Riverland’s summer theatre, Summerset Theatre, began its season with The Sound of Music, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. We all mostly know this show from the Robert Wise film, which I, ahem, saw when it was released. The original stage version differs here and there from the film, as is typical. I saw a production of the show a few years ago up in the Twin Cities, which I vaguely remember having more closely followed the film than the original stage version.
Capturing images from such a well known show is interesting. There are some iconic scenes that I want to grab.
It’s great when there’s a moment with expressions that fill the frame with joy and fun, and I think this shot with Maria and the children is my favorite. I was fortunate to be in a good position to see all the faces as they were laughing.
Dances are challenging to capture with just stage lights. Even with a modern camera that practically sees in the dark, the lights can be a bit less than ideal, and the fast movement can produce a lot of blur. Sometimes, that’s okay, but it’s good to be ready for the pauses that can produce a crisper result. This is different from shooting a wedding, where I might have a strobe or two positioned to provide some good light.
I mostly like to get in tight if possible, even at the expense of losing some of the players. But I think it’s nice to have at least a few wider shots to show some of the set and convey the fact that this really is a stage show. The Riverland theatre has stadium seating, so I can run up a bit and get a nice overview of the stage. For Sound of Music, the orhestra was arranged just in front of the stage allowing me to showcase them as well as the actors.
As I mentioned, this show is very well known, and most viewers could guess this shot is during Climb Every Mountain.
The shot of The Captain singing during the festival shortly before the Trapp family makes their escape from Austria is another I particularly like. If you follow my posts about shooting show photos, you’ll find this set-up is familiar. I like placing the secondary player or players behind the primary character, slightly out of focus, providing support. It’s just visually appealing to me, I guess.
Summerset has a couple more shows, both opening in July. You can find out more here. When you tire of the summer movies, take some time and see live actors perform on stage. For those in Rochester, it’s a quick drive to Austin.
