Why You Might Want to Vote for Beto O'Rourke

I voted for Beto on the first day of early voting.

Here's why:

1)  Ted Cruz is a bad senator.

When Cruz was elected to represent us - Texas - he took the Tea Party promise never to compromise while in Washington... kinda missing the whole point of representation.  You know, Congress working together - making deals and compromises - to help as many citizens as possible and advance the country.  Instead, Ted shut down the government.  

Then he ran for president.  

That meant he missed a LOT of votes in Washington and a lot of constituents in Texas.  Even after losing, Ted visits Texas now for fund raisers, but few open town halls.  He's infamous for not listening to constituents. I met one Muslim gentleman (phone banking for Beto) whose group not only couldn't get their senator to meet them... but Cruz's office staff more or less shoved them out the door and turned off the lights.  As they did during the controversial votes on Obamacare.  He hid from worried constituents.

2) Beto is a good Representative.  Comparing Ted Cruz and Beto O'Roarke, only Beto values or practices working across the aisle to get things done.  Beto also holds twice-monthly town halls.  I've seen him in town halls... Beto will take an open question from anyone.  Really listens.  And tells you what he really thinks.

At a time when politicians shout accusations and threats and riled up partisans turn to bombs and guns... we desperately need representatives who listen to citizens, who work together, and who can speak politely and honestly.  Ted Cruz even snapped at the debate moderator who asked him about civility.

3)  Personality.  Both Cruz and Beto are smart and energetic.  Perhaps Cruz is also a great guy when you get to know him (though one Republican leader called him "Satan in the flesh"), but Beto definitely wins the traditional political challenge of who-you'd-have-a-beer-with.  

I'm not so impressed by that.  What I like is that Beto seems kind.  We need kindness.

And he's hopeful.  Instead of fear, Beto talks about how we can work together to make our country better.  I appreciate that.

4)  Policies.  I agree with many of Beto's ideas, but even if you hate Democratic policies, at this dangerous moment we really, really need Congress to act as a curb on the power of the presidency and of the party in power.  Checks and balances!  


Our country is choosing what kind of country we want to be - I choose kindness and civility and hope and balance.  

I voted for Beto - I hope you will too.

VOTE!

The last day to register to vote in Texas 

for this November is October 9th.

There's an online form at VoteTexas.gov, but it has to be mailed in so MAIL IT TODAY or (since I don't trust the mail for something this important) GO IN PERSON.  The website can answer most of your questions.

This election is too important to miss or mess up.  

And if you argue that your vote isn't important or doesn't count or will be out voted... tiny violin players will not serenade you.  

Voting is your civic duty.  We all count on you to hold up your end of this deal, of this American Experiment.  So.  No... actually, yes, pressure.

Go vote.  

No excuses accepted.  

Early voting begins October 22nd.


Addendum:  Yesterday was the first day of early voting in Texas - I voted.  (And got the sticker to prove it.)  The crowd was HUGE!  So, if you have an opinion, if you care about our country... well, the other guys are voting their opinions - you vote yours!

A Week in the Life of a Set Designer

Admittedly a busy week...

Last THURSDAY:

An enjoyable meeting with the set dresser for Kiss Me Kate at Mainstage Irving Las Colinas.  (For which I wasn't 100% mentally ready as a. I hadn't finished the construction drawings yet and b. I was totally consumed with other shows and other deadlines.  In my defense be it known that Kate doesn't actually open until November.)  

Anyway, we talked about basic design direction - simplified, stylized, black & white & gray plus punch-of-color, with those colors largely chosen from borrowed drops in order to tie this thing together!  Already a handsome three part dressing screen is found!

Here are rough photos of the very rough white model for Kate:

This is the ground state of the musical, the Backstage look.

This is the look for Downtown Padua in the play within the play.

And here's a look at Petruchio's House interior.  

In order to simplify all the (many many) setting changes, I have one large fixed unit that gets redressed now and then and four small-as-possible wagons that spin round to use their reverse sides as different set pieces.  That fireplace unit above will be particularly cunning since its reverse is the theater's stage door.

Also Thursday was a production meeting for Once  at Theatre Three.  After an afternoon of helping paint etc. in the theater and a short coffee break/chat at the nearby Thai street food place.  (I'm getting addicted to their iced Thai coffee!)

Here's the color sketch of the large scenic unit AKA "The Main".  Remember this, we'll get back to it anon.

FRIDAY: 

First meeting with a new-to-me director for the next show at Circle Theater, Men on Boats.  This is going to be exciting and challenging...  How do you scenically convey the Grand Canyon?  (And on a stage with 9' high ceilings?)

SATURDAY:

All day (Day 1) Tech for Once.  I got home at 11:30.  (It was a good thing I'd gone fabric shopping for "wallpaper" that morning because the AC was freezing!  I wore my "wallpaper" wrapped round me like a shawl, even over my head, as I watched the Q2Q.)  The music is amazing!  Going to be a good show.

SUNDAY:

I was excused from more than a pop-in today at Once as Q2Q continued.  (The pop-in...  Me: "Any notes?"  Them: "Not yet."  Perfect!)

MONDAY:

Print out set dressing photos for Once at home, frame them with frames from my garage storage mess, um, Tupperware TM  system, then return to paint some more.  9:30 pm production meeting on the next show for Kitchen Dog Theater (with the bestest title!) Radiant Vermin.  Here's an idea sketch of the sorta footlights, for which the prop designer brought in a fantastic 3D vacuform test model:

TUESDAY:

More painting on Once.

WEDNESDAY:

More painting on Once.  Here we are, three hours until Picture Call:

Phew!

Once previews tonight and officially opens Monday - buy tickets soon because they're gonna be hot!  And keep an eye open for Radiant Vermin, Men on Boats, and Kiss Me Kate because, each in their very different way, they look good...

Passing Greatness

This is a month - a week ! - when we're losing some of our great public characters, people who shaped our times:

A funerary wreath - public domain from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Today I read of the death of choreographer Paul Taylor - hugely influential in dance.  

Also recent is the death of playwright Paul Simon at 91, who pretty much owned Broadway in the 1960s and '70s.  I fully expect that a version of his The Odd Couple will someday be performed on Mars.  (Question: Felix or Oscar who's the martian versus the astronaut/colonist?  I imagine a neat-freak astronaut always worrying about habitat pollution and atmosphere breaches...)  The lights on Broadway dimmed last night in his honor.

Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, was buried this week with appropriate pomp and ceremony.

And Senator John McCain.


Let's look back fondly and with respect.

During sad periods like this it feels as if losses pile up and comfort is thin against the chill of time passing, of entropy, of the void.  Nothing and no one lasts.  "It's all sand-painting," as one wise actor told me, as we watched my set (built with so much labor!) being thrown away.  In theater you see that ephemeral quality more starkly than, perhaps, in other kinds of lives.  Things pass.  Even the pyramids aren't what they once were.

But things come to pass too.  Wonderful new characters arrive daily... we just don't find out for a while.  I wish it were possible to read - right next to an obituary - a birth notice (a genitary?) announcing the arrival of the next truly great dancer or playwright or singer or statesman - explaining just how important and beloved they will become.  Not in replacement of those greats we lose, but as something new and differently excellent, perhaps in a field or kind of life that doesn't yet exist...  Maybe these inspiring figures are already here, almost ready to take the stage and make it their own.  

Let's look around us...  hopefully.

"Traditional"

A designer friend pointed out an interesting article in The Telegraph (HERE) that talks about the disservice "traditional" theater design habits pose for actors of color...   Basically, that a "traditionally" dark colored set for Othello can cause a dark-skinned Othello to fade into the background.

To which I say, "duh."

Doesn't that seem like a likely hazard a set designer ought to expect?  Ditto the lose-their-face chances of overly dark or, say, skin-tone-brown costumes.  Wake up people!

Now, lighting designers may have a more legitimate problem, in that many commonly used lighting color gels don't flatter darker skin tones... but solving that problem is just a matter of a little forethought.  LED lighting is tricky mostly because, as far as I can see, LED's natural color range doesn't look right on any person of any skin color.  I've certainly witnessed a few lighting designers struggle before finding the right color.  Then again, if Elpheba in Wicked can be made to look green and glorious next to her pinky sister-witch, any actor can have a perfect, flattering light.

From my observation of shows where I've had African-American casts, the flattering color thing has usually been more a lighting issue than a set color one.  Of three shows: one had a set with strong colors and natural texture/colors where darker skin tones allowed the set to be more bold than it might have been and lighting used wonderful, saturated, crazy colors; the second was a world of caramel where the set faded into a nostalgic, sepia backdrop, costumes were mostly subdued, but lighting made faces pop; and the third show struggled a bit...  The set was minimal - just a warm/tawny oak floor and the cool gray of the theater's walls.  Costumes varied, but had definite color, and lighting - eventually - found a way to accentuate actors' faces.  I think the secret was when a blue wash was added to the theater walls that backlit and emphasized the actors.  Experiment!  That's  key.

Ruined by Echo Theatre - notice the deep deep saturated color in the background and the flattering light on the featured actress.  The bright colors of the set appeared and disappeared as the colors of the lighting changed... which was kinda fun.

Hard turn in this conversation:  Also "traditional"?

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Both freedoms are under siege by this president and his supporters.  Just in the past couple days the press has been derided - again - as Fake News or Enemies of the People and presidential critics have been insulted.  Former CIA director John Brennan had his security clearance revoked.  The man who helped lead the capture of Osama bin Laden can't be trusted with U.S, secrets?!  In what alternate universe is that true?  No, he just pissed off the president.  This is petty retribution and warning to others.

What can you personally do?

Lots:

1)  Call your representative and senator's offices.  Protest this un-American behavior.  Every.  Single.  Time.

2)  Subscribe to your local paper.

3)  Then subscribe to a national or international paper and to favorite pod casts or news radio or blogs etc.

4)  Read/listen/watch news and opinion from different and even uncomfortable sources.  See what others are seeing.

5)  Vote for candidates that uphold ideas you value, like honest, polite debate on issues, not name-calling, sound bites, or group-think.

6)  Speak out yourself.  

Don't use it?  You might lose it.

Catching Up... plus Register to Vote!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

In Texas the deadline to register to vote in this November's elections is: October 9.



Now, about catching up...

It's been kinda nutsy here, what with one thing and another.  So I'll just shove a few photos (in no particular order) here to show what I've been up to:

Hir at Stage West in Fort Worth - photo courtesy of the theater.

Hir was a really interesting script - gender and family politics... on steroids kinda.  Funny and awful.  A highly detailed - and usually messy - set.  Below is a snap of stencil painting the kitchen wallpaper.  The wonderful prop designer found tons of great stuff!  Including those crocheted pillows on the sofa.

Below is a construction photo of Bread at WaterTower Theater.  In the center you see the faux oak revolve (notice it matches the other wood in the room?).  It was surrounded by a moat - into which we rained - and by stylized suggestions of lawn and deck etc.  

This was a successful but quite painful project... 

Bread construction photo - WaterTower Theater.

And below here is a photo of Luna Gale at Circle Theater.  CPS files forever and ever and ever...

Luna Gale, Circle Theater.

Now this next photo is an oldy but goody, Ironbound at Kitchen Dog Theater.  The best photo I've found of the bus stop bench!  (Which, after the show was over, was saved and now sits in someone's back yard, yeah!)

Ironbound at Kitchen Dog Theater - courtesy of the theater.

What else have I been doing?  Well, a long visit in California (best sunset ever because hazy from smoke), various other projects, and the latest update to Minecraft (TM), which is pretty dang cool.  What's better than swimming in the summer?

Minecraft Aquatic update... and a coolo underwater coral tower.

Take Nothing for Granted

"Found" sampler

Thanks to its brilliant embroiderer!

This shall be my new motto.

It exactly describes my year...  I'm almost thinking of getting this as a tattoo.

Sorry for the loooong pause between postings.  There's been travel, special projects, and a whole ton of work in the interval.  By the end of this year I will have designed 15 shows.  Not my all-time record, but still pretty crazy-nuts!  Today's post is just a teaser - in up-coming posts I hope to reflect back on this year and a few of the questions it's raised:

Like:  How to design for rain onstage?  (Two shows so far this year have tested that issue.)  What's with generational turnover in theater companies?  Does Yale prepare one well for a career in theater?  Are there special issues in designing for shows with African-American casts - I mean, beyond the special issues of every other cast?  (Segregation - still a thing?*)  Is WWII actually over?*  And the popular demand: Why is oak so bigoted?

Been a weird year so far...


* Yes.  * No.

Make America Good Again

"Great"?  

"Great" has all kinds of echoes to it - especially in today's America - but even ignoring politics, there's a faint shrill of trumpets to the word, rumble of heroic charges, clash of battles, roar of victories!  "Great" cheers on competition.

But "Good"?

"Good" has a whole different vibe.  "Good" implies not competition, but values.  "Good" contrasts itself with "Bad."  "Good" whispers of morality, ethics, faith, and kindness.

So...

The Washington Post has a great, um, good Hat-Maker tool HERE.

Catch Up Photos

A few pics from shows earlier this year...

The Gazebo at Main Stage Irving Las Colinas:

The Royale at Kitchen Dog Theater:

Now onstage? 

Go see Bread at WaterTower Theatre in Addison - a wonderful new play by Regina Taylor set in Dallas' Oak Cliff.

(And while you're play-watching, check out Pompeii at Kitchen Dog.  I'm gettin' tickets!)

Tax Swamp

Tax Day is always fraught... but they are finally done and sent!

Meanwhile, our Dear Leader is getting an extension for his apparently.

I STILL WANT TO SEE TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS!

Net Neutral Burger

Confused about what "Net Neutrality" even means?  Or why it's important to You?

Burger King (brilliantly) explains:

This is important stuff people!  Go bug your government about it, huh?

Find your Representative HERE.
Find your Senator HERE.

Presidents' Day and The Royale

Presidents ain't Kings.

All I'm sayin'.

I think fair use of mostly public domain images (thanks Wikimedia!)

Meanwhile, at Kitchen Dog Theater, my set for The Royale is being built:

The newly stained floor - photo by Jeremy Escobar

Catching Up... and Getting Ahead

Well, it's been the usual nuts around here.  

At the moment I'm frantically trying to catch up on construction drawings for WaterTower Theater's production of Bread, a new play by Regina Taylor.  (Decisions got a little delayed, as they tend to on premiers, but we're cooking now.)

I've got a couple shows on the boards:  This Random World at Circle Theater and The Gazebo at Mainstage Irving Las Colinas.  Check 'em out!  Coming up soon is The Royale at Kitchen Dog Theater.  

Above and below: The Gazebo by Main Stage Irving Las Colinas

Sketch and photo by Clare Floyd DeVries

Outside of theater I've been doing a little reading:  dipping into the newest translation of Don Quixote (very lively) and a collection Famous Speeches (less so), and just finishing The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt.  Fascinating!  Hard to describe... more or less a look at the philosophical basis for a moral and happy life merged with related recent science.  Sounds dull?  Not so!

TV and film? I've been enjoying the latest Star Wars and the shows The Crown and The Good Place.

But how about my latest and most terrible hobby you ask?  (No, if you have sense you run because that hobby is Politics.  Yeesh.)

TODAY'S PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

If you're not yet registered to vote... go sign up today!

Texas' primaries start March 6th.  And this year in Texas there are actual CHOICES!  So go pick someone you like, huh?  Primaries are important.

Look at the Dallas News' Voters' Guide for who all will be on your primary ballot.  Having actual choices means that you'll have to do a little homework in order to vote intelligently.

TODAY'S POLITICAL PLUG

Let me recommend one candidate for your consideration:

Beto O'Roarke

Here's why I like him enough to advocate for him:  

1)  He's running against Senator Ted Cruz.

2)  Beto refuses to accept PAC money.  Believes in term limits.

3)  He's eager, enthusiastic, and tireless.  He's been driving ALL over the state in his pickup, meeting with regular people, talking with them.  He's 45 but seems younger, partly because he's tech-savvy... and younger, tech-savvier opinions in the Senate can only be a plus.

4)  Beto has experience as US Representative for El Paso (so with real knowledge of border issues - did I mention he's fluent in Spanish?)

5)  He's pro-veterans in a practical get-them-help- kinda way.  I like the practicality.

6)  He believes in - and practises - bi-partisanship.  I don't care what party he belongs to, but he believes in the things I like about the Democratic party... like health care.

7)  Beto seems like a genuinely good guy.  Nice family.  Appealing.  All that electability stuff. 
8)  Plus he was once a punk rocker.  Not sure why that appeals to me... maybe because that's unstuffy? 

First bumper sticker I've ever put on my car.

Please vote.  Your country needs you.

Big Fish

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've been CRAZY busy.  Between the holidays, visitors, and deadlines there's just been no time (or energy) to blog.  But here's a little of what I've been up to...

Big Fish for Junior Players.

A lovely, very successful, show.

Junior Players' Big Fish  A stylized Alabama river bank, which framed the show.

Schematic design sketch by Clare Floyd DeVries

Junior Players' Big Fish. Photo by DiAnn L'Roy

Among the time intensive parts of this show were creating the abstract "Spanish moss"... made from string and drinking straws and beads... and hours and hours of stringin'.  Thank goodness for volunteers!  Thank you, thank you!

Here's a closer look:

Very hard to capture them on film, but in the theater these lacy dingle-dangles caught the light and added a lot of atmosphere.  (They also helped lower the apparent height of the proscenium, which helped better scale it to the young performers.  This is a HUGE stage.  The proscenium is 30' high and, what, 60' wide?  Immense.  Very nice facility though - my first design at the Moody Performance Hall in Dallas' Arts District.)

So, a few more looks:

Big Fish - sketch for "The War" scene

Hard to catch on film is... well, really, any of the larger setting around the actors.  Photographers naturally concentrate on faces, but I assure you, there's some pretty spiffy bunting hanging there above those faces.  See what I mean?  

(The bunting you can't hardly see was painted at about 10:30 at night - past my bedtime -  so their style is, um, loose.  While other things were painted on the venue's loading dock on the coldest day Dallas has seen for a while.  My volunteers and I were blue... and that was before we spilled the bucket of blue paint.)

Big Fish - this photo and the following ones are  by DiAnn L'Roy

Photos are great, but they just don't - can't - give the whole experience. 

Of course, sketches can't really show the experience either... they just try.

Big Thanks due to the many volunteers (especially my beaders n' painters!), to the TD!, to the amazing directors and other designers (costumes! lights!  wow!), to the incredible Junior Players organization, and most of all to the talented and hard-working actors.  A wonderful show.