Taking the Stage
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg
The Hennage Auditorium at the Art Museums Colonial Williamsburg is a 266-seat theater that strives to connect guests to the museum collections. The auditorium multiple programs a day, including theatrical presentations, lectures, concerts, conferences and special events. Conferences are hybrid and are live streamed using Vimeo.
For live streamed events I am responsible for the audiovisual system, including setting up the video switcher and studio cameras, ensuring lower thirds are properly displaying, operating lights and sound, and often operating the switching panel and calling shots to camera operators.
George Washington wanted his debut at the Hennage Auditorium to have a little something extra. These scenes were filmed in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg and were used to add context and realism to the program. These clips were played between scenes as transitions. Video was filmed using a Sony FS5.
Loquacious Lucy is a children’s play that originally performed on an outdoor stage with colorful fabrics and props decorating the stage. To emulate the cheerfulness and joy the set dressings brought the program to an auditorium that can’t be as artfully styled with physical objects projection was the solution. These language names are played through QLab and follow the upbeat singers. The colors match the fabrics that were used in the outdoor production. The graphics were created in After Effects using a motion graphics template.
Panglossian Productions
Panglossian Productions was Williamsburg local theatre company. As a board member and technical advisor, I served as the main sound designer for productions, along with operating shows and even stage managing when needed.
When the pandemic closed the performance venue Panglossian was based out of I helped produce several digital ‘shorts’ and a full-length play that was released on Facebook. Whether we were talking about aliens, using Barbies as performers, hanging out at the beach, or visiting a local restaurant, we were able to bring short readings to audiences in their homes. Short readings were also used for a podcast series, recorded and edited by me. Videos were filmed using a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, wireless microphones, and a Tascam handheld recorder.
Sound Engineering for Theatre
While being creative drives stories forward, system engineering makes designs possible. Staying organized and documenting everything allows for a smooth process and the ability to quickly troubleshoot. As an engineer I can produce documentation such as signal diagrams, speaker plots, power diagrams, rack layouts, inventories and schedules.