I started work at the Viaduct theatre on Tuesday. It’s an odd little space, with an inconspicuous sign made of plywood. Very easy to miss. Cobalt is working in the smaller space, which has a crazy, uneven floor and wrought iron chandeliers that give it a very goth look. The people in the ensemble are really nice, making it a very comfortable work environment. And the commute takes about half the time that the trip to my last job did!
So that is off to an auspicious start. I’m starting research for my August project. I keep returning to my Cindy Sherman book, even though the film stills don’t really express the lighting situations that I want. It’s the dramatic tension, I suppose, or the effect of having a small, small collection of art books. Hope that I can find real film stills from the film noir era. I adore the inky black cinematography of the 40s, but it doesn’t always translate to the stage. For some odd reason, people want to see the actors.
I’ve temporarily stopped working on my shell. I worked in the purple mohair and it looks bad. The contrast between the two colors is too great, and I worked it in too late. So I’ll have to return to the Weaving Workshop to pick up a more complimentary yarn, then tear out about twenty rows. It’s much better than just living with a bad design choice, though.
Since my load-in schedule is much lighter than expected, I went to Guild on Wednesday after telling people that I wouldn’t be there again for weeks. I didn’t have anything else to do. It was a wonderful coincidence, because similar reasons brought my friend Kate, a busy, busy actress who I see every couple of months, there as well. We were chatting about our upcoming projects (the old question, ‘what are you working on?’ is much less annoying when you’re actually working on something), and I brought up my upcoming internship at Dance Theatre Workshop. She very casually asked me if I needed crash space. I had a strong feeling that I would find something through six degrees of separation, but I hadn’t even thought to ask Kate. She’s so kind and generous and must have the best crash karma of anyone I know. So it was a very lucky impulse that brought us both to Julia’s house last night.