March « 2014 « A.D. Drumm Images, LLC – Landscape, Portrait, and Fine Art Photography in Rochester MN

March 15, 2014

Grease at RCT

Filed under: Rochester Civic Theatre,Theatre — Tony Drumm @ 1:25 pm

Last night was opening night for Rochester Civic Theatre’s production of the musical Grease. The cast and crew did a fantastic job and managed to keep their energy high throughout the performance. It was especially true of the dancing which was pretty amazing.

I shot the show photos on Wednesday, the final dress rehearsal before their preview performance to an audience on Thursday. Lots of color, lots of costumes, gel’ed lights, and leather jackets to capture.

The dancing and all that energy along with the lighting make for a challenging photography assignment, but I’m pleased with the results. Going into a photo shoot for a musical, you have some expectations for what will be happening. But there is quite a range. Consider a show like Les Misérables earlier this season at RCT which is almost entirely sung but which has practically no choreography. The lighting was often low, but the movement is more gradual, sort of a slow walk.

Other shows have a mix of choreography that you might consider as something of flowing from here to there. Grease, on the other hand, is set in the late ’50s and early ’60s with early rock-n-roll setting the mood. The dancing is high energy and fast. You hit the shutter button trying to capture the midpoints in the action when things stop for a tiny instant. If you’re lucky, you nail it. I don’t worry about a little movement – sometimes that actually provides a feeling of the movement that’s good to have. But blurry faces are not usually a good thing!

It was fun seeing the show as just an audience member last night. RCT is presenting the original stage version of the show which differs from the movie – as is usually the case – and apparently differs a bit from the revival that came later. Some of the songs were unfamiliar to me, and I haven’t seen the movie more than once or twice anyway. While shooting, I just don’t pay much attention to the dialog and lyrics unless I’ve gotten my shots for a part of a scene when visually things are not changing.

There was also a little incident during the rehearsal I shot that involved a bit of blood. It was good to see that had been resolved, and the wounded actor was fine. Live theatre is like that.

It was also great to see a packed house. Word is, the first two weekends are sold out and the final two weekends are selling well.

So, you still have a chance to buy tickets if you haven’t already. Just don’t procrastinate. It’s a fun evening and you get to see some of the awesome talent we have here in and around Rochester.

Comments (2)

March 6, 2014

The Drowsy Chaperone

Filed under: Theatre — Tony Drumm @ 9:27 am

The other show I shot last week was Riverland Community College’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone. It’s a quirky play-within-a-play, or really, a musical-within-a-play as narrated by Man in Chair. The musical basically takes place in his living room as he discusses his love for musicals.

It was a cool show to photograph – plenty of color and a cool set and many fun moments to capture. As I mentioned in my last post, the February weather was not great for the shows in rehearsal. It also wasn’t a lot of fun driving between Rochester and Austin. I90 wasn’t horrible, but it sure wasn’t all clear either. The shady spots under overpasses had a lot of ice, and there was the “ground blizzard,” as some called it – blizzard-like winds but without falling snow.

But it turned out to be better than I expected, and it was helpful that sunset is much later now than in December, so the drive to Austin was in daylight. It was worth the drive, too – I was happy with the photos. It’s all about the art, right?

The cast is terrific. I was happy to see our friend James on stage again as the Man in Chair. And the orchestra is top notch with several musicians I know who frequently perform at the Rochester Civic Theatre. Of course, I always miss much of the dialog as I’m focused on shooting. I look forward to seeing it as an ordinary audience member, so I can take it all in.

The show has no intermission, but ironically, the imbedded musical does! During that intermission, Man in Chair continues his discussion. And has a snack.

What follows is pretty hilarious, but I won’t spoil it too much – other than posting one photo from that scene!

Like Loving Lorna Doone, there was plenty of action to photograph. There were also several moments when the actors struck a pose and held it for a time. It was convenient for grabbing a shot I would have missed, but I don’t think they did it for me!

No, this shot wasn’t one of those. This was shot on the run, you might say. Or on the roll.

The production continues this weekend. We’ll be attending tomorrow (Friday) night. And the weather has warmed considerably this week, so I’m expecting a less stressful drive to Austin! It was encouraging being out in the sunny-almost-up-to-freezing weather yesterday. Lots of people smiling and enjoying the (relative) warmth. And talk of shorts and sandals.

Comments (0)

March 2, 2014

Loving Lorna Doone in Stewartville

Filed under: Theatre — Tony Drumm @ 10:02 am

It sometimes happens that multiple shows are opening around the same time. This week, I shot two and I have another coming in a couple weeks. This was the first time I shot for Stewartville Community Theatre. I thought it was time to expand my reach a bit, and to offer my services to another community. We’re fortunate in southeastern Minnesota to have several theatres and many dedicated performers.

Theatre-goers then have many opportunities to attend fun productions with a pretty wide variety of shows. And, being theatre, even two productions of the same show can be quite different.

Stewartville is producing the locally created Loving Lorna Doone. The show was written and is being directed by Aaron Rocklyn. I think it’s the second time he’s produced the show – previously at the Rep. (Music was written by Jaymi Wilson and Anthony Knutson.)

It’s a period piece – lots of fun costumes which make for some cool photos. There is also quite a bit of action which is a challenge to capture but rewarding when you make it work.

SCT uses the local high school for their staging. It’s a pretty nice little theatre, and the stage is huge. They have a lot of room to block the show, and they used it pretty effectively. I didn’t wander backstage to see what they have for space there.

This has been an incredibly difficult month for theatre rehearsals. Of the three shows I’ve shot or will be shooting soon, all are musicals. Musicals generally have larger casts and have musicians as well as the actors. They typically have larger crews. And they have longer rehearsals to cover the songs and the choreography as well as the acting and blocking.

When the rehearsals are planned, there’s an assumption folks will attend the rehearsals. But, this past month has been particularly tough with snow storms coming with seeming regularity. Then, the most recent big storm left a layer of icy snow in its wake. Travel has been horrific. Since that storm, over a week ago, we’ve seen temperatures not even approaching the freezing mark.

It’s been more often below zero F or thereabouts. Roads are only slowly improving. This means rehearsals have been canceled or have proceeded without some of the folks who need to be there. I was impressed when shooting both of the shows I photographed this week to see how well the people involved have coped with this challenge. Adversity is nothing new in theatre, but it’s still great to watch people overcome it.

I’ll write up some words on the Riverland show, The Drowsy Chaperone, soon. For now, I hope you enjoy this selection of images from Lorna Doone. Hopefully, the cast and crew will enjoy the photos as well.

I’ve been considering offering my services to local school productions, so if you know of any who might benefit from what I provide, let me know! It’s certainly something I enjoy!