Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2014 - (Page 27)

The size and shape of images can be customized. The speed and direction of animations can be slaved to movements of the mouse. Dozens of special effects can also be added, such as pixelation, size, position, textures, picture in picture, etc. During the running of the show the crew member assigned to either the stage right or stage left computer and projector combination (Apple iMac and Epson PowerLite 7700p) could flip from one pre-set to the next merely by pressing the space bar and using the mouse or keyboard to manipulate any special effects that had been added to that pre-set. The front projections were mainly employed in three broad stylistic categories: expressionistic, stage illumination, and realistic. Each of these categories intersected with the needs of the script as well as those of the set and the lighting design during the production. Utilization of projections as an expressionist device was visible during the pre-show and the first scene, where footage of 1920s America embellished the set and the actors' performances. Examples of this footage included silent movies, modernized transportation, glitz and glamour of New York's Manhattan, and people running, fighting, and attempting to catch up with this mad environment. Essentially, these images, shown in figure 2, are acknowledgements of Mrs. Zero's suppressed desires live a life similar to her friends, Mrs. Twelve and Mrs. Eight. She sings: But when it comes to me havin' a good time, then it's always, "No! I gotta start savin'," or "I Ain't got the price!" What about me? Where do I come in I wanna go downtown, They go downtown all the time! For scenes where Mr. Zero is relentlessly busy with adding numbers in either his job, his dreams, or his afterlife, computer-generated animations of numbers or dollar signs are projected onto the stage (fig. 1). These videos illustrated how much the fear of this new mechanical world, with its cruel and giant machines, has trapped Mr. Zero and has prevented him from rationally comprehending any facts. The videos and animations of numbers were also utilized in the courtroom scene, which can be regarded as a transition for Mr. Zero from his misery in this life to the possibility of something better in the afterlife. Here the video played a double role. On one hand, it illustrates the world into which Mr. Zero has sunk; his outrage during the confession scene is a powerful diatribe about the society and the world that has suppressed all of his desires, the world that has excluded him and has placed him in a dungeon such as an office for over twenty-five years to mechanically add numbers. On the other hand, the video metaphorically signals an unchangeable fact about Mr. Zero: he chooses to remain inferior to any dominant power and to bear the mark of his slavery on his back over and over again. He sings to the courtroom: The only physical objects we shifted from scene to scene were a set of round stools, each painted like the keys of an adding machine that the actors brought with them or took away during entrances and exits I killed him! But I'm a regular guy Suppose you was me, What would you do? I'm like anyone else. What would you do? In terms of stage illumination, front projections functioned as front lights almost throughout the entire performance. In a few cases the projectors supplied a simple color Figure 6. Zero and Daisy dancing in the Elysium Fields. Note the animation of artwork projected from the front that matches the scenic elements in the background. f a l l 2014 theatre design & technology 27

Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2014

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