Flooding in Ithaca: 2013

Last weekend, the Hangar Theater experienced a natural disaster of fairly large proportions in the shape of a flash flood that occurred during a preview performance of Clybourne Park. I left the theater to get dinner around 8pm, noted the rising puddles in the parking lot that are often a nuisance when we get heavy rain, and returned around 9:30pm, expecting to finish up some work notes on the wallpaper for the show. 

Instead of parking and making my way inside for work, however, I stopped and stared at the sheer amount of water built up around the building. Many cars were buried halfway up the door in water; patrons were struggling to their vehicles through thigh-deep water in places. The lobby and backstage areas were flooded with several inches. Luckily, the stage itself and the scene shop and costume shop are raised higher up than the rest of the facility, which is in a swampy depression near the lake.

We spent the evening pushing cars out of the water (when put in neutral and NOT turned on, they usually drain out ok). When the last few staff members left, we turned off all the power with the fire department. I carried Brody, one of my boss's dogs, to the car as we headed out....the rain was increasing again at that point.

In the morning, the entire tech staff and all of the interns and apprentices still here came in to clean and restore the lobby. There were still several inches of water inside when we arrived.

We started by sweeping out the lobby and moving everything outside. Then we had to go through the Box Office, Concessions storage, costumes, our green room lounge/backstage area, and throw a lot of things away or send them to get cleaned. I spent most of the day in a series of small closets cleaning out boxes of programs that got wet and more fun stuff. Our electrics and sound equipment had to be cleaned and restocked; hundreds of props relocated. Spending the day wading through muddy water and sewage was pretty tough on everyone, especially for some of us who had been working 20 hour days on Clybourne Park.

Friday was going to be opening night for Clybourne Park. The theater decided that it would be best to postpone the opening until the next day so we could get everything in tip-top shape again. Once the water level went down, it was amazing how fast we restored the place to normal. If non-structural damage has to happen anywhere, a theater is not a bad place for it because they are usually full of efficient people who are used to cleaning and moving things and doing all sorts of shitty jobs. And so we are pleased to have opened Clybourne Park this weekend!

For more information on the Hangar Theater, please visit the website here.

Process shots

I have some interesting photos to share of some of the building processes of our scenery. The first two shows of the summer, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Pinkalicious, shared a set (with lots of different elements to distinguish two very different shows)

Early during load in of Lovers.

Later on during load in...what a difference a carpet can make!

 Pinkalicious, the first kids show of the season, had some fun projects for our shop to make. My staff carpenter, Meg, and our intern Chris built nestling ottomans that formed a circle.

structure.

covered with muslin and lots of glue.

the counterpart piece, painted and drying!

I built a table for Pinkalicious that rotated at the center to become a seat.

inside is a steel pipe and a series of supports allowing the table to actually be two halves.

finished view

used in the show as a table....

and as a doctor's chair!

the table was standable as well. (there are lots of safety rules about structures that can be stood on and danced on in the theater).

Scenic design for Lovers by Ken Goldstein; design for Pinkalicious by Marthe Hoffmann. All photos taken by Meg Hurley.

Thank you for reading! For more information on the Hangar Theater, including our internship, apprentice, and educational programs, please visit the website here.

July!

Wow, it has been a month since I last wrote. A lot has happened here in Ithaca! We had a successful run of Last of the Red Hot Lovers, our comedic season opener. During the 2 weeks of performances, we built our next show, a big musical called Gypsy.  This show is all about the death of vaudeville and the transitions people have to go through in life.

Photo: Meg Hurley. Scenic Design: Brian Prather

For the scene shop, Gypsy had some interesting bits and pieces, but it wasn't a show that could come together until we loaded it in all the way (for example, no walls to test fit or furniture pieces to build). We had a series of platforms 8' in the air that were held up by pipes and a spiral staircase; this platforming is where the band lived for performances.  We built a delicate false proscenium that framed the opening of the stage and had light bulbs set (see above!) There was also an intricate flooring border that took some time to build and piece together with the footlights.

Photo: Meg Hurley. Scenic Design: Brian Prather

The placards on either side of the stage changed from scene to scene with descriptions or locations; we built and maintained 34 of these. The holders are beautiful pieces my staff carpenter Meg built.

Photo: Meg Hurley. Scenic Design: Brian Prather

Photo: Meg Hurley. Scenic Design: Brian Prather

Photo: Meg Hurley. Scenic Design: Brian Prather

Gypsy closes tonight and we go into changeover for our next show, 4,000 Miles. More updates to come soon!

Last of the Red Hot Lovers

The Hangar's first show of the summer season has opened! The Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon is a three-part comedy that, while it has a few dark moments, leaves the audience feeling good. The scenic designer for this show is Ken Goldstein, who I have worked with before. We had to assemble a lot of scenic elements for this show: platforms and walls, and a special new audience seating area that turned the 3/4 thrust stage into an almost theater-in-the-round setup.

An early look at our load in of the set. Photo: Meg Hurley

The set included a ceiling piece, a working door and deadbolt, molding, a shelving unit, and some window seats, all of which provided my shop with interesting and challenging projects. Being in charge of the shop interns means that I did not get to work on any one project by myself...but worked with all of the carpenters to bring the set to completion, and to install it.

Photo: Meg Hurley

It's amazing how carpeting can make a set look so much more finished! Photo: Meg Hurley

On this set, we also have the first Kidstuff show, Pinkalicious. We had to build some custom pieces for this show as well: a pink nestling ottoman and a table that rotates around a center point to flip into several different positions. Our experimental line of shows, the Wedge shows, is also performing with a show called Bodies. We installed this set into the lobby of the main theater (a 'found' space). This involved some large, muslin-covered screens and a real tree overhead. All in all, a successful first round of plays at the Hangar!

For more information on the Hangar theater, tickets, and designs, visit their website.

Thank you for reading!

Week 1

Now I am in Ithaca, NY, working at the Hangar theater as their Master Carpenter. Week 1 has been a blast! It is so good to be back. I am living with one of my best friends, Meg, and working closely with her, our awesome TD, and a great staff and crew this year.

We are currently working on The Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon, scenic design by Ken Goldstein, a familiar face for me at this point. The set is a pretty interesting combo of walls and doors, columns, and a large ceiling piece, as well as lots of platforming, and some added audience seating to make an especially unusual configuration. We started load in this week and it is really starting to come together. I will take some process pictures to post soon!

Moving up from the staff carpenter position into the Master Carpenter job is a great transition. I have 2 interns and an apprentice in the shop, as well as Meg, who is the staff carpenter. Handing off projects to her is great. Finding jobs and helping my interns is definitely more of a challenge, but it's one I am enjoying so far. There is certainly a balance between delegating tasks and not having something to do myself....it is strange. I hope my 'ducklings' will continue to do well because they have impressed me a lot so far. I draw a lot of inspiration from our MC last summer, Papa Steve, because he bonded well with everyone in the shop and always had a list of stuff ready for people to work on, which is an incredibly handy thing to remember and use.

More soon! Thanks for reading!  

my Mini was pretty well packed for the drive up here!

Meg and I decided this is our official summer sweet drink

My geranium is actually blooming! I am really good at killing plants...so this is a big deal. 

 

 

Updates!

Wow, it has been a BUSY month since I last wrote! Between buying a car, getting a new baby nephew, working multiple gigs in the Boston area, and moving out to Ithaca last week for my summer stock, it's been pretty crazy. I worked with the Hunt and Emerson a bunch, and also did some traveling: my first trip to Las Vegas to visit my boyfriend, George, who was working a gig out there in May.

I really enjoyed visiting Vegas, and can't wait to take a road trip out west sometime to really explore the country we live in more.

And of course, the highlight of my blogging hiatus was meeting my nephew! Bram Liptak was born on May 22nd to my sister in law Megan and my oldest brother, Andrew. (check out his super sappy, sweet blog post from that day).

my parents...new grandparents!

I was so happy to meet Bram before leaving for Ithaca; had he arrived on time instead of early, I would have been 6 hours away when he was born! Needless to say, I booked it up to Vermont from Boston that day. Holding a newborn baby is an incredible feeling, and I can't wait to see how their little family will grow and to be a part of his life.

Keep coming back for some updates on my summer!

April

This has been a pretty hectic month so far! I've been working miscellaneous jobs in Boston, including the Huntington still, Bent Productions, DesignLight, and more. I also went home to Vermont for the first time in a while to sell my car and to buy a Mini Cooper.... very exciting times.

That makes 2 in the family!

It is strange to be so happy when a tragedy struck Boston just this week at the marathon, but like the people I now call neighbors, co-workers, and friends around here, I refuse to let horrific events ruin my spirits. We are mourning and praying for peace-- both internationally and here at home-- but we are also strong, and we know the rest of the country and people across the world are supporting us. Spring is here and the sun has been shining; Boston has some beautiful sights for the spring, I may take my camera out and about soon.

Thank you for reading!