vVKEiugqtvVKXQCZn_kWIuiDcs98RO4p4FIPacDXYPL77_" width="305" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Age of Innocence NY Library Collection</span></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's been super busy this spring - and remains busy - but I'll just throw a few photos up here.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">I and You </i>by <a href="https://www.echotheatre.org/" target="_blank">Echo Theatre</a>:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMF5NUhJVdMM5O6_v3ZwHYL4Ej9UHLfIhcEstrOt_xGrNLUjqcQtwcpW1SA5qUmwTX-ZR34wfk8TAGIrcQuYPeF_vHup9PitJ3EinE7imVLu7i6P42ZJ8LfdyC5YghdkINZcit-fb1pgGneNOgqvKsxxP7g-rMrm_x07Ky_iRYqcCm4YCQsQDnt91M/s4272/qRp2sBoA.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMF5NUhJVdMM5O6_v3ZwHYL4Ej9UHLfIhcEstrOt_xGrNLUjqcQtwcpW1SA5qUmwTX-ZR34wfk8TAGIrcQuYPeF_vHup9PitJ3EinE7imVLu7i6P42ZJ8LfdyC5YghdkINZcit-fb1pgGneNOgqvKsxxP7g-rMrm_x07Ky_iRYqcCm4YCQsQDnt91M/s320/qRp2sBoA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Echo Theatre's production of <i style="font-weight: bold;">I and You </i>- </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">set design by Clare Floyd DeVries</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">photo by Zack Huggins</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also at Echo Theatre and by the same playwright, Lauren Gunderson, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Natural Shocks</i>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovcAY_lVDg8gZpSalx5c4C2rR_v81F1kP2hp9S_6QZOwyMnDqlSQnluv-ETMclkMpzt4uc3et9FYBJ-eI6zM6yTe-UdATShcR1QU_ooQh7Jeumdj8oG11ybUznDUsWQGmkFK6e2yDRQbGmc8jBjb5_vFt3g9DrK1syu9wTWmH6wdhLuLnyu33hKyX/s6000/SpVdn51I.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovcAY_lVDg8gZpSalx5c4C2rR_v81F1kP2hp9S_6QZOwyMnDqlSQnluv-ETMclkMpzt4uc3et9FYBJ-eI6zM6yTe-UdATShcR1QU_ooQh7Jeumdj8oG11ybUznDUsWQGmkFK6e2yDRQbGmc8jBjb5_vFt3g9DrK1syu9wTWmH6wdhLuLnyu33hKyX/s320/SpVdn51I.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrALAH3K_ZZgf9eWkj8JESoJJnnpXxGbPxGsHaozWPG-ODbLladdcDEHEqVHO_i9aHw8uMVFXKXdaDM-BhL3ZffbQL0jzasCq0fmea9g_p1ZaASx2Ukpw5ibcSD7kCzujQhlZDhuAreu-dszhL9J11gZ-bxatsxaUaPcvL5j3o3ITVnGO_4g0zytKZ/s2048/eQYKTNbk.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrALAH3K_ZZgf9eWkj8JESoJJnnpXxGbPxGsHaozWPG-ODbLladdcDEHEqVHO_i9aHw8uMVFXKXdaDM-BhL3ZffbQL0jzasCq0fmea9g_p1ZaASx2Ukpw5ibcSD7kCzujQhlZDhuAreu-dszhL9J11gZ-bxatsxaUaPcvL5j3o3ITVnGO_4g0zytKZ/s320/eQYKTNbk.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Natural Shocks </i>by Echo Theatre -</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">set design by Clare Floyd DeVries</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">photo by Zack Huggins</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And, most recently, <b><i>The Last Truck Stop</i></b> by Crystal Jackson at <a href="https://www.kitchendogtheater.org/" target="_blank">Kitchen Dog Theater</a>:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNBvCWRLt_UIF7-Rz7janpOW0MFjlhR2dIvfvPEsG2mJ1je4NvD_bgJj8t0r-eWXmIAEMsAeUyKAIGrcknN2ozVHsukXRWtSfjW2_8X_ebyff6GdBjpsyb3TJM23TgFmmLJTSJSasiofBlZV5pkhC9v75hoDB0dTgk6DzelEa93mHjihyCJ_EiaMR/s3264/IMG_2023-06-03-11-25-01-370%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNBvCWRLt_UIF7-Rz7janpOW0MFjlhR2dIvfvPEsG2mJ1je4NvD_bgJj8t0r-eWXmIAEMsAeUyKAIGrcknN2ozVHsukXRWtSfjW2_8X_ebyff6GdBjpsyb3TJM23TgFmmLJTSJSasiofBlZV5pkhC9v75hoDB0dTgk6DzelEa93mHjihyCJ_EiaMR/s320/IMG_2023-06-03-11-25-01-370%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Kitchen Dog Theater, <b><i>The Last Truck Stop</i></b> -</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">set design (and photo of unfinished set)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">by Clare Floyd DeVries</span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-42349198695796680152023-05-07T19:18:00.006-07:002023-05-07T19:18:56.848-07:00Complicated Emotions<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> On one hand, my show, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Natural Shocks</i>, had a good opening on Friday night! With a lovely afterparty, sitting in the pleasant breeze of a restaurant's porch.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On the other hand, after a long, hot, over-busy day of Designer Runs and Production Meetings, I came home to an upset call from my mother wondering if I'd been shot dead in the latest mass shooting... just up the road in Allen, Texas. Followed by a discussion between the production team, cast, and crew of our just-opened play on whether its prophetic ending now needs a trigger warning in light of this latest mass shooting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On the third hand, my set design students did GREAT! today in their presentations. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-53055544562690030262023-05-05T14:42:00.003-07:002023-05-05T14:43:24.596-07:00Where Did the Spring Go?<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Poof!</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That's where my Spring went. Apparently. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I do know I've been pretty busy. I've been meeting monthly with my set design students at Stage West (earlier post on our design charrette <a href="http://devriesdesigndiary.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-design-charrette.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>). They give their end-of-program design presentations this Sunday! Three very motivated and hard-working college students... with schedule's even more crazy than mine.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I've also been designing several shows. First - and still running - the cartoon-hero comedy <i style="font-weight: bold;">Captain Phantasm versus the Nefarious Doctor Noir </i>at <a href="https://www.pocketsandwich.com/" target="_blank">Pocket Sandwich Theatre</a>. Lots of fun and flying popcorn!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQOZWDfMmPtuq4cAYOGFDp8Gk438cDmj5rbcIoxe10DfcfCdPN8dAttFDI5MpPWml1gagf3JODiw8YWwP83OyAHi6YoRCzCqFxgMbrzSZA1niPsET6J-oaMba6LLCsVchyAOiHITlr9R89DmHKHR0Sd8EyiWRSIXBafJT2laOMGj1gTUQ9JYn3n1M/s3039/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Elevation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="3039" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQOZWDfMmPtuq4cAYOGFDp8Gk438cDmj5rbcIoxe10DfcfCdPN8dAttFDI5MpPWml1gagf3JODiw8YWwP83OyAHi6YoRCzCqFxgMbrzSZA1niPsET6J-oaMba6LLCsVchyAOiHITlr9R89DmHKHR0Sd8EyiWRSIXBafJT2laOMGj1gTUQ9JYn3n1M/w383-h168/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Elevation.jpg" width="383" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is its basic set - an all-purpose vintage urban setting with an overlook of the city's dam and its nefariously threatened water supply! The next sketches show the Scientist's Lab and the Villain's Lair AKA the Pink Pussycat Club. (The pussycat sign lights up and blinks.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDkisDSiZqZ5Vh0Ota_D4F20lppEsFFN-NreR06GRUCi0oedt7Si4C5k65dfB8OudnPJUj__rOHPTmkWxyVbQVf7pDXHvf8IO9RQRhGHLbl6yB_9qV2oAINsglYgqKF1wWD4fs2sSpQsYHYZxFwZ3QZ14bTUc70vcG4wtlHFeLkxFenr8A-J-0n46/s3235/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Lab%20Elev.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="3235" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDkisDSiZqZ5Vh0Ota_D4F20lppEsFFN-NreR06GRUCi0oedt7Si4C5k65dfB8OudnPJUj__rOHPTmkWxyVbQVf7pDXHvf8IO9RQRhGHLbl6yB_9qV2oAINsglYgqKF1wWD4fs2sSpQsYHYZxFwZ3QZ14bTUc70vcG4wtlHFeLkxFenr8A-J-0n46/w369-h157/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Lab%20Elev.jpg" width="369" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BKQdmg8bn0pmS4pEgWEKqvvaazvDbebKfpjHIvZveVrnu0PxYWbXGh470wE0WDhAN0_kbFD_nQzqyVYxxNKjxNegxUZp9ycKPSJ1piBIFoslJ133OqYJ1SxTM_cQQS9u8G3r57g2DQbOAPxGwcb3YaLDPkWfkik_b6JrZ5a7-Xh08mmMn1flgzVB/s3171/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Pussycat%20Club.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="3171" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BKQdmg8bn0pmS4pEgWEKqvvaazvDbebKfpjHIvZveVrnu0PxYWbXGh470wE0WDhAN0_kbFD_nQzqyVYxxNKjxNegxUZp9ycKPSJ1piBIFoslJ133OqYJ1SxTM_cQQS9u8G3r57g2DQbOAPxGwcb3YaLDPkWfkik_b6JrZ5a7-Xh08mmMn1flgzVB/w359-h172/Capt.%20Phantasm%20SD%20Pussycat%20Club.jpg" width="359" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But wait! - another show opens tonight! </span><a href="https://www.echotheatre.org/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Echo Theatre</a><span style="font-family: arial;">'s production of Lauren Gunderson's </span><b style="font-family: arial;"><i>Natural Shocks. </i></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This one-woman play is set in the character's basement and its sketches I made at the speed of the tornado she's hiding from...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I kind of like the immediacy of these sketches:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxHa3Z2JJ9mz077s5HQgGG-cZN8Et0QdLD_WS-yL0A3FwyOu2MLm-0tdXeSuNw5XVSKU9_V4Fcn21_Pf_heLOdAgoSDDqlV-x8pZkRLHYmOw_4woJhgwZJcDIX5oNNGEFYj2CcOpVin8h27skYQcEKs8ryu_V1ycoaOPWlO3-VTk--PlrOiYTnLzu/s3780/Natural%20Shocks%20Plan%20and%20Perspective%20Flipped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2517" data-original-width="3780" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxHa3Z2JJ9mz077s5HQgGG-cZN8Et0QdLD_WS-yL0A3FwyOu2MLm-0tdXeSuNw5XVSKU9_V4Fcn21_Pf_heLOdAgoSDDqlV-x8pZkRLHYmOw_4woJhgwZJcDIX5oNNGEFYj2CcOpVin8h27skYQcEKs8ryu_V1ycoaOPWlO3-VTk--PlrOiYTnLzu/w442-h294/Natural%20Shocks%20Plan%20and%20Perspective%20Flipped.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Echo Theatre production of<b> </b><i><b>Natural Shocks</b> - </i>sketch by Clare Floyd DeVries</span></div><br />The scheduling is interesting for this - first this play and then their next, <b><i>I and You</i></b>, also by Gunderson, follow each other with only a week between them. So parts of the set are shared, basically the upstage wall with its door. (I'll explain that set in another blog post.) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So tonight Echo's first show opens and tomorrow their second one gets into gear to replace it in a week. Yikes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Also shifting into gear is the play <b><i>The Last Truck Stop </i></b>by Crystal Jackson at <a href="https://www.kitchendogtheater.org/" target="_blank">Kitchen Dog Theater</a>, opening June 8th.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So busy. And staying busy through June at least. </span></div>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-19819698531820951752023-02-03T14:16:00.002-08:002023-02-03T14:16:15.645-08:00Thawing Out<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">After being snowed-in iced-in for three days it was nice to walk around the block and watch the ice melting. Our little creek is rushing along, pretending to be a mountain stream, really full of snow melt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A worthy read from creator Austin Kleon <a href="https://austinkleon.com/2017/10/09/the-art-of-finding-what-you-didnt-know-you-were-looking-for/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">https://austinkleon.com/2017/10/09/the-art-of-finding-what-you-didnt-know-you-were-looking-for/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email</a> on the usefulness of not being TOO organized. (well no one could accuse my studio of that!)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3djZYk2bEkKFOdLfy9QCtl1o4W7Lh199L8c-ru2sYVnwJG7-GSHvzV_BVTQhjTpWxtmdMsI4ANCslp5ke7U-ZSSoMPbwgC2BC9625PjU4No4ShF12vTqtIf7tXDstxxsPtLcR0KzOOLnoLXxUgCXvce4ZeowjxmRzEMfUd09vEg1o4r3kt6H9Uys8/s512/Email-simple-1-clipart-i2clipart-free-public-domain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="512" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3djZYk2bEkKFOdLfy9QCtl1o4W7Lh199L8c-ru2sYVnwJG7-GSHvzV_BVTQhjTpWxtmdMsI4ANCslp5ke7U-ZSSoMPbwgC2BC9625PjU4No4ShF12vTqtIf7tXDstxxsPtLcR0KzOOLnoLXxUgCXvce4ZeowjxmRzEMfUd09vEg1o4r3kt6H9Uys8/s320/Email-simple-1-clipart-i2clipart-free-public-domain.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>The rest of the day I spent reading 20 year old emails... surprisingly funny and moving.</span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-5927700087161895662023-01-25T08:31:00.001-08:002023-01-25T08:41:09.781-08:00Set Models<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Another cool video from the Sydney Opera House series, this time on building set models:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HC7IDv5PQeg" width="320" youtube-src-id="HC7IDv5PQeg"></iframe></div><br /> <span style="font-family: arial;">And here are a few random models of mine, just for fun - a comparison of the models and the set builds for Irma Vep at WaterTower Theater:</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd8_EuM5021xaJVux-85O9etH10YRAP1B5ARGwKsGolG4ZXrNvDKi4zYmi5qpDX3pCLDMvt5yuDRvcQ9zlq9_5NK7CSv9qMw3uWNJqTvncMUv9xAvyEiYt66xN2ALm9mBIcK5AhDeFmokod0IhTd46h2MXyMcmauuP7ts3fb4nty4aO0_UNK8P8U9/s3264/Irma%20Vep%20Model.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd8_EuM5021xaJVux-85O9etH10YRAP1B5ARGwKsGolG4ZXrNvDKi4zYmi5qpDX3pCLDMvt5yuDRvcQ9zlq9_5NK7CSv9qMw3uWNJqTvncMUv9xAvyEiYt66xN2ALm9mBIcK5AhDeFmokod0IhTd46h2MXyMcmauuP7ts3fb4nty4aO0_UNK8P8U9/s320/Irma%20Vep%20Model.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCbRcmCTdf_GX1cMB2JNzcIcWhC5QpUVQZENDx7xvg0TRr1HgXf39tanu3sZcletIq_4etj2wL15netJes1yBh4Q8_9rS4GfZW_1iwbBtP-dzGpF3s0qY5_Tuo7lWpF1ELiyOQ41m1hlxI-L4EiJSwyvqWpQrHRCMBvJNapoJyCnIR0GVvqh2OP46/s1144/Irma%20Vep%20Set%20Build.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1144" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCbRcmCTdf_GX1cMB2JNzcIcWhC5QpUVQZENDx7xvg0TRr1HgXf39tanu3sZcletIq_4etj2wL15netJes1yBh4Q8_9rS4GfZW_1iwbBtP-dzGpF3s0qY5_Tuo7lWpF1ELiyOQ41m1hlxI-L4EiJSwyvqWpQrHRCMBvJNapoJyCnIR0GVvqh2OP46/s320/Irma%20Vep%20Set%20Build.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOtU9NQDAPQi3sYQareYhv1Q7AgacbbN3lvwgcshN0V03MKH4BunUP87bBv2Qk0f0AuOujcmxDfoNktewXZqJL-ztHxb635nz9fR-fnMvIEINYHENgnzBDA3eaJ0OWYm77F_Vf3X4yiWdw9jbZwRnYBAKsVgrNQiqSHNBdD70YBceivDBeWcAT8PE/s403/Irma%20Vep%20Egypt%20Build%20Photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOtU9NQDAPQi3sYQareYhv1Q7AgacbbN3lvwgcshN0V03MKH4BunUP87bBv2Qk0f0AuOujcmxDfoNktewXZqJL-ztHxb635nz9fR-fnMvIEINYHENgnzBDA3eaJ0OWYm77F_Vf3X4yiWdw9jbZwRnYBAKsVgrNQiqSHNBdD70YBceivDBeWcAT8PE/s320/Irma%20Vep%20Egypt%20Build%20Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJp5lrb7jvbpXQTj6eBFqIELcSGuKWWnl-RUhAMuMGggh7hxO4IAsrj9U2-flIlYnmhF5sM7JL5doPzKy8SBIkTeWp6JNGnssanNUTu28nj6Y4plw5MgHc6ahE1YDU5UO_DxPzxBs6RREGLMXzZhIN5wXN7rvwZ095UVcbBC9ps7QFMroIJsJk1VV/s3057/Irma%20Vep%20Egypt%20Model.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2055" data-original-width="3057" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJp5lrb7jvbpXQTj6eBFqIELcSGuKWWnl-RUhAMuMGggh7hxO4IAsrj9U2-flIlYnmhF5sM7JL5doPzKy8SBIkTeWp6JNGnssanNUTu28nj6Y4plw5MgHc6ahE1YDU5UO_DxPzxBs6RREGLMXzZhIN5wXN7rvwZ095UVcbBC9ps7QFMroIJsJk1VV/s320/Irma%20Vep%20Egypt%20Model.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The scenic painting on this next set is Not done - the Sphinx did not end up winking!</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPcfrAv7K28xe6vbOn6GK5BDS1PTcp0_4GVqi8_4v_OXQ8w6w8jyyoVLveN7-q7kJ_vcCWhEXL4a-H-vcrm4xpagTH_1X8QojYAHVdeEgu7uiOCXu6IDQO0XuOoh0i3xEhT4td9t-n9t5vAQzEYTM-pCXNWZsgZoGrGqu5UPRdbE9ZEAEh5HBxSLw/s2814/Irma%20Vep%20stage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2814" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPcfrAv7K28xe6vbOn6GK5BDS1PTcp0_4GVqi8_4v_OXQ8w6w8jyyoVLveN7-q7kJ_vcCWhEXL4a-H-vcrm4xpagTH_1X8QojYAHVdeEgu7uiOCXu6IDQO0XuOoh0i3xEhT4td9t-n9t5vAQzEYTM-pCXNWZsgZoGrGqu5UPRdbE9ZEAEh5HBxSLw/s320/Irma%20Vep%20stage.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-12224511400725783562023-01-23T10:23:00.005-08:002023-01-23T10:29:27.216-08:00Cool Vids About Theater Set and Architecture Design<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY2Upti2onkWg9DBZt3JTxWsVTWGGz7vGDefAFsX6i7pcYPR_wwJtT0ByCDXoSmGIrGVr2D5m0aaiQSbx46UDz3W4OjKAfgBcTjAk-SuJLlyPC0AWJOoVrcYjHcwFq0qTJX07i-G7wcYC3qcpxXLrCCjjJ7R_QCnYhTE6mlS7Kf0V5acSH_Y3ipWw/s4935/The%20Explorer's%20Club%20S1%20Floor%20Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3268" data-original-width="4935" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY2Upti2onkWg9DBZt3JTxWsVTWGGz7vGDefAFsX6i7pcYPR_wwJtT0ByCDXoSmGIrGVr2D5m0aaiQSbx46UDz3W4OjKAfgBcTjAk-SuJLlyPC0AWJOoVrcYjHcwFq0qTJX07i-G7wcYC3qcpxXLrCCjjJ7R_QCnYhTE6mlS7Kf0V5acSH_Y3ipWw/s320/The%20Explorer's%20Club%20S1%20Floor%20Plan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a series of videos I've found while researching info for my set design apprentices on the topic of : "Plans! How and Why... and What Are They!" (I joke, but seriously, floor plans are so fundamental to understanding, designing, and documenting a set design... why is there so little explanation available?)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a wonderful explanation of a clever and charming set by designer Wendy Todd. It has nothing to do with plan drawing, but is just wonderfulness:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eE5Fi5e0yz0" width="320" youtube-src-id="eE5Fi5e0yz0"></iframe></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's one of my favorite architectural explainers, Stewart Hicks, talking about plans:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8opn2McSc0E" width="320" youtube-src-id="8opn2McSc0E"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>And here's a face new to me (30 x 40 Design Workshop) with a good discussion of the architectural design process - notice how his drawings morph from rough and schematic, to precise and more real-world. Note the use of my favorite Tracing Paper!</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R7YxG4nsqeg" width="320" youtube-src-id="R7YxG4nsqeg"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br /></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-64043624572365508552023-01-21T09:06:00.002-08:002023-01-21T09:09:43.101-08:00A Design Charrette<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today's the big day for my Stage West theater set design students </span><span style="font-family: arial;">- a full day design charrette for a made-up-by-me show:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjny2uBTttxK6dCqp4tAJykRmNUK_sK3g872UZdwCpmEDHjOfU6LhK5QDOfS-v1HYuNxjFGoLsr6ujKjcYqXoHqWNs2QU7tzej3YrtT2aPpV5QdffxWFE5zoxwZsuuK9qpp12aBw2B3WJ9IOmzwdmEOsfVaRApLfktTwTif4JLThiHmaWAB64jCMyrN/s428/Three%20Little%20Pigs%20the%20Musical%20poster%20revised.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjny2uBTttxK6dCqp4tAJykRmNUK_sK3g872UZdwCpmEDHjOfU6LhK5QDOfS-v1HYuNxjFGoLsr6ujKjcYqXoHqWNs2QU7tzej3YrtT2aPpV5QdffxWFE5zoxwZsuuK9qpp12aBw2B3WJ9IOmzwdmEOsfVaRApLfktTwTif4JLThiHmaWAB64jCMyrN/s320/Three%20Little%20Pigs%20the%20Musical%20poster%20revised.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Pretty sure this is out of copyright as it was published in 1918</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: bold;">Three Little Pigs –
the Musical </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">(the Outline)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Not</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;"> a kid
version. (Less Disney, more Brothers
Grimm, with cheeky references to <i>Into the
Woods</i>, <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>, and <i>This Old House</i>.) The danger and violence feel real and the
ending – cooking and eating the Wolf – is triumph, retribution and tragedy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Imagine
being a Pig... This is home-invasion!</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">A monster
beseiges a disjointed family that has to come together as true brothers to save
themselves.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Imagine being a Wolf... with
Wife and hungry Pups to feed at home.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Set
in the timeless ever-present of fairytales or hunger and homelessness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 1 –
The Woods </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">The
Wolf’s place. Dark. Dangerous.
Hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">(Throughout
the play the Wolf narrates –cynical, amusing, ruthless.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Sometimes he is joined by a chorus of </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Woodland Creatures, an ensemble of cute(ish)
dancing / acrobatic critters: Deer, Raccoon, Rabbit, Squirrel, Owl, and that
obnoxious Happiness Bluebird.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">They’re all
terrified of the Wolf - except for Owl, because it takes a predator to
understand a predator.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">While Squirrel
and Rabbit don’t trust Owl.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">
</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">TheWoodlanders also sing as Wolf’s Wife and his litter of Pups.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;"> </span><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 2 – A
Road Through the Woods</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">An
inhospitable No-Pigs’-Land. The Pigs
have been kicked out of their nest, er, sty by their Mother Pig, who can’t
stand the brothers’ arguing, jealousy, and laziness a moment longer. Also there’s no food. So she kicked them out into a hostile and
hungry world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 3 –
Traveling</span></b><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> (Dance tribute to Oz ending with throwing
apples.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 4 – A
Clearing at the Edge of the Woods. </span></b><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> There are apple trees, remnants of an old
orchard, and a feral vegetable garden that still yields a few carrots and
potatoes and such. The tumbled ruins of
the old farmstead are almost back to woodland, but there are bricks and sticks
and, if the meadow grass is cut with that rusty sythe, there could be straw.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 5 –
Same Clearing</span></b><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">, building is started.
(Big dance number, a flavor of <i>Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers</i>.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 6 –
Same Clearing</span></b><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">, the House of Straw is complete, then blown away. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">(The
hit single “Huff n’ Puff” in its first iteration, repeated for each house.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 7 –
Same Clearing</span></b><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">, the House of Sticks is complete, then blown away</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 8 –
Same Clearing</span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">, The House of Bricks is complete and smoke comes from
its brick chimney. First Wolf attack.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 9 –
Same Clearing</span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">, Full Moon. (Wolf’s and Mrs. Wolf’s big duet.)</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 10 –
House of Bricks Exterior/Interior</span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">, roaring fire and boiling soup pot. Second Wolf attack.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">Scene 11 – Same
Interior</span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 28.0pt;">,
Dinner! (Stupendous dance number)</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;">(It’s
macabre, but the Wolf, who narrated throughout the story, narrates again now –
his talking head on a plate on the feasting table.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;">He sings that, without him,</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;">Wolf’s Wife will have to send the Pups out
into the world... hungry.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;"> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="text-align: center;">The play ends
when a Pig puts an apple in Wolf’s mouth to shut him up.)</span> </div></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That's the synopsis. The students will try to come up with designs that solve the problems it presents in a black box theater. (Notice the big one yet? That transition from Woods to Clearing?) (Well, and also the built-in problem of building and blowing-away piggie houses on stage in the audience's full view.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, the idea of a charrette is to sit down and thrash out an initial design. I've read definitions online that define it as including input from others (not just the designer) and, in my experience, this can be true. (Architect Charles Moore, a noted and unusually collaborative collaborator once responded to citizen phone calls!) But to me, the all-at-a-single-sitting is the defining aspect. It's a way to force-march through the design process. And the time pressure and presence of others also struggling with the problem that adds oomph! to your thinking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The students are about a 1/2 hour into it - just starting to grasp the difficulties. We'll see what they've got in 5 1/2 more hours. (5 1/2 hours minus pizza time.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A little extra tidbit: I discovered that the name "charrette" comes from the French name for the cart that rolled around the Ecole de Beaux Arts, collecting student architects' work. The work would be taken away to be judged... just like the tumbril taking prisoners to the guillotine, or so my old French professor explained.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">No tumbril today! </span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-75736393146102350712023-01-10T08:17:00.001-08:002023-01-21T09:13:19.271-08:00Nice News Article<h1 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #111111; line-height: 1.2; margin: 1rem 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Well, This happened! A nice article about Stage West's apprenticeship program in the <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/" target="_blank">Fort Worth Report</a>. The original article is <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2023/01/09/stage-west-theatres-apprenticeship-program-sets-stage-for-next-generation/" target="_blank">HERE</a> and I've copied the gist of it to this blog (in case of future internet glitchiness) with my own not-so-spiffy photos.</span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nmw5gsWrD1HkhzxL-TSg44fjtEOHRWkNJs6W37InP8cUULk1JBhscy7REOlEUUhinThidy7HnSydZviWFZPR-_jdG7xYGO9dW5AvkIoVdv6DQG6CGuJ7yyJfKderXurgGjDasvQCGvujI0W2YzRTVg6yYUTMKsBAxNgbELFPrsXsh88UztviT9SR/s3264/Handle%20With%20Care%20Model.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1977" data-original-width="3264" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nmw5gsWrD1HkhzxL-TSg44fjtEOHRWkNJs6W37InP8cUULk1JBhscy7REOlEUUhinThidy7HnSydZviWFZPR-_jdG7xYGO9dW5AvkIoVdv6DQG6CGuJ7yyJfKderXurgGjDasvQCGvujI0W2YzRTVg6yYUTMKsBAxNgbELFPrsXsh88UztviT9SR/w320-h203/Handle%20With%20Care%20Model.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h1 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #111111; font-family: "Playfair Display", Georgia, "serif"; font-size: 2.8em; line-height: 1.2; margin: 1rem 0px 0px;"><br /></h1><h1 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #111111; font-family: "Playfair Display", Georgia, "serif"; font-size: 2.8em; line-height: 1.2; margin: 1rem 0px 0px;">Stage West Theatre’s apprenticeship program sets stage for next generation</h1><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px;">by Marcheta Fornoff, Fort Worth Report<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />January 9, 2023</p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px;">Clare Floyd DeVries has designed real-life fire stations, doctor’s offices and a string of small-town convenience stores, but for the better part of 20 years she’s crafted full environments from scratch in her role as one of the metroplex’s go-to set designers.</p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Now the architect-turned-set-designer is helping build the next generation of theater professionals as a mentor for <a href="https://www.stagewest.org/" target="_blank">Stage West Theatre</a>’s apprenticeship program.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">The idea for the program grew out of the COVID-19 shutdown and a desire to “double down” on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts following the wave of Black Lives Matter protests, said Dana Schultes, the theater’s executive producer.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“We made a commitment to ourselves and to the larger theater community that we would work harder to raise our standards so that more and more people from diverse communities were participating in the creation of shows,” she said.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">In order to deliver on that promise, they started a paid apprenticeship program to help unclog the talent pipeline.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">The program has separate tracks for separate disciplines. This year, there are three sets of three students matched with a mentor in either sound, costume or scenic design.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CZGMRZwnea4" width="320" youtube-src-id="CZGMRZwnea4"></iframe></div><br /><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px;">Mentors are tasked with helping students understand the full scope of what they do for a show, from pre-production meetings through completion and all of the various steps in between. </span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“One of the things that I noticed about my own educational experience is that when I matriculated, I was not sure what to do next, and it was really intimidating,” Schultes said. “The ultimate goal is for these young students to not only learn from the best, but then to have opportunities to then do their own shows with the mentors watching after them, to say, ‘I'm here for you if you have any questions.’” </span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Aaron Knowles Dias, education director for the theater, took the reins for the program this year. Finding mentors who are at the top of their field and great teachers was a priority for Knowles Dias, and she said Floyd DeVries is the perfect example of someone who embodies both qualities.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“She's really a master of bringing other people into that artistic process so that they can access it themselves,” she said. “The artistic process, even for artists themselves, is very mysterious … But she's got that awareness of the process and has a really great vocabulary for sharing it with others. And it's just wonderful.”</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQgWDxCTnx8bQ9MsYngVhn8nty9NDXDzkCpbKUMAx-OXGO05Bx_cUAvnc6NHlhFA_2WxDFWrp38iLZVR2ab7FzWl1vCKOJmBs3zrb9t3uWe7ygc7Cc1Mg0fkUxkpXYQNlV5grN9VRXA783_yhacZea4zP8pRk1bIHpAkQuNX1GG1DAtoL-_z5I6Jf2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQgWDxCTnx8bQ9MsYngVhn8nty9NDXDzkCpbKUMAx-OXGO05Bx_cUAvnc6NHlhFA_2WxDFWrp38iLZVR2ab7FzWl1vCKOJmBs3zrb9t3uWe7ygc7Cc1Mg0fkUxkpXYQNlV5grN9VRXA783_yhacZea4zP8pRk1bIHpAkQuNX1GG1DAtoL-_z5I6Jf2" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Clare Floyd DeVries (right) speaks with apprentices Sierra Lesniak (left), Brooks Davenport (center) and Katie Cooley (right) on the set of the recent production “Handle with Care.” (Marcheta Fornoff | Fort Worth Report)</span><p></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Katie Cooley, who is studying theater design and technology at the University of Texas at Arlington, arrived at the theater early and had the chance to go over tips for perspective drawing before the first session officially began.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Over the course of the morning and after the other students arrived, Floyd DeVries shared several valuable lessons about what goes into creating a believable set: from problem solving practical needs — like creating pieces that can easily be manipulated or moved — to the more theoretical but equally important questions about using design to match the tone of a play.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">For example, several plays might be set in a similar time or place, but the design will vary drastically depending on the intended occupants. </span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“Whose [Victorian] study is it? Is it Sherlock Holmes? Is it Dr. Jekyll? The White Rabbit (from “Alice in Wonderland”)? Professor Higgins from “My Fair Lady”? Those rooms are all rather different because they have such different personalities,” she explained. “So you have to become a bit of a psychologist.” </span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Sierra Lesniak, a student at Tarrant County College, plans to be a director someday, but is still deciding whether she wants to work in film or in stage plays. In either medium, she said it will be helpful for her to have a background in scenic design and learn strategies for communicating her visions to others.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“Working on a show, you break it down from what's necessary … And then once you have your foundation, you build into the artistic side,” she said. “So getting to learn the technicalities from the perspective of a scenic designer … to have that under my belt as a director … I'm very excited because the more that I can understand everybody's positions as a director, I think would build me up to be better at my job.”</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Fellow apprentice Brooks Davenport is a theater design and technology major student at Texas Christian University. He is excited about the opportunity to plug into the local theater scene and get experience outside of school.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“I feel like this is a space where I think I can have a lot of creative freedom,” he said. “I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like there's a difference in being at school and in a classroom and being in a professional environment. I feel like I will be able to explore and experiment a lot designing here.”</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Each of the different disciplines for the apprenticeship program run on their own schedule, but all three tracks will come together in May for a celebration, where the students will each have the opportunity to share what they learned. The program enables growth for both the theater and the students, Knowles Dias, the education coordinator, said.</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“We are investing in these artists-in-development now so that they will invest in us tomorrow,” she said. “The way we see it, by bringing them into the Stage West fold and supporting them and nourishing them here, giving them great training and sending them off into the world to find their way and grow in experience, skill and success, we are empowering them to be the torch bearers for local theater down the road.”</span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org or on <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchetaFornoff" target="_blank">twitter</a> twitter.com/MarchetaFornoff" </span></span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif;">At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. </span></p><p class="byline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif;">This </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: georgia, garamond, "Times New Roman", serif;">article first appeared on <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/" target="_blank">Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLopVTfV7kh5A7e44nOwNm1Q2rHdILO1cHySUImboH2eEhGc7RDkysz2ABAAITeG-_wLi0NVbw8RuEVgNJUS2Kh5oeHpsePojUzgP1iGYkIa2q9ySLNIPl0j00RIk2VmBYqJlv0R3u5rqWxoShh5IvInvgu3a0i4amAql-YqswZAYisxChTV2BP3k5/s3264/Handle%20With%20Care%20Model.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1977" data-original-width="3264" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLopVTfV7kh5A7e44nOwNm1Q2rHdILO1cHySUImboH2eEhGc7RDkysz2ABAAITeG-_wLi0NVbw8RuEVgNJUS2Kh5oeHpsePojUzgP1iGYkIa2q9ySLNIPl0j00RIk2VmBYqJlv0R3u5rqWxoShh5IvInvgu3a0i4amAql-YqswZAYisxChTV2BP3k5/s320/Handle%20With%20Care%20Model.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-23808550405485592892023-01-03T07:21:00.002-08:002023-01-03T07:22:22.782-08:00Minecraft Theater Design Class!<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">In crazy news: Stage West Theatre and I are offering a Minecraft based scenic design class!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYyRkPTaDIkzUA7p3pmY14HKys20nI0IJpEp_3ajp5loBfqyBcMrKLALYVMN00A3yPx5PR3Cf6WHYurnDOmPpUiGVi23S_BicuSNDjQMnwqPGxLoqaAkYPPVKzTnwex2OGf-xIoxie5z7s-eekfVh2Yhj4r4Vs88ysaW_F1jbp0XqV_jTyFk4ypw/s1920/Blocksterdam%20Theater%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1920" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYyRkPTaDIkzUA7p3pmY14HKys20nI0IJpEp_3ajp5loBfqyBcMrKLALYVMN00A3yPx5PR3Cf6WHYurnDOmPpUiGVi23S_BicuSNDjQMnwqPGxLoqaAkYPPVKzTnwex2OGf-xIoxie5z7s-eekfVh2Yhj4r4Vs88ysaW_F1jbp0XqV_jTyFk4ypw/w438-h229/Blocksterdam%20Theater%202.png" width="438" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Myriad, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; width: 584.2px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mining (Theater) Craft</span></h2><div><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Build a
theater!</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Design and build scenery!</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">In the blocky world of Minecraft enjoy all
the fun and drama of IRL theater design: the joy of group effort and the satisfaction
of individual creativity.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Play with 3
dimensional volume, levels, lights, color, and explore the possibilities of
lava in performance... wait... what?</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">A class for pre-teens
and teens. You’ll need access to Minecraft Java Version (PC based) and just
enough experience to place blocks (easy!) and to walk without falling in lava
(easy! because in “Creative” mode you can fly).</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">
</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">You’ll need Discord for in-game conversation and messaging.</span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Completely online, this class will meet Thursdays 7-9,
with access to StageWestWorld between times to keep on building.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"">Professional architect, award-winning set designer, and
let’s-not-say-obsessed Minecraft builder, Clare Floyd DeVries is the guide as you master this sandbox
game, mining its potential for theatrical creativity. </span><span face="Arial, "sans-serif""> You'll need access to Minecraft Java version (PC based) and just enough experience to place blocks (easy!) and to walk without falling into lava (easy because in "Creative" mode you can fly!). You'll need Discord for in-game conversation and messaging.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Learn more <a href="https://stagewest.org/teen-classes" target="_blank">HERE </a>at Stage West Education</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-12842812654936491222022-12-01T15:09:00.001-08:002022-12-01T15:09:40.422-08:00Show Photos<p><span style="font-family: arial;">I seldom get really good show photos (largely because I am a terrible photographer).</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But here are some lovely images </span><span style="font-family: arial;">taken by Sally Jinks </span><span style="font-family: arial;">of my recent show - written by Brad McEntire and produced at <a href="https://www.tccd.edu/academics/courses-and-programs/courses/drama-theater/" target="_blank">Tarrant College SE</a> - </span><i style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">Que sera, Giant Monster</i><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C93w3X1oexgOCJv9KFVrWwHo9rnUFX208pmhoISvyYkOZ1XhIp6yV1dDorJ_b_0qKBBqm2mRGRsh4OtAb2UouIJyxiuvx-SthwGzvmDFpmRLSEvN8Ap_rAjQyAwJBFg8kw-PMRiycRbZELDX0eZgpL400d_sSHKc3re5PdBOcD8BTJGsMWNSKUTl/s3000/FL22_SE_Que_Sera_Giant_Monster_20221118_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2028" data-original-width="3000" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C93w3X1oexgOCJv9KFVrWwHo9rnUFX208pmhoISvyYkOZ1XhIp6yV1dDorJ_b_0qKBBqm2mRGRsh4OtAb2UouIJyxiuvx-SthwGzvmDFpmRLSEvN8Ap_rAjQyAwJBFg8kw-PMRiycRbZELDX0eZgpL400d_sSHKc3re5PdBOcD8BTJGsMWNSKUTl/s320/FL22_SE_Que_Sera_Giant_Monster_20221118_0017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><i><b>Que Sera, Giant Monster </b>- </i>Tarrant College SE - photos by Sally Jinks</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG8j0pKbGf3FQFZtXW_4bTpv7ydAX-YE19Si1VYyR7UH7hhcoSNEAQsloUUVJO92SABVIocx8H24ryMfVyYwi8EjCVmiCokkkafvBjNnqJSbw_uCK4fRVZ9boobiR2LwUzAzjG4ZD03G2tLuLPQHeMn2kgR3-0ccn3fLcDDlfQNFGz8-sd_cgu7CP/s3600/FL22_SE_Que_Sera_Giant_Monster_20221118_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2659" data-original-width="3600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG8j0pKbGf3FQFZtXW_4bTpv7ydAX-YE19Si1VYyR7UH7hhcoSNEAQsloUUVJO92SABVIocx8H24ryMfVyYwi8EjCVmiCokkkafvBjNnqJSbw_uCK4fRVZ9boobiR2LwUzAzjG4ZD03G2tLuLPQHeMn2kgR3-0ccn3fLcDDlfQNFGz8-sd_cgu7CP/s320/FL22_SE_Que_Sera_Giant_Monster_20221118_0005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Next up, tonight's Opening of <i style="font-weight: bold;">Ebenezer Scrooge </i>at <a href="https://www.pocketsandwich.com/" target="_blank">Pocket Sandwich Theatre</a>!</span></div><br /> </div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-27035210194112888862022-11-19T09:51:00.003-08:002022-11-19T09:51:33.149-08:00Quick! Catch It On Stage!<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">Rush. Rush!! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To catch <i style="font-weight: bold;">Que Sera, Giant Monster </i>on stage at Tarrant College SE.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yS053ojXfhVyGsX5pwoj1a5JUKwPj0Zu01q5yoSmuG3r1nE0FN78oKLxwouDanPPYUP8mdd8Sf9NgzykR7p6ekVRM6sdw4wrpVBSQu302WBdA90sWgBY6Pc0Lp3dWixz8S_XV7qeLehJMsEWJhyYVNCwBGsZDoY1dn3QLSOy84jfKqdIwiinPLj0/s2480/Que%20Sera%20Giant%20Monster%20Post%20Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="1623" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yS053ojXfhVyGsX5pwoj1a5JUKwPj0Zu01q5yoSmuG3r1nE0FN78oKLxwouDanPPYUP8mdd8Sf9NgzykR7p6ekVRM6sdw4wrpVBSQu302WBdA90sWgBY6Pc0Lp3dWixz8S_XV7qeLehJMsEWJhyYVNCwBGsZDoY1dn3QLSOy84jfKqdIwiinPLj0/s320/Que%20Sera%20Giant%20Monster%20Post%20Card.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Written and directed by Brad McEntire and acted by TC students, this production is part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's my design sketch for its city brew pub setting:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNmv06a-y218J32-Crs9ZfjnmJT-WUHAWx7lom7rk3j-VEe98ckglXEgEg3Z8vLu6k8w7o_NzfJuKv9dHSkWWAg6EvoyL6Mh0iz3kTAZij5Pz5H5GImQBFKt2tJxSuq7UmlvJYXDhATW4s5EUgTR43Nhsu8nzDumYDkMttKcj4Sy3z4jU8WoxFxxG/s3847/Que%20Sera,%20Giant%20Monster%20Elev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="3847" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNmv06a-y218J32-Crs9ZfjnmJT-WUHAWx7lom7rk3j-VEe98ckglXEgEg3Z8vLu6k8w7o_NzfJuKv9dHSkWWAg6EvoyL6Mh0iz3kTAZij5Pz5H5GImQBFKt2tJxSuq7UmlvJYXDhATW4s5EUgTR43Nhsu8nzDumYDkMttKcj4Sy3z4jU8WoxFxxG/s320/Que%20Sera,%20Giant%20Monster%20Elev.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">And a photo from Tech:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3rUWJhzY0wHCMiriZolVyY5nnPC3JZ0eEiNC6jF6w_lwAc5bj-NuW-8bKjQl6YsaWktQR26nG3JfOKIxM3nF2FNuPIFNGzS5lmzqvB5ilRdpGmcF03LOu0ajTQBsmKT_puIFO7J6T7M-QlYLSLwC6GlOP9EbR_TiBVHJONVoD4L4y4y-pw_Phcsq/s4000/IMG_1186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3rUWJhzY0wHCMiriZolVyY5nnPC3JZ0eEiNC6jF6w_lwAc5bj-NuW-8bKjQl6YsaWktQR26nG3JfOKIxM3nF2FNuPIFNGzS5lmzqvB5ilRdpGmcF03LOu0ajTQBsmKT_puIFO7J6T7M-QlYLSLwC6GlOP9EbR_TiBVHJONVoD4L4y4y-pw_Phcsq/s320/IMG_1186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">PHOTO by Brad BcEntire</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Indoors, lots of emotions and philosophy. Outdoors? A giant monster stomps by!<br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /> </div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-80809761726050125112022-10-22T17:09:00.001-07:002022-11-19T09:58:13.761-08:00Catching Up A Little<p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's been a long, long, looong time since my last post. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since the end of the Before Times and then the Pandemic lockdown I've suddenly gotten busy with theater set design again (woohoo!) and have been mentoring students and, obviously, haven't felt the need to write much. But all my original reasons for blogging remain... so I'll try to get better about posting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So we'll see.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This week's "busy" was cranking out - as fast as possible - two sets of construction drawings for one show in Fort Worth, Stage West's production of <i style="font-weight: bold;">Handle With Care, </i>and a production of <b><i>Ebenezer Scrooge</i></b> in Carrollton for Pocket Sandwich Theatre. This is my first design for this beloved theater institution! and their first show in their new theater space. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is my first chance to design this evergreen Christmas classic so I'm excited. Also under development is a new work <i style="font-weight: bold;">Que Sera, Giant Monster </i>at Tarrant College SE which will open in November.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Busy!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Between my last post and this one was a whole show, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Founders, Keepers</i>, at Echo Theatre. Here's a quick pic:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFhyYcUm4JmBhMDvJNAP5WBkxqT0bpRZuIUfdujqrIQwGmI1fYpiZhgSPW4OOSPgb6OauJByyzsuEyyLXNcFWC4h6A9EPoMZVWgLKuahdhj0yn-DlCnTTnxo-so0uBhn0UhKXtRNNoIBuJmDktCs4k38nbSc_cpiyBaRBCwBltXF_CnfZs3AoxQpb/s2879/Founders%20SD%20Elev.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="2879" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFhyYcUm4JmBhMDvJNAP5WBkxqT0bpRZuIUfdujqrIQwGmI1fYpiZhgSPW4OOSPgb6OauJByyzsuEyyLXNcFWC4h6A9EPoMZVWgLKuahdhj0yn-DlCnTTnxo-so0uBhn0UhKXtRNNoIBuJmDktCs4k38nbSc_cpiyBaRBCwBltXF_CnfZs3AoxQpb/w408-h185/Founders%20SD%20Elev.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Outside the classroom's windows is an apocalypse happening in D.C. Funny thing, all my playwrights have apocalypses in their plays. Weird huh?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-23136373892683745992022-06-17T09:45:00.006-07:002022-06-17T09:45:45.693-07:00Okay, Okay, Okay<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">Sorry... it's been a crazy Spring. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But the big message here (the reason I'm finally posting) is:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Go See The Shows!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have two shows onstage at this moment: <b><i>Into the Breeches!</i></b> at <a href="https://stagewest.org/" target="_blank">Stage West</a> in Fort Worth and <b><i>Hi5 </i></b>at <a href="https://www.kitchendogtheater.org/" target="_blank">Kitchen Dog Theater</a> in Dallas. If you're within driving range of either or both, they're worth seeing. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwloqtEGFSIiegtDgw54c79rwHIxUZkLVSr-dPgldENVMVyVBEdiZlizVTmcIvF47Qg0PZC-O9hoyYUtm6JdJWNOB9Beuc8TS108yJGjyw1GIhc57aGBbob32XQLOiQN3k8EgytV_5cVrwGz7lUaAMnN0DVuVcjK1Mr4X1BMR1RTl2EyQPhkqGIRy_/s1200/breeches_web7_1200x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwloqtEGFSIiegtDgw54c79rwHIxUZkLVSr-dPgldENVMVyVBEdiZlizVTmcIvF47Qg0PZC-O9hoyYUtm6JdJWNOB9Beuc8TS108yJGjyw1GIhc57aGBbob32XQLOiQN3k8EgytV_5cVrwGz7lUaAMnN0DVuVcjK1Mr4X1BMR1RTl2EyQPhkqGIRy_/s320/breeches_web7_1200x1200.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="font-family: arial;"><i><p><b style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></b></p>Into the Breeches!</i></b><span style="font-family: arial;"> is a charming play about a play. Set in 1942, a theatrical group decides to go ahead and stage Shakespeare's "Henry" plays, even though the men are all off to WWII. Very funny.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvW28c2v2u9hWeP-gXZQEFz7tesZKWtqQ1UPKneQGZXMwKfVvKeLXMQl1IBFpKNQTBjtNZTwP5_sqY63qD9qrXhdX92r1FqIKyZdIIon3ZdrB3Gp5TCh-AyIpW30OtH0Zov1qAkwLTpovYd7NG_enVMR-fowj1yOPFvdmmMvfmlcVw-CDK6eYvfyc/s999/HighFive_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvW28c2v2u9hWeP-gXZQEFz7tesZKWtqQ1UPKneQGZXMwKfVvKeLXMQl1IBFpKNQTBjtNZTwP5_sqY63qD9qrXhdX92r1FqIKyZdIIon3ZdrB3Gp5TCh-AyIpW30OtH0Zov1qAkwLTpovYd7NG_enVMR-fowj1yOPFvdmmMvfmlcVw-CDK6eYvfyc/s320/HighFive_portrait.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>Hi5</i></b> is a collection of brand new short plays: wild, weird, moving, funny, thought-provoking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">More posts soon, now that I've cleared my board of three plays and a fun mentoring gig.</span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-44809980630974093902022-02-09T11:08:00.001-08:002022-02-09T11:09:30.842-08:00Getting Busier...<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Theater biz is looking up!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have a new show to design, this time for Echo Theatre, <i style="font-weight: bold;">In A Word</i> by Lauren Yee, opening March 18th. So... I need to hurry up, huh? My first discussion with the director is this evening. Meanwhile, I've been reading and rereading, and noting. There might be a few little scribbles happening...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And I'm starting that student mentorship. First meeting - due to covid - was virtual, but it's face-to-face tomorrow morning at what will feel like dawn. (Extra coffee please!) A rush hour drive to Fort Worth? It seems against the theater ethos doesn't it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the first things we'll do is discuss the script for Stage West's upcoming play, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Witch</i>. Here's a coolo play poster for the 1621 Restoration play upon which it is based.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Well... when it loads it will be....</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2bzzmxhWAOHeO_WZPnRYXVgpDIXzew2ZDNfVU4rc1GfLcBc1b5VCUhrkzy4SbgDj0WHFZesjwVAUwuxBKKBIxrjZMCmLUL8g3Oht7FDZDTTZIkh_iXLgJlQJKZUoZ60JYVduc6FWj3VihkhUtC0k-TXDO-5oQGDMXS8VpfvGNJ_nxiPcVfE-5hGa2=s1115" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2bzzmxhWAOHeO_WZPnRYXVgpDIXzew2ZDNfVU4rc1GfLcBc1b5VCUhrkzy4SbgDj0WHFZesjwVAUwuxBKKBIxrjZMCmLUL8g3Oht7FDZDTTZIkh_iXLgJlQJKZUoZ60JYVduc6FWj3VihkhUtC0k-TXDO-5oQGDMXS8VpfvGNJ_nxiPcVfE-5hGa2=s320" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Made in 1621? Gotta be public domain by now and, anyway, fair/education use</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-87315805531055694752022-01-21T11:45:00.004-08:002022-01-21T11:45:45.568-08:00My Theater Dance Card<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Dance cards were a thing a lady used to have at a ball - a charming little booklet with an attached dainty gilded pencil to mark down promised dances and her gentlemanly partners.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTptWNuRUS_aw034Z2IKgUVwqixbmgh0d4tBjxDP3qSCw1HUqCF8K78YlHg3XxEVgsgRbWY7NM78P3mThbFNvlo0olRvpEZ1F06IVxyNn2M_8gG4C9tB3ilO4f3JnNLeAOFUI5j3bvkSaG5jJEXtvLKLSbH8FvsqODNFlAEyJYnv5JC1ggkadmpdEm=s616" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="616" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTptWNuRUS_aw034Z2IKgUVwqixbmgh0d4tBjxDP3qSCw1HUqCF8K78YlHg3XxEVgsgRbWY7NM78P3mThbFNvlo0olRvpEZ1F06IVxyNn2M_8gG4C9tB3ilO4f3JnNLeAOFUI5j3bvkSaG5jJEXtvLKLSbH8FvsqODNFlAEyJYnv5JC1ggkadmpdEm=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Dance card image courtesy of <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dance_card.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia</a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>I've always kept a scribbly, scabby version of a dance card myself, to remember what shows I've promised to design, for which theater group.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, I did until covid.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today (while updating my theater how-to book <b><i>Alice Through the Proscenium</i></b>, watch for this new expanded! edition's publication date) I happened to need to refer back in time, to see what shows I was juggling in 2019-2020. After I remembered that I had a little black book, found it, and blew off the dust, I saw... well, the perfect illustration of just exactly what covid did to the schedules of every theater artist.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's my dance card for 2018 and 2019:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3t7SNchVumvZNNS-rp3_0KQIaerksWz1dnTD9oNK7V6aj3Q39MCEHL7_gNSAqXKqW8Fga-C1lFiHEist7ICuax7Ktdwd51nbzCi7SMzKjPf19YC1OdKNixSZ7AsRPooRnpDiMDjbgBZOGSBAsvfJfE-lRNGfv8YKwzfRM68Mh87QMPchiEZMABelq=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3t7SNchVumvZNNS-rp3_0KQIaerksWz1dnTD9oNK7V6aj3Q39MCEHL7_gNSAqXKqW8Fga-C1lFiHEist7ICuax7Ktdwd51nbzCi7SMzKjPf19YC1OdKNixSZ7AsRPooRnpDiMDjbgBZOGSBAsvfJfE-lRNGfv8YKwzfRM68Mh87QMPchiEZMABelq=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Thirteen shows I designed in 2019, for eight different theaters. In 2020 it was eleven shows, seven theaters, and an Off-Broadway showcase.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here it is for 2020 and 2021:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjEsrXBCf32nMtmdx0-totBBlI5fsyV8jp_6BzxPqI4WpacugVFKIqDbc21A4uLodbqwJHRqLXSc10vgnhyZO0k-DYzc3UCY1OheRZGB-YsQnI4bQFMNxBJw1n4tLPvlHG8RUfzfUfF0Y-KHNBYhLVS65c0xQerUiCCXZdMjYqzew5YwcHAxBcYcoY=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjEsrXBCf32nMtmdx0-totBBlI5fsyV8jp_6BzxPqI4WpacugVFKIqDbc21A4uLodbqwJHRqLXSc10vgnhyZO0k-DYzc3UCY1OheRZGB-YsQnI4bQFMNxBJw1n4tLPvlHG8RUfzfUfF0Y-KHNBYhLVS65c0xQerUiCCXZdMjYqzew5YwcHAxBcYcoY=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Two real shows I designed that actually appeared on stage, one speculative hypnotism show that did not, a cancelation and... blankitude...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That's what covid was like for me and for most of us for those two years.</span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-677593125310189525.post-32274910935193648112022-01-17T13:37:00.002-08:002022-01-17T13:37:26.414-08:00House Lights Up!<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjysAzSw5Dl3-IDJGQ98OwJGowPzOVyiTb9jZDLxDhTQTfCb474hFFMCibW1GzD6DfeV6TK0MK6IQ1-CiuxBz7vMt8dqv_Swl6ngnbYv9xocJwKBEtGU0suh11Jdd1UQ8GsQxaUiE6p1Nh1kwsYOooiyEK9bVmsgOpQ1taqWhKGhrtGZk5d-zo4g1KD=s5952" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5952" data-original-width="3348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjysAzSw5Dl3-IDJGQ98OwJGowPzOVyiTb9jZDLxDhTQTfCb474hFFMCibW1GzD6DfeV6TK0MK6IQ1-CiuxBz7vMt8dqv_Swl6ngnbYv9xocJwKBEtGU0suh11Jdd1UQ8GsQxaUiE6p1Nh1kwsYOooiyEK9bVmsgOpQ1taqWhKGhrtGZk5d-zo4g1KD=s320" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />It begins...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The first meeting of Stage West's theater design apprenticeship isn't until Thursday, but I spent this morning setting up a Discord server to act as our classroom / treehouse. Our first meeting will - thanks covid! - be virtual, so we'll get to use this treehouse immediately. My fingers are crossed that this will be an easier, friendlier virtual venue than, say, Zoom. (Don't we all hate Zoom meetings by now?) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The photo above is from a Dallas Museum of Art show that I said I'd report back on... Too late now! But I will just say that museums are one of the few outings right now that are, generally, less crowded </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and feel safer - go mid-week or early in the day if you can. (Don't we all need to get out the house?)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">BTW the architectural art exhibit "For a Dreamer of Houses" was fascinating. You can get a good idea of it <a href="https://virtual.dma.org/dreamer-of-houses/" target="_blank">HERE</a> virtually. The neon house <i style="font-weight: bold;">Rubber Pencil Devil </i>by Alex da Corte was cool, but my favorite environment was Francisco Moreno's <b><i>Chapel</i></b>. A wonderful, intricate, evocative neo-Romanesque barrel-vaulted chapel - of plywood - completely covered with graphics... as if a 12th century monastery chapel got anachronistic tattoos. Some of them inked by Titian...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm3Kk4RBhpb-TBcrP_brZRsySpEiqFRODhhzoVdvy-k0XM5IsZN7BbAiTqYSzuVY1slFsNh4qVGVxkDBiT4fI8v5hstErBU9B_Up5JKUAHsDWYENeAunyhYaqsb6YBwcik3Zti1KzbRY2rXWVP32KUmEV_urfaDNFPzuiXtMBvjf_8otSlHxJeqza9=s5952" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5952" data-original-width="3348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm3Kk4RBhpb-TBcrP_brZRsySpEiqFRODhhzoVdvy-k0XM5IsZN7BbAiTqYSzuVY1slFsNh4qVGVxkDBiT4fI8v5hstErBU9B_Up5JKUAHsDWYENeAunyhYaqsb6YBwcik3Zti1KzbRY2rXWVP32KUmEV_urfaDNFPzuiXtMBvjf_8otSlHxJeqza9=s320" width="180" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">DMA show "For Dreamers of Houses" - photos by Clare Floyd DeVries </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyway, get out however you safely can and see stuff and learn stuff!</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Clare Floyd DeVrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12162085551713294457noreply@blogger.com0