The end has come...

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Well, Peter Pan closed yesterday and we are sad, once again, to see it go! The production department has worked hard all day long to break down the set and put it back in storage. Here is a bit of the aftermath...

Working? or Waltzing?

Posted by Catherine Dudley

I went into the theatre today to see what was blog-worthy and this is what I found. The production crew working diligently to the sounds of various Peter Pan sound cues. Doug and Adam weren't very phased by the music. Wendy on the other hand- couldn't help herself!

The Making of... #10

Posted by Catherine Dudley

In these short videos Steve Kohler, Hans Paul, Matt Landwehr, Adam Tiller and Derek Dumais are focusing lights for Peter Pan. It's a pretty cool process.
Good to have you home Steve!

The Making of... The Fairy Tale Ball- #1

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Here is a quick clip to share with you. Sorry it's a little squished! I had some camera issues. (Don't worry, the high-pitched squealing in the beginning only lasts for a few seconds!) Make sure your volume is up- Matt is pretty funny!

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...

The Making of... #5

Posted by Catherine Dudley

Here is a look behind the scenes of a costume fitting.

This is Robert Throckmorton (Captain Hook) before.

This is the "mock-up" phase. A pattern is made out of canvas and then it is used to make the actual costume. (I will show you that step later when it happens.) Margarette Joyner (cutter/draper) pins the jacket in place.

The mock-up of Captain Hook.

Sue Griffin (costume director) helps Mr. Darling appear.

The Making of... #4

Posted by Catherine Dudley

I have a story for you.

This is how amazing and hard-working our production department is...

I went into the theatre today to take some photos, and these huge bedroom set pieces were just that- in pieces. I shot several pictures and went back to my office to upload them. My camera was acting funny and the shots all looked really bad! I replaced the batteries and went back down to take the shots again (maybe 15-20 minutes later), and the whole set was together! Extremely impressive if I do say so myself! Check it out.

Doug and Eddie work on the set from behind.

Half of the Darling's bedroom.


Hans takes a ride in the Genie to work on the massive windows.

The pirate ship is so colorful!

Eddie paints the tree/rock.

Come back tomorrow for an inside look into Captain Hook's costume fitting!

The Making of... #2

Posted by Catherine Dudley

So I wasn't going to post again until Monday or Tuesday, but this was too good not to show you guys. Do you remember that "piece of (one can only assume) Neverland rock?"

Well, I was right about the Neverland part- it is a GIANT tree- complete with lots of nooks and crannies for lost boys to climb through! Cool, huh?

The Making of... #1

Posted by Catherine Dudley

OK, Richmond-

We have come to learn that many people in the community are not aware of the fact that we here, at Theatre IV and Barksdale Theatre, build our own sets and costumes, pull our own props, and design our own lights and sound for each and every show that we produce. There is the crazy notion floating around out there that we "bring stuff in." (Is there a "theatre-sets.com" out there that custom orders?)

What does this mean? It means that we have decided to track the progress of Theatre IV's latest endeavor, Peter Pan, for the blog world. So, come along with me as I show you brief glances into "The making of..." Every few days I will snapshot some of the hard work being put in by our phenomenal production and costume departments. They are the un-sung heros of this company. Let's start to sing about them, shall we?

So, sit back and marvel at the process!

This is a wide shot of what is taking place on the Empire stage. (Hans, Wendy and Matt working diligently.) I will recreate this same photo every time and it will give a unique glance at the process as it unfolds. ---

---This photo shows some of the set pieces pulled from our previous productions of Peter Pan. They are waiting so patiently for their opportunity to shine, aren't they? A new nail or two here, a little dab of paint there...

Matt, Hans and Wendy work on a piece (one can only assume) of Neverland rock! ---

--- These are some of the MANY props that will be used for Peter Pan. The note reads: "Abandon ALL Hope Ye Who Enter Here. There will be a holocaust of technicians." Now, who after that, doesn't want to play? (The skull- Yorick. Anyone???)

Eddie does a brilliant Captain Hook impression. ---

That's a good, solid teaser for you.

So, come back in a few days and check out where we go from here!

See you then.