Here's the last work of our hands to go into the show--an arrow replenishment for the band to have as backup props for when they take West on the road north to Calgary next week.
And here's a nice review from the Seattle Times, where Michael Upchurch says the show's "insistence on being intuitive rather than explanatory is a strength. This is the West as a state of mind rather than a narrative, even if it touches at moments on a deeply familiar story."
Hey, did you hear that? We're a state of mind!!
As always, I feel like I just won the lottery every time I get to work with costume designer Harmony J.K. Arnold, my mentor and life coach since my sophomore year in college. Geeze, has she got it. Her eye for design is impeccable, and on top of that, she's incredibly open-hearted, adventurous and honest in her art and in the way she sees people and the world. I value learning from her so much. We joke around that she's kept me from going hungry since 2007 but more than that, she's kept me on my toes creatively for just as long. Absolutely everything is enjoyable with Harmony--she's like Mary Poppins. Twelve hours of tech with no time to grab lunch or dinner? No problem. Eight hours in a stuffy car in Eastern Washington? Not an issue. Making 9 identical travelers' cloaks in two days from fabric we had to overnight from Portland? Oh, yeah, we've got it.
That's why she's my life coach. She's constantly making, looking for the next opportunity to make. How could life work any other way?
Here's a costume close-up! This is John looking fly in the hair bits we braided into his long locks. Each of the seven bandmembers had a look that pulled inspiration from a mashup of historical periods and styles. Lots of interesting texture and a really beautiful, tight color palette of black, white, steel greys, light blues and tans.
John and Evan in costume during a slow tech moment. The show has some really rad stage tricks that give movie magic a run for its money. My love for the stage experience was totally reinvigorated by working with this dream team. The band, the director, and the designers...they're all aces. I remembered how wonderfully, all-encompassingly collaborative theater is and can be when it's on like this. The laughs and the ideas that came out of the fusing of Matthew Richter, Jen Zeyl, L.B. Morse, Harmony and the band of rad dudes is something real special. This is the kind of collaborative, impassioned energy that I want to be around. For a really long time. I feel really lucky to have found it here, especially when I was really starting to miss the Labs down in LA.
The gigantic, enigmatic crates that make up the set. Most have magic in 'em. Come see what kind! Buy tickets here! Only three more chances to see it! Last show is April 25th at 8pm. If you don't live in Seattle but you are my friend and you read this blog, I'm sorry you can't see the show, but you can listen to a cool song from the show called Manifest Destiny, right here!
Oh, and there I am. Sleepless, maybe, but stoked.
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