December, 2010

Working with new production companies is exciting because there is a little extra of that intangible drive and excitement in everything they do. Lucky Penny Productions out of Napa is one such company. Having started in 2009, they have since put on 5 productions (and counting!), and they allowed me to shoot their production of Neil Labute’s play “The Shape of Things” at the Napa Valley Opera House.

Anyone that’s ever been to the NVOH knows that it is a huge place, but this production was a little different. Lucky Penny had the audience on the stage for an intimate performance, which made for an especially unique connection with the characters in the play. Keep your eye on Lucky Penny Productions for future shows!

See the whole set here.

I had a chance to shoot Helen Pau’s original play, “The Stone Wife” at the Berkeley City Club. The challenge of this show was that it was theater-in-the-round, which meant that I had to cover the performers from 360 degrees. In addition, I had to do so in a very confined space.

I was allowed to shoot an early dress rehearsal as a test run and to get familiarized with the actors’ blocking so I could make sure I was in the right spots at the right times to capture the best of the performances. The prep shoot helped quite a bit–the first time around I found myself photographing the actors’ backs more than I would like to admit. It was definitely one of the bigger challenges I’ve faced so far, because even though the performance was happening in a relatively small space, there was a lot of movement to keep up with.

After seeing the performance and getting to test shoot it once, I found that I was better prepared by the time the final dress rehearsal came around and all makeup, wardrobe, set pieces, and lights were in place. The director and producers were happy with the results.

See the whole set here.

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