Hey Essay
Greg Smith
04/06/14
Stagecraft 2
When I went to the adjudicated program 3 of ACDFA on Friday April 4th, 2014 I was blown away. The quality of dance and the quality of storytelling blew my mind away. Even though there were very minimal technical aspects, sometimes less is more when it comes to theatre. Technical theatre doesn’t have to be over the top to bring out an extreme emotional response from the audience. Each light, costume, and sound was very well thought out to bring the most emotional power with the least amount required.
The first technical element that really stood out to me was the lighting. Since the festival featured so many dancers and so many schools, there was very little scenic design elements. Instead, many pieces featured lighting to both enhance the drama of the piece and to act as the set as well. The piece Where the Pavement Ends from California State University Fullerton used the light as scenery. The piece started with a stark down light that encapsulated all of the dancers. This confined the dancers to one specific area. The light then went to a flood, providing the dancers with a wider “stage” to dance on. The use of lighting acted as the set for the dancer which was both effective and visually stunning. Lighting was also used to enhance the dramatic nature of each dance. The piece Salt and Light from Whitworth College used the lighting to enhance the meaning of the piece. The dancers were each portrayed as grains of salt, all moving and scattering around the stage like individual salt granules would if poured onto a surface. The light poured in from the sides as each group of dancers emerged. This not only emphasized the dancers beautiful lines, but it helped portray the feeling that salt was being continuously poured. Although a lot of the light was extremely similar due to the festival constraints, it was used extremely effectively in each piece I saw. It never hindered a performance, in fact added a great deal of meaning to
04/06/14
Stagecraft 2
When I went to the adjudicated program 3 of ACDFA on Friday April 4th, 2014 I was blown away. The quality of dance and the quality of storytelling blew my mind away. Even though there were very minimal technical aspects, sometimes less is more when it comes to theatre. Technical theatre doesn’t have to be over the top to bring out an extreme emotional response from the audience. Each light, costume, and sound was very well thought out to bring the most emotional power with the least amount required.
The first technical element that really stood out to me was the lighting. Since the festival featured so many dancers and so many schools, there was very little scenic design elements. Instead, many pieces featured lighting to both enhance the drama of the piece and to act as the set as well. The piece Where the Pavement Ends from California State University Fullerton used the light as scenery. The piece started with a stark down light that encapsulated all of the dancers. This confined the dancers to one specific area. The light then went to a flood, providing the dancers with a wider “stage” to dance on. The use of lighting acted as the set for the dancer which was both effective and visually stunning. Lighting was also used to enhance the dramatic nature of each dance. The piece Salt and Light from Whitworth College used the lighting to enhance the meaning of the piece. The dancers were each portrayed as grains of salt, all moving and scattering around the stage like individual salt granules would if poured onto a surface. The light poured in from the sides as each group of dancers emerged. This not only emphasized the dancers beautiful lines, but it helped portray the feeling that salt was being continuously poured. Although a lot of the light was extremely similar due to the festival constraints, it was used extremely effectively in each piece I saw. It never hindered a performance, in fact added a great deal of meaning to