The Pirates of Penzance closure

The Pirates of Penzance is done, and the sets have all been dismantled and put away. It's amazing the amount of work that goes in for a 3 day event. Still, it went so damn well! I couldn't be happier!

We had an adjudicator from the Theatre Association of New York State
(TANYS) come and review the show, and he gave us an Outstanding for Set Design and Artistry! TANYS serves community and educational theatre, and is an excellent resource in the state.

One thing that irked me about this award is it only goes to the people with the right title. Since I was the scenic artist, my name is on it, but I had a crew of 4 other people who put in a hell of a lot of work. It certainly wasn't just me with the paintbrush. The dazzling cliffs were painted by the gentleman with whom I had my communication problems. In the end we worked everything out and I learned a lot about being adaptable in how I give my instructions, and also in making room for other people's style. I'm incredibly thankful for his work. The spectacular rocky raised stage and the ruins were mostly painted by a fabulous art teacher in the area who not only did great work but was so much fun to work with! She brought with her a high school student who was fearless about getting up on ladders to really ruin the ruins and who was an absolute joy to work with. The fourth member of my crew was someone who was much more comfortable painting larges sections with a roller, which was exactly what we needed! We covered a number of very large flat expanses. They were all indispensible, and it feels wrong that only my name appears on the award.

It was such a terrific show- we were given 8 awards in all. I realize they're a bit arbitrary, because it's a single reviewer on a single night, but I still feel really good about how we did. I was extremely proud to have been associated with this show and it's amazingly talented cast, musicians and technical crew.

All in all, I'm glad it's done, but it was a wonderful, rewarding experience. It gives me hope that I won't always have to have a science job, you know?