As SF Ballet’s Technical Director, I’ve been overseeing the logistics and coordination for Onegin for over a year now! The ballet is a rental production from the National Ballet of Canada, which means we’ve been working together to coordinate the contracts and shipment for everything involving the production. All of these details – from the sets to the costume fittings and shipments – need to happen in time for setup so we can have it ready for opening.
It’s also my job to figure out how to properly transfer the show from National Ballet of Canada’s theater (The Four Seasons Center) and ensure the production fits well into the War Memorial Opera House. I have to make decisions as to where the scenery will land on stage, and make sure we stay true to the production by maintaining the same relationship that it had on stage in Canada, as well.
The most challenging part about this for us is that our stage is much bigger than what the ballet was originally set on; we’ve had to figure out how to land the show in our space. NBC has 4 wings in which dancers enter and exit through; we have 5 wings. The dancers will definitely have more room here!
Currently I’m putting together the production schedule – working closely with the artistic team to confirm the amount of time on stage required for rehearsals with tech. My team and I also need a specific allotment of time with crews to set up scenes and lighting and then to “tech the show” (walk through the show from beginning to end.) This also involves practicing scenic moves, checking the lighting cues, etc. prior to dancers being on stage.
What’s tricky about this timing is that Onegin happens after our Gala; therefore we have to setup all of Onegin, make sure it’s ready, changeover into Gala, and then we have only 24 hours after Gala to get back into Onegin with the dancers on stage!
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Onegin: From the Stage Wings
Technical Director for SF Ballet
January 5, 2012
As SF Ballet’s Technical Director, I’ve been overseeing the logistics and coordination for Onegin for over a year now! The ballet is a rental production from the National Ballet of Canada, which means we’ve been working together to coordinate the contracts and shipment for everything involving the production. All of these details – from the sets to the costume fittings and shipments – need to happen in time for setup so we can have it ready for opening.
It’s also my job to figure out how to properly transfer the show from National Ballet of Canada’s theater (The Four Seasons Center) and ensure the production fits well into the War Memorial Opera House. I have to make decisions as to where the scenery will land on stage, and make sure we stay true to the production by maintaining the same relationship that it had on stage in Canada, as well.
The most challenging part about this for us is that our stage is much bigger than what the ballet was originally set on; we’ve had to figure out how to land the show in our space. NBC has 4 wings in which dancers enter and exit through; we have 5 wings. The dancers will definitely have more room here!
Currently I’m putting together the production schedule – working closely with the artistic team to confirm the amount of time on stage required for rehearsals with tech. My team and I also need a specific allotment of time with crews to set up scenes and lighting and then to “tech the show” (walk through the show from beginning to end.) This also involves practicing scenic moves, checking the lighting cues, etc. prior to dancers being on stage.
What’s tricky about this timing is that Onegin happens after our Gala; therefore we have to setup all of Onegin, make sure it’s ready, changeover into Gala, and then we have only 24 hours after Gala to get back into Onegin with the dancers on stage!
Photo © Erik Tomasson