Clearly I'm not so good at this blog thing...but I will continue to try when I remember.

Shortly after NYMF I had to opportunity to get a few weeks of work at the Juilliard School.  It was a pleasure building in their scene shop and loading in their opera.  There is a great group of people there who I hope to work with again.

Following my work at  Juilliard I joined the crew at the Manhattan JCC for the "Other Israel" Film Festival.  They showed a hand full of interesting films.  During the festival I found a little time to interview for a new job.

Interviews went well and I will start my new jobs as the assistant technical director at the Signature Theatre Company on Monday!

Stay tuned hopefully...

That first gig as a carpenter for the NYMF show opened the door to many connections which have already started to pay off.  Shortly after the build for "Date of a Lifetime" I was brought on as over-hire at Second Stage for their load in of "Blue Flower".  The work there was fun and heavy.  There was a lot of structural steel that came off the truck that we put together.  The people that they hire there are great!  Everyone had a good attitude and was a pleasure to work with.  I hope to be able to do a lot more work there.

I also had the opportunity to do some work at the Manhattan JCC.  Mostly just babysitting the sound board for a conference but it has led to more bookings with them coming up in November.  The full time staff there are really nice and welcoming.  I hope to do a lot more work there too!

While all this was happening, I was asked to stay on at "Date of a Lifetime" as their technical director.  I was happy to step in and help them out.  I did a little more carpentry work and took care of some rigging prep just in time for load-in.  That day was a long one: load-in in the morning followed by tech, then a dress, then opening.  After the opening show it was time to pack it all up and put it away in storage so that the next NYMF show could load-in the next day.  That continued for two weeks and concluded with strike this evening.  

Everything went very well and the show was very well received by the audiences.  I would not be too surprised if we saw that title across another marquee in the future.  

Nothing booked until November, so back to sending out resumes.

After a challenging start to working in New York, I had my first gig as a carpenter.  This past weekend I spent my time building the scenic elements for a New York Musical Festival (NYMF) show called "Date of a Lifetime".  The scenery had been started and needed to be completed.  It consisted of a few luan cut-out pieces.  Some required framing, others stayed flat.  Some were rigged to fly, others were intended to stand.  I had the privilege to build at the Second Stage's space along side the scenic designer Susan Barras.  

All in all this was a very positive project which I hope will lead to other gigs down to road.  I will post pictures of the show if I get them soon.  Until then I will continue to send out resumes and answer ads.  Wish me luck...

Maccabiah and camp have now both ended after another great summer.  The weather held up for the majority of the summer but not so much can be said for our three days of Maccabiah.  It rained for the better part of the three days forcing camp inside for alternate activities.  Despite the unfortunate weather all of camp kept their spirits high and continued to compete with good sportsmanship and ruach (spirit).  The culminating evening was complete with captivating displays of dance, art and song.  Each team gave it their all on the Amazing Quest, but the red team emerged victorious.  The winning team was revealed via a hand made vase crafted by our in-house pottery instructor.  As you can see below the vase was filled with haze and lit from below (it was purposely crafted with a hole in the bottom).

I must offer a huge thank you to the rest of my committee who was beside me throughout all of the planning and running of the event.  


Now it is time to jump in with both feet and find a job and an apartment.  I have been sending resumes out and will continue to do so.  The apartment hunt is just beginning.  New York City, Here I Come!

Last night was a spectacular start to Maccabiah 2011 (color war)!  After many days of fake breaks and misdirection camp finally exploded with a medieval theme interwoven with social justice.  We had knights sword fighting, an  aerialist flying on silks, and fire twirlers, throwers and eaters...That was just for starters!!  That was all followed by a live show to introduce the teams and generals which was sensational.   We ended the evening an unforgettable fireworks show and short team meetings.  Many many thanks to everyone involved who helped to make the evening one which every child will remember for years to come!

I finished my thesis on time and presented to my committee in time for graduation.  The drafting was successful but very time consuming.  I am happy to say that not only did I complete my thesis, I also learned a few things along the way.  I am happy to say that I did graduate along with my classmates in our bright red robes.  My whole family came up for the day and we were joined by some friends as well.  Following graduation was a whirl wind of moving, unpacking, re-packing and heading up to camp to work for the summer.  Believe it or not but the first session of camp is almost over and it has been wonderful.  My staff continues to work hard and have fun together as we continue to keep over 500 children safe across two different locations.  In the last few days I finished my resume and my website.  Soon I will start sending it out to companies all over New York City as I look for  a job starting in September.  (if you know of anything please send it my way).  

Have a great rest of the summer!

The opera was ultimately successful!  All of the tracking walls moved smoothly and with minimal effort.  The elevator functioned for the purpose of the production.  I worked the hand cranked winch while two others loaded and unloaded the arbors as necessary.  It was far from a perfect system but it was safe and it worked.  I'm sorry to say that the "Tilting" wall did not function despite the best efforts of our technicians and was ultimately cut from the show.  Instead it became a simple flying wall which served the production well.  

After many trials and tribulations with my computer and Auto CAD everything is working smoothly.  I have become productive as continue to draft How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying for my thesis.  So far I have completed the drawings for the mail room and have about half of the signs done as well.  I have been getting good feedback from my readers as I continue through the process and hope to continue doing so.

Last week we started work on the next Boston University Theatre production.  Hedda Gabler will open on May 6, 2011 (the day after I defend my thesis).  The design looks great and has sparked some good discussions throughout the department.  Pictures will go up on my website as they become available.

Back to work!

Last night we reached the end of the load-in period for The Postman Always Rings Twice at the Boston University Theatre.  There is still a lot left to do but we have everything up and ready to be tweaked.  We have had a long week of building elements that were not yet completed and loading in and re-loading in all the scenery.  Due to some tracking issues we had to remove the majority of the walls so we could marry the line sets and move chain motors to level the tracks together.  There is still a good amount of work to be done on the elevator to make it function but it fits and move nicely.  One arbor is installed and the other should make it in on Tuesday with the completion of the rigging for it during the rest of the week.  The next three weeks should go well and produce a very successful show. 

I hope to continue to keep this blog (which is my first) and keep everyone abreast of what I am working on.  I think it will be much more interesting once I get to New York next fall and begin working with different companies. Thanks for reading!