Bike chains, sprockets and sticky-backed plastic – The Production Blog

20 June 2011

“If it all fails I blame Valerie Singleton”

I seem always to write my blog in that moment of anticipation of a production. As I look out of my office while I “circuit up” the Figaro lighting Plan, the last performance of the Schools Federation production The Green of the Spring is about to start.

For those who didn’t get to see it, you’ve missed a treat. The show involved some 106 children from 7 local schools all performing together on the stage at The Watermill with the professional support from the team here. I have had the joy of working on all the Schools Federation productions that The Watermill has done over the years and I have seen the benefit these children get in confidence and working together with others toward a common aim which stays with them for years.

Only last Thursday this skill was emphasised  as one of our previous cast members presented the case publicly for a skate board ramp before our  parish council and members of the public with great confidence and conviction. Those of us living in Great Shefford are about to meet a formidable request for sponsorship.

Meanwhile back at The Watermill we have the challenge of Figaro – a brilliant set design involving 40 square metres of aged mirror glass with 3 magically operated rotating doors. The Watermill could neither afford nor take the weight of that entire mirror and as for revolves we can just about afford 1 but not 3.

Those of us of a certain age will remember a world where everything was made with Meccano and “sticky backed plastic” and this is how we are aiming to achieve this set. Thanks to Ian at Berkshire Bearings we’ve enough chain and sprockets under the stage to drive the “tour de France”, and Sharon at LeMark has managed to find some serious mirror finish which Laura our painter has been ageing with all sorts of techniques.

When you come to the show, and if you see someone grinning wearing a homemade Blue Peter badge, you’ll know that all those afternoons in front of the telly twice a week paid off.

Now about “circuiting up” the lighting plan… each one of the theatre lights has a control number but, as with all modern technology, we control more than just brightness. We may also control size, colour, position, pattern etc, and each of these parameters has an address number.

We work out what all of these are and then programme up the lighting control desk to recognise this. It’s a bit like the address book on your phone where you put in a name then can add phone number, email, birthday etc. Then when we call up the control number of a light we have access to all the other parameters we want to control – hope that makes sense! You can see below a copy of The Marriage of Figaro lighting plan from Nick the lighting designer.

Lawrence T Doyle
Production Manager