Gaieties 2018
Jane Stanford and the Chamber of Secrets
by Ram's Head Theatrical Society, Head Writers Matt Bernstein, Sam Weyen
*World Premiere*
Co-design with Allen Wehner
Directed by Charlie Dubach-Reinhold
Lights by Kaitlyn Khayat
Set by Kirrill Safin
Costumes by Regan Lavin
Photos by Frank Chen
Ram's Head Theatrical Society
Memorial Auditorium, Stanford, CA
ABOUT THE PLAY:
In 1911, the group that would be known as Ram's Head Theatrical Society produced a performance known as "Football Follies" to rally students for the Stanford-Cal rugby game. The name was soon changed to the current "Big Game Gaieties." Over the course of over 100 years, this tradition evolved into the annual creation of an original musical parodying Stanford life.
DESIGN PROCESS:
Since I was serving as Executive Producer for Ram's Head at the time, I was not initially planning to be artistically involved in Gaieties 2018. However, the team was struggling to find a sound designer, so fellow Ram's Head board member Allen Wehner and I set a deadline by which if no sound designer was found, we would step up to design the show. As part of our positions on Ram's Head's Board of Directors, we had been involved in the script development, hiring, casting, and rehearsal processes and were very familiar with the show. We had worked together as designer and associate, and knew we collaborated well. The set date passed, and we jumped in with both feet.
I had designed Gaieties 2016 two years prior, and knew from experience that the most exciting part of designing Gaieties was the sound effects. Especially for this show, they are were also the most time consuming. That quarter, I was designing two other shows as well, so knew I would not have time to take point on that side of the design. The division of labor fell like this: I would take point on the engineering, setting up the console, communicating system needs, and generally focusing on logistics and anything that had a physical component. Allen focused on content creation, creating over 100 cues for the 90 minute show. I was the mixer for Q2Q, and programmed DCAs on the console, while Allen mixed all dress rehearsals and shows.
