Final Day: Feb 18, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: That’s right!  It is the final dress rehearsal for the cast of Oliver! We kept the lighting low in this picture to get you in the mind set of the “unsavory” characters who lurk in the shadows of this production.  Looking back through the series, what do you think?  What impresses you?  What do you have questions about? What is your favorite part of the set?  Let Lyric Arts know!

Day Thirteen: Feb 17, 2010, 11:00 a.m.: It’s almost opening night!  Now that things are flowing, we need to make necessary changes to things that aren’t quite right.  For example, Tech Director Patrick is pictured changing the hardware on the door because it wasn’t appropriate for the time period of the show, which is the 1850s.

Day Twelve: Feb 16, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: When looking at up stage left, you’ll notice the crossbows we’ve started adding. We’re going to continue this effect across the entire structure. Meanwhile backstage, we are getting everything set up for the orchestra. The orchestra conductor is able to see what the actors are doing on stage by way of camera. The actors can see what the conductor is doing by way of that same camera located behind the audience.

Day Eleven: Feb 15, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: Our Lighting Director Dan Thorson has been busy perfecting the lighting cues for the production.  Lyric Arts strikes the lights after every production so they can be re-hung, re-set, re-focused, and different colored gels can be put in.  Every new show starts with a blank canvas, including light and sound!  Look back to Day One to see what we mean!

Day Ten: Feb 12, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: A set piece has been moving almost every day.  Can you spot it?  It’s not a furniture piece, but an actual set piece.  It will be doing this during the production as well!

Day Nine: Feb 11, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: Who’s coming through that stage door? Why, that’s Patrick, our Tech Director, who seems pleased that with the help of some of our volunteers, he is ahead of schedule with the building of this set! Now he has time to clear the scene shop for the orchestra who will be setting up camp there for the next few weeks.

Day Eight: Feb 10, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: The piles of items downstage right are all orchestra equipment.  Like we mentioned earlier, the orchestra usually goes backstage, and that is still true, but last night we held a rehearsal called a “sit and sing” which is where the cast and the orchestra get a feeling for each other and how the songs will go.  Everyone survived the rehearsal…the coffin on stage is only a prop.

Day Seven: Feb 9, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: If you can’t tell already, Lyric Arts purchases a lot of brown paint…”Timber Trail” and “Walnut Bark” to be precise.  One might ask, “Does painting technique really matter?”  Our Tech Director, Patrick, weighs in. “Yes.  All brush strokes need to be going the same direction because it implies natural wood grain.” Thanks, Patrick.

Day Six: Feb 8, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: The stairs we mentioned last week were in fact built, then taken apart, and rebuilt to accommodate stage space…it happens… Also happening is full sheeting going up on the back of the large structure at the same time it is being painted.  Lyric Arts just may win an award for efficiency! (Minus the stair-rebuilding project).

Day Five: Feb 5, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: The large structure in the background will have dancers performing on top of it, so now comes the building of the stairs.  Lyric Arts does not keep stairs in the inventory in between productions, so they must be built new for each new use.

Day Four: Feb 4, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: The Main Street Stage is looking more like “the workhouse” each day.  Oliver! is set in London in the 1850s and we plan on transporting the audience there!  It’s a feat, but we think it will be well worth it!

Day Three: Feb 3, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: With the help of the four set crew members for this show, the skeletons of the walls are coming together and some furniture has been selected. The keyboard downstage center is for rehearsals, as the pit orchestra’s “pit” will be back stage, like always.

Day Two: Feb 2, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: Huge strides in one day.  The entire backdrop is painted, along with the floor!  Not too many people notice the floor, but Lyric Arts usually paints the floor every production.  Members of our artistic staff for each production mop the floor before each performance too!  A lot of love goes into every detail of what the audience sees!

Day One: Feb 1, 2010: 11:00 a.m.: The elaborate set of The Mousetrap is now gone with the help of many hands (volunteers) making light work.  First things first…the backdrop needs to be painted.