Putting It All Together

Ken Parks and Sally Southall

   It's hard to believe that The Bluest Water opens this Wednesday; on the other hand, it is truly the right time for The Bluest Water to premiere.  The process began in the early stages with interviewing many people,  moved to having staged readings, progressed to collaborating on a concept, and now, the final stage of combining set, lights, costumes, sound and performers is here.  There is something suggestive of labor and delivery, and several people on the production team have experienced something akin to labor pains throughout the process - fitful sleeping, food cravings, overtiredness, as well as the excitement and anticipation of the first performance.  Such is the nature of theatre, isn't it?

Ken Parks and Casey Carden at "Magic Hour"

    So, this week was the gradual addition of lighting and costumes, as well as setting the pacing for the show itself.  In the same way that the set defined the space and created the tangible elements of the storm's destruction, Dan's creative lighting has added color and texture as well as lightning to further enhance the scenic elements and set the tone of the show.  The costumes were added, making the visual picture complete.  Bryce has been fine-tuning the sound elements to be interwoven - the pieces are all coming together.

Dan's lighting enhances the scene

     In the flurry of the process, Geoff reminds everyone of the what this is about - the struggles of people who experienced incredible grief and hardship in the face of unavoidable disaster.