The photo below is a cast photo of the Sego Lily Elementary production of Momotaro, a Tale of Bravery. You may notice a few things about the stage. There is a proscenium curtain and a few stage lights, but no other curtains or drapes to shield the lovely avant guard artwork of pipes and lights on the ceiling. And what you cannot know is that I had my son hang sheet drapes to provide a backdrop to hide the storage container, cubbies, P.E. mats and games, many odd boxes, a piano, and lots of other clutter that had to remain on the stage.
This stage has three options for getting performers onto it: the front risers, a side door leading out to an odd hallway on Stage Left, and a long winding ramp on Stage Right leading to the front of the stage. In other words, because all of these options for getting onto the stage are in full view of the audience, it is clear that once the actors come onto the stage, they must remain on the stage for the entire show.
When I inquired about removing some of the junk from the stage so that we would have some room to corral the kids during the show, and have room for costumes and props, I was told, "Sure, we can get some of that stuff moved for you."
And while it was true, that some of the bigger items were moved, the space was still rather tight backstage with 40 kids and all of their costumes and props.
The only comment I got from the overworked and rather put out custodian was that this was not an upscale Junior High or High School with a well appointed theater, it was just an over-crowded elementary school with every room doing double and triple duty! Well, I do understand that.
I have gone to several productions at this school and found that the sound system was dismal. So, thanks to my generous son, I was able to bring in a P.A. system to boost the success of the house system.
Sadly, due to illness, I was not able to really finish painting the sets with the detail I had envisioned. But, the show must go on...
Fortunately, the show did go on to great success. The comments from the guests and the school principal were along this order:
"This was the best performance we have ever seen at this school!"
"The kids were great and we could actually hear them!"
"The dancing was so beautiful!"
"Loved the story and the music!"
"Everything looked so professional!"
So, in spite of all of the extra effort it took to create a workable stage, having wonderful comments at the end makes it all worth it!
When I inquired about removing some of the junk from the stage so that we would have some room to corral the kids during the show, and have room for costumes and props, I was told, "Sure, we can get some of that stuff moved for you."
And while it was true, that some of the bigger items were moved, the space was still rather tight backstage with 40 kids and all of their costumes and props.
The only comment I got from the overworked and rather put out custodian was that this was not an upscale Junior High or High School with a well appointed theater, it was just an over-crowded elementary school with every room doing double and triple duty! Well, I do understand that.
I have gone to several productions at this school and found that the sound system was dismal. So, thanks to my generous son, I was able to bring in a P.A. system to boost the success of the house system.
Sadly, due to illness, I was not able to really finish painting the sets with the detail I had envisioned. But, the show must go on...
Fortunately, the show did go on to great success. The comments from the guests and the school principal were along this order:
"This was the best performance we have ever seen at this school!"
"The kids were great and we could actually hear them!"
"The dancing was so beautiful!"
"Loved the story and the music!"
"Everything looked so professional!"
So, in spite of all of the extra effort it took to create a workable stage, having wonderful comments at the end makes it all worth it!
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