Blog Introduction

Welcome to my blog. I should let you know a little about myself to get things started. This blog, for starters, is going to focus on my first year at the, California Institute of the Arts, here on out known for short at CalArts, as an MFA 1 lighting designer. As an added bonus you‘ll also get to read about my adventures as an intern with the LA Opera during their 2007-2008 season. I hope to include some commentary here and there on stuff outside of the academic world like products I like, reviews and what‘s interesting me in the industry.


CalArts


Here‘s a bit of background information on myself to catch everyone up. I am originally from northern, NJ and just moved across the country to the west coast. It has been exhilarating to say the least. I went to undergrad at a small liberal arts school called Bucknell University, located in the dead middle of Pennsylvania, in a small town called Lewisburg. I earned my B.A. in Theatre and Philosophy and also managed to get a minor in computer science, which has come in use a lot with automated lighting. I graduated in 2006 and stayed a 5th year to work in the department as the technical direction intern.


I have done a bit of everything. While lighting design is my passion, be it theatre or dance, I have also been a stage manager for dance, technical director, master carpenter, master electrician, and dabbled in sound. One of my particular interests and areas of research is automated show control.


So, today I drove to downtown Los Angeles to fill out some paperwork for my internship. The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, home of the LA Opera, is enormous and seats just under 3,200 seats. I also met Jeff Kleeman, the technical director at the Opera, who showed me around quickly. Things work fast at the Opera, and I will start work next week. There are two other interns at the Opera that I will be working with.


Onto my life at CalArts. Orientation is September 4th, course registration is the 6th, and classes start the 10th. I‘m still in the process of picking classes, but my tentative class schedule is below. I‘ve been able to lump all of my classes onto Monday and Tuesday, which frees up the rest of my week. Five day weekend you might think, not a chance, because here comes the Opera to fill in any free time I might have. The Opera schedule varies from week to week, but I expect I‘ll be at the Opera a few times a week.


Class Schedule:

Lighting Design Seminar M 8:30-10

Techniques of Design M 2:10-4

Graduate Lighting Design I M 4:10-6:30

Advanced Light Lab M 6:30-8:30

Vectorworks for Lighting Designers T 10:10-12

Dance Showings T 1:30-3


In other news, I saw a preview of a show called Matter of Honor that is in a pre-Broadway tryout at the Pasadena Playhouse. I enjoyed the play a lot, mainly because the storyline is based on historical facts. The production team was still in the process of putting the final touches on everything, but everything ran smoothly during the performances. The play changes locations constantly, but worked well between choreographed set changes that were aided by distinct musical variations and different lighting looks.


I am really happy to be starting my blog this week. Expect regular updates about what I am up to over the course of this year. I hope everyone can find a little something they enjoy in my blog. Thanks and comments are welcomed!



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