Paul Kaiser's Blog

It's cold in January, even at The Station

I learned a lot from this show. What a great experience! The only real bummer was the biggest lesson I learned:

Always have a good grasp on:

1. Who is available to help you.
2. When they are available to help you.
3. What they are willing to do.

When we moved in to the space and started working on this set, I just had it in my mind that I’d be doing most of the work. I was totally incorrect, and I feel I wasted a good deal of Sierra and Aaron’s time as a result. Luckily, they didn’t kill me.

Other highlights I learned from this show:

Always lay down a primer coat when covering a scene on the floor or walls.

Beautiful floor from Rhino shone through 2 coats of paint

Thankfully, Sierra didn’t kill me for this one, either. She painted over Rhino’s floor twice with our beautiful watery blue before we decided it had to be primed. She went over that floor 4 times for this show!

Attention to detail

At one point near opening day, we were getting a few last-minute things done. I think I was screwing a board to cover a doorway and painting it. In the meantime, Sierra was taping off the edges of the watery-blue floor and painting the outside freshly black. It looked so sharp! Sometimes I overlook how such a seemingly simple little detail can make the space look so much better for patrons.

Sunday work calls can make a big difference

Rob fixed up this nasty angle

For some reason, I was nervous about the Sunday work call. I was still mad at myself for not making the most of Sierra and Aaron’s time from the beginning. So, I prepared specific tasks I could assign to folks for the work day.

Everyone who came was a huge help. We really maximized our time! Amanda painted a bunch of white wall pieces. Rob undertook some carpentry work after stating that he “doesn’t really know how to do this,” and his work was fantastic. This, that, and the other — by the end of the day, we really were almost ready.

I need to make a point to attend more work days and strikes for other shows…

The Station Theatre

Today was a great day at the Station Theatre. We’re getting ready for “A Body of Water,” and today was a general call for help cleaning and getting things ready for opening night Thursday, February 11th.

A few days ago, I was ready to be done with my part in this play. I don’t feel like going in to it right now, but there were several things I marked on my list as “better learn from this for next time.”

I didn’t think the Director was going to be there at all today until rehearsal, so I was prepared to try giving everyone who showed up something productive to do. As it turns out, Aaron was there far earlier than I expected. However, I think my preparations paid off.

While I had to salvage wood and cut it outside, I was able to give people specific tasks to do whenever they asked, and help them understand how to do it when necessary.

The results were fantastic! I also used that word, “fantastic,” far too often today, as I let people know how I felt about the work they had done.

Tomorrow should finish out a few things, and this set is ready to go. I’ll detail things later, when I can show photos and such, but suffice it to say, this has been a positive experience and a learning one that will make my next set process go even better.

I sincerely appreciate everyone’s help today!