Tag: Shotgun Players; Ashby Stage; Berkeley; California; theater; Nora; Ibsen; A Doll’s House; play; first taste; reading

Documenting the creative process in the performing arts is one of my favorite photographic subjects.  Whether it be with dancers, actors, musicians, or any other artist, I love capturing the progression from beginning to final performance.

Tonight I was fortunate to be invited by a longtime favorite local theater company, Shotgun Players, to shoot their first cold reading of the script for their new production, “Nora.”  Based on Ibsen’s masterpiece, “A Doll’s House,” this production is much needed during these troubled times in the US.  Tonight’s reading was wonderfully executed.  Introduced by a presentation by the director, the actors and stage manager interpreted the entire script with lots of dramatic affect and emotion.  I can only imagine how superb the final production will be if the cast could develop this much excitement from a cold reading!  I’ve also been invited to shoot the dress rehearsal, so I’ll report back with more images in about six weeks.  The production of “Nora” runs from March 16 through April 16 in Berkeley, California.

The problem with photographing an unstaged script reading is that it is not inherently a compelling visual event.  As exciting as a good reading can be for the live audience, a group of actors in street clothes sitting at a table reading from sheets of paper, and with no props, set, or lighting, can be a flat subject for images.  To handle a situation like this, I suggest paying extremely close attention to the exact timing of your shutter releases so as to catch those telling moments where the actors are interacting vividly.  It’s also a good idea to mix it up a little, so that the portfolio of images contains several different vantage points, perspectives, and other compositional tools.  In today’s post, we’ll look at some of my images from tonight’s reading and discuss how they were made.

Selective focus can be quite effective in setting off one person or element from the others.  Here I used a very wide aperture (f/1.8) to emphasize the stage manager in front against the soft background of the actor and table behind her.  Note that while it’s always important to be very conscious of your backgrounds while shooting, in a visually stark situation like a script reading you should work extra hard to keep the background as simple and undistracting as possible.  Buy this photo

I try to include all the key people in any event I shoot.  It would be easy to capture only the actors reading the script, but I also made several images of the director (shown here), the stage manager, and the event organizer.  Buy this photo

Timing is everything when it comes to photographing a visually simple event like a play reading, classical music rehearsal, or lecture.  Try to wait for the moment of greatest emotional interaction.    Buy this photo

There’s no rule that says all your images have to conform to the aspect ratio of your camera’s sensor.  Here I cropped the image to a longer aspect ratio to include more of the actors and their interactions.  It has almost a “Last Supper” feel to it.  Buy this photo

Series work well to add excitement to your image gallery.  This image and the next one together depict the climactic moments of the play, when the husband first shouts at his wife and she screams back at him, finally having gained some power in the relationship.  Buy this photo

This final image is the second in the series described above.  I love the intensity of both actors’ postures and expressions.  If the cold reading can be this dramatic, I can hardly wait for the final run of the show!  Buy this photo

What techniques do you use when shooting subjects that have less visual impact than the usual ones?  Please share your thoughts here.

Want to read more posts about what to shoot while traveling or near home?  Find them all here: Posts on What to Shoot.

Documenting the creative process in the performing arts is one of my favorite photographic subjects.  Whether it be with dancers, actors, musicians, or any other artist, I love capturing the progression from beginning to final performance.

Tonight I was fortunate to be invited by a longtime favorite local theater company, Shotgun Players, to shoot their first cold reading of the script for their new production, “Nora.”  Based on Ibsen’s masterpiece, “A Doll’s House,” this production is much needed during these troubled times in the US.  Tonight’s reading was wonderfully executed.  Introduced by a presentation by the director, the actors and stage manager interpreted the entire script with lots of dramatic affect and emotion.  I can only imagine how superb the final production will be if the cast could develop this much excitement from a cold reading!  I’ve also been invited to shoot the dress rehearsal, so I’ll report back with more images in about six weeks.  The production of “Nora” runs from March 16 through April 16 in Berkeley, California.

The problem with photographing an unstaged script reading is that it is not inherently a compelling visual event.  As exciting as a good reading can be for the live audience, a group of actors in street clothes sitting at a table reading from sheets of paper, and with no props, set, or lighting, can be a flat subject for images.  To handle a situation like this, I suggest paying extremely close attention to the exact timing of your shutter releases so as to catch those telling moments where the actors are interacting vividly.  It’s also a good idea to mix it up a little, so that the portfolio of images contains several different vantage points, perspectives, and other compositional tools.  In today’s post, we’ll look at some of my images from tonight’s reading and discuss how they were made.

Selective focus can be quite effective in setting off one person or element from the others.  Here I used a very wide aperture (f/1.8) to emphasize the stage manager in front against the soft background of the actor and table behind her.  Note that while it’s always important to be very conscious of your backgrounds while shooting, in a visually stark situation like a script reading you should work extra hard to keep the background as simple and undistracting as possible.  Buy this photo

I try to include all the key people in any event I shoot.  It would be easy to capture only the actors reading the script, but I also made several images of the director (shown here), the stage manager, and the event organizer.  Buy this photo

Timing is everything when it comes to photographing a visually simple event like a play reading, classical music rehearsal, or lecture.  Try to wait for the moment of greatest emotional interaction.    Buy this photo

There’s no rule that says all your images have to conform to the aspect ratio of your camera’s sensor.  Here I cropped the image to a longer aspect ratio to include more of the actors and their interactions.  It has almost a “Last Supper” feel to it.  Buy this photo

Series work well to add excitement to your image gallery.  This image and the next one together depict the climactic moments of the play, when the husband first shouts at his wife and she screams back at him, finally having gained some power in the relationship.  Buy this photo

This final image is the second in the series described above.  I love the intensity of both actors’ postures and expressions.  If the cold reading can be this dramatic, I can hardly wait for the final run of the show!  Buy this photo

What techniques do you use when shooting subjects that have less visual impact than the usual ones?  Please share your thoughts here.

Want to read more posts about what to shoot while traveling or near home?  Find them all here: Posts on What to Shoot.

Documenting the creative process in the performing arts is one of my favorite photographic subjects.  Whether it be with dancers, actors, musicians, or any other artist, I love capturing the progression from beginning to final performance.

Tonight I was fortunate to be invited by a longtime favorite local theater company, Shotgun Players, to shoot their first cold reading of the script for their new production, “Nora.”  Based on Ibsen’s masterpiece, “A Doll’s House,” this production is much needed during these troubled times in the US.  Tonight’s reading was wonderfully executed.  Introduced by a presentation by the director, the actors and stage manager interpreted the entire script with lots of dramatic affect and emotion.  I can only imagine how superb the final production will be if the cast could develop this much excitement from a cold reading!  I’ve also been invited to shoot the dress rehearsal, so I’ll report back with more images in about six weeks.  The production of “Nora” runs from March 16 through April 16 in Berkeley, California.

The problem with photographing an unstaged script reading is that it is not inherently a compelling visual event.  As exciting as a good reading can be for the live audience, a group of actors in street clothes sitting at a table reading from sheets of paper, and with no props, set, or lighting, can be a flat subject for images.  To handle a situation like this, I suggest paying extremely close attention to the exact timing of your shutter releases so as to catch those telling moments where the actors are interacting vividly.  It’s also a good idea to mix it up a little, so that the portfolio of images contains several different vantage points, perspectives, and other compositional tools.  In today’s post, we’ll look at some of my images from tonight’s reading and discuss how they were made.

Selective focus can be quite effective in setting off one person or element from the others.  Here I used a very wide aperture (f/1.8) to emphasize the stage manager in front against the soft background of the actor and table behind her.  Note that while it’s always important to be very conscious of your backgrounds while shooting, in a visually stark situation like a script reading you should work extra hard to keep the background as simple and undistracting as possible.  Buy this photo

I try to include all the key people in any event I shoot.  It would be easy to capture only the actors reading the script, but I also made several images of the director (shown here), the stage manager, and the event organizer.  Buy this photo

Timing is everything when it comes to photographing a visually simple event like a play reading, classical music rehearsal, or lecture.  Try to wait for the moment of greatest emotional interaction.    Buy this photo

There’s no rule that says all your images have to conform to the aspect ratio of your camera’s sensor.  Here I cropped the image to a longer aspect ratio to include more of the actors and their interactions.  It has almost a “Last Supper” feel to it.  Buy this photo

Series work well to add excitement to your image gallery.  This image and the next one together depict the climactic moments of the play, when the husband first shouts at his wife and she screams back at him, finally having gained some power in the relationship.  Buy this photo

This final image is the second in the series described above.  I love the intensity of both actors’ postures and expressions.  If the cold reading can be this dramatic, I can hardly wait for the final run of the show!  Buy this photo

What techniques do you use when shooting subjects that have less visual impact than the usual ones?  Please share your thoughts here.

Want to read more posts about what to shoot while traveling or near home?  Find them all here: Posts on What to Shoot.