If cows could type, what would they say? That’s the silly question answered in the beloved children’s book, Click Clack Moo, by Doreen Cronin. The playwright who adapted this whimsical book imagined a series of projections to be used in the production of the play. When Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins produced and performed Click Clack Moo, they incorporated some of the suggested projections. But then fate and fundraising provided Stages with the innovative technology that a creative storybook cow with a typewriter might request for a sequel.
Along came Giggle Giggle Quack, the second in Cronin’s barnyard series, produced by Stages with even more still and video projections. Dancers even danced along with a video projection serving as part of the set. At one point in the story, the farmer has a Skype-style phone call with his brother, portrayed by the same actor in dual roles.
Stages’ new computer server, along with multiple projectors—purchased thanks to donated dollars—has made all this possible. Production manager Melanie Salmon-Peterson believes that Stages has only scratched the surface of what can be done with their newly acquired technology.
“We conducted a three-pronged fundraising campaign,” says Peterson. “One part focused on artistic excellence. Another was outreach and access to the underserved in the community. The third was advancing theatrical magic. Our new technology falls in that third category. We want to imagine what we can do to enhance the wow factor of our productions and increase that magical quality for theater-goers.”
Peterson sees multimedia playing an integral role in achieving that goal. Stages opened its 2011–12 season with Miss Nelson Is Missing, with a cinematic script that jumps around to multiple locations. Peterson says, “It would have been a challenge to design all the sets necessary to accommodate this script, but with our visual effects technology, we were able to project multiple location scenes such as a classroom, a detective’s office and an ice cream shop. We were even able to project images of places that the actors were imagining.”
Peterson says they’ve learned a lot about what their server can do from these productions. Now the theater is actively developing scripts that best utilize this new technology. “In the past, we’ve been reactive,” she says, “scrambling to see if we have what we need to suit a particular script. Now we can proactively seek out those types of productions. On deck is the third book in Cronin’s series, Duck for President, that runs through October.
Another new special effect that Stages is using is an LED curtain with lights that twinkle and can change color and intensity. The old way of creating a starry night would be a black drop-cloth with Christmas lights poked through.
But Stages isn’t the only place where state-of-the-art technology is being utilized. Erik Paulson is the performing arts manager for Minnetonka Theatre. He says he’s seen lots of evolution in lighting and set design over the years. “When I was in college,” says Paulson, “we used a pretty simple light board. It looked similar to an old DOS screen, with lots of letters and numbers. It was stable but simple, and the operator basically moved electricity around like Mrs. Olson from Little House on the Prairie, with telephone cords springing out everywhere.”
Paulson says that today, light boards are extremely “smart,” with parameters that can easily adjust the intensity and color of lights, and also tilt and rotate lights. “We can create a pattern with lights that make an actor look as if they are walking through leaves,” he says. Theater workers like Paulson aren’t just excited about the ease of creating special effects, they’re eager to make storytelling more seamless, more magical and less clunky.
Other new advances in set design can be somewhat unexpected. For example, Paulson says the gold standard for technical directors used to be the number of materials they could get a hold of for creating sets. “Old-school set designers had fewer options. For example, we used plywood, metal, paint and canvas. Then the stucco industry took off. The same stuff that people put on their homes became rapidly more accessible to everyone, including the tools to cut foam.” Paulson says foam products that were not originally intended for theater can now be used to make set pieces that are light yet strong.
The industrial arts has also aided set design with the accessibility of computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining. CNC is an amazing way of programing a computer to direct intricate cuts and shapes. Paulson says the availability of CNC saves many hours of high school students—participating in the behind-the-scenes aspects of theater—cutting set shapes out of plywood. Plus there is an industrial arts area at Minnetonka High School, so students get hands-on experience with the technology.
Along these lines, the advent of 3-D modeling in computer drafting is also becoming more useful in set design. “Gone are the days of hand-drafting sketches of sets,” says Paulson. “It’s all going to computer.” The benefits of all of this technological advancement in design are cheaper, stronger, lighter and safer sets.
Not to be overlooked is The Old Log Theater in Greenwood, where The Perfect Wedding runs until January. They boast an auditorium with rustic charm in a serene setting, but technology has made its way backstage in the form of an updated sound system. Stage manager Tim Stolz has been around the theater long enough to remember sound being provided via reel-to-reel tape that needed to be changed during the show. “Today,” says Stolz, “we use computerized sound that enhances our productions with layers of ambience that couldn’t be heard before.”
In all, the thrill of live theater is growing ever more magical with the constant updates and addition of new machines, materials and technologies. These advancements make productions easier for those behind the scenes and enhance the experience of the audience. It’s a good time to visit the theater and behold the joys of age-old entertainment made even more enchanting with brand-new technology.
