What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1163049
SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 9 NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Projection designer Lucy MacKinnon explains the many pieces of her work station during technical rehearsals for the new Blue Man Group show "Speechless" at the Walton Arts Center. From her station, MacKinnon monitors animations that sync with the music in the show, all the live camera feeds — two handheld cameras and three stationary cameras mounted in the set — and lighting cues and generative effects. Emmy Award-winning set designer Jason Ardizzone-West confesses his process usually begins alone in his studio making things, then at some point, the lighting designer, video designer and sound designer all come on board. His first experience with Blue Man, he reveals, is the most integrated design he's ever worked on. "You don't experience the set until all of the systems are running and you see how the video interacts with the space and how the lighting interacts with the video and the sound," Ardizzone-West demonstrates. "One does not fully experience the design until everything's plugged in because it's a very functional machine. The whole space is an instrument the Blue Men play." "Speechless" takes viewers into the Blue Men's workshop. The show investigates actually seeing the Men in their creative space. In the same way the Blue Men have always devised instruments and invented new sounds, this production feels like "the 2019 version" of that, Koons says. And much of the design and many of the ways in which the instruments "talk" to each other have never been done before. "It's very rare to work on something where so many new elements are involved," Koons says proudly. "That feels like a beautiful evolution, while also figuring out how to support the story at every turn." Talk About Tech Looking back on the history of the show, Knight recalls how the very first Blue Man Group didn't even have moving lights. Now, the power of computers has allowed the creative team to explore concepts and effects they might have envisioned in the past but were technologically incapable of producing. Knight also notes the importance of having the characters responding to a life that exists now — not the life that existed 10 or 20 years ago. "A big part of that has been interaction," he says. "How can we have the character interacting with this technology in a way that feels satisfying, that expresses something that people who are constantly interacting with technology as well also feel? Because working with technology is equal parts magic and frustration, right?" "There's a lot that maybe an audience won't realize is actually controlled by the guys on stage," offers lighting designer Jennifer Schriever. When a Blue Man hits an instrument and the lights change, the connection of the drum stick hitting the drum is what controls that, not a crew member timing a button push. The designers have dug deep into constructing a set and instruments that are like living objects, Schriever shares. "There are times in the performance where they plug something in and a chain reaction happens, and it's the action of the performer that is creating what's happening on stage. Nobody's hands are on any buttons," Schriever goes on. "And it's pretty exciting if you allow yourself to realize the magic is SEEK The Walton Arts Center's semi-annual young professionals event returns with a first look at the Blue Man Group's new production. SEEK (Savor, Enrich, Explore and Know) provides unique opportunities for young professionals and college students to engage with the arts. The events often comprise a pre-show hangout/networking event, tickets to a show and an afterparty with craft beer and entertainment. On Sept. 10, SEEK ticketholders have the chance to be part of the first-ever audience to experience Blue Man Group's new show "Speechless," and can hang out after the show for beer, prizes and maybe even a few surprises. COST — $30 INFO — waltonartscenter.org/seek See Blue Man Page 40 NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Blue Man Group's new show "Speechless" has been in technical rehearsals at the WAC since mid-August. Following production in New York, the show company relocated to Fayetteville to finalize all performance elements and fully "mount" the show through technical rehearsals. Creative director Jon Knight discusses the new set for "Speechless" during a press preview visit in August.