All in a day's work!

At work I sometimes get to produce events. The other day was no exception, and I ended up spending the entire afternoon in and around a theater. I had my phone on me and decided to document some of my day... want to see what I was up to?

First, here is the outside of the theater.

The wall treatment outside of the theater is kind of unique.

From a distance it looks like a photo of a red curtain...

But up close, you can see that the curtain is actually made up of text... and that wall holds the entire work of Shakespeare- cool, right? (I happened to take this photo in front of A Midsummer's Night Dream, I think...)

The inside of the theater is just as cool as the outside. When you first enter, it's pretty dark...

But located next to each door is a smart pad!

To turn on different lighting combinations, all you have to do is push a button!

So within seconds, all of the work lights are on! This is so much easier than a traditional theater where the lights are controlled via a board in the light booth!

The work lights allow me to check out the space...

And ensure that everything is "good to go!"

From the audience seating...

To the placement of the piano- I have to make sure everything is set prior to the event!

Of course once the set-up is finished it's time to turn on the performance lights.

First comes the stage:

Next comes the house lights:

Doesn't that look nice?

I love this theater- it's so easy to work in and it looks beautiful!

If you're wondering, the event I ran the other day went well... but do you know what the best part of my day was? Getting to push the "blackout" button right before I headed home- that was glorious!

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

With a handful of school days left in the year, I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And while there are still several performances, events and classes left to facilitate, we're slowly but surely checking things off of our "to-do" list. For example, the other day we produced a presentation (not to be confused with a performance), and I snapped a few photos of the details... from the conductor's podium:

To the cool, butcher-paper floor treatment.

From the plastic table clothes that were used as set dressing...

To the "period" lamp we used to light the pianist's music.

Believe it or not, I actually get to take photos of our events from time to time... can you believe I'm getting paid to do something I'd do for free? So while this is definitely a busy time of year, I'm also remembering just how cool my job is! Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

They say the neon lights are bright...

On Broadway!

I don't know about you, but I like to use black and white photos as the wallpaper on my computer. Since I sit in front a monitor for a good portion of the day, I like to personalize the screen... and what better way to spruce up my space than with a new photo?

If you're a regular to this blog, you know that I love to take pictures, so I have a quite a selection to choose from when it comes to adorning my desktop. And thanks to a little editing, I think this photo of the Broadway signs around Times Square will make for the perfect choice!

But I don't want to be greedy! So I've uploaded this photo in high-resolution, so you can use it for your own computer wallpaper, too!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a lovely day!

Waiting for the service...

I accidentally tucked my cell phone into my choir robe yesterday at church. When I had realized what I'd done, it was too late to return it to my purse... so I took the opportunity to snap some photos while waiting for the service to begin:
One of the chandeliers in the main hall of the parish house:
My hymnal:
And my practical (yet not-so-cute) flats that I wear at church:
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!!

The second floor

I've talked about my church job a few times before...
I've even shown some pictures of the beautiful sanctuary at my church (like here and here).
But I don't think I've ever shown the music floor! Since I'm a staff musician, I spend the majority of my "church hours" here.
Most of the time I'm rehearsing of practicing in here. This is our lovely choir room- it's large, bright, and VERY "live" (which means that when we sing loud, boy does it sound good).
Just down the hall is the folder cabinet, where we each keep our folders full of scores for the services.
(That's mine right there- #10!)
I like this part of the church because everything revolves around music. From the "then and now" photos of the choir on adjoining walls...
To the reproduction folios framed in the restroom!
But the best part of the music floor (believe it or not) is the robing room. This is where I get to throw on a vestment and cassock over whatever I'm wearing a look perfectly pristine for any matter of services- it's fantastic!
So there you have it- a tour of the music floor at my church! Now you know where I spend my Sundays and other Holy days!
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great week!

What has 122 keys but no lock?

Reason #1,427,000 why I like my job:
Yesterday one of my tasks was to take stock photos of a harpsichord...
Isn't that fun?
(And the answer to my very dorky riddle should be pretty obvious by now: a HARPSICHORD- there are 2 keyboards of 61 keys each!)
Thank you for visiting- I hope you have a great day!

I just like to say the word "microfiche"

I sat in front of this baby for a while the other day. And you know what? It was kind of amazing!
Believe it or not, I had to reference something on microfilm for work! Let me fill you in: a month or so ago we heard a rumor that a certain piece of music might be floating about somewhere in the world, and we were eager to check it out. So a couple weeks ago I got a call that the music was in England- but was a microfilm. So using my trusty friend "Inter-library Loan" we requested the film and it finally arrived a few days ago. So I pranced up to the library and thanked my lucky stars that my mom had taught me how to use one of these machines when I was a kid!
But you know what made this whole experience really cool? This music (written by Poulenc) has been altered by Benjamin Britten! Back in 1958 Britten was going to perform this opera, and he worked with another pianist to take the orchestral reduction and flesh it out into two piano parts. And this microfilm is a copy of his entire score:
Isn't that amazing? Hundreds of pages of irreplaceable music, written in Britten's own hand...
Shrunken down to these tiny strips of film and shipped across the Atlantic just for us!
I know I say it a lot- but my job sure is cool!
Thank you for visiting- I hope you have a wonderful day!

Scores of scores

As you may have noticed, I was not a very good blogger last week.
Work has been pretty hectic- we've been casting our shows for the season which kept me in the office far longer than usual each day.
As you can imagine, I spent quite a bit of time flipping through scores and taking lots of notes.
But we're pretty much finished, so things should be easier this week and I promise to be a much better blogger!
Thank you for stopping by- I hope you had a great weekend!