It feels like an eternity since I last had a show to think about – Priscilla was back in July and I’ve had an unusually empty diary since then. I’m off to watch the show recording tonight – as usual, dreading what the video recording will have done to the lighting design. But it’ll be nice to see the cast again and catch up with some friends.
But to the future – much like the proverbial No.11 bus, no shows, then three come along at once. All within a week. Two of them are probably firmly in the calendar, and one is very tempting, but who knows whether the rehearsal schedules will allow this. Last time I took on two shows that close together it nearly killed me.
But it’s a dance show that pre-occupies me today. And with it one of the attendant madnesses of lighting design. Budget. I want to work some moving lights into the show; it’s crying out for it and it would really enhance the show but the budget has never allowed it. I’ve poked the company and they’ve quite sensibly asked what I’d like to spend. Realistically they’re not going to add a zero onto last year’s budget but it might just reach the sort of price where I could get four to six movers and really make them earn their money. Some serendipity is required in terms of hire companies, how busy they are and what discounts they might offer. Which is the other madness – that of list price. Nobody pays list price; discounts of 30-60% are achievable. But it makes working out what you might get for your budget near impossible.
I’ve created the Wyg model. Ok, it’s the washes and boring bits from last years show minus all the specials and fun stuff, but that saves time and allows a quick bit of experimentation. So here I am, rushing to look at what movers might make sense, if my guesses about list price, discount and availability are correct, in order to generate a number that aligns with my guess about what the company can budget, in time for a meeting this week, all for a show I’ve yet to see a rehearsal for. This never feels like how shows should start, but shows have to start somewhere. I’ve put the extra days of programming time in my diary to plot with the movers; all I need to do now is convince the company they want to bring costume to rehearsal a week earlier otherwise it’s all for nought. As I said, serendipity required….
Still, I’ve crashed Wyg for the first time on this project, so it’s starting to feel like a show already….
eddylangley.net 