(Reminder: Check out my contest here! It runs until the morning of May 5, 2013 – so you have just about one more week left to enter.)
This week, I photographed the musical, Little Women, at Riverland Community College in Austin, MN. It’s a well-known story, but one I’ve never read or otherwise knew much about. It was fun to learn the story, and we attended the show as audience members on Thursday. I often miss a lot of the story when I’m doing my photographer thing, since I’m more focused on the action and visual aspects of the production.
I really liked the staging of this show. The set was relatively simple, and the scene changes were done in a snap keeping things moving along for the audience. It’s also fun to see many familiar faces, as I’ve now shot quite a few Riverland shows.
Costumes were outstanding. I’m sure that’s both a big opportunity and a big challenge for a period piece. But, there were quite a range of colors and textures which are great for the photos. The staging also provided many good compositions for me to grab, especially when the sisters and Marmee, their mother, are all together. The first photo above, for instance, is hard for a photographer to miss – how can that not produce a great photo?
Musicals usually have one or even several solos in which we focus just on the one person, singing about his or her feelings, emotions. Usually lit with spots, I just need to find a good place from which to shoot, and try to find an expression that tells the story of that moment. With the background dropping to black, it’s easy to draw the attention to the actor. I love these shots.
Other moments are poignant, and I look for the right angle. The blocking makes my job easier. Fortunately, the performance is visual, not just about songs and dialog, so the director helps me by setting these compositions for me!
And, of course, the actors do their part for me, too. I’m not sure they are really doing it for me, but I can pretend!
The show runs another weekend. The summer will bring three shows to Riverland’s Frank W. Bridges Theatre produced by Summerset Theatre including the Monty Python show, Spamalot. I’m really looking forward to that.
Next up for me is shooting The Producers at Rochester Civic Theatre. Shows have been selling out, so if you want to see it – and my photo display in the lobby – purchase your tickets soon. If you attend next Saturday, say “hello” as I’ll be there, too. And again, check out my contest!
