The Making of... #9

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Captain Hook and Mr. Darling return for more fittings...

Margaret Joyner fixes Hook's neck ruffle.

Robert Throckmorton holds still as

Margaret pins the sleeves into place.

Mr. Darling looks handsome in his smoking jacket.

Crocodile!!!

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Theatre IV's 11th Annual Fairy Tale Ball is coming up on April 5th and we are preparing the Empire Theatre for it's coming. For those of you that don't know what the Fairy Tale Ball is- let me fill you in. It is our annual black-tie/costume fundraiser for the company. The theme for the evening is designed around the closing show of our season- this years is Peter Pan. The theatre gets a full makeover; the stage becomes a dance floor with The Jangling Reinharts serving as our band for the evening, decorations abound, a giant tent fully stocked with food galore (sweet and savory), drink bars (for adults and kids), and all kinds of different games and activities. There is also a silent and live auction with amazing prizes, both big and small, to bid on.

I bring this up why? To introduce you to our mascot for the event and our Peter Pan representative- the crocodile!

The crocodile is based on Robert Meganck's gorgeous illustrations for the invitations this year, and David and Terrie Powers have worked long and hard to bring to life this GIANT reptile that will live atop our marquee for the run of Peter Pan.

The crocodile comes with one small warning/disclaimer...

If you live in Richmond and happen to drive down Broad Street, please don't slow down and rubber neck at him. Drive with caution!

His clock really tells time! Cool huh?

If you're interested in joining us for the Fairy Tale Ball this year, please call our Box Office at 344.8040. You can also visit us at http://www.theatreivrichmond.org/ for more information.

Hope to see you there!

The Making of... #8

Posted by Catherine Dudley

For the last few days Matt (our Master Electrician) and Derek (our Sound Engineer) have been hanging lights for Peter Pan. For days they have been journeying up into the fly rails and then back down onto the stage, lugging extremely heavy equipment- all while being careful not to fall out of the rafters (or a genie) or almost drop a par can on the blogger's head! (Thanks Matt!)

This is what some of the process looks like.

Each of these lights have to be individually hung and focused.

Matt smiles as Derek spots.

An incredible amount of hard work goes into lighting a main stage production. There are lights everywhere. There are numerous rails above the stage filled to capacity, front of house trusses, side light trees, the front of house booms and box booms, electrics onstage and several free standing spots- all of which have to be hung and focused by our hard-working production department. Wow!

The Making of... #7

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted an update- I was on vacation last week. However, I am back and have something very cool for everyone out there in blogland. The pirate ship is assembled and magnificent. I took a little virtual tour for you to enjoy! It's good to be a pirate...



Cool, huh?
Be back with more soon. (This was just a teaser!)

The Making of... #6 (Well, sort of)

Posted by Catherine Dudley

So, as you can see the Darling's bedroom is together and it is all very impressive, but "The Making of..." is taking a slightly different viewpoint this week. The real story lies within "production land!" (Do you get my play on words? Neverland- Production land??? Nevermind!)

While Nathan, Stephen and Doug work hard in the shop...

The production department is currently in the process of moving out of our work shop and storage facilities and moving into portable storage sheds and other temporary places. As you can imagine, this puts an amazing strain on the department. They are working incredibly hard, not only to get moved out, but also continuing to work on the tons of projects already on their plate. I thought I would show you a bit of their moving process today.

Wendy and Mike loading set pieces onto a dolly. (To be taken to and loaded into a truck).

Amidst the chaos, Ariel has a spontaneous moment of glee-filled leaping!


P.J. and Clif loading the truck...

...costume storage is slowly being packed up as well.





Our production department never ceases to amaze me. They work harder than any people I know and I stand in awe of them!

More to come later...